Do you take BULLION!!?

TURKEY FISTING!




Mark

BECAUSE 'TIS A FINE DAY TO FIST A TURKEY

MY BLIND EYE IS OGLING YOUR CHEST

Mark

In other news, I got this letter from VTAC to tell me that I'd received an early offer for Biomedical Science at La Trobe University next year. I have to go to the university on the 14th of December to accept.

Also, I'm streaming TV Asahi live and there were about six minutes of ads. Most of them were for beer. I want beer now. Ahh, now there's a panel show on... damn. Perhaps that's why they're flogging beer.

Mark

Much to Erin's consternation, I'm once again attempting to push hair out of my face.

One day I will look like Warren Ellis.

One day I will actually fix my violin.

Mark

Scarlet wrote:


One day I will actually fix my violin.

Mark

I'm sure Erin will be reallllly happy about that!

In the mean time I'm mourning the passing of the Father Ted avatar.

Down with this sort of thing!

Actually, you'd be surprised. The beard seems to annoy her more than my musical ineptitude.

Granted, I only started it last Friday, so I still kind of look like a 15 year old who hasn't shaved for a few months.

Just wait until she can rest her head in my luscious face locks.

Mark

Break out the sheepskin guitars and bring on the Markii Scarletus Hersuitus!!!

Scarlet wrote:

Actually, you'd be surprised. The beard seems to annoy her more than my musical ineptitude.

Mark

I had to drive the car as my 6 year old practised his fiddle on the way back from school, he figured that on the 5 mile drive he had a captive audience and we had to listen!

It was painful experience and one that will be brought up at every, I'm sorry, I mean EVERY milestone celebration that he has.

He's 14 now so the fun time for me is just about to start

Having said all of that, Tim tried to grow a beard a few years ago and everything that could go wrong did go wrong for the two weeks that he grew it. When he finally agreed to get out the razors everything went A OK.

I'm still not sure what's worse though.

I'm still an eligible bachelor!


Mark

Pig...Mark...pig...Mark...pig...It's a close call but the pig still looks happier.
(and why am I hearing Homer in my head???)

Whazzup wif yo knee, Markee-San?

I'll give the full story from my Facebook thing because I can't be bothered writing it again, but it's too funny not to share:

A few days ago I received a box from my sister, it was quite large and intended for Christmas, so I have placed it out of the way in my study. "Out of the way" is a loose term, basically it was out of the main thoroughfare of the house, but pretty much half blocking the doorway of the study.

One night I smashed my toe on it; nothing serious, just made my little toe go purple. This morning, whilst in the shower, I noticed that the bruising had appeared to spread so I decided to take a closer look and have a prod. I should have sat down to do this.

But no, I just lifted up my leg to check it out. BANG! I'd just hit my knee into the soap dish. Damn, that hurt. Let's have a look... oh, the soap dish is broken and there's a bit of blood... oh, there's a *LOT* of blood! Let's have a look at the wound. Oh, that was a bit deep, there's a massive gash opening laterally over my knee.

I couldn't take a tram to the hospital, bleeding profusely on public transport is generally frowned upon. My ambulance cover lapsed this last month and I'm not willing to pay thousands of dollars for that. Just luckily Sue has a learner's permit so with me in the front seat playing supervisor we got to the hospital (thanks again, Susannah). Also thanks to Erin for drying me off before we made off.

In the end, we got there, I got filled with Panadene Forte and stuck on a wheelchair waiting for my name to be called. My name was called, my wound was cleaned out and I was given a tetanus booster. I was given seven stitches in total, two internal to stem a blood vessel I'd nicked and five external.

So, now I'm sitting in bed and have found myself in the happy position of being able to work from home for the day. No doctor's certificates needed for me!

Mark

OUCH!!!

WELL DONE YOU!!

*two thumbs up*

Wow. I did see the picture on Facebook and saw something about you hurting your knee in the shower but I had no idea you broke a soap dish! Nice work!

Wow that's a good effort, I congratulate you!

In other news, I got this letter from VTAC to tell me that I'd received an early offer for Biomedical Science at La Trobe University next year. I have to go to the university on the 14th of December to accept.

On this too! Yay science!

Many thanks. I spent Monday in bed and worked from home with a decent degree of success. Tuesday I hobbled into the office and related the story to workmates to a fair degree of chortling. All good. Much coffee was guzzled.

Today, more colloquially known as Wednesday, was the the day I was intended to go to the University and enrol in my subjects. And that was exactly what I did. I received advanced standing and can commence close to where I left off. I restart Biomed Science from Second Year on the 27^th of February. Two days before the projected close of my office and end of my job.

Funilly enough, my current manager didn't remember that he'd signed off on my leave request, so I had FOUR calls within the space of an hour this morning while I was preparing myself to go out to the university. He even asked if I was intending to take the WHOLE day off, to which I replied, "You betcha! See you tomorrow. By the way, my clients expect to be paid, or contacted before the close of business. You should know that, you're the Operations Manager."

Ah well. I'm now enrolled in eight subjects next year, four per semester. And that means I can knock the rest of this degree in two years.

There's a bank on campus, they might give me a part time job.

Mark

And somewhere in all of that mix I seem to have become officially qualified to work in the Financial Services industry.

I feel my diary has shifted focus from a log of grotesque people and suggestively shaped items to something more introspective. Or it may be that I'm at work at the moment and certain searches bring up blocked items.

Nothing wrong with posting when work is a bit slow or you're on a lunch break though.

I'm now in the process of cleaning up my emails, archiving at the moment (going to feel good just to hit the delete button on one 8Gb file, whoosh, there goes 5 years of email records).

As it is, I've been having a bit of an existential quandry for the last 4 months over work/study/life/family/relationship/debt/hobbies and whatnot, bit of a swirling mess. Just been spending the time hedging my options for the future.

No reason for anyone to worry about me, although that last paragraph sounds like a cry for help. More just venting.

Hrm, might need to close the diary for a bit and go meditate on things... or just leave it open and close the browser, turn off the computer... I'd go for a walk if I thought my knee could handle it.

Might be time for a white tea. Perhaps actually put pen to paper on that script I've been threatening to write for the last five years. First I need a storyline.

And that's about as honest as I can be right now.

Hey Marky-Park
*Bending the Pscyons of Thruscadora*

Absolutely DO NOT close your diary or stop posting on it, or else! (I'll work out what the or else is at some stage...)

I would miss your twisted sense of humour, and it's one of the few places I can let loose my twisted sense of humour in response.

Just get some more caffeine & home brewskis up ya...

Hrm. The sooner we get the official notice the better. I'm still waiting but I surmise that we shouldn't receive it any later than the 18th of January (or possibly the end of that week).

Nevertheless, I'm taking time to upgrade all of my spreadsheets to make it easy for teh next person, something which was never done for me. I've never really been able to fully trust other people to take over my jobs appropriately throughout the years, this comes from experience.

But at any rate, I'm tired. Soul-tired. I've decided that seeing as I turn yellow every time I drink alcohol that I should greatly reduce the amount I imbibe. No more binging either. If I do drink, one will have to suffice.

I'm also reducing my intake of caffeine. But the alcohol is surely the big kicker. I'm not sure what this will mean to my homebrewing, but time will see.

On another note, I would like to take time to rest. I won't get that if I go to university, as term begins before my job officially finishes (on my current projected timeline). I'm considering just withdrawing again and looking for full-time work elsewhere. I'm not sure what I'll do at the moment.

But anyway, as much as I love the sciences it's no skin off my teeth if I don't do it. Perhaps I'll defer for a year. I'm seriously unsure about it.

But what I want most at the moment is rest. Now the main problem is how to get it. I go to Hobart for a weekend with my pfamily and Erin at the end of January, but that's just in the sequence of events we'd been planning for months.

Ahh well, I might get sent to Sydney for a week in February too.

I suppose it's most vexxing because there's no certainty with any of the measures I'd put forth late last year.

In the end, it will work out. I'm unsire what "it" is, but whatever it may be, it will work out. Take that, Knights Who Say "NI!".

Mark

Well, since you brought up MP, I thin this is appropriate...

www.youtube.com . . .

Yeah, I know, predictable, but still one of my favourites...

I got my notice 12 days ahead of my estimation. I'm pleased about that.

My role finishes on the 3rd of February and the Melbourne office ceases to exist from the 29th of February.

So, the last week or so I've managed to clear everything that's been outstanding and pare my job back so far that I'm only doing work in the mornings now. The rest of the day I'm twiddling my thumbs and looking up Seek and MyCareer and noticing that I'm now potentially worth almost twice what I'm being paid here.

So, next week is the last week that will be like this.
The week after that I will be training some poor schmuck from Sydney my job for three days. Then it's Australia Day (day off) and then I'm off to Hobart with Erin and my family for a couple of days of getting drunk at the Cascade Brewery (NB: May not actually happen, but Dad quite enjoys Cascade's beers).
Then the following week I come back to the office on a Tuesday, be phone support for the guys in Sydney and then on the Friday a few of us who finish up at the same time will go off to Taco Bill's and proceed to get smashed on half priced margaritas... then possibly off to a cocktail bar to see if we can be refused entry.

Then (by current indications) I'm a free agent. If I were able to go to uni, this time would provide the rest I need before starting up again. However, there's nothing for it now. I have to, at the very least, defer my studies for a bit and look for full time employment again.

I have to be employed again before March. If employment is good and I get what I'm hoping, I might be able to afford a holiday in the winter and drive off to the mountains and drink much wine.

If only I could mainline booze into my eyeballs and get paid for it.

Back to writing my applications, toodles!

Mark.

If we don't get drunk at the Cascade Brewery, I will be very sad.

Erin.
::righteous babe::