Yum
Tempo. It must have made their day when ten of us tramped in off Degraves Street, followed by mild panic when no table proved quite big enough to accomodate us. But we managed to squeeze in somehow. The chef probably reacted with some incredulity when faced with seven orders for the Lasagne, whose reputation preceded ... [More]
Sunday evening, 6pm. In the supermarket. Two blokes staring up at the bewildering choice of bottles of olive oil. “How on earth are you meant to choose one?” “There’s only 5 million up there, I don’t know what the problem is.” My reply got a chuckle, and I went back to staring up at them ... [More]
An onion. Just an onion. A brown onion. That was the request. A Friday night, dark, and cold, no car available. Had it come to this: cast out to trudge through the inky blackness, in the rain, at the mercy of Footscray’s cesspit of villains? Nah. It wasn’t that bad. I ensured my winter layers ... [More]
Went out to lunch with some colleagues, to some little place off Collins Street. Honey chicken, mixed vegetables and fried rice. And an orange juice. $8.90. Gave $20 to the girl, and she came back with change totalling $19.10. Something obviously went wrong there. Gave her a $5 note back, before realising later that I ... [More]
Okay, three doonas is too much. Might keep me warm on a cold night, but I can’t damn-well move under the weight of them. The third doona is relegated to the cupboard, and I went and bought some flannelette sheets instead. Meanwhile, you know that things are getting desperate in the public education sector when ... [More]
While some were at the footy on Friday night, Marita and I went to a truly excellent (new?) restaurant at Docklands — Renzo’s Bar. Utterly delicious food, and not expensive in the grand scheme of things — $61 for two, including an entree and some drinks, but no dessert or coffees because we were due ... [More]
Winter is coming. And I have conclusive proof. a) Last night I was freezing my arse off in the kitchen while on a phone call, and vowed to seek out a new battery for the cordless phone, so I can make calls from the comfort of my superheated livingroom. Or from my double-doona-covered bed. Either ... [More]
Zoomed down the freeway to Kathy & Gary’s housewarming on Saturday afternoon. A very nice house, impressively huge, reminiscent of a Viking hall perhaps. That is, a big central living/dining/cooking/study area, high ceiling and a lot of wood involved. Maybe they’ll invite all their friends back there for a spirited sing around the fire after ... [More]
I have an oversupply of cream cheese. I don’t mind cream cheese on occasions. A week or two ago I was wandering idly through the supermarket and picked up a tub. I’ve dabbed it onto a piece of toast or two. I might just get through it before it expires. Yesterday at Parliament Station as ... [More]
Tardy: The arrival of dishes on the table in the Thai restaurant on Friday night. Superb when they arrived, but boy, you know something’s gone wrong when the entree is the last thing that turns up. Sharp: Maisie The Dog’s claws, in her enthusiasm to greet me when visiting, which went into my wrist and ... [More]
When you’re out to dinner in a group at a nice restaurant… and you get the bill… and the organiser says she’ll pay the balance of whatever everyone else puts in, as she’s also paying for others who had to leave early… and everyone else decides to put in $30 each — which is a ... [More]
I left my mobile phone at home. Why? It’s a long story I’ll elaborate on later. But how will I survive? I feel almost naked. No SMS. No wondering around the office and the city having conversations. It’s like a flashback to ten years ago. Oh well, I’m sure I’ll live. 9:45pm. Actually it’s not ... [More]
It started with a little rain, gushing down the sides of the train. When we got to the next stop, in the sudden quiet you could hear it hitting the window, and people began to look up from their newspapers and books. It was pouring down in almost a surreal manner, making ripples on the ... [More]
Hot and totally unsubstantiated rumour is that Cadbury are thinking of altering their Australian chocolate recipe, making it sweeter to bring it into line with their UK and European operations. Damn globalisation. I like it the way it is, and on this Australia Day, I call on all right-thinking Aussies to march on Parliament to ... [More]
Not that I critically had to be in at a particular time, but I did arrive later than intended at work this morning. I could have blamed the late train. I could have blamed the previous train that I just missed. I could have blamed the crowds of tourists walking slowly in the arcade from ... [More]
The coffee industry is huge these days. Gone are the times when ordering a coffee meant a polystyrene cup full of vaguely coffee-flavoured brown gloop. These days you have to look hard to find that gloop. No, in the western world’s big cities in the 21st century, there is a world of choice, there are ... [More]