Another Post-It Note Entry

They have redesigned the 'Freedom Tower', aka the building to fill up the emptiness where the World Trade Centre used to be - personally, I thought the original design was much more imaginative and such - I think the designers were frightened a bit of Donald Trump saying they should rebuild the Twin Towers with an extra storey LOL, the new design looks frightfully like what was there before...

Have found a new blog to pique my interest, about the world music scene from a distinctly Brit point of view - watch the sidebar for it to be added over the next few days no doubt (not enough time to do it tonight).

The Presidential Address from Fort Bragg - hmm, from what I am reading it wasn't any brave new policy or even so much lifting the mask off all the 'good news' fake stories coming out of Iraq. It was AGAIN trying to link Osama bin Laden to Saddam Hussein and September 11, and the new justification of the war was to fight terrorists overseas rather than at home. Yeah, well you could also have done that without invading Iraq mate, and getting to the root of the matter rather than turning a light on for all the moths to swarm. Grrr - just a post it note entry, will be more analysis later :)

Big Brother Australia, hmm three new intruders, maybe half an inkling extra interest. Really, the show is crap this year - even for just the whole not selling housemate articles for charity, let alone even thinking of anything else.

Later taters
Pauly

Crikey

The title, as the Crocodile Hunter would say. No, don't ask me why I thought of that as a starter for tonight's entry, that would be asking for logic. Was quite a testing day at work today, so am doing my best to relax at the moment :)

The major issue case at work reminded me of that nursery rhyme for the lack of a nail (the horse went lame, the general went missing, the army lost the battle etc) - one little screw up, where we did an address change before the actual technician appointment on one system and not the other hmmph. And led to the customer going ballistic - not having a go at me per se (always nice to know), but wants to have someone from the company talk to her about what went wrong and I must hate getting customers ringing in like her - actually, after a couple of seconds deer in headlight actual deep thinking about the idea, I said that I didn't mind frustrated customers, because I do my best to help them. Will see how that plays out tomorrow, spent fifteen or so minutes writing up an email to all the relevant parties...

But yeah, I like helping customers - give me frustrated customers that I can actually help rather than customers I can't even do any work for LOL. Had a couple of other calls in today that were taxing on the brain as well, but I like challenges more than brain dead white bread kind of work.

Hmm, not often that Australia is on the outer and New Zealand is on the inner ring with US policy making, but there is a story running over here that the US put together the Halibut group to talk about how to deal with the rise of China. The UK, Canada, Japan and New Zealand took up the invite, but Australia demurred, apparently due to fear of offending the Chinese. The name of the group came about because there is no interpretation for halibut in Mandarin.

Hmmph, Alexander Downer, the Australian Foreign Minister, is getting interviewed about Australian Chinese relations in general on ABC Lateline at the moment - grr, for some reason he just irritates the hell out of me. It always seems that he is talking down to whoever he is talking to, just seems to have an easy superiority about himself - last year we were supposed to be too close to the US, now this year we are too close to China - why would we even think of talking hypotheticals about a Chinese Taiwanese war (OK, that is a valid one to shut up about) - oh, I don't know how many people are in prison camps in China. Blah blah blah. If he kept his mouth shut, I wouldn't be so annoyed at him (Downer that is) LOL.

And by the way, what is happening with those two Chinese diplomatic asylum seekers?

On a somewhat lighter and the future is now topic, an international project to build a fusion reactor has gotten to the stage of which country to place it in. And France is the lucky lucky receipient - well, hmm a project between the Europeans, Japanese, Americans, Chinese, Russians and South Koreans (sounds like the space station and the moon colonies out of 2001), and the Japanese, who wanted the reactor built with them will get 20% of the research posts and pay only 10% of the budget. The prototype reactor will be tested for eighteen months, and they will see whether it can be done on a commercial scale. And I have to say, the first time I have EVER seen an international project quoted in euros (ten billion of them), not USD or GBP.

'In terms of the physics and huge amounts of energy involved, the Iter project would be akin to building a star on Earth.'

In the words of Neo off the Matrix - woah LOL.

Damn, Maria Sharapova is attractive - watching Wimbledon in the background here.

Later peeps
Pauly

Lack Of Inspiration Re Title

Hmm, V and I had an almost blazing row last night. Had a conversation, I said I wouldn't get on the net for a bit, and then she said she would ring me every half hour to make sure I wasn't on - stalag 13 anyone? Anyways, I was watching Minority Report (good movie, by the way) and flicked on the net for a bit, just to kill time basically. And I got hell for it.

Basically why are you online, sure you're watching a movie, no of course you can't do two things at once - grrr, escalated from a text message thing to a back on the phone thing, and then she said I was obviously lining up dates for specific times online when I leave her phone calls. I bit back badly, how dare she accuse me of that blah blah, and left the conversation angry. She was like let's not talk for a few days when the next round of messaging/talking occurred - grrr.

Of course, I couldn't resist the lure of a convo before that, and was getting myself all psyched up coming home from work tonight for another difficult convo, but we talked during Big Brother nominations (LOL quality time obviously), and we both stepped back from that particular brink - yet again. I come back to this part of the world, I meet up with her, I get on well with her friends and family, and vice versa, I finally cauterise the K situation (to an extent) - and I just feel that I don't get any or enough credit for all the positives grrr. Enough on that matter for the time being...

Another bad day in Iraq - four suicide bombings in Mosul, killing 38, along with all the usual pot shots taken at the security forces. Donald Rumsfeld, on one of the US Sunday morning political shows, said that yes, the Iraqi government was talking to some of the insurgents, though not the dead enders, and yes, if the insurgency is a normal one, it could last up to twelve years. Though by that stage, it will be the Iraqi forces handling most of the battle. More and more I am thinking of the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan - I am too young to even have been alive for the Vietnam War, yes, even the North taking Saigon at the end LOL.

Took a bit of finding, but this, although fairly depressing in the fact that the insurgents are this well organised, is an excellent piece of battlefield journalism. An attack on Baya police station in Baghdad a few days ago, the insurgents were beaten back, but they swarmed the neighbourhood, put down suppressive fire against the police, had two suicide bombs used against the actual station itself, and the local army post was also swarmed and US reinforcements slowed down by other suicide bombings. The enemy is getting very complex in it's planning - Iraq is so at a tipping point right now.

On a lighter note, this one, about England's eternal search for a homegrown Wimbledon winner LOL. Had a good young player have a tough five setter over the weekend, but no one looks like getting close to a grasscourt win ever.

Okies, that's enough for the night

Later taters
Pauly

What A Pasting

Went and saw the All Blacks v Lions match last night - well, yesterday afternoon really, what with the timezones. I thought the kick off was at 5.30 Eastern Time here in Oz, but lucky I didn't dilly dally around deciding what to have for tea for too long (KFC two piece feed, if you need to know LOL), because by the time I got to the first pub on the way to the Exchange, the 'rugby pub' of Brisbane - I know I said I wasn't going to go back after not having the Super 12 Crusaders Hurricanes game with sound on, but I was willing to give them another chance - surely they would have the sound on for an international?

Anyways, I found myself at the Embassy, corner of Elizabeth and Edward streets, almost deserted (pubbing that early in the night I guess), but the ABs were already into the haka. Thought I would catch the first half there and maybe wander to another pub for the second, but stayed there for the full match. It filled up slowly, but not busy - at least the sound was on for the game, and unlike at busier bars you could actually hear Grant Nisbett, Murray Mexted and Ian Smith :)

The game itself hmm. The Lions captain got injured in the first minute, and it went from there. The Lions had good strings of play but they couldn't get into the All Black 22 with any regularity - maybe a handful of times if I remember correctly? Not that the ABs crossed the line all that many times either, but we played good, hard rugby, with the occasional flourish. 21 to 3 by the end, and I have to admit I had a tinge of sympathy for the Brits, I don't mind us slaying any of the other international teams by whatever margin, but with a Lions match you hope it will be closer than that - of course, ABs to win, but closer than 18 points please...

I remember I was thinking that in 1993 and then they came back and won the second test in Wellington - be careful what you wish for Pauly LOL. And who on earth decides to schedule mid winter matches in the South Island as night matches?? It was hailing and windy and wet and oh so cold - a couple of degrees colder and it would have been sleet. You could see halfway through the second half that the players were just trying to keep warm rather than any razzle dazzle footy LOL.

I did manage to stick around last night for the Rage songs that I wanted to see - mmm, Tori Amos, one of the redheads, along with Gillian Anderson in her X Files stage, that started my preference for that shade of hair colour on women :) A woman doesn't have to be a redhead for me to like her, but it would be nice LOL. Bad Pauly bad.

Oh dear. Tony Blair's eldest son, who I think a couple of years ago was in a mini controversy about marijuana usage, is going to Washington to serve an internship with the Republicans. A Downing Street spokesman said he would also intern with a Democrat legislator - hmm, didn't know you could have jobs with both parties in Washington. And the most famous intern in recent history was of course Monica Lewinsky LOL.

So yeah, was a late one last night, and I slept in til quarter to eleven this morning. As the movie I wanted to see was at 12.30, and I basically had three quarters of an hour to get ready before my bus headed to town, I was thinking 'well, this week going to see a movie just seems like a chore - damn the megaplex at the localish shopping centre not having anything worth watching on this week (that I haven't seen)' - hell, I was even thinking of going to see Longest Yard LOL.

But I did drag myself into Dendy in the city, rather than become megaplex brain dead man, to catch Assassination of Richard Nixon. And damn, am I glad I did - riveting movie, absolutely riveting. Sean Penn channels Robert de Niro in Taxi Driver as a person on the edge whose life slowly falls apart. Based on real events as well - and boy, could I relate to the airport gateway scene, where every little thing takes so much more significance when you are about to completely fuck your life up. Definite one for seeing a second, third time at least... and yes, I will try to get back into the habit of doing reviews for the movies I see - if of course the general public or my readership wants them :)

Very glad I decided to head into Dendy to see it. Afterwards wandered into JB, see what cheap DVDs they had - ended up with Clerks (at near full price), Die Hard 2, How To Lose A Guy in 10 Days, and Red Heat. So, a bit of choice for everyone, acceptable chick flick times one, action times two, classic indy flick times one LOL. If you haven't seen Clerks yet please see it, I remember my first viewing of it, at a party in Upper Hutt - was kind of in the background to start with, and then as the evening grew quieter the movie drew everyone in (yeah it was one of those parties where drinking wasn't the point of the evening, where socialising was more important - how poncey LOL).

Had Hungry Jacks for a late lunch, and then headed home. Watched a couple of episodes of Seinfeld (series three, The Boyfriend, Keith Hernandez dates Jerry AND Elaine LOL - and the JFK take off scene - 'back, and to the right - back, and to the right' LOL). Watched the news, and have Big Brother on at the moment, the eviction episode. Supposed to be ninety minutes, but there is Minority Report on the other channel, will flick over whether or not they have evicted whoever's in line this week...

More soon
Pauly

World Exclusive - Mild Lefty Visits Fox News Website!

Yeppers, just wandered into this story from another blog, so it's not as if I did a search on Fox News itself. Now, because it is a celebrity story rather than a politics one, I can somehow stomach it LOL. Katie Holmes was not seen in public for sixteen days in April, until the huggy kissy thing with Tom Cruise started. Hmm, and she had been dating Josh Hartnett - now, I know Tom is the biggest movie star in the world, but, speaking as a straight guy, Josh is hotter LOL - even though he has made some terrible movies (Pearl Harbor first and foremost in my mind - he was good in Black Hawk Down).

Along with ditching her manager and sounds like cutting ties with some old friends (although that is only gossip as well, and old friends often part ways over new beaus, although not usually as quickly as two weeks) - any bets on the possibility that Katie has been converted to Scientology? Any further bets on how far this engagement will go after War of the Worlds is released?

Oh, and another thing that I forgot to mention in my earlier Oprah versus Paris story (Paris France, not Paris Hilton), was the fact that she has taken it as a racial slight rather than an 'I was late to the store' misunderstanding. I didn't mention it because I thought it was obviously stupid to even complain about the issue, let alone bring the whole race card into it.

Very funny blog post about the whole issue - under the blog title 'Oprah's Crusade' - isn't Technorati grand? And really, if 'Queen O' does do a show on the issue when the season starts again, who is she reaching out to for understanding? Fellow black billionaires who travel to France for the summer, let alone go to Hermes LOL? Maybe she will try to get pleb understanding by giving away luxury goods from an A-OK USA luxury firm to the studio audience or something - lol, or organise a picket outside Hermes stores :)

Oh, and Cruise has gone head to head with the presenter of the USA Today show about what Brooke Shields should do instead of taking anti-depressants. Saying he's an expert on psychiatry (Tom Cruise that is). OK, when it was just a fake publicity marriage on the go, it didn't impact my enjoyment of the classics (such as Top Gun, Jerry Maguire, A Few Good Men etc). But the more Cruise is in the spotlight this month, the less I am liking him, and it may even start impacting on my movie tastes - though probably not in time to give War of the Worlds a miss. All I am thinking for Tom at the moment is shut the hell up LOL.

Is anyone else thinking that this whole Tom Cruise thing could become a Michael Jackson like train wreck of a story in the coming months? Of course, not as worrying as allegations of child sex abuse (am NOT going to give in to the temptation for a Katie Holmes joke there), but still, the train is speeding, and just one little bump could cause a derailment...

And of course, this flood of 'celebrity' news filters the general public's access to REAL stories - like the whole Iraq mess, the fact that oil shot up over $60 a barrel yesterday, the situation in Zimbabwe, and what the Prez will say in his TV speech on Tuesday (to name just three stories - the fourth, Iraq, is taken as a given). Maybe Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes and Oprah and hell, even Michael Jackson, have been hired by the Administration to keep a foil on the real news LOL - hey, it is just as valid as some Hollywood plots :)

Think this weekend my movie choice will be Assassination of Richard Nixon. Am NOT going to go see the new releases of Herbie Fully Loaded (Lindsday Lohan is still jail bait Pauly, despite whatever her surgeons have done to her frontage LOL - Matt Dillon in it means it may be a DVD rental) or Sisterhood Of Travelling Pants, or that Oscar Wilde adaptation. Have left it too late to catch Kingdom of Heaven on the big screen.

Later peeps
Pauly

I Had Something On My Mind...

... that I wanted to write about, but for the life of me, I can't remember it now. Perhaps it was just the fact that Beck and Oasis seem to have brought out good albums recently - was watching the Australian Top 50 on Rage before. And tonight's programme are choices of Tori Amos, and looks a good list - includes Blur, Radiohead, Oasis, Weezer, REM, Garbage, Depeche Mode, New Order, Fatboy Slim, Lauryn Hill, Alicia Keys, Beastie Boys, Metallica - and of course Tori. The last song that I would like to catch up with is at 3.30 in the morning, but for some reason I don't think I can stay awake until then - or is there a cricket match on tonight?

Hmm, Bush had a press conference with the new Iraqi PM in Washington today, saying that the insurgency will be defeated, and the US will withdraw with honour - giving no timeframe for any withdrawal, so at least that is one good idea he has heeded. Giving timetables for exit strategies is never a good idea, it just emboldens your opponents (or is that enboldens? Spellcheck seems to be down LOL). As six more US troops die in Fallujah and thirteen are injured (suicide car bomb) - three female soldiers dead, eleven injured - guess it must have been a support unit rather than a front line one?

Bush is going to give a prime time address to the nation next Tuesday - could it be that a few obvious home truths are going to be said? Or is it going to be more sabre rattling? Could it be that the draft will be reinstated? Or Osama has been captured - nah, if it was the last, it wouldn't wait until Tuesday, he would crow about it now...

'The United States will soon have to start reducing force levels in Iraq, or risk seeing the volunteer Army collapse. Yet the administration and its supporters have effectively prevented any adult discussion of the need to get out.' - Paul Krugman, New York Times, 24 June 2005

Hmm, on a lighter note, some guy in the US, over the course of 38 years, collected over a million one cent pieces (known as pennies in North America, even though I thought they had a revolution to get rid of British things LOL) and has just cashed them all in for the grand total of $13,084.59 - all up they weighed four metric tons. I'm guessing he had to hire a fork lift to get it all out :)

Hmm, Guantanamo and Abu Gharib may have actually come back to bite the US intelligence agencies - an Italian judge in Milan has issued arrest warrants for thirteen suspected CIA operatives for kidnapping an Egyptian cleric who was living in Italy and spiriting him off to Egypt for interrogation. At least the Italians had the decency to issue arrest warrants, after all the people being sent off to the Gitmo legal black hole, can you imagine if someone had just kidnapped Americans and then held them somewhere, but it's all OK, they are threats to national security? Even if they succeeded in capturing a CIA operative, the response would be nuclear - only half metaphorically as well. But no one in Washington is willing to comment at all on this Italian case, surprise surprise.

Of course, am going to watch the rugby match from Christchurch this afternoon - of course, will probably be watching it by myself, and not sure whether I want to insinuate myself into any other conversations - this is as much as home anyways, rather than somewhere I am going to be for eighteen months (thinking of watching rugby when I was in London - before the internet got big and you could get the results straight away - thinking of the Walkabout getting videos of the games shipped over to watch the following Saturday LOL). Of course the games were on Sky Sport over there, but something about having a social time out with your fellow Antipodeans.

Should be a good match though, supposed to be a cold rainy day in Christchurch (why do they schedule night matches in the middle of winter in the South Island? Surely our fans are rabid enough that we can actually watch it in the afternoon - the Brits do with their soccer, only midweek games are night games)... Eight of the starting line up for the Lions, and five on the bench are from the English side, as opposed to bugger all for the teams that were actually better than England this year LOL.

Oh, I know what I was going to mention at the start of the post - was a thought I had from last night, as I was heading to bed. I have mentioned how I feel how I am being pulled in five different directions at once. Of course, Brisbane is my main point of reference at the moment, but I am also have the other foot in Tasmania it seems, half a brain in Canberra, with hands hanging on to back home (New Zealand) and fingertips from the other hand sprawled towards Canada. And also occasional brainwaves also sent out to the UK.

Just a passing thought - V says that my family as a whole never seems able to settle. My parents moving house so much the last five years especially and then needing to do the places up (see the pool out the back, a mini rumpus room planned for the garage etc), and my own wanderlust - haven't been further than New Zealand recently, but my love of travel is still there. Just the financial getting back on my feet stuff after the past five years of well, not living beyond my means, that was just the last two years, but instead depending on credit as a source of funds. Up until the whole Canada thing in 2003 I was able to keep ahead of payments, but I was depending on the credit card as an additional boost as it were.

Now, to head to Chermside or head into town for the rugby, hmm.

Pauly

Most Humiliating Moment Of Her Life

Hmm, Oprah Winfrey wasn't let into a luxury store in Paris, trying to get in after hours and such. Has said it is 'one of the most humiliating moments of her life', and as her Crash moment - referring to a movie that is probably distributed by her company anyways LOL. Geez, not let into a luxury store after hours - how humiliating - must remember to give them a miss next time I'm in France LOL. Like really Oprah, get back to real life sometime soon please?

Saying Of The Day

When a man buys a new hat, he wants one just like the one he has had before. But a woman isn't that way. - Edgar Watson Howe

About the first good one from the desk calendar in at least three months LOL.

Pauly

Where To Start Hmm

Watching in the background just before Japan hold Brazil to a 2 all draw in the Confederations Cup - OK, OK, so it's not the World Cup, but after I thought the first couple of Confeds that it was just a fun kickaround, to get more exposure for the FIFA sponsors, it has actually evolved into quite a good little international comp. And don't worry about the Brazilians, they always come through in the knock out matches :)

Not often in winter you get top line international sport on free to air Aussie TV, but tonight we have Australia v England in the cricket, Wimbledon, and the Confederation Cup highlights on three of the channels. Oh, and Big Brother shortly on Channel Ten LOL.

OMG, why does anybody even think of listening to Silvio Berlusconi or many of the other Italian politicians - yeah, the lira was so much more stable than the euro guys LOL. Anyways, the PM's latest faux pas is to say he used his 'playboy charms' on Finland's (female) president. And then makes a silly situation even worse by saying he had to endure Finnish food.

Hmm, there's a very rolling eyes ad on TV here at the moment, about Masterfoods' finishing sauces - actors with accents pretending to be Finnish. But their stupid laughter is quite infectious, at least to create a grin. At least, I think it's Masterfoods LOL, otherwise the opposition has gotten that company in my mind :)

Onto a less appealing subject - what the hell is going on in Zimbabwe? Yes, let's make 200,000 people homeless (and counting) by destroying shanty towns, at the same time our economy is a tattered shell of itself, and our agriculture is so bad we have to import 1.2 million tons of food - insanity, and verging on apocalyptic. Does Mugabe have any brains left? What has to happen before the rest of southern Africa actually do anything? Is Zimbabwe on the State Department's state sponsors of terrorism list? Why on earth does anyone still play cricket with them?

Another not nice topic - US casualties in Iraq. While Iraqi casualties mount up in the hundreds and thousands, US and coalition casualties have kind of taken a back seat in the mainstream international media - which is hiding a disturbing (though totally to be expected) trend, that the insurgents are getting more effective attacking the foreign forces. New types of bombs, laser triggered instead of cellphone or radio frequency (avoids radio jamming), bigger bombs - last month was the highest death toll through roadside bombs for the US military since the invasion began, and this month, only up to 10 June, has already outstripped the whole of May.

Read a report in one of the papers, maybe the Economist, that said the thing with Iraq is that the opponents of the war still haven't given up their initial objections to the war - which is unusual for such a big ongoing story more than two years later. Usually it seems that yes, there is still opposition to a war, but the reasons change - whereas with Iraq, the illegality or otherwise of the war, whether the States and Britain should have secured a second UN resolution, those damned WMDs are still hanging around like a millstone. Just as some of the pro-war crowd get itchy feet about the seeming quagmire and query an exit strategy. And the US armed forces get shredded, both in casualties and lack of new recruits. Hmmph.

I could go on and on, but that's enough for the night. Hmmph, apart from, would it be a good idea if a democratic Iraq couldn't keep to an imposed timetable for a constitution, if the US pulled troop levels down as punishment? Or maybe it's just petty Democrat point scoring. And Rumsfeld, in the middle of a pretty successful insurgent campaign, is thinking of drawing troop levels down anyway - less troops more technology doctrine again. Is ANYONE sane in Washington DC?

Woke up this morning to the news that a plane had gone down near Ireland, with a three mile slick. Of course, shaking the grogginess out of my head, listened to the story more and it was the 'On This Day' segment, the Air India bombing in 1986. Canada's very own home grown terrorism hmmph.

Was on late shift at work today and forgot about it didn't I. Until about a block away from work, when I realised LOL. Too late to go home and sleep or laze for an extra little bit, so what I did was have a sit down breakfast for the first time in like months. Eggs benedict with hollandaise sauce yum, and a cappucino - very civilised, and watching the highlights from Wimbledon last night to add to the mix. Was a bit chilly (for Brisbane), but my wool jacket is coming in very handy - and I even had a mobile phone conversation over my coffee, sorting out that debt that I was worried about - all paid off, now just owe the parents LOL. And then a sedate, leisurely, stroll up the hill to work. Was all very civilised :)

The last, outstanding, unsecured debt. Of course I have a payment plan for my bigger debts that will go on for months yet. Bloody credit cards, bloody banks just letting my credit limit build up and up and up :)

The work report from today can wait for tomorrow methinks.

Onwards to the weekend :)
Pauly

Memo

As if we needed to make the division between contract/temp workers and permanent any more obvious than it already is. By the way, how is morale going LOL?

'All

It is with regret that I announce that the [function] planned for [date] will not be held.

We had hoped to run a dual sponsored event by both [company] and the agencies that supply us with temporary staff. However a number of the employment agencies supplying [company] with temporary staff are uncomfortable that their staff take part in a [company] event.

On the basis that this means we would only have a small event and not a single approach, covering both permanent and agency staff, we will look to do something at a future date, which the agencies fully support.

The guidelines on this subject are clear. Agency staff are not [company] staff. As such an agency team member is not permitted to participate in [company] [social program]. Each agency supplier has an [social program] for their staff, which includes certificates, Christmas parties and other functions. There have been occasions where agencies have been happy to allow their staff to take part and jointly sponsor the events. On these occasions responsibility and liability for people attending the events has been clear and unambiguous.

There has been an increase in litigation around dual employment globally. This is for example where an individual attempts to make a personal claim against [company] as against their agency employer. This has raised the awareness, across the whole of [company] and particularly with vendor management, of the need for us all to be compliant with the agency labour model guidelines. Vendor management and [company] policies are outlined on: [intranet website] These set out clearly what is and is not allowed for regarding the management of agency staff and also their inclusion or otherwise regarding [social program].

The tender is currently up for renewal for the supply of agency staff and I have been part of the panel making the tender decisions. This has heightened my awareness of the corporate policies and the need for compliance. Over the months ahead we will need to ensure we are compliant with all elements of the agency model, not just pertaining to [social program]. Whilst people may feel this is not treating everyone fairly, we need to be clear that this is about compliance and a clear definition between those employees of [company] versus other companies.

My apologies to be the bearer of bad news, but I hope everyone can understand the commercial implications and the business reasons for this decision.

[General Manager]'

Polish Plumbers And The Non Vote In France

If anyone was following the fun and games last month in France and the Netherlands before their votes on the EU constitution, you may remember that one of the 'issues' that 'galvanised' the non vote in France was the fear of hordes of Polish plumbers flooding into the French workforce (umm, hate to disappoint you guys, but Poland IS already in the EU, if it were Serbs, Ukrainians, Bulgarians or Romanians, yeah the door is still closed to them, but Poland, hmm already in - how do you say dickheads in French LOL).

Anyways, the Polish tourist authority has decided to play with the idea of their plumbers, a new advertising campaign to lure the French to Warsaw shows a hunk of a guy in plumbing outfit (no bum crack in sight, sorry ladies) saying he's staying in Poland and to come visit. Very witty LOL.

Just a quickie, can't find an appropriate story to segue into - well, there is funny with the European constitution and the whole EU project, and there si the whole obvious thing - Waterloo 190 years ago with the French and British still arguing at the summit they had over the weekend, just up the road in Brussels. Well, I was going to link to the Economist's take on this, but it's subscriber content LOL.

Laterz
Pauly

Middle Of The Week

Of course, from the above title, we are celebrating 'obvious titles week' lol, when we all wear purple ribbons and do a charity walk for obviousisity (yes, I did just invent that word), and our celebrity endorsement is from hmm haven't worked that out yet - we are in talks with Larry Fortensky though LOL. And yes, I am in a stupid mood obviously :)

Not too much happened yesterday - at work the main system was still down, so we could take phone calls for orders, but again couldn't do much work beyond that. LDU is still giving up smoking, and actually went for a kebab with her at lunchtime - only about the third time since last July that I have had lunch with a workmate. Yes, things are usually that quiet for me while grabbing a bite to eat in the middle of the day.

Had my first permanent employee formal assessment thing yesterday afternoon. I was hella nervous, what with what I consider my flaws and unsuredness around the acting team leader and how you are supposed to interact in these things rather than just these are your stats, have a nice month LOL as it seemed to be when I was a temp. But obviously my incompetencies haven't hit breaking point or even mentioning point yet (yes, I am that insecure about my competency), and PTU signed off that I was good at my job, not excellent, but then who is. Good was better than I was expecting - there are a couple of things I can work on, but taken as a whole, I seem to be doing OK - and hmm, even a mention in there that I am fully dedicated to customer service - hmm, well yes, if it is my segmentation I bend over backwards, if not - ah, just that old self doubt again.

So yeah, that was the main thing yesterday. I was just a bit unsure of PTU as a boss, she seems OK as a fellow staff member, but after yesterday, I can feel confident that she is just as nice as the rest of the bosses at work (which is a compliment, have a good group to lead us - of course, with my instinctive eagerness to please, I usually get on well with boss figures, both in the past and now). Did I mention that SGR has tinted her hair? Tawny rather than straight blonde or black at the moment - and wearing it down, hmm, she has a boyfriend blah blah.

Oh, and I had mentioned to V that I was nervous about the appraisal assessment thingy, and afterwards I sent her an email saying that it had gone fine - and she replied 'face it Pauly, you are good at your job!' Yeah, sure, right, as I look at my feet LOL.

Today is a rostered day off for me yippee. What with the week it has been so far at work, am glad more than usual to be out of the office. Will go down to the local shopping centre, get a haircut (am very shaggy dog at the moment) and maybe pick up a mobile phone - my current handset is both an antique (circa 1997 LOL) and stuffed at the moment. No, I am not going to go to a movie, I have a limit of one a week LOL. But may buy DVDs or a computer game, see how rich I am feeling.

Talking of rich, was just trying to sort out the last of the debt monkeys off my back - rang the call centre, obviously somewhere overseas when he said well if you are in Australia... here is a local number to ring to find out who the collection agency on that debt is (well there was a surprise, and also a surprise that the card itself has been cancelled) - I did however salve my conscience slightly by updating my billing address to the CORRECT one. Tried to ring the local number (local as in Sydney LOL) only to be told that this number is only manned during business hours. You try to be efficient and where does it get you LOL.

Will try again later in the morning I think. Oh, and another of the monkeys on my back (it's a zoo back there apparently LOL), the charity donations on behalf of workmates, well I got that sorted - two of the three organisations have sent back their receipts well before tax time, so a bit of relief there. The third is no doubt on its way...

So yeah, personal wrap up for the last day and a half. Will maybe post something later in the day, after my shopping expedition, or a news and current affairs wrap up - maybe.

Pauly

Start Of The Week

LOL, inspirational titles are us indeed. I didn't get up to all that much yesterday. Yeah, true, I went to see Batman Begins, and did a bit of shopping, but not much else than that.

This installment of Batman - good movie, far grittier and 'realistic' than the previous four movies - Batman back in 1989 had the soundtrack by Prince, this time around it's Nickleback, need I say more LOL - and going back in mind to Constantine ruining the Nickleback song and his own chances in American Idol - and yes, I did love the character in the comic books, much more than Superman or Spidey or any other of the superheroes. Was talking to LHO last night, commenting about the film, and a line for the review jumped out at me from the general conversation - 'the ninjas, of course, the ninjas' LOL.

And bought three DVDs yesterday as well - This Is Spinal Tap, Being John Malkovich, and Goodfellas. One day I will go into a DVD or CD store and not need to buy any because I have bought all the DVDs I want, but that day is far far off. Garden State was out, but it was full price, wait a few months, it will come down to the sales bin :)

Today, hmm was quite a rough one at work. One of our major systems got an upgrade over the weekend, and of course, it wobbled a bit in the morning before crashing big time in the afternoon. We can TAKE orders, we just can't provision them, without doing backflips and loopholes and all sorts of sneaky devious stuff. Very frustrating. Add into the mix LDU saying every five minutes how good she feels giving up smoking (36 hours and counting), and how she will never date a smoker ever again. Yeah, I'm supportive and all, but why is it that the most ardent anti-tobacconists are the ones that used to be the most ardent on the other side?

Add to that mix as well, a couple of emails from V into the middle of a busy busy day, needing clarification on the whole situation. I try not to think deep personal thoughts at work, and it was exceptionally busy today - at least this morning - so sent a quick reply back at morning tea, and that was about it. And then the systems crashed grr, taking my mind even more off things.

Hmm, am contemplating my blog and the way I write this evening. Sometimes I guess I am a bit flippant in the way I write, or, alternately, I put too many thoughts together at once in the one paragraph so it looks like a bad topic at the start is following on to what is a good topic at the end of a paragraph. Can see how it is a bad habit to get into perhaps.

Nothing a good sleep can't solve, I'm guessing - eek, I have my first permanent employee assessment tomorrow, what with a temp team leader who I'm not sure of, and with my fears of incompetence in the background and all.

Later peeps
Paul

Biggest. Cricket. Upset. EVER?

Wow. Bangladesh, who keep getting whipped in any test match they play, and I think had a run of like fifteen games without a one day win either, have beaten the world champion Australians. Wow. I just saw the last six or seven overs - before that, had been too wrapped up in Rage, but wow. And that six in the final over, what a spanking shot that was. What IS going on with the Australian team? Boy, the local media is going to tear this to shreds in the morning.

Ricky Ponting just did his losing captain's interview thing (not often that happens to start with, but against Bangladesh?) and admitted to misinterpreting the pitch in the morning, won the toss, batted first. Michael Holding then asked if there was a sense of panic in the team, and Ricky was very honest and said 'it's not all that far off'. Respect to him for that, even though V as a native Tasmanian thinks her state cricket captain is a ponce LOL.

And of course, the final over of the match clashed with the Gorillaz Clint Eastwood video. So it was a glimpse here and there between balls. A famous day in Cardiff, and England in Bristol tomorrow/tonight.

Stuart MacGill was in the studio back in Sydney or whereever it was saying it was a good time to be back a cricketer in Australia (as opposed to an Australian cricketer in England I think was his meaning) and that it was lucky they are playing England next, they always have an even chance of beating the Poms, lucky it isn't Bangladesh LOL.

But still, at the back of my mind, I am sure that all will be forgiven even if they lose a good portion of their one dayers if they come back and win the Ashes five zip LOL. The Australian cricket team always seem to have this skill or luck of winning in the meaningful games. Three losses in a row, but a 20/20 game, a county game, and the first one day international of the tour - true, against Bangladesh, but thinking of the reasons to dismiss each of them if needs be :)

Pauly

The Unholy Troika

LOL, watching Rage at the moment, and we have had Christina's Genie in a Bottle, Britney's Baby One More Time, and the Spice Girls Wannabe. Maybe it is they broke with this song hour or something - I remember hearing Wannabe for the first time in a Warsaw hotel LOL. Mmm, borst dinner, vodka bar pool playing, and the sense of loss throughout the entire city.

The Jewish Ghetto Uprising, the later Polish Uprising when the Russians sat on the opposite side of the Vistula waiting for the Germans to wipe out all the non-Communist Poles, the fact that after the war the city was a pile of rubble, and was completely rebuilt, Saxon Gardens and the Eternal Flame there - where the sense of military loss is in the very essence of the city, it means something different there to all the other battlefields I have been to. It is as if Sydney, Wellington, New York or Toronto had been flattened during wartime - not putting down Gallipoli or the Somme or Gettysberg or hmm Vimy Ridge, but the Polish capital city bled white for five whole years.

Imagine if Paris or even Rome had gotten that treatment during the war. Was a good documentary on SBS earlier in the evening, about how brutal the Eastern Front was, and how the Soviets weren't so much liberating Eastern Europe as taking reprisals against the Germans. Was it ninety or ninety five percent of all German casualties being on the Eastern Front? Something like that. And Warsaw soaks it all up - whereas Berlin felt like quiet humiliation for what their leaders did twice in the last century, but feels it has a right to mourn as well, and the post Soviet cities - Leningrad, Moscow, Smolensk, Minsk - all had a triumphalism in agony feel about their war memorials, Warsaw felt like just a quiet city that got flattened and then picked itself up and got on with things. Or have I taken too much poetic license in all this?

Hmm, have the Jacksons doing a double at the moment - Blame It On The Boogie, and Can You Feel It - the latter song the backing track to The Tamperer with Maya Feel It - memories of 1998 clubbing in Croydon coming back. Mmm, London, Radio One, all the touristy bits at the start of any London based movie LOL.

But my point, my point was, look at the music the guy made, up until perhaps the hubris of Earth Song back in hmm 95 or so? He had the kids wandering around him on the stage at concerts looking at him as if he was god or something? And now he, Michael Jackson, has just barely missed a bullet with this abuse case, and could either be shunned like OJ (although I think OJ has more to be legitimitely thankful for, with the strength of the respective cases, as seen by Joe Public here) or to make a comeback of some sort.

When I had a think about it, wasn't Howard Hughes the nut of the 50s and 60s? And they make a movie about him called The Aviator, well maybe in thirty or forty years time they will make a Michael Jackson movie called The Entertainer LOL. He never did look comfortable in those videos where he was supposedly chasing a female love interest though, hmm. And the only thing I have heard on the news from Mr Jackson since the trial was that he wasn't going to have kids sleeping over at Neverland anymore - well duh LOL.

This latest vid is of Michael at about hmm twelve perhaps singing Rockin Robin in black and white (the colour scheme on TV, not the later song LOL). In tasselled stars and stripes bellbottoms and a flowery vest - he really didn't have a childhood did he? Not giving excuses or anything, there is a difference between liking kids and having a mid life crisis as big as he seemed to from the mid nineties on...

What is this? Nutjob musician hour or something LOL? Just had Jerry Lee Lewis who married his thirteen year old cousin (how quaint scandals seemed to be in the mid sixties LOL) to Gary Glitter who if I remember rightly had kiddie porn on his computer hmmph. But it is good music, more's the pity - well, it's late at night, I can revoke that comment in the morning regards Mr Glitter's stuff LOL.

But dayum, these guest programmers tonight are good - Handsome Boy Modelling School, two American DJs. Although I am glad I missed Mmm Bop, and NKOTB's The Right Stuff - 'oh, oh ohoh oh' indeed LOL. I did catch Missy Elliot's Work It - geez, was thinking the song wasn't that old, but I remember it being out when I was gymming with SWI in Wellington back in hmm 2002. Where has this decade gotten off to?

I guess I can't stay up another hour just for one song huh? It is Clint Eastwood by Gorillaz, but hmm, I guess I can download it to listen to it ('I'm happy, feeling sad, I got sunshine, in a bag, I'm useless, but not for long, my future, is coming on, is coming on' - or did I get the lyrics wrong LOL). And if it was Israel's Son by Silverchair, and the High Fidelity Jack Black version of Let's Get It On instead of Tomorrow and School of Rock it would be much better.

Well, surprise surprise, the latest EU summit was a flop - lucky lucky Luxembourg, get to fob off all the issues to Britain as next rotating president. Just wondering, when was the last time something this serious happened to the 'European project' - serious in a derailing sense I mean. This is much worse than Austria democratically voting in some right wing nutjobs. Bloody Chirac wanting to deflect attention from the constitution vote to the UK rebate, we may see a two speed Europe or even perhaps the Brits finally becoming the fifty first US state LOL.

Goodness, just flicked to the cricket, and the Bangladeshi's only need 47 runs from six overs to win, with six wickets in hand OMG, can the Aussie team lose THREE in a row on this tour? And against Bangladesh of all teams? And Somerset, the team that pasted them so well the other day, lost to Scotland yesterday LOL.

And can advise that the programmers of Rage tonight, Handsome Boy Modelling School, can actually do OK music as well - in a slow, funky DJ kind of way. Just have to scoot soon because my four hour ISP window is about up, and I don't want or need to reconnect again.

Pauly

Can't Fight The Moonlight

Mmm, the theme song to Coyote Ugly - the song in the background here, as I channel flick between rugby league, Brisbane v Wests, World Championship poker (yes, I did get stuck watching it for about half an hour there), and the first one dayer from England, Australia v Bangladesh. One of those channel flicking evenings, I guess.

First time I saw Coyote Ugly was on the Canada 3000 trip, Auckland to Vancouver, via Rarotonga and Honolulu. The best of movies (well, the best of guilty pleasures), the worst of movies - on that same trip was Autumn in New York - still my worst movie of all time, thank you very much LOL. Richard Gere and an ill Winona Ryder, why, that's as unimaginable as Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes LOL - and how cliched, an engagement at the Eiffel Tower. If it weren't for the glorious blaze of publicity about it all - Mr Cruise talking to reporters on the Paris Metro I think - I could possibly think it was kind of sort of genuine.

But back to Coyote - and the whole Vancouver trip - was my first trip to Canada, and was my first trip to see H (the second one, didn't go so well, but not the time to write about that one). About four months into my whole internet life thing, and I cross the Pacific to see a good friend, boy was I nervous - plan B was to see as much ice hockey as possible, if plan A didn't work out, but just a typical Pauly on the spot make a decision thing to do :)

Of course, I am reminiscing a bit because it hasn't been the busiest couple of days in the present tense on Planet Pauly - my sister moved back to the parental home today, and I demurred and did move into the smaller room - this place is sooo much a house rather than a home, but still not financially on my feet enough to move out grr. Could possibly retreat to the study even more than currently LOL.

Didn't go out last night, and had a quiet, but good day at work yesterday. SGR was joking around that her boyfriend was paranoid about her going out on the weekend, I said say you went to a movie with a male friend, she said not to mention that, and how last time she had joked like that... hmm, not going to make further comment at this stage about that. She said he wasn't quite right in the head, but that shouldn't excuse anything grr.

Might be out next Friday though, SWA sent out an invite to the old gang (although hmm should I get paranoid that she didn't send it directly to me?). And Batman Begins tomorrow - purely cos I'm a Batman and Christian Bale fan, don't tag me with Katie Holmes tendencies please LOL.

Pauly

The Schiavo Case, Redux

Remember all the wailing and gnashing of teeth in Washington DC in mid-March, with a persistent vegetative state patient in Florida unaware of her surroundings getting her fifteen minutes of fame, being the most important person in America, being a poster girl for the constitution and trampling states' rights? Dr Frist, leader of the House, giving his diagnosis that all Terri Schiavo needed was two aspirin and a bit of a rest? Oh, I exaggerate with that one of course.

And the President rushing to DC from Crawford in the middle of the night to set up Terri's Law, which forced the Supreme Court to trample Florida's decision, and wanting to cultivate a culture of life?

Well, the autopsy is in, and it says her brain was shrivelled to half a normal person's brain size, and she was blind. No recovery from that type of thing - at least in the pathologist's point of view. And all the politicians gnashing the teeth back then are ducking for cover now.

Not enough time to do further comment on this one, but just wanted to do a quick heads up update kind of thing.

Paul

Something Funny To Start

Funny misunderstanding due to crackly line at work moment of the day - customer rings in, I hear Rina Scorcese (perhaps a lawyer's firm?), and on further investigation of the account, realise it is Rheem Australia LOL. Customer one, Pauly nil :)

You know what, I realised earlier today that with all the upgrading of this blog site, that, with a few more additions and changes, this place is actually a good home page for me. It has everything I need, all in one place (now why else did I put all my favourite websites to the side LOL, because I am popular and the BBC and Guardian need more readers? Yeah right LOL), even the Brisbane weather and such. And how long has it taken me to discover this, about two months of blog remodelling perhaps? Blog one, Pauly nil...

Hmm, even though I am getting inured (if I have used the right word) to the disaster that is Iraq, it still makes me sad when the news of the violence over there filters through. And, sad to say, Westerners dying over there makes more impact on me than Iraqis - must remedy that inbuilt racism or whatever it is. If anyone has been reading my blog for any length of time, you know I am very much a one person is equal to any other person thing, so reading of five American deaths today shouldn't affect me any more than the thirty five Iraqis reported dead yesterday. But it does, and that annoys me for some reason.

And for some unknown reason, Australia as a country continues to be extremely lucky out of this whole Iraq thing. No soldiers dead over there, well apart from one Australian who was seconded to the British RAF, and yesterday hostage Douglas Wood surviving the captivity and rescue (how many times have we seen hostage situations go horribly wrong, Beslan anyone?), and with Howard in Canberra being able to say we don't negotiate, we don't pay ransoms. Congratulations all around to everyone involved, but all I can think is lucky, lucky, lucky...

Hmm, I can't seem to get into the latest series of Amazing Race (the one with Rob and Amber from Survivor in it) as much as I did last series. I dunno what it is, I'm just too easily distracted, or there isn't anyone I like in it, or, alternately, no one I am interested in watching even if they are bastards LOL - for any North Americans who might be a bit ahead of us, indeed if the season has actually finished or something, tonight they are in safari country, whether Botswana or Kenya or whatever, I'm not sure. Giraffes running, and elephants passing by and all, very pretty...

Maybe a bit more in a bit :)
Pauly

News Putting A Grin On My Face

'The architect of the EU's proposed constitution, Valery Giscard d'Estaing, has told the New York Times he believed Mr Chirac was to blame for the French "No".

He said it was a crucial mistake to send every French voter a copy of the 448-article document which was "not possible for anyone to understand" in full.'

Well, it's obvious isn't it - you can't trust voters making an informed decision when the decision should have been rubber stamped for them LOL. Umm, Monsieur, surely the problem was putting together a 448 page constitution in the first place? If no one can understand it in full, then what was the point of putting it together? Streamlining the EU pfft yeah right.

And the debate over the British rebate or French agricultural subsidies, surely common sense would say to scrap both of them? And I can't believe I posted such an inane, bureaucratic and boring question on my blog LOL. Boring yes I know I can do, but EU subsidy boring? Aargh!

And here was another story I spotted that made me grin - as the US sends troops over to Iraq to be shot at and shoot back and beat up locals and all in all do a manly job about everything, their North American neighbours (the ones north of the 49th parallel) have just had their first gay wedding - ohhh canadaaaa indeed :)

Grr, even though I'm not as fanatic about State of Origin as I used to be, it still is annoying for NSW to be this far ahead with twenty minutes to play (26 to 12) and for fecks sake, I don't need to hear Phil Gould's take on it. And yes, I can give credit to Andrew Johns having a good game, but doesn't he look about forty five or something LOL.

More in a bit
Pauly

Recent Big Brother

This was a comment on another, more BB-orientated, blog, but it's been a while since I have vented about Big Brother, so while post here verbatim :)

'Not sure about the whole Australian education system myself, but Christie on the daily show today saying she doesn't 'get' Kate - hmm, the game is at the middle part of the season where you want most of the housemates to go, but you understand it has to be done in an order. My order currently is Rachael, Dean, Christy for the next three weeks. With Hotdogs as a wild card.

Kate is going to win cos she is the only nice, genuine, non lefty threatening to the average Australian person in the house. Am a bit worried about Tim hanging out too much with the macho boys - don't worry about your muscles boy, worry about your brain - I know all the braindead conversations must be taking their toll, but be strong, Timmy :)

And yes, I was sickened with Gretel's attempt on Sunday and Monday night to give a sainthood to Michelle. Yeah, Glenn is a prick, but it takes two to tango, 'oh, I'll just wander around the rewards room in a gstring, Glenn made me do everything' - yeah, right lady.

Maybe Gretel is snide towards Tim more than the other boys because she's still traumatised by somewhat politically minded Merlin from last season. Boys with brains, oh mi god, we can't have that in the big brother house.

And yes, I have noticed that she does the mock moral outrage thing well, when she is really really revelling in the smut that is Glenn, Michelle and Uncut. Did anyone else get reminded of Bill Clinton denying he had sex with Monica Lewinsky when Michelle said, 'I did not have sex in the house'? Could anyone else hear an echo of Slick Willy adding 'with that woman'?

Oh no, showing my brain, better get my dick out and tease Tim about being a weakling and Greg about being gay. Geez.

But thank you for the opportunity to vent a bit about Big Brother - it's been a while :)'

True Patriot Love, In All Thy Sons Command

OK, that's about three lines into the Canadian national anthem, but I am sure I have titled a couple of blog entries 'Oh Canada' already LOL. Just referring to the highlight of my day - speaking to a girl over in Perth wanting to put in a phone order (bleah, work intrudes and all), and was complex so was on the phone for about twenty minutes. That accent, man, it's like honey :)

And then after I did the wrap up of 'any consultant can help you if you have any further queries' the customer said 'but I want to talk to you!' - I can just imagine the girly grin on the other end of the phone as she was saying that. So briefly diverted into a bit of socialising (or as I like to call it, growing the brand of my company LOL), and asked whether she was a Canuck. Responded in the affirmative - just the small things, like pronouncing 'ou' as 'oo' - lol I am sure you have all seen the South Park movie, aboot indeed. She said she was from Saskatchewan, and I said I had been in Saskatoon in the middle of winter a time or two LOL - and yes, she was a very good friend :)

The customer was originally from a small town outside of Saskatoon, population about five hundred or so. And then I had to be professional again and actually leave the phone call, dammit - although she did get my surname, which perhaps only one in twenty customers get :)

Aargh, that accent! Delicious! Left me with a smile for the rest of the day - got that call about/aboot an hour and a half before end of shift, so wasn't too long with the manic smile LOL.

And I think I mentioned yesterday how I am noticing other workmates more? How the place has a more organic feel to it, as if it is it's own organism rather than me just turning up and clocking out - or am I explaining it right? Or maybe I am just happy to see newer workmates. Maybe it is that I am focussing less on just LDU and SGR and casting my hi/bye and smile towards that person net a bit wider - had a good convo with KLA at morning tea today, for starters... or have I made no sense whatsoever :)

And now for the next two hours the wonder of State of Origin, biggest sporting event in this part of the world. Wellington lost to the Lions tonight in the REAL rugby code LOL.

More later
Pauly

New! Improved! Comments!!

Hey all, just a quick one to say that we have a new comment feature, and so easy to get as well, just one first born or one soul over the course of half a minute registering at Haloscan (shameless plug LOL), and you too can comment without registering to the gods of Blogger :)

And even has a ping mechanism if anyone ever writes about you in their own webpage or blog - cold day in hell before that happens for me, I am sure :)

Just had V on the phone before, close to falling apart. She doesn't want another important person in her life to go, but she feels that if she can't keep her best friend, then what chance does she have with a long distance relationship. Both our gut instincts in situations like that is to curl inwards like hedgehogs, but after I loosened the defensiveness a bit, I did my best to reassure her. Of course, that is all I can ever do, my best, but sometimes it just seems too hard.

Anyways, welcome to new comments land people - hope this opens the floodgates of comments - FINALLY LOL.

Nitey nite
Pauly

And The Day Was Going So Well...

I had a good day at work. I did. It doesn't happen too often, but what with the social setting, and the comfort level of those around me (truly, I had girls in the next partition talking about period pain LOL), and this sense of feeling of being something bigger than just me and work - due no doubt to me socialising on Friday - SWA may be gone, but it's onto another phase of my social life at work I guess - I just had a good vibe going on, especially as the afternoon wore on into the evening.

And then I get home. The usual brainless start to the evening with Big Brother - and didn't Michelle's denial of sex in the Big Brother house on Uncut last night remind you of Bill Clinton denying having sex with 'that woman... Monica Lewinsky'? Or was that just me? And then Mum on the phone to a workmate, and then V finally getting through and thinking I was online tarting around instead of playing a WW2 simulation. And the conversation didn't improve from there, grrr.

And then my first comment in the blog for about two weeks or so came in, saying that if V is important to me I don't mention her enough in here, and that I am much more wrapped up in SGR or LHO or even K?? Hmm, the only time I have mentioned the latter in the last two weeks I think was in my dream yesterday, and god who knows what my subconscious is EVER on about. And as for 'I never seem to mention much of V', for the last four or five trips or holidays I have had, I have been either to see her or be visited by her. Hmmph.

Just feeling like have been kicked in the stomach tonight. How dare I be accused of tarting around online, or not mentioning V enough? SGR is eye candy, and has a boyfriend, K is on the other side of the world, and LHO is a good friend. Just get the feeling I had when K went off at me for reading MY personal emails, or when V tried to fake me out in chatrooms - wondering when the next ambush will be...

That comment was an anonymous one, so yeah, paranoia reigns as the wheels turn over in my head at the moment.

Later peeps
Paul

One Day In Iraq

Am just reading the news headlines from Iraq, at the Iraq Coalition Casualties website, and am just thinking, this is a country the size of California with a similar population to Australia, and it is very depressing to just read the chaos over there.

'Air strikes in Iraq leave 40 insurgents dead' - 'Kidnapped French reporter freed in Iraq' - 'UK memo to question postwar plan' - 'Army investigated as criminal the deaths of two Guardsmen in Iraq' - 'Carbomb injures 4 near Slovak Embassy in Baghdad' - 'Iraqis find 20 bodies bound and shot in head'...

And on and on it goes. Yes, it is a big country, and I suppose there are calm bits of it, but really, if Sydney and Brisbane and Melbourne were in a state of siege, but Perth and Adelaide were OK, it would still be a national problem rather than just a regional or city based one. I thought I heard on the news this morning as I was waking up that the US is considering bringing the draft back in. Now there have been those rumours around for months, but when the ABC has it on in the morning, the most serious news time of the day LOL, you know it's finally broken in the mainstream media...

Later peeps
Pauly

Overtime Monday

Public holiday here in Queensland, and in six of the other seven states or territories in Australia, but because Western Australia had their June holiday last week, and us being a national call centre at work, hmm, guess which muggins had to go into work today. But despite the whole thing of the streets of Brisbane being deserted, and the struggle of getting into town for a 10am start (kidding, just the motivation was a struggle), it will be worth it in a couple weeks when the paycheque hits the bank balance.

But god it was dead - we were doing email work, and were close to running out of that even, and Western Australia telecoms company request wise was very quiet as well - I took on average a call an hour. By 3pm, three hours before the 'day' ended, they were asking for people to bail to cut down on the overtime bill - there wasn't enough to keep us occupied. I bailed, and was happy to have worked some time up :)

Not much else has happened personally today - am having my third go of being the Germans in World War Two in the game Hearts of Iron. First scenario my blitz of France got bogged down, second go, I invaded Poland before the Poles signed up to France and Britain helping them out, but then had the Soviets whomp me (I did take Moscow though, just like Napoleon I couldn't keep it LOL). Third go around I won't invade Poland, and see if that makes the Soviets the bad guys :)

And yes, my afternoon and early evening was that sad - once I get into a computer game I don't let up for a few weeks, months. Had Big Brother on in the background earlier (rolling my eyes here at the mock moral majority tone of the show regards Michelle the saint and Glenn the devil, but Gretel revels in that sort of thing - the whole one raised eyebrow, grr LOL), and have caught up with a couple of weeks of taped Desperate Housewives...

And hmm, it has been about two weeks since I mentioned the international news - truthfully I have been in a bit of a flat patch, and haven't really been taking in what are on the BBC, Guardian and New York Times web frontpages. And tonight I have wandered in, and am spoilt for choice aargh.

Whether to choose the Paris Air Show, where the Airbus A380 did a perfect landing - or the bitching about the UK rebate to the EU finances (ah, how French, to find another thing to blame rather than yourselves about that referendum result) - or the US congressional review of the UN, which surprise surprise says the First Avenue organisation is incompetent, and could do with a corporate style of governance (after all, it worked so well for Enron, and the whole Beltway is sooo run like an efficient corporation itself LOL). Choices, choices, and I'm back in the mood for some hard hitting international media coverage.

Sport, and the Maori beat the Lions in the latest tour match, first time since the first Lions v Maori match back in 1930 - although it's about the first time the Maori have had the first pick of any players they want, even over the All Blacks. Hmm, all for extending the experience levels of fringe players etc, but that is just ridiculous. And Ferrari got onto the podium in Montreal last night, yay, Michael second, Rubens third (behind Kimi) - polesetter Button crashed out, and both Renaults retired - what a shame LOL.

Okies, that's enough for now - will spot you all again tomorrow :)
Pauly

Miscellany

Hmm, start with the most recent, and chop and change around from there. Have just posted the Mr and Mrs Smith review - mmm, Angelina, but really, it was quite a PG movie - if you take away the guns and bullets and bombs and leather corsets LOL. No nude scenes dammit, but a movie that had a lot of buzz around it (rather than the different thing of hype) and after seeing it, is a very nice buzz. Lots of fun to watch :)

And even though it turned out to be more a guns and explosions movie than naked people movie, I definitely chose the movie this week with my groin rather than my head. If it was a head choice, it would have been The Assassination of Richard Nixon, even though I'm not much of a Sean Penn fan - Jude Law didn't need defending at the Oscars dude, get a sense of humour LOL.

So yeah, went down to Chermside to catch the movie - wandered past the pub there (Gilhooley's perhaps? One of those faux Irish places anyways), ducked my head in, and they had the Mike Tyson boxing match on. Pretty sad really, he's forty something and he's still fighting, it would be OK if he was still any good, but even though I didn't see much more than half a round, and he was giving as good as he was getting, it was still sad to watch. In a poor pathetic kind of way. And this was even before I saw the post match interviews where he was saying he was only doing it for the money and his heart wasn't in it anymore. How the mighty have fallen.

And for an Australian angle on the whole thing, when the hell did Jeff Fenech get involved with Mike Tyson? Oh mi god, another pathetic angle to the whole thing - for any non-Australians, Jeff Fenech was a middling to good boxer in the mid eighties, still has a big mouth though, and was talking about himself in the third person in the interview today - rolling eyes here :)

And then was lunch - now, was trying to steer clear of the whole KFC McDonald's Burger King (or as it is known here, Hungry Jacks) evil troika, and hmm saw New York Fries, and saw the poutine. Canada's addition to world cuisine indeed (had also been listening to Barenaked Ladies earlier in the day, so was very Canucked up - too bad about the hockey this season though, eh?), and hmm, I'm not so sure Quebeckers have melted mozzarella cheese in mind when you are supposed to put the curds on? But it melted well enough under the hot gravy - hmm, and then as I took it to the food court, thought, man, I should have brought a fork for this LOL. And then also subsequently thought, geez, I don't even want to KNOW how many calories I just consumed, chips, cheese and gravy LOL. Might have to ask SGR if she knows of poutine, she's always into the chips and gravy thing :)

You know that the (northern) summer movie blockbusters are around the corner when going to see Mr and Mrs Smith you catch previews to War of the Worlds, Batman Begins and Fantastic Four. Guess I will be putting my arty or message movie brain to rest for a month or two then LOL - despite what I think of Tom Cruise currently - I didn't see the Oprah interview, as half the water cooler crowd I hang with seem to have, but phrase mid life crisis comes up big time LOL - Katie Holmes is cute, I will give you that though, but hmm - anyways, despite what I think of Tom Cruise personally, War of the Worlds looks like an event movie in the best of ways. We will see though.

He still has lots of credit in the 'bank' though, what with Top Gun, A Few Good Men, Jerry Maguire, Magnolia etc etc etc...

Remind me to do a review for the Machinist again by the way LOL.

Hmm, stuff earlier in the week, where is that post it note LOL. Oh yes, my mother read the entry that is titled on here 'Written On The Train' - I had left my notebook (paper, not the laptop meaning of the word) open at the computer desk on that page, signed off 'I guess I may need to see a shrink again'. And yes, that intrigued her enough to read it. Hmmph, hate it when things I don't intend to have read leak out like that. Although she has a phrase for me, all these issues I spoke of earlier in the week, I always come up with mouthfuls of sand (by putting my head in there LOL). Grr anyways at the whole reading a diary entry thing.

On another family front, the sister is due to be back here within three weeks or so, is sick of flatting with her friend and wants to get out. No doubt in another six months she will be sick of things here again and be climbing the walls to get out, that's about the timeframe LOL - although if she wants to eventually head overseas, as she has been thinking the last hmm four or five years, she will have to have a couple of years of saving at home...

Oh, had my first real conversation with LHO umm Thursday night. I don't think the phrase deep and meaningful is used unless deep issues and meaningful topics come up, was one of those what's off the top of my mind convos - but it was enjoyable, and always good to be able to talk at normal speed rather than fasten up and slow down for your thought to typing speed conversion rates. The blog actually featured quite a lot, she can't believe how open I am with everything. Hey, everything is in code, so there is a level of plausible deniability about it all LOL.

And of course, I asked whether the writing style was OK or good or excellent or whatever. All us bloggers are just frustrated writers I am sure, so any tips are always great - LHO said with my writing, she can imagine she is in the situation next to me, she gets good visuals out of it, so surely that is a good thing? And another thing, to comment you apparently have to be Blogger registered, so will go searching for a non domain specific comments program - you know how much I love my feedback. Haloscan perhaps, any other suggestions?

Oh, and another flashback to Friday night, the girls saying how well SGR wears tight sweaters. And even though I am in plausible deniability land, I will shut up on that topic from there I think LOL.

Oh, and just a couple of dream impressions from this morning. I am in London with K. I know I am in London because we are gallivanting around the Underground (although I'm fairly sure there isn't a Victory Line, I felt as if I was on the Jubilee), and when we are aboveground, there are three planes that I can see in the air overhead - mmm, London, was so comforting to hear 747's always overhead - remember the day of Diana's funeral, how eerie it was that central London was a no fly zone. And just had a thought that some of the younger readers probably don't know which Diana I am referring to, hmm LOL. When we were above ground, in the dream, we were in a huge garden, maybe Hyde Park or Regents Park or something - another London trait, even though we were in parklands, it was still foggy smoggy :) Ah, London, another place I miss to bits :)

And kinda strange that K was in the dream hmm. Another dream I had last week was the only thing I can remember is most of my right hand upper teeth falling out. What on earth does that mean, to dream that LOL.

I was going to write a bit about Big Brother, but really, hmm, it's turning into car crash television of the worst sort. And there wasn't actual sexual intercourse in the house on Friday night, 'only' umm fondling of the body parts, that's about as coy as I can get away with it I think LOL. And surely they could have been more subtle with Michelle on the eviction stage than saying well, yes, Glenn may have fondled your bits, but here he is kissing Geneva, and here he is about to crack onto Kate. Surely the bloody details of the whole thing could have been told to Michelle when she was immediately off stage, rather than have her raw emotions play out for all to see - she is out of the house now, there is no need to further manipulate her. Grrr.

There was another thing floating back to me from Friday, but I can't remember it at this stage. Hmm, will come back to me sometime, or be reminded to me no doubt. Am into work tomorrow, even though all of Australia is on holiday except for Western Australia - overtime and all, but SHOULD be really quiet. And a later start as well, so no rush to get in.

Pauly

Mr and Mrs Smith

Usually your reviewer puts a lot of thought into the movie choice of the week, but this week he went with gut instinct (or perhaps lower), had low to middling expectations but was very pleasantly surprised with the result.

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie star as John and Jane Smith, married for five, perhaps six years. John is a gut instinct kind of guy, who makes plans up on the spot, works out of a dockside warehouse (albeit with a Manhattan view), and is basically a bit of a slob. Jane, on the other hand, is a meticulous planner, is over-fussy about the way her household runs, and works in an all female office with décor similar to the X-Men headquarters.

We could go into the plot, but suffice to say the marriage has hit a calm spot - going to a marriage counselor with an upper middle class setting, reminded me somewhat of particular characters out of Desperate Housewives. Oh, and they still don’t know each other is a top international assassin. Don’t ask how they haven’t found that out yet, it is not important to the enjoyment of the moment. As would probably happen with any further discussion of the plot.

Vince Vaughn does his usual quick talking sidekick role as well as ever (in this case, as Pitt’s boss), and Adam Brody from TV’s ‘The OC’ has more than a few lines as well. Apart from those two, the other characters all fit into one of two categories, either cannon fodder or cute girl in black. Yes, let’s not think too deeply about character development either, put it in the same box as the plot shall we?

The strengths of this movie are the action set pieces and the sly sense of humour throughout, sometimes combined in the same scene, such as the extended car chase, beginning and ending with ‘Making Love, Out Of Nothing At All’.

Or, after doing a mark each early in the movie, heading to the Coleman’s for a neighbourly ‘thing’ to the strains of Amy Grant’s ‘Baby Baby’ – the look on Jolie’s face when she holds a baby as if it is an alien is priceless. Continuing the music theme, stopping in the middle of a huge gun battle to take refuge in a lift, with ‘The Girl From Ipanema’ as background muzak, is another delicious moment.

There are just too many of these moments to put together a full list – do I include the dinner where they realize each other’s secret life, every bite analyzed for ulterior motives? Or do I leave out Pitt’s reaction to his toys taken away in a moment of Jolie spite (every man in the cinema sympathizing completely, I am sure). And on it goes, what to mention what to omit.

The comedy highpoint, however, has to be Brody wearing a Fight Club t-shirt. Took me straight back to Pitt discussing the rules in that earlier movie (‘rule one, there is no fight club, rule two, there is no fight club’), and again, he plays the role of Mr Smith with a grin on his face and an ease everyone can see. Actually, everyone looks like they are enjoying themselves in this movie.

Come for the sex appeal, stay for the laughs and action. Not since Bad Boys has there been such a laugh out loud, fun, entertaining time at the movies – best action comedy of the decade thus far.

A Cyber Post It Note

Pauly -

For tomorrow's entry, please remember to mention the conversation with LHO on Thursday, how she commented about your blog and writing style; also, check out comment sites, apparently only Blogger registered people can currently comment, and we all know how you love your feedback.

Also to note, your mother reading about the only diary entry you have down on paper that isn't travel related in about the past three years, and it ended with 'maybe it's time to see a shrink again' - doh! Also family related, your sister said she may be moving back to the parents again.

Big Brother, Glenn, Michelle and the fact that the sex or intimation of possibility of it is getting bigger than the actual bitchiness and arguing that we all know and love the show for really (what, you mean it's just me with that idea?). Now, the question on NBO and PFO's lips last night, is SGR hot or not - and yes, we all know you tried to palm off the question Pauly, 'she has a boyfriend anyways' indeed LOL.

The ongoing argument between V and her former best friend, APU.

Now, if only I could colour this in so it could be yellow like a real post it note LOL.

My Head Is Still Ringing

Went out last night, had a few drinks. Wasn't really in the mood to have a Friday night thing after the week I had had, but came in to the news that SWA was leaving - oh, amend that to has left, as she is going to the opposition, so frogmarched out on Thursday while I was at home.

Work itself was really good actually - I tried to make sure I wasn't making any mistakes, made the phone calls longer on average, but hmm, those errors are really pissing me off LOL - not the people that send them, because they are just doing the reporting, but the people that actually pick up such pathetic things - oh, typing mistake, let's make that an official error bleah. No, better not go down that track again. And enjoyed my time at work as well - a couple of my team mates who I haven't really spoken to seem to have good opinions of me, even though I think I keep to myself, so that is always nice as well.

De-stressed enough on the Thursday for another month or two of normal everydays, perhaps. And it helps that I have one of the better social groupings within talking distance on the floor, SGR and KRE were in fine form, LDU having leave for the Queen's Birthday weekend and not in yesterday. No, not that there is anything wrong with LDU, but just this week she has been particularly loud (in attitude, if you know what I mean).

So yes, SWA has left the building. My first thought basically was 'oh no, there's my drinking buddy gone', because truly, if there is a drink to be had at work for me, it was either SWA's or my idea LOL. And half of my original intake have gone to greener pastures, hmm, there are still four others left, but the fun half of the group has gone - like the remaining group is fine, but not really anyone I would really socialise with. Well, MCU, but she's keeping to herself more around me ever since the interviews and conversions.

Started, as it usually does, at The Orient. Sigh. It is the work local, but hmm, I sometimes wish the starting point for these evenings could just be a smidgeon classier LOL. And yes, I know I sound like a snob there, but really, there is something about the place that makes it a leaver rather than a stayer or maybe just stay for a couple of drinks then go home or something. And yes, there have been nights there that I have been there for hours - but think that was more to do with the company than anything, eh MGO (who was my eye candy at work until she left a few months ago to go overseas). I know that KBR hates the place with a passion LOL, but still she does turn up occasionally.

So yeah, last night hmm, SWA and a few of the others (JCO, GCA, PPE) were there when I got off shift at twenty to six, SWA had been drinking since 4ish I think. She hadn't had anything to do with the day, and I did see her downstairs in the park when I had my ten minutes of fresh air for afternoon tea, and she said she was heading off to the pub in ten to fifteen minutes (at quarter to four, geez I can do maths LOL). Had some sleepy live jazz music in one corner that SWA said had been going on forever, and if I remember correctly they were still playing when we left, about three hours later LOL - probably the same song actually.

In the other corner of the pub, they had the rugby going, the ABs versus Fiji - by the time I turned up it was already 35 nil, so it wasn't as if it was much of a contest, or much of a warm up for the Lions next week. But it is always good to see rugby on television - the TV rights for the next five years were signed and sealed earlier in the week I think, and STILL no free to air channel picked up the Super 14 - Foxtel must be rubbing their hands, I read that they are getting huge growth in the viewership for this year's Super 12. I remember it was partially being sick of wandering down to the pub to watch live rugby that got me to get Sky back home, am tempted to do something similar here...

Was good to see it at Albany as well - have been past North Harbour stadium, hmm, takes me back to an internet person meeting that didn't go so well. Of course, I shouldn't have tried doing the visit thing two weeks after I had been dumped by H - I tried to keep things on a level footing, but eh, emotional scars showed through hugely after ten minutes of being in Auckland. And then the night we were on the North Shore, this girl who I had gone to visit, that I had been flirting on and off with for a couple months beforehand, drooled over this bouncer at the pub while I felt soooo stupid (not for the first time in my life, but there you go). Moral of the story is don't try to pick up two weeks after a shattering break up LOL.

Anyways, all that back story, and we haven't even got to my first drink of the night last night. Which was a Stella Artois by the way - was thinking that if I drank from bottles maybe I would drink less over the course of the night. At this stage I was only going for a couple of beers to see SWA off, but still, I was trying to be responsible even then. One of the guys from the other team we have recently merged with was also going, so there was a fairly good turn out from the floor - SGR also was in the pub, but she left before the two groups merged.

But the icing on the cake, which meant that I would stay out longer more than just one or two, was that LBL and JOC turned up - having left the company over the course of about the last six months, was the first time I had seen them since they left - well, OK, I lie, I did bump into JOC a couple of months ago, but apart from that, and LBL I haven't seen at all since her leaving - I thought she was back down in Canberra actually, until MCU had mentioned going out with her a couple of weeks ago - or maybe it was SWA mentioning something that MCU had said, like I said, MCU has closed up a bit around me lately.

And halfway through my second Stella I was thinking maybe I should have been on the Hahn Light instead - was starting to go to my head, and I hadn't eaten - hmm, and the others had already had the obligatory plate of chips, so I didn't have anything at the Orient. Oh, also spotted LNE, the team leader I kinda maybe sorta have a crush on, at another table, but wasn't sure how to approach the group she was with.

Was good to do the catching up with 'the old gang', but precious little news that I heard - LBL is a receptionist at one of the Queensland state government departments, JOC just had a couple of weeks back home in the UK, with a funny I lost my mother's mobile phone story - some guy the morning after the phone had been nicked sent a lewd message (lewd being an understatement) to everyone on the phone's address book/list. JOC got called on her landline during the course of that day with people thinking she had sent a message to her partner but had pushed send all - hmm, just imagine her mother's customers and such if they were on the list :) Oh, and MCU had seen Mr and Mrs Smith, that new Angelina Jolie movie (which will probably be what I watch tomorrow at the movies). Yeah, not much that is actually news per se.

Wandered down to Fortitude Valley, the Royal George, always a nice easy going kind of stage of the night there. Had started on jugs by this stage (so much for the bottle only thing, Pauly), and I actually commented that 'it's jug time I guess' and SWA said 'well, we are drinking with the gang, what else ever happens'. LNE and her group had come down and were sitting at the table behind us, so MDA (one of the trainers we had for like a week, has gone onto Sales for the moment) came over and chatted to SWA and myself, while MCU, LBL and JOC were doing the catching up squealing and hugging thing LOL. Very pretty girl, MDA, but so much out of my league.

The highlight of the evening of course was having a quick chat to LNE, with SWA leaving and all she asked whether I was thinking of it as well. I said of course not, out of all the people at my table, I was the only one who got permanent, and also actually the only boy hmm. Said that I would of course be keen to go upstairs to her team, but not as keen bean as KPH, LNE rolled her eyes as she recounted the endless number of emails LOL. She said that when she recruits, she didn't want people new to the company, she wanted to get people from inside - said that it wouldn't happen soon with the whole attrition drive to get some numbers cut for the next month or so (or was that with another person I was saying that particular thing to?).

PMG was sitting with LNE and made the somewhat embarrassing statement that the last time I was out with both of them, JPH's 25th birthday and all, that I was noticing the birthday girl's umm breasts. Quick talked my way out of that one by saying well they were rather prominent, to which PMG said yeah, she must have been wearing tape that night - hmm, I can't remember the night THAT well actually, was just saying something to move right along. But yeah, was a good night, PMG was saying that I was quite the dance fiend, and didn't ruin my chances of another invite at all out with them all I don't think... perhaps LOL. Now, I think I have said hi to JPH again since then, she didn't seem weird at all. My LNE moment for the night :)

JOC had buggered off without telling me, and MCU and LBL also were doing the goodbye things. SWA and myself last of our group, as fucking usual LOL, and for a final drink, she was thinking of bailing, I bought us both a bourb and coke - doubles from the taste of the drink. Just as we were settling into the drink, UPE came along, from work as well, one of the ones that has transferred to my floor who I have flirted with in the past (giving as good as I was getting let me tell you) and said there's a group of us going to another pub, you wanna come with? We of course said yes, sculled our drinks (hmm...) and headed after UPE.

Who also had MGR, LMA, PMG, KLA and SSU in tow. There was SMG and LNE in front of us, but we ducked into a bar and let them wander on ahead (probably to New York Slice, damn I still hadn't had any food at that stage grrr). SWA had a look around the bar - quite funky futuristic, think A Clockwork Orange milkbar with red lights, and non female in sexual pose tables - SWA had a quick look around and decided to bail. I decided I wanted to spend some socialising time with these 'newbies' so said a quick goodbye, hug and all - was thinking the appropriate goodbye would be at Brunswick St station, the times I've got her home and such, but not to be :)

So yes, proceeded to have a couple of beers and get to know these strange people LOL. By this stage of the night, yes, I had drunk enough that I had to concentrate on people speaking (no, not as bad as I probably made it sound, but with loud music, and the fuzziness of the conversations, anyone who has been a bit more than tipsy knows what I mean). We wandered on to another bar on Ann Street, but weren't allowed in because the (female) bouncer said I had had too much to drink - grr, I hate that, it takes me back to the days when I was 19 and was refused entry, my brother being six inches taller and such getting spirits from the bottle store at 15 - I was ready to bail for the night, didn't want to be a downer on the others, but they said they could find another bar.

Oh, and by this stage, SMG and MDA had found us again - one of those nights where all of Brisbane just seemed to be background to a dozen people perhaps, finding and refinding them continually over the night. Made me think of movies such as Swingers or Go, if you have seen those movies you will know what I mean - or perhaps an extended version of a sitcom episode, where you can imagine that New York city exists only as a background for these six friends in huge cheap apartments on chef or paleontologist wages LOL.

So we wandered into the Port Office Hotel, had a quick couple of beers there, bought UPE a couple of cokes, she wasn't drinking - hmm, and I was there or thereabouts with my drunken bum status LOL, hope I was OKish enough. After saying goodbye to SMG, PMG and MDA we then headed over to the Wickham, where the third subgroup of the evening had headed to. So it was hello to NBO, PFO and LBU - one of the team leaders, along with JPH (blush, if I was indeed drunkenly leering at her tits LOL), who interviewed me for the permanent conversions.

By this stage of the night I was happy enough without alcohol, so was OK for the time it took for us to get there, for them to mingle a bit, and then for most of them to head off - got hugs from KLA, LMA (hmm, she actually talked to ME specifically for the first time ever earlier yesterday at work, and then suddenly I'm one of the gang - I wrote about a drinks thing she organised about a month ago, if you remember correctly) and UPE, the others also headed off, leaving only NBO, PFO and myself.

Bought a pint for each of us to finish the night off with, had a good chat with them both - PFO is the person who generates the error reports, so she did know my name lol, but by that stage of the night I was fine with the world in general, error reports so what - it seems to be a tough job, getting abuse from people - when I do send things back, it's either just queries, or an I've fixed that up thing. NBO is interesting as well, and got to share the ride home on the train with her, she gets off two stations before me, and what was she saying to the guys on the train, hmm I can't remember, whatever it was had the whole carriage in stitches though. Has a nice smile, and is kinda sorta pretty, hard to describe hmm. But is good value, at least last night.

Oh, and hmm, lucky we were sitting at one of the tables outside the Wickham, I think through my alcoholic haze I saw in the window a drag queen revue - and I heard a snippet of conversation at the table that the Wickham was a gay bar? Not that there's anything wrong with that LOL, but V's friend would take a dim view of even that little snippet of information, Pauly was at a gay bar :)

As long as they don't try to convert me, I am fine with that whole aspect of human expression and society and such.

So yeah, got home at 1 this morning, woke up at 7.15 or so (why can I never sleep in after drinking??), and had a throbbing head. Yes, only myself to blame. When I checked the wallet, I hadn't spent as much as that night out with JPH, LNE and PMG, but considering that all I had to eat last night was a pack of cheese and onion chips at Brunswick Street station, hmm, I'm not in a beer mood today LOL.

Lots more to write about the week just gone, but think I will leave it here for now - I hate making the entries too huge to read, and this one is another Tolstoy War and Peace length one. And may do that extra entry or two about the past week tomorrow as well, eyes are on stalks here...

Pauly