A 4WD Showdown

While waiting at a Commonwealth Bank ATM on Clarence Street in the city, I witnessed a soccer mum back in to and then rip off the bumper of an innocently parked car. It was one 4WD attacking another so I didn't care too much. The petrol guzzlers deserve each other.

Don't blame it on the sunshine

Giles + I spent a pretty awesome weekend on the Gold Coast for the TorchWood annual away day - TW Australia Team Hug. We left Sydney on Friday at lunch time and returned on Sunday evening. In between, we had drinks and canapes on Friday evening with ThoughtWorkers from all over the country and some international guests streaming in. I met some cool people who I've only dreamt of meeting and met a few who might be worth avoiding.

See lots of pictures here!

On Saturday, I spent most of the day in a small room listening to my colleagues rant at me, at the conference. It was kind of like a normal work day but with less typing :) G spent the day drinking, eating and hanging by the pool with the partners (behind every great tw'er is a far more interesting partner but I never said that). Saturday night was spent at Dream World which was open only to us and those poor suckers locked in the Big Brother house. There were rides, food, awards for me being loud and well known and lots of dancing. There was even a strange groupie moment with Darci and I but let's not spread that one.

The night only went insane after that - lines of vodka shots; graduates lit on fire; eviction from hotel rooms after some very good cupboard hiding; and many more things that must remain as internal news only.

Did I drink the kool-aid? Not totally but I do like the cult members a lot more after hanging out with them. Don't blame it on the sunshine, don't blame it on the moonlight, blame it on the boogie.

On the bus about to leave for Sydney airport and the Gold Coast

The Chairman and the Chicken

Wait to register

Serious guys at the morning retro

Darci Potter and her friends

Birdies!

Duck!

Giles on one of the many bridges at the resort

Relaxing by the pool

Relaxing and waiting for the bus... come on, there had to be a self-portrait!

i can haz facebook

Arrested outside our garage door

Less than half an hour ago, a man was arrested in the alley next to our apartment building. Giles got a better picture than mine because his arm is much longer and could see the drama happening right beneath us (just out of site.) I got some video of him demanding to know why he is being arrested.

flickr

I finally got myself a flickr account. Some of my recent photos are up and more are coming.

Freerange Children

When I first read about the woman who let her 9 year old ride the NY subway and then a bus home on his own, it sounded crazy. After reading her response to the massive criticism she got for doing this, I've decided to exhale and stop screaming "who will think of the children?"

My parents didn't use the freerange approach but they did let us go out and learn things if we really wanted to. They encouraged us try things and sometimes they discouraged us. It was the discouraging that limited me in later life. Don't take this as criticism. Parenting is a difficult thing and parents make mostly the right decisions. I haven't done it so I can only speak from the point of view of the child (at least the effects of that).

When adults (parents of teachers) told me something was out of bounds because it is dangerous, it scared me and worried me in later life. I waited until at last in my mid-20's to travel around the globe. It changed my life. I stopped avoiding things because other people told me it was too risky. I decided to take the risk myself and make the decision myself.

Since then, I kinda like living outside my comfort zone. Go on, scare me. Scare them. Let the children live life.

Feeding and Not Feeding

G + I took our time to meander through Surry Hills on the way to the Bourke Street Bakery. On our travels, we passed the Surry Hills Markets which are held on the first Saturday of each month in the park near the Clock. It was a sunny Sydney day.

There was a chubby Labrador with a sign on his collar saying "Please do not feed me". He waited for us to feed him our spoils from a visit to the bakery but we chose to obey his sign. He tried a couple of other passers by but seemed rather unsuccessful. Poor doggy.

"Please do not feed me"

Me on Bourke Street, Surry Hills

What's with all the shoes on power lines

Let There Beer Light

A couple of weeks ago, I told dcam that the Mexican place on Crown and Oxford Street wasn't a real restaurant but was instead a chain from the US. Oops, if it is a chain then the one they have in Sydney has only one link :) Documenting my mistakes again!

Mad Mex is a small takeaway Mexican joint where you can sit and enjoy cheap, tasty Mexican food over a Mexican beer or margarita (not made from mix). G + I have been there twice now and do recommend it for a quick and good meal on that end of Crown. Try my fave - crispy tacos with black beans and shredded beef. Add cheese, guacamole and salsa + spicy tomato sauce.

The Corona chandelier

Say it with flowers

Thursday was not a great day for me. It was stressful, long and challenging. If I was to print my mood on a t-shirt at that moment, it would have said unappreciated. The fantabulous Gui Girl (cape and all) made me this beautiful flower out of sticky notes and stuck it to my monitors :)

What a perfectly lovely and thoughtful thing to do. My day immediately improve. What a star!

Thanks Linz :)

Manamana do do da do do

The posts have been few and far between due to the painful fact that I'm working harder than I have ever worked in my entire life. It's not hard work but it's challenging and although I whinge, the challenge is what I love.

Lately, things have been good. I've made lots of new friends at ThoughtWorks. It probably has to do with the 5 month mark in any job where you know your place and are aware of whether you'll like the job or not. This job is a keeper, at least for the limit of my attention span. People there seem to have accepted me although there are a few who are keeping their distance.

Life is going well. After exploring a few geeky user groups, I have decided to go along to a few more. Some groups are pretty damn nerdy but there are good things enough to counter that.

The old FD gang have faded a little after a peak including cupcakes. I hope we'll get back to our usual cuddly selves. Yay for Fairfax and the effectiveness of Earth Hour! Kudos to them.

The kitties are awesome and healthy. Sleeping lots and enjoying the cold weather although the sunshine is drying up and they will miss that.

Biggest triumph is getting Rob Pike who wrote my favourite book on Unix, to turn up and support Girl Geek Dinners Sydney.

Lots more coming up once I slow down with the work in early June. Lots of friends have visited and are visiting so more fun to come. Stay tuned!

Easter Cupcake

The cutest Easter cupcake ever!

Easter in Canberra

Happy Easter everyone :)

G + I spent Easter Saturday in Canberra. We visited my Dad and had a delicious BBQ. I also finally found the secret ingredient to the best marinated chicken ever! It's been 20+ years but I finally know - tumeric. That's it.

Canberra weather is already getting cold. It was 19 degrees max while we were there. Woden shops were packed with people buying dozens and dozens of hot crossed buns.

Next time, I promise to catch up with everyone else.

Dad cooking while I wait to eat the lamb chops and chicken

Table for 20

Last night's dinner felt like having 40 friends over to hang out in a funky Surry Hills apartment, eating good food and drinking wine that we all brought. What it actually was - dinner at Table for 20 on Campbell Street.

It's an original and odd little restaurant with the idea behind it being to make Sydney a little less cold by sitting a bunch of 2010ers around two long tables for 20 (so 40 total) with a set 3 course meal and a guy playing a guitar in the corner. You share food from the same plates and break bread together. It works fabulously.

If you can find it, be sure to try it. Make sure you txt the owner to let him know you'll be there by 5pm on the day you want to go so he'll make enough food for you. Dinner is served at 8pm. Try the fabulous Sticky Bar upstairs which specialises in sticky wines and comfy couches.

Big Shopping

There are giant shopping bags on show in Martin Place, Sydney. At night they are lit up and the effect is awesome. It gets me imaging what you'd buy to fill them up. Maybe a car.

Singing kitties

This is so cute.

Licorice doesn't taste like meat

Almost every day, I grab lunch from a very good vegetarian and vegan Thai place on King Street called Peace and Harmony. The food is great and the serves are a good size with steamed rice. Today they mixed up my order for the first time in 2.5 months and I ended up with another woman's chicken cashew nut stir fry. There were not cashew nuts in it but I was happy to finally get a chance to try the fake chicken. Yeah, I could have taken it back but I often see these opportunities as life's lucky dip and a chance to get to try something else. It's like when someone buys you a book for Christmas that you might never buy yourself and you love it.

The fake chicken was nice but it had no basis in chicken. Everything tastes like chicken but this did not. It was salty and had an aniseed after-taste. It must be hard to get vegetables and legumes to taste like meat so I appreciate the effort. I just thought someone should share that licorice doesn't have a meaty taste and vice-versa :o)

Don't worry, be happy now

If you have the time, watch this video and you will be happier

The Beautitul People!

There is no bigger Surry Hills party than the annual Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras!

This was my first year to attend and I can tell you that it was worth enduring the freezing 17 degree C evening, the crazy bag-wielding Japanese tourists and the fence of people on egg crates and $2 plastic stools (bought at $10 from a guy with a trailer) to see the fabulous parade. TV can not do it justice. The vibe is amazing. The crowd is happy. It's the most fantastic celebration I've seen in a long long time.

Here is what I caught on bits...

The Mounties were represented

It was musical

There were angels in white

Clover has a float - yay!

Every man and his dog got prepared in Hyde Park before the parade

There were people on patrol

There were people on buildings

The view from business class

Flying the flag

There's a story there

It looks like people are hearing about GGD.

Geek Girl Shaves Off ALL Her Hair

This pretty lady and geek girl friend of mine, is shaving off her locks for the World's Greatest Shave on the 13th of March in support of the Leukemia Foundation. To support Cathryn Chamley, donate to the cause. Donations over $2 are tax deductible.

I'm going to see how scarred she is from this and might do it myself next year.