Opened a new packet of paprika today. As cool as Herbie's is, he's too expensive to purchase bulk items such as black peppercorns, mustard seeds & paprika from. So I got it from fiji market, down in Newtown. I know it is derived from chillies, pimetos, or something similar, but I didn't expect it to smell like dry tomato!
Sunday, February 20, 2005
Wednesday, February 16, 2005
Big brother is already here.
My work has recently installed on all of our computers, a coffee-break type software which monitors every single keystroke, every single application you use, and how long you spend on the computer. Supposedly for OH&S purposes, it is surprising how much it really picks up. Like 'oh, did i really spend 2 hrs today checking emails?'. Hmm. I mean what it is supposed to do is go - uh oh, you've been working really intensely for 10 minutes, time to take a break! And then it suggests exercises for you to do whilst it has taken over your computer, and forces you to do something else. It is quite scary. And quite embarrassing how much you come to *ahem* rely on it.
I was looking at the application monitoring bit for the past week or so, just to make sure I wasn't spending _too_ much time on email. Before it got installed, I even went so far as to write the most enormous sign to stick on my monitor so I didn't keep compulsively clicking on outlook to check my mail (& finding, disappointingly, that nobody loves me). And now? After so many complaints about email monitoring, computer usage monitoring, and how none of this crap was part of our contracts, they've disabled it. So I have no idea how much time I have spent frittering away on the 'net, on the email. And now I'm back to compulsively clicking on outlook, every 2 minutes, even if I've just closed the application. I guess I have an addictive type personality.
I was looking at the application monitoring bit for the past week or so, just to make sure I wasn't spending _too_ much time on email. Before it got installed, I even went so far as to write the most enormous sign to stick on my monitor so I didn't keep compulsively clicking on outlook to check my mail (& finding, disappointingly, that nobody loves me). And now? After so many complaints about email monitoring, computer usage monitoring, and how none of this crap was part of our contracts, they've disabled it. So I have no idea how much time I have spent frittering away on the 'net, on the email. And now I'm back to compulsively clicking on outlook, every 2 minutes, even if I've just closed the application. I guess I have an addictive type personality.
Youch
I can't believe how much of a wuss I am. It took 5 years of talking to myself (and believe me, people think I'm weird enough already) to go & get my ears pierced. It felt like someone had flicked me with a rubber band. That is all.
Car hunting
I can't believe that hunting for a car could be so time-consuming and expensive. Sick of begging lifts off people, asking if I could borrow "you & your car", unable to get the surfboard that I so dearly wanted to purchase, I decided that I should get one of my own.
At first the budget was under 10k, but I couldn't find anything I liked.
Then I upped it to 15k, which, would just borderline, get me something decent. For some reason, people kept insisting that I get an echo, because it's such a good deal. But it's UGLY! How could I drive an ugly car? Plus I've been in them (which the friends recommending them hadn't), and they were very very small on the side. You have to be very good, very 'close' friends to be able to seat 3 in the back of the 'sedan' version. Even riding shotgun - and I'm a skinny linny here, I could feel that any larger personage would have an uncomfortable squashed ride. The only positive thing that I could think about the echo is the digital speedo.
So now I'm looking at new cars. I've done ecos, why the hell am I looking at new cars? I _know_ I'm going to instantly lose 20% of the value. But they're so shiny. I can't believe I'm thinking of dropping over 20k on a bloody car.
And don't even talk to me about insurance. Okay, so I'm an unknown risk. But a $4k premium for a 6 year old GOLF worth $15k does not make any !sense!. ARGH, I can't believe it. Okay, so I'm a young'un, but a premium that's 1/4 the cost of the car does not make sense.
Grr. So if anyone knows of a good surfboard deal that comes with a free car, please let me know.
At first the budget was under 10k, but I couldn't find anything I liked.
Then I upped it to 15k, which, would just borderline, get me something decent. For some reason, people kept insisting that I get an echo, because it's such a good deal. But it's UGLY! How could I drive an ugly car? Plus I've been in them (which the friends recommending them hadn't), and they were very very small on the side. You have to be very good, very 'close' friends to be able to seat 3 in the back of the 'sedan' version. Even riding shotgun - and I'm a skinny linny here, I could feel that any larger personage would have an uncomfortable squashed ride. The only positive thing that I could think about the echo is the digital speedo.
So now I'm looking at new cars. I've done ecos, why the hell am I looking at new cars? I _know_ I'm going to instantly lose 20% of the value. But they're so shiny. I can't believe I'm thinking of dropping over 20k on a bloody car.
And don't even talk to me about insurance. Okay, so I'm an unknown risk. But a $4k premium for a 6 year old GOLF worth $15k does not make any !sense!. ARGH, I can't believe it. Okay, so I'm a young'un, but a premium that's 1/4 the cost of the car does not make sense.
Grr. So if anyone knows of a good surfboard deal that comes with a free car, please let me know.
Saturday, February 05, 2005
Markets, aaaaiii
Went to the smh/pyrmont growers' markets today. I haven't been for almost a year, just because I felt 'so over' it. The same producers, the same products, the same people each month. So I stopped going & really enjoyed that whole sleep in business you can do on weekends. This time I took some friends who had just returned from France, and who were missing the whole concept of fresh cheese that you could buy anywhere & everywhere there. Being unable to convince them to make their own (& thus be able to reap the fruits of my bossiness, as it were), I instead kicked them out of bed early to head to the markets.
And then I remembered why I had enjoyed getting up so early once a month when I was young and stupid. Just the whole atmosphere, of people who enjoy food wandering around and talking to all the producers, who get up even earlier to tend to their geese or smoke their trout or turn their cheese. And this time I didn't encounter those incredibly rude pushy people who pushed in front of me when it was clearly my turn. Maybe somebody else had pushed them into the harbour as retaliation.
Unfortunately, the mushroom people weren't there, and I was a tad disappointed. I managed to resist the native jam man - hello, I _still_ have jars of stuff from 3 years ago that I haven't touched. but it should be okay, right? it's not as though I've broken the seal, and it's all sugar anyway so there is nothing to spoil. also resisted the lure of the willowbrae chevre, but got suckered in by the supreme tastiness of the SJ club blue (*aaaaaahhhhhhhh***), and a new cheddar......can't quite remember what it was. The jannai camerbert was diVine darls, so I suckered 3 others into buying it instead. I'll give it a shot next time, after all I already have a fridge full-o-cheese. And *squeal* you gotta get some peaches off the peach bloke if he's there next time, superb!
And then I remembered why I had enjoyed getting up so early once a month when I was young and stupid. Just the whole atmosphere, of people who enjoy food wandering around and talking to all the producers, who get up even earlier to tend to their geese or smoke their trout or turn their cheese. And this time I didn't encounter those incredibly rude pushy people who pushed in front of me when it was clearly my turn. Maybe somebody else had pushed them into the harbour as retaliation.
Unfortunately, the mushroom people weren't there, and I was a tad disappointed. I managed to resist the native jam man - hello, I _still_ have jars of stuff from 3 years ago that I haven't touched. but it should be okay, right? it's not as though I've broken the seal, and it's all sugar anyway so there is nothing to spoil. also resisted the lure of the willowbrae chevre, but got suckered in by the supreme tastiness of the SJ club blue (*aaaaaahhhhhhhh***), and a new cheddar......can't quite remember what it was. The jannai camerbert was diVine darls, so I suckered 3 others into buying it instead. I'll give it a shot next time, after all I already have a fridge full-o-cheese. And *squeal* you gotta get some peaches off the peach bloke if he's there next time, superb!
Thursday, February 03, 2005
Surfers!
At coogee! Unbelievable. I saw surfers hanging off the southern end of coogee waiting for a wave. In fact today, when I went down to visit late after work, there were guys who were just waiting for the flags to be pulled down before they went out for some nice ones off the northern end as well. Wow. Makes me wish I had a board so I could have gone & gotten hammered as well. And compared to the waves at Bondi, these ones were way better! Apparently the incredible swell was due to an 'intense low pressure system off NZ' in addition to another LP system off queensland, so come on El Nino, give us another one, so I can have a go too!
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