Brief Dialogue

The Evolution of a Dream

2010-05-12T20:24:00.004+10:00

When I was about 10 years old, my parent bought be a present for Christmas.

It was a three dimensional jigsaw puzzle that, when complete, stood over one meter tall in the figure of New York City's Empire State building.

Partly a sense of personal satisfaction, and partly overwhelmed by this architectural marvel... I became fascinated with the thought of one day being able to, one day, stand atop this 102 story landmark.

As my fascination with this Art Deco sky scraper made me want to know all the more about the might city in which it stood. One of the most advanced metropolis' that this world has ever seen.

In my curious nature, from that day forth, I was infatuated with this city. The tall sky-scarapers, the classy people in their fancy cafes and funky bars, the sea of yellow cabs filling the streets, the noises from a city that was full of life, every hour of the day.

I told my family and all of my friends: "One of my life's biggest ambitions is to visit New York City."

As time went on, I kept finding reason why I could not travel overseas... be it money, time, important events with family and friends which kept me grounded in Australia... so... it started to look like it was never going to happen.

Last week, my best friend approached me with a proposal. "You + me + about 6 of our firends. New York City. December 2010 / January 2011."

There it was. That feeling that I used to get when I was a kid. Came over me like a rush of cold air. I got goose bumps. For so long things have been getting in the way of letting me go to NYC... and now... not only a chance to go... but a chance to go with a group of people I love so much. From a humble Christmas present, I worked towards Christmas in New York :)

This was it. This is why fate stopped me from going for so long. It wasn't my time, one, five or even ten years ago. Now is my time :)

Tickets are booked.

Brisbane --> Sydney --> San Francisco. Road tripping around the north coast of California. A week later...

San Francisco --> New York City for Christmas and New year

followed by road-trip exploration of the East Coast, and a probably trip to Montreal/Toronto.

Will anyone else be in N. America at this time of year?

Yay! :)

Approaching Oblivion

2010-05-05T23:06:00.004+10:00

Year 23.

Full of everything that you would expect from a fruitful year.

Learning

Forgetting

Good Experinces

Bad Experiences

Old Love

New Love

Dead Love

Joy

Sadness

Laughs

Tears

I don't even know what I want to say, here.

Lets see what happens, tomorrow. 24.

Good night x

There, but for the grace of God...

2010-04-09T16:36:00.002+10:00

You think you are invincible.

You think that everything that you do... your hard work, meticulous planning, your good will... will make everything turn out so that it works in your favour...

But when you stand there, at the foot of the bed, and peer over a man of your age who is reduced to a vegetative state... you can't help but cry.

Like it wasn't bad enough that life gave him a congenital, chronic and terminal disease which will see him live half as long as you or I... Life also had to throw in a terminal bleed in his brain, while he was doing something that he loved, which means he will probably never see his long-term girlfriend again, or finish his university degree....

Why the hell is it not me lying there, a symbiotic creature with those... machines, which are keeping me alive? Why am I being spared?

So where does this leave me? Do I not even try, knowing that at any second it could all go to waste?

I don't know, maybe I'll just keep going and hope for the best.

"There, but for the grace of God, go I"

The Child That Never Left Me

2010-03-27T00:50:00.002+11:00

Item 5:

I love fantasy because there is too much that the real world doesn't let you do.

The Child That Never Left Me

2010-03-19T00:29:00.003+11:00

Item 4:

I love to go grocery shopping with my mama, and make her push me down the aisles while I hang off the front of the shopping cart.

The Child That Never Left Me

2010-03-18T16:01:00.002+11:00

Item 3:

I proudly wear temporary tattoos from candy wrappers and still feel so bad-ass.

The Child That Never Left Me

2010-03-16T14:22:00.002+11:00

Item 2:

I love to walk into vintage book stores, because I secretly hope that I'll stumble across an old book that was lost in time, which holds the map to a treasure.

The Child That Never Left Me

2010-03-15T13:13:00.003+11:00

Item 1 -

When I'm driving my car, I often turn down the music, then use my mouth and voice to make car sound effects of a motor revving, brakes screeching and crashing sounds.

Personal Reflection

2010-03-05T14:14:00.004+11:00

I have never been a vain person. Really, I have not.

Sometimes, the the things that I say may come across as vain, but let me assure you that these things are probably fuelled by a complicated and deep-seeded sense of insecurity that I'd rather not delve into, in this blog post.

Nonetheless... I have, in often times been 'caught'. Caught in front of a mirror.

If I am in the presence of a mirror and I have the time, and the patience, you will often find me looking into it, looking at myself. I don't stare at myself and think "You're beautiful" or "You're ugly" or "Was that spot there, yesterday?!". No sir, I just look and see... me.

Why is this important to me? Well it's simple really. From where my eyes are positioned, I cannot see myself. Now think about it. 6 billion people in the world, and I am the only one who can't see me, not without the help of a mirror.

For a change, I want to see myself smile, see myself laugh, see myself cry... see fear and doubt in my own eyes, gaze into my own soul... see those bags under my eyes, see my nose, see my teeth see my ears, my chin, my cheeks. MY FACE.

Someone will often walk past and say "Aha! Caught you looking at yourself!"... as if I was doing something wrong. I don't think there's anything wrong, so long as it's not fuelled by a narcissism that disables you from seeing the beauty in every person in all of the world... nor is it healthy to see yourself for the purposes of self-criticism and self-loathing.

Do me... no... yourself, a big favour.

Find a mirror. Sit in front of it. Look at what I can see.

Aren't I lucky?

Doc

A Kiss from the Archives

2010-02-24T01:03:00.001+11:00

Hello.

2010-01-22T15:00:00.001+11:00

Giant, pre-historic Godzilla beetle; Teeny, tiny, little pumpkin.

2010-01-17T23:21:00.003+11:00

Well, after a long, bloody battle, the Godzilla beetle walked away unscathed.

What shall I do with this?? Do I roast it? Make a tiny little soup? Carve out a mini Jack-o-Lantern?

Goodbye

2010-01-15T19:41:00.000+11:00

Images of Summer.

2010-01-12T04:19:00.015+11:00

"If the summer holds a song, we might sing forever." - Josh Pyke

The geese who tried to attack me... I told them I came in peace, and then we were friends.

The seagull who scored a free boat ride.

Disco is back?

Letting my feet cool down from the burning-hot sand.

I still love to build sand castles, even at 23 years of age. Growing up is for losers.

Beach... as far as the eye can see!

The lonely seashell. Thank you for coming home with me :)

Monkey business. Photographer: My 3 year old nephew.

Degraves in all of its alternative culture glory!

Which way did he go?

I can't be in New York City, so I brought Magnolia to me.

I'm on a boat :)

Polar Pain

2010-01-11T02:29:00.002+11:00

There are two reasons why people get hurt.

1. Someone makes a choice without full consideration of the repercussion their decision will have on other people. (Fault of the hurter)

2. Someone makes a choice with full consideration of others, but due to ignorance or malice, these others don't agree with, or accept the choices. (Fault of the hurtee)

Next time you hurt someone, or you feel hurt: remember this.

Health. Fitness. Lifestyle. Debunked.

2009-12-19T20:41:00.002+11:00

I am going to create a new blog.

This blog will be the product of my frustration with the number of myths about health, fitness and lifestyle that are misleading people in their own endeavours to live longer, healthier lives.

The blog will draw on my personal experiences and on my experiences in health care and medicine to educate and inform.

I will need the support of all of my viewers.

This is my plea.

Doc

A Question for the Dutch

2009-12-14T02:37:00.000+11:00

Great Expectations? Nah... Not Really!

2009-12-03T18:10:00.001+11:00

Baked goods and beardz

2009-11-27T15:27:00.001+11:00

Let me just turn up my hearing aid...

2009-11-25T02:30:00.002+11:00

The Way to THIS Man's Heart.

2009-11-17T01:09:00.002+11:00

Beach huuurrrr

2009-11-16T03:04:00.002+11:00

...because why would I shower BEFORE posting my face up around the world?

The Pedestrian Crossing Boogie

2009-09-18T09:15:00.006+10:00

Last night when I was driving home from work I came to an intersection where a pedestrian, who was waiting to cross the road, was listening to his iPod.

This guy was not only listening to his music, but was dancing away while waiting for the little man to turn from red to green. There was shuffling, popping, air guitar, air drums... he was going for it like it was no one's business. Turns out, though, some people at the crowded, peak-hour intersection seemed to think that it was their business and chose to point and laugh. He danced on.

Music and dancing are great ways to express yourself. Humans are one of the only species that do it (can anyone educate me on any other animals that dance to music?) and it is a symbol of our cultural evolution which has placed us on a different plane of existence from other creatures on this planet. It is harmless, peaceful and just plain FUN!

I'm not entirely sure why it's so weird to want to have a bit of a boogie while you listen to your favourite songs, no matter where you are. I personally believe that singing and dancing in public are better than some of the other alternative behaviours I have seen in public (e.g. being aggressive, breaking shit and hurting people). Why not embrace?

While I bop away to Sufjan Stevens on this wonderful Friday morning, I give a shout-out to the guy who I saw at the intersection last night - you rock!

Dance on! I know I will!

Barcaldine to Bridge to Brisbane

2009-09-04T00:58:00.003+10:00

Hello everyone!

Well, I'm back and lazier than ever! Here is a video blog that took me about 10 minutes to make. Yup. 10 minutes. Why did it take me 5246245 years to find 10 minutes in which to do this? Refer to words 7, 8 and 9 of this monologue.

***UPDATE***

I am very proud to announce that I completed the 10 km rum (approx. 6.2 mi) in 48 minutes 32 seconds. With this time I ranked # 1925, which doesn't sound too impressive in itself... but this was out of 45 625 runners, and so places me in the top 5%! Woohoo!!

Very proud!

A Great Idea

2009-08-05T17:02:00.001+10:00

Click here.

please thanks bye.

What words cannot describe

2009-08-03T23:28:00.003+10:00

Danger. Impending Doom!

2009-07-28T01:15:00.002+10:00

Sunday May 31st 2009 - Captain's Log

2009-05-31T11:38:00.003+10:00

Sorry for the nerdy-ass title. I just saw Star Trek last night as a sort of going-away hang-out session with my housemate. Great movie, by the way.

So this morning I flew into Rockhampton, which is a sort of rural rendezvous point before they ship me out to the middle of NOWHERE! Fortunately, I randomly ran into one of my friends from Med School who happened to be catching the same flight back home, so at least I had company. Rocky is a nice little town. In it resides about 60 000 people, and they're just the country folk I imagined - friendly and humble. =D

Within the first half-hour of landing here, I managed to do two stupid things.

When I left the airport, I jumped into the cab, engaging in conversation with my friend, and ignoring what was happening around me... and then I realised that my left arm felt sufficiently lighter than when I was at Brisbane airport for departure. Stupid me left my suitcase at the airport and had to run back. At this point I thought that I would lose my head if it weren't screwed on.
My friend and I took the cab back to his place and he was ready to hit the hay on account of a massive hang-over. I was about to walk out the door on an adventure when I recalled pulling out my wallet to pay for the cab, handing over the money to the cab driver, and NOT putting the wallet back into my pocket. The cab had driven away! Thankfully these country folk are humble, honest and friendly. I called the cab company and they had the driver return my wallet, cash and all, to me an hour later. I offered the kind driver a 50 for his troubles and he refused to take reward for his good deed. So nice =)

So four hours later, I am sitting at a cafe, sipping on my latte, waiting for my friend to come out of his coma so that we may chill and be merry, although I'm unsure that he is keen on the beers I offered him earlier today.

Here is a horrid photo of me kicking back, updating BriefDialogue and avoiding completing this Community Health Appraisal on Rheumatoid Arthritis that I have been putting off since the start of the year.

I hate my big head.

2009-05-29T00:47:00.002+10:00

Stupid big head.

Formal thought disorder?

2009-05-27T22:35:00.012+10:00

Hello everyone!

Holy crud! It has been ages since I jumped on this thing and attempted to make my rather average reality, appealing to some avid readers.

So here is the low-down of the past two months.

Two months ago, I disappeared form the Blogosphere when I began my internal medicine rotation at our major hospital. I spent the first few days gaining my bearings and once they were gained, I decided to actually make myself useful. Every week was essentially six 12-15 hour days, not including my lecturing or tutoring job, so I trust you can imagine that a Blog was down on the priority list. Sorry.

I became obsessed with Antonio Tahhan's Olive Juice and have prepared some amazing Mediterranean and Middle-Eastern dishes. I have always been a culinary enthusiast but have now broadened my tastes to include some amazing international cuisine.

Upon the conclusion of Internal Med, I enjoyed some well-earned Grey's Anatomy-esque after-work drinks with all of the people that I would miss as I moved on. The next day, I was off to Melbourne.

Melbourne was the place to be as we prepared for the weekend of a life-time to celebrate my big sister's wedding. Now, if none of you have experienced a Croatian wedding before, let me assure you it's like nothing you could ever imagine... or prepare for. The party began on Thursday night and concluded on the Monday as our livers pleaded for mercy. The Big Day, itself, couldn't have gone smoother, despite a wedding cake that collapsed in on itself, and a missing marriage certificate that wound up in the bathroom at the end of the ceremony... these were just little hurdles that we well and truly got over. (ZOMG Check out the stretch hummer - Me Want IT!!)

Oh, below is one of my two most recent hair cuts. I asked for 'funky yet professional', as I can't exactly parade a savage coif when dealing with people's lives. (P.S. The reason I wasn't smiling in that one, is because there was nothing to smile about)

As promised, in a week's time, I am moving away to a small town in Rural Queensland. Due to some administrative difficulties, I shall no longer be going to Calliope, but instead, I'm off to a place called Barcaldine (even more rural than the last one) where I shall spend two months without a cell phone signal or internet connection. I guess I'll have to scab off others if I hope to communicate with friends and family. I will stop over in a city called Rockhampton for a few days, so maybe I can give you final salute before heading off.

So there it is.

(I wonder if I can get a video or two published before I disappear)

Doc

Open Windows

2009-04-15T21:48:00.003+10:00

This photo makes me look so submissive... this window needs to be closed before anyone sees!

Tough Decisions

2009-04-07T00:47:00.002+10:00

I want to share a story so that you may see how lucky many of you are for the tough decisions you think you have to make in life.

So a woman rocks up in the Emergency Department, having been referred to us from a doctor somewhere in Whoop Whoop (definitions 2 and 5).

She has been diagnosed with Acute Promyelocytic Leukaemia. With appropriate chemotherapy, if she decides to undergo treatment, she has a reasonable chance of surviving the next 5 years. Without treatment, she won't make it past a few weeks.

Here's the tough part. She is 19 weeks pregnant. With chemotherapy, her foetus will certainly die.

On the surface, the answer seems obvious. If mother won't survive to term, then the foetus won't survive. Either way, the foetus will die... so... take the treatment.

Then I imagined myself in her shoes. It's not just a matter of deciding to take the treatment. It's also about making the decision that will kill your foetus. Your unborn child.

Sure it's obvious, but does that make the decision any easier? I hope that I never have to find out.

Harmony of Mathematical Precision

2009-03-30T01:18:00.002+11:00

Nintendo Wii + Mario Cart + Projector + Vodka + Beer + Tequila + New Hat = What you see above

Ben Rama

2009-03-26T19:46:00.001+11:00

Oh No You Di'nt!

2009-03-26T02:41:00.002+11:00

Not...

2009-03-25T23:08:00.002+11:00

the holiday that I was expecting.

I have merely put a halt on going nuts. LOL

I have found myself, scrotum-deep, in a mound of paper-work. I am getting through it slowly, but it is certainly pissing me off.

On the bright side, I had a fucking awesome time at the Sunny Coast on the weekend with my best friends who moved up there at the start of 2009. Sat in the sun. Tanned to perfection. Drank. Drank. Swam in the ocean. Witnessed surfing acrobatics at Noosa Heads... What a fine couple of days.

I hope to repeat the adventure at the conclusion of the week. I have to teach a lab on Friday, but hopefully that night I will re-live the 1.5 hour drive up to paradise.

Ooh! I almost forgot. The most recent of Steve's chocolates that I have ticked off my list are the crystallised ginger in dark, crispy blatternougat, 'Melissa' Javanese cacao milk, and French salty caramel balls. Not too keen on the ginger, but the others were to die for!

I have a list of video blogs that I would like to make, so if you lovely loyal Blogvakistanian followers wish me all the best, then I will get through this paper work and start filming. Who's with me?

Doc

Reward

2009-03-20T13:58:00.014+11:00

Now I have told you all about how I feel about cheese... well here cometh the opportunity to tell you all about another passion of mine. Chocolate

When I recently shared my story of passion for all things cacao, a friend recommended a chocolate shop not far from where I live that would be worth checking out. With the advent of my week holiday, I decided to pay them a visit.

The store was tiny, and not all that impressive from the outside, but when I walked in and was overwhelmed by the decor of the place, the smell in the air and the mounds of chocolate in every which direction you looked. I was then greeted by a friendly smile, which belonged to my new friend, Steve.

Steve and I spoke for over half an hour about the passion that I shared with him and his wife. He told me of how he turned to chocolate when he realised that his work in IT was monotonous and dull. He told me that he needed a reason to look forward to waking up every morning, and a way to make people happy. He chose the right path, me thinks.

After showing me through his range of delectable treats and asking what I was into - I chose to purchase some beauties.

First on the list was - Seatonfire -

I had first read about Seatonfire last year and ever since then I have been determined to get my hands on it. They produce a premium quality dark chili chocolate. Now, I have tried chili chocolate numerous times, by numerous manufacturers and it is, by far, my favourite variety of chocolate. Seatonfire, however, promised so much more... and it certainly delivered. It was the most intense flavour I have ever savoured! It was a seductively piquant, unique and gourmet chocolatesensation.

I then had recommended to me a violet praline (left), a mandarine creme (right) and, in the centre, the most inventive and delicious variety of chocolate I have ever encountered: A white chocolate, rose petal and grappa (that's right, grappa) truffle. Holy cow was it delicious.

The only (potential) problem with the whole experience, was the price tags that came with these treats. The block of seatonfire was AUD $14.90, for 80g (2.8 oz), and the three small morsels at the end were AUD$2.20 each. HOLY SHIT! If my mum ever finds out how much I spent on a very limited amount of chocolate, she would kill me.

Overall, though, the experience was awesome. I have already been in contact with Steve, and when I return for my next adventure, I have been assured that he will be ready to tackle my daring taste buds!

Totally worth a blog post:

2009-03-13T23:00:00.003+11:00

To the guy who I just busted skinny dipping in the pool, you totally suck at scouting to see who is watching you.

Ya-huh...

... I totally saw your wee wee.

The runs

2009-03-11T22:44:00.003+11:00

I'm starting to think about the things it will take to re-arrange my life to make it a little less intense. I was so over-excited by the prospect of 2009 that I bit off a bit more than I could chew... OK, a LOT more =(

I need to execute these adjustments within the next two weeks. If not, I may just go insane. I miss the old me. I want him back.

Poor dude at the grocery store. He was just trying to be friendly and do his job. All I ought to have done was whack my groceries on the check-out counter, so that he could scan the shopping, take my money and send me on my way. How was he to know that he would fall victim to my ticket-of-entry spray of verbal diarrhoea, when he simply asked how my day was?... I don't think I let the poor lad get a single word in.

I'm taking a week off in a fortnight. Hopefully it will give me a chance to hit the 'reset' button.

Miss you, too, Blogvakistan!

Doc

Thank you

2009-02-26T21:15:00.004+11:00

Mama and Tata:

You put your everything into getting me where I am today, and you always will. Your sacrifice is endless. I can only hope to be able to pay it forward to my children as well as you have yours.

Big Sisters

You guided me through the years in which I was most impressionable and most vulnerable. I think I have made it through.

Little Sister:

You are my best friend, and it kills me to live so far away from you. I am so flattered that I am the one you trust and turn to for advice. I hope I'm doing a good job.

Nephew:

You may be two years old and don't yet realise, but not matter how sad and hard my day has been, the very thought of you brings a smile to my face.

Time to unwind

2009-02-24T01:04:00.004+11:00

Post-wedding madness.

Late nights.

Early mornings flights.

Thank goodness for down-time and evening routine. *sigh of relief*

Progress - 1.13%

2009-02-20T00:54:00.002+11:00

Greetings.

I will be out of the office for the weekend on account of my being interstate on account of my cousin's wedding day celebrations on account of out happiness that she has found somebody to lurrve.

Weddings are swell, especially Croatian weddings with the loud music and the rakija and the hundreds of people... can't wait! Anyhow, don't let me distract you from the video below. Please derive pleasure from your viewing of it.

Three things that suck

2009-02-16T16:26:00.002+11:00

In descending order of how much they suck:

1. Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the tongue and parotids.

2. Zac's departure.

3. The amount of money I find myself spending on cheese.

...

... i'm 'on go eat some cheese, now.

Weak at the knees!

2009-02-14T23:13:00.003+11:00

Happy Valentines day, Blogvakistan!

I haven't one single someone to share the special day with, so I turn my attention to all of you spunk-rats out there!

While researching the history of Valentine's on the internet, I came across an interesting video which talks about a well-known Valentinian (made-up word?) icon, Cupid.

Apparently our old mate was a bit of a stud in his time... an old-school 'sex symbol', if you will and NOT the paedophile's dream-come-true that we have become accustomed to.

http://link.history.com/services/link/bcpid6555686001/bclid1672160848/bctid10492398001

I hope you find this interesting.

I guess this is the part where I wish you a whole lot of cheesy Valentine love... so... yeah.

Doc. x

.daP yM

2009-02-12T14:37:00.007+11:00

My first video! Aaargh!

The quality is a little dodgy, but it's my first time so gimme a break, eh? I'm a little embarrassed... but here goes!

Things that people don't like about me

2009-02-12T08:13:00.003+11:00

I would consider myself a VERY likable person. I have loads of friends and I am always socially 'comfortable'. I have no problems meeting new people and I tend to do this a lot. I am, however, aware that there are some things about me that people don't like. I figured that I ought to let you Blogvakistanians in on it, to get the full picture:

Things that people don't like about me:

My need to break out in song with my sub-par vox
My dress sense when in public
I swear a lot. Fucking for serious, bro.
My taste in music, in general.
My 'middle-eastern taxi driver' CD in my car, specifically
Kitchen nazi
Patriotic towards Croatia
I am double-booked, and as it turns out, I'll also be late
I still turn to my parents for financial advice
I'm 'fine' to drive after a night out on the cerveza
My need to have an answer for most things
My unpolitically correct jokes
My religion
Zoning out

This list will remain dynamic for as long as I can think of things, so please stop by whenever you can for updates.

Quote of This Day

2009-01-31T23:36:00.005+11:00

While shopping...

Doc: "Dad, before we go, I just want to go and see some underwear"

Doc's Dad: "What? For... down there?"

GRAPHIC granulation

2009-01-27T22:03:00.027+11:00

Howdy

Over the Australia Day Weekend, I went away with my sister to some friends' beach mansion in Coolum, Queensland.

On day 1, I went for a sixer (third definition). I was walking down their driveway when I slipped over some loose gravel, and I took out the side of my right hallux (big toe, yo).

Given the nature of my career path, I found watching the healing process fascinating. So fascinating, in fact, that I just had to document it. If you don't wanna see, then stop reading. The thumbnails are small to avoid a confronting encounter for the weak-stomached. Click them for high resolution images.

It's pretty fucking gross, and in case you wondered - yes it DOES hurt like hell!

(In case you're wondering, the thready stuff around the toe is from bandaging)

There is a lesson to be learnt here. The lesson is that I am an idiot.

Missed you!!!

Idiom for Courtney

2009-01-24T22:05:00.010+11:00

Courtney was the 'one' for me.

She has been with me through thick and thin.

She had never let me down.

She cared for me and I cared for her.

At the moment I am working on several other blog posts, but this one takes priority on this day because... well... Courtney let me down.

Courtney is my car. The idiom in focus is - "when it rains, it pours"

I have never had a dull day with Courtney until a fortnight ago when I went back to Queensland after a lovely summer in Melbourne. Since then:

Trunk latch mal-functions. It is now secured with rope until she can see a mechanic. The inconvenience of accessing the trunk via the back seat slowly drives driver mad.
Courtney's clutch fluid leaks out, cannot get into 1st gear to begin moving. Courtney and her driver stuck in the middle of the road with cars flying past at 80 km/hr. Angry passers-by yell and swear at driver.
Courtney's driver seat belt can no longer retract. Seat belt now loose. Driver forced to drive under unsafe and illegal circumstances.
Busted tire on the way home from the Sunny Coast. Puncture too big to repair. Driver replaced the tyre with a spare, but now needs a replacement spare. Unfortunately the fuck-off rare tyres are proving impossible to find. Looks like driver might have to fork out $500+++ for a whole new set, soon. :(

(I must admit, changing a tyre makes you feel so manly and damn sexy)

All of this culminated into one of the worst series of unfortunate events that I could think of because last week I had friends visiting from Melbourne that I had to drive around. This weekend my sister is up from Melbourne and I need to be driving her around AND this weekend is a fucking public holiday (Happy Australia Day, bitches - woo!) so no one (i.e. mechanics) can help me.

What's next?

Perhaps the law of Murphy will make true, this idiom - "everything that can go wrong will go wrong".

Oh Courtney. Why have you forsaken me?

Partner vs. Family - The Battle Royale?

2008-12-30T01:14:00.008+11:00

When it comes to romantic relationships, who is more important? Family or partner?

I have three fabulous sisters, all who are in relationships: one married with a child; one engaged to be married in May, 2009 and one with a serious boyfriend of 5 months.

The story with each of them is that their partners SEEM TO (lets be fair, here) have taken serious priority over their family. When it comes to time spent (obviously what's reasonable), willingness to do favours, tolerance, gestures... it seems that no matter how much the family cares or loves, they seem to just not be worth the effort.

Being the family man that I am, I cannot imagine forgetting all of the important and wonderful things that my parents and three gorgeous sisters have done for me, for the sake of maintaining a relationship... or does this shine some light on my love life? Does this mean that I have never really been in love? Is it some sort of 'coming of age' into love when you decide that you can hold double standards with family and partners?

Perhaps it is being single at this point in my life, that my eyes have the clarity to see how ridiculous some people can be when theirs are clouded by the smoky haze of *cough* love.

In the recent past, there was a confrontation between a friend of a friend and his sister's partner. He stepped totally out of line and I gave him a piece of my mind.

Although I was victimised in this particular scenario, I was made out to be the bad guy. ¿que?

Apparently if I hadn't REacted in the way that I did (Emphasising the 'RE-' because he started it), then there wouldn't have been an altercation, regardless of my being verbally abused. Silly me! I'll just sit there and take shit next time, with an ear-to-ear smile.

My sister gave me this whole: "How would you feel If I did that to someone that you loved?". Were my thoughts quick enough on the day, I'd have felt like saying: "Like my own flesh and blood?".

Anyway, that whole thing has long since blown over and we are all very much in love with each other again. I know that the whole situation was meant to have taught me something, but if the lesson is that love is an excuse to get away with holding double standards with your family, then it is going to be some time before I can come to terms with it.

Can you help me come to terms with it?

To the North-West Quarternosphere.

2008-12-25T20:25:00.003+11:00

There you go... I just made up a word. I was forced to do so because according to the Geospatial Information Systems Council at Penn State University, "There are no terms in the dictionary for a quarter of a sphere". I think that if other internet guru geek-faces can make up words like 'Blogosphere' then I can get away with 'Quarternospehere'. I'm glad that I got that off my chest.

Back to the purpose of this Blog post.

Like I stated in the previous post, the only readers I seem to have are from North America and Europe. It is now your Christmas Eve or Christmas Day so to you all I wish an awesome Christmas full of cheer and joy... and joyness! As you eat and drink yourselves stupid (like I did last night), be greatful for the love and company of your family, partners and friends.

Santa was very kind to me this year, and I hope he is the same to you all!

I'm setting this ship to top-speed and getting my ass out of this Blogosphere to make some phone calls and organise a night out.

Take care everyone!

The Doc.

Pre-Christmas Merry Christmas

2008-12-24T03:34:00.003+11:00

I have found that the only readers of my blog so far are from North America and Europe. I'm surprised that I have ANY audience after so little time being involved in this whole Bloggy thing so allow me to give MANY thanks to all of my readers. You shall get to learn much more about me in the New Year, after the craziness of Christmas etc. dies down.

Well, as I type, it is Christmas Eve in Australia. Not long before the festivities are in full-swing. If any Australian readers should stumble across my Blog in the mean time, then I wish you a very Merry Christmas. Whether you celebrate it as a religious holiday or just partake in the excitement of the season, I give my love all the same.

For all you North American and European folk, just because I think you're awesome, I shall go to the effort of addressing you separately tomorrow night for your timezones' Christmases.

Stay tuned!

Quantum Emotions

2008-12-20T02:21:00.010+11:00

Last night I was thinking about all of the times where I have said "that was a shit week" or "I had a bad day". I, and others I know, say it all too often and I see the emotions this creates, eat away at our souls.

When I take the time to think about it, I realise how irrational it is to say that a WHOLE day or week or year is bad, when it is more likely than not that at least some things happy or funny or exciting did happen in that time.

As of today, I'm going to try something new with the way I think about events in my life. Rather than considering my life to unfold in days, weeks or years, I'm going to consider events to occur in discrete new quanta. Perhaps you've heard of these? I call them: MOMENTS!

I can't credit the WHOLE idea to my own genius. While deep in thought last night, I found that I kept reciting a movie quote in my mind. Something along the lines of: "It's about moments! That's all that matters!" - Cloverfield

So why am I doing this? Well, its because I consider whole days, weeks and months wasted when they turn out crappy. Given that my time is so precious, this concept of wasting time tends to get me down. I think that if I can break a day up into moments, throw away the ones that suck and hold onto those which matter the most, I can trick myself into thinking that every precious day is a beautiful one, which will be good for my soul :)

I urge you to help me in my little experiment. Take the challenge and make your life about moments. Please leave your feedback on whether or not this has helped the way you think about your life and how.

Goodbye, for now!

Like it was written just for me...

2008-12-19T23:01:00.004+11:00

I'm feeling rough, I'm feeling raw, I'm in the prime of my life.
Let's make some music, make some money, find some models for wives.
I'll move to Paris, shoot some heroin, and fuck with the stars.
You man the island and the cocaine and the elegant cars.

This is our decision, to live fast and die young.
We've got the vision, now let's have some fun.
Yeah, it's overwhelming, but what else can we do?
Get jobs in offices, and wake up for the morning commute.

Forget about our mothers and our friends
We're fated to pretend
To pretend

I'll miss the playgrounds and the animals and digging up worms
I'll miss the comfort of my mother and the weight of the world
I'll miss my sister, miss my father, miss my dog and my home
Yeah, I'll miss the boredom and the freedom and the time spent alone.

There's really nothing, nothing we can do
Love must be forgotten, life can always start up anew.
The models will have children, we'll get a divorce
We'll find some more models, everything must run it's course.

We'll choke on our vomit and that will be the end
We were fated to pretend
To pretend

- MGMT -

How to turn a 22 year old man into a whimp:

2008-12-17T00:37:00.005+11:00

Anyone who knows me well enough KNOWS my one and only real weakness. My 'Achilles heel', if you will. It is not an uncommon one by any stretch, but it is enough to make my insides stew with unrest and make me shriek like a scared little girl.

Ladies and gentlemen, the one thing on this planet which would be sure to freak me out on any occasion is any eight-legged freak from the order of Araneae, the SPIDER.

These minions of Satan have haunted my imagination from my earliest days till now. Even today, I require the courage of my mum or dad(or housemates) to 'do away' with these things or I threaten to run away to someone else's house to sleep while they lurk about in my domicile. I will not go anywhere near even the smallest spider, for the obviously irrational fear that it will eat me alive. I promise you that if you force me close enough to them, you will see tears and LOTS of yelling and resistance.

What does it take to make a mouse out of your man? What do you fear enough to give you the heebie-jeebies just thinking about it?

High School Drastical

2008-12-14T23:53:00.004+11:00

Tonight I had a chat with a close friend who I have held dear since High School. We don't see one another very often because I live in another state, but when we do spend time with one another, I am guaranteed to partake in some serious Deep and Meaningful conversation.

Tonight we discussed our high school experience and it brought back memories of one of the most difficult times of my life. High school was a terrible place for me, to the point where some of the memories haunt me till this day.

I was the guy who was picked on for being a know-it-all, a nerd, for his physical appearance and for his social inadequacy. I was the guy who always fell victim to the Queen Bees of the school. In the time since high-school, I have been able to identify and forgive those who did what they needed to survive that harsh battle field, but there are some that I think may NEVER redeem themselves. I took much comfort in finding out that the latter subset of bullies have little to show for their oppression.

Bullying in schools is a significant factor in the development of anxiety, depression and suicidal ideation in adolescence. It is a fucking serious issue, and if it weren't for my fabulous family and for my re-birth, I might have been pushing up daisies by now. It's NO joke!

Since my re-birth, all has changed. I have become some social genius with the greatest friends you could imagine. I also began to take care of my appearance and scrubbed up pretty damn well, and I have learned that there is no need to show off my intelligence, but instead use it to help others. Finally, and hopefully without sounding like I'm tooting my own horn too much, I am a NICE GUY! I knew what it was like when people were mean, and so I have made the conscious choice and put in the effort to be a damn nice guy who treats everyone with the respect that all people deserve.

Would I have turned out this way if I had never seen how terrible mean people were? Who knows... Maybe my nightmare that was high school was a blessing after all!

What was YOUR high-school experience like? Were you the Queen Bee or the Teenage Dirt-bag? Most importantly, if high-school was a part of your life some time ago, how did YOU turn out?

Thanks again for tuning in.

Super Sweet Funeral

2008-12-14T03:22:00.001+11:00

Not that my untimely death is an expected outcome of my (thus far) short life, but tonight I was wondering: "When I die... how can I go off with a 'bang!'?"... and... "How will my closest family and friends know what I want when I go?"

I then thought that it would be important to start putting together a list of music that would be played at my funeral.

I want a song that will capture who I was... who I am... and what I want the world to take from me when I pass.

What better idea than to see if anyone out there is willing to give me a hand in deciding. I know you don't know me too well yet... but think outside the box. I'm a pretty alternative and ecclectic sort of guy and my taste in funeral music tends to reflect this. Here are some examples of what I mean:

Option 1: 'Time to Pretend' by MGMT

Option 2: 'Heartbeats' by The Knife

Option 3: 'Chicago' by Sufjan Stevens

Option 4: 'Crazy' by Alanis Morisette

Option 5: 'Dedication and Windsong' by James Horner

Option 6: 'Glosoli' by Sigur Ros

Option 7: 'Hands of Time' by Groove Armada

Option 8: 'Make Your Own Kind of Music' by Mamma Cass Elliot

Option 9: 'Someone Great' by LCD Sound System

Hopefully this will get the ball rolling :)

Thanks for tuning in for those who have.