My old uni buddy Brian recently emailed through a copy of a photo from graduation day at Monash Uni, from 1993. It was at the main Clayton campus, which we rarely actually went to in our student days, though I do recall one memorable session in the campus radio station recording a demo tape of ... [More]
Adrian and Peter turned 100 today. To be precise, their birthdays are both today. Adrian (my sister’s husband) turned 38, and Peter (my step-father) turned 62. To celebrate the occasion, they’re having a joint birthday party on Saturday. So, happy 100th birthday, Adrian and Peter! (I do have a great aunt who turned 100 last ... [More]
Last year of my 30s starts today. While I’d love to have a lazy day at home and a big party, I haven’t been organised enough, so neither will happen. Instead it’ll be a work day, punctuated by breakfast with my boys, lunch with my girl, and dinner with my Posse of TroUblemAkers — family ... [More]
I think I might have out-done myself this time. Last month I represented the PTUA at a senate hearing into Commonwealth investment in public transport. During questions, the topic of public transport for special events came up, and as I had the night before been to such an event, I drew on that personal experience ... [More]
There’s a cold going round the family. I hope I’m on the tail end of it now, but it’s rotten. I feel fine 85% of the time, but every hour or so there’s a period of almost uncontrollable coughing, caused by an itchy throat that can’t be soothed by man nor beast nor Strepsil. (Not ... [More]
It turns out there are actual documented rules for street cricket, which is popular on the sub-continent. But at my place we’ve got our own version, which has evolved into a limited overs format that suits a short game after dinner for the three of us, though of course occasionally neighbours will join in. 6 ... [More]
Haven’t blogged for a bit, so here’s a brief catch-up. I helped Tony and Rae and family move last week. The inevitable comment that pops up when geeks move house: packing the moving van is like Tetris. Of course, when you get a full row of boxes, they don’t disappear and make more space… The ... [More]
Happy Boxing Day. Well, we had a pretty good Christmas. The haul’s headliner was a Nintendo Wii — actually bought for the kids (to their surprise and delight), but which has already proven itself to be a helluva lot of fun for me too. A bunch of smaller presents too, and not a dud among ... [More]
My sister Susannah is lovely. Kind and funny. Thoughtful and smart. Full of empathy when it matters — always up for a whingefest session on the phone, and understands what it’s like to be time-poor. Her kids are nice, her husband Adrian’s a dude. She’s successful — she’s made her business work, they seem to ... [More]
From everything I saw and heard of her, Marita’s sister Rose was smart, kind, feisty, funny, and happy with her job and her life. She died on Friday in a car accident near Shepparton, aged 29. Just tragic. Rosemary, 1979-2008 Rest In Peace Update: Herald Sun notices
When I was a kid, my dad would take us to Camberwell Civic Centre every April or so, to see the huge model train exhibition they had there. We’d wander around for a couple of hours and I would dream that one day I’d have a really big, detailed train set. Early on I had ... [More]
The other week I wrote: Personally, Iâd rather eat than drive any day. Evidently not everybody agrees: Pensioner Josephine Simsa says she would rather not eat than give up her car and her treasured independence. She doesn’t mean it literally of course, but the article goes on to describe how she specifically shops for cheap ... [More]
It’s that one day of the year… when the 7:30 Report isn’t on at 7:30. Other than that, today… I’m tired. Both kids were home sick today, coughing their guts up. Wears you out. (Maybe I’m not feeling 100% myself.) Bank account almost drained for the month. My eldest son Isaac officially became a teenager. ... [More]
When I first needed childcare, back in 2000, I first looked at council-run places. There were none without a long waiting list, so I looked at private. I found a place nearby called Wilmar, run by a lovely couple called Neville and Pat, with a handful of staff. So I signed the kids up there. ... [More]
The van we hired on the weekend was to move my Dad to a new place. As he is getting older, he needed an upgrade. He’s very well read, and it turned out he had way more books than I expected. So a lot of the time (and load) was spent shifting heavy boxes and ... [More]
At some stage last year I reached the point where I’d been separated/divorced for as long as I was married. I’m happy to say it’s a path that most of my contemporaries don’t seem to have followed me down. Indeed, of those who have got married and had kids, I can only think of one ... [More]