What merry hell is this?

I spent last night in a hotel in Sydney. My favourite hotel, where the bath is big and the beds are soft and comfortable. It was lovely. 

Early in the evening, I went downstairs to get some supplies from the convenient Woolies round the corner. I waited for the lift. It took its time. 

Finally, it arrived, only to be full. Full of people around my age, dressed up to the nines in black tie. 

"Who was the idiot who suggested black tie as the theme for this Christmas party?" somebody wailed. 

I looked around the lift. Mark, Darren, Paul and Trev (these are the names I'm giving them - odds on, being Gen X men one of them will sure to have one of these names) were suited and booted. Only one of them was in a tux, the rest is their good suits with a properly tied tie. Men get off easy when it comes to Black Tie events. They can rent or they can get their funeral suit dry cleaned. It never fits quite right - just well enough to look presentable. Drown yourself in Joop, Au Sauvage or Old Spice, run a bit of gel in your hair and Bob's your uncle. 

Women don't get off so easily. Women really don't.

Michelle, Tracey, Karen and Narelle (these are the names I'm giving them - I went to school with all of them) didn't fare so well. They all looked lovely. 

But Black Tie is SOOOOOO unforgiving. 

I'll remind you, this was a Christmas party for the sales team a large automotive retailer. But what 50-something year old woman wants to go out and spend money on a dress that highlights your bingo wings and the ravages of 50 years of child rearing, chardonnay, Queensland sun and a bitterly disappointing and uninspiring husband? Add to this finding an interstate hairdresser to do an up do, maybe a stop in a the soon to be defunct David Jones to visit a makeup counter to get the slap done (at the redeemable price of a lipstick or two). Of course, you have to shove your feet into shoes that won't take your orthotics and will leave you applying your clodhoppers with bandaids for a week after your podiatrist tears strips off you at your regular visit. 

All of this to be piled into a function room at a swanky hotel to be plied with prosecco, because they won't go for the good bubbles, and wilting canapes. (Actually, from a distance, I saw a seating chart, so it looks like this crew had a place to sit and the choice of beef or chicken. 

Regardless, men just have to attempt to look presentable for these 'occasions'.

Women are obliged to spend at least a couple of hundred dollars and face the silent judgement of their peers - or she in the lift wearing loose linen trousers, a collarless shirt and thongs, and feeling very good about these fashion choices. 

Black tie must be associated with one of the levels of hell. If my mob get in, I'd look into banning, or at least making it non-compulsory for anybody over 35, when you can turn up in a pair of pants and a nice top. So much more egalitarian.

Today's song:

Sunday Stealing has never done this...

It's late on Saturday night. I'm in Sydney, where I've just had a long and lovely bath - then I remember the blog has not been done today. Argh!

Thankfully, the questions this week are easy.

As always, they've been provided by Sunday Stealing.

Five Things I Have Never Done

1. Heroin

Actually, change that to Class A street drugs. Sure, I've had the odd puff on the wacky baccy and had a pill at a dance party or two in my youth, but the big stuff - heroin, cocaine, meth, ketamine... - no thank you. Never tried it. Never wanted to. No need to try. I've had fentanyl and morphine after having surgery. Fentanyl makes me hallucinate and morphine makes me throw up - but as these were administered in a hospital by doctors it doesn't count. 

2. Been to Africa

But I'd like to South Africa, Morocco and Tanzania (to go to Zanzibar, like the Hoodoo Gurus song

 says to do.)

3. Got married

Nobody's ever asked. Working through some of this relationship stuff with a psychologist at the moment. AuDHD has a lot to answer for. (And I have standards... and middle-aged Australian men are very uninspiring.)

4. Owned a new car

Pointless exercise. I've had nearly new cars - ex-demonstrator model cars with very low mileage (when I got this one four years ago it had 2500 kilometres on the clock) but I've never had new, new car. Pointless. Waste of money. You lose thousands in value as soon as you drive out of the dealership driveway. 

5. Published a book

I really need to pull my finger out on this one. I've got a bit of traction on my novel once again - got more words down over the last week - and I'm enjoying it again. So, I best get cracking. 

Today's song: 

Bed Rot

Fun ADHD trait. Bed rot. 

Can't move out of a horizontal position. Don't want to move out of horizontal position. 

I'm calling Friday bed rot day. 

Okay, my bag is packed to go away for the day. 

The cat sitter has been called. 

I've read a few more pages of my book for book group next week

I went out this morning, went for a walk with an old colleague, did a quick shop, went to the chemist, walked home, made the bed and did the dishes. I made a trip to Clifton Hill to drop something off to a mate. I don't have much of an idea about what happened for the rest of the day.  Horizontal, on the couch, watching Slow Horses with a crochet hook in my hand. 

I'm upright now. time to get things done. The dishes. The ironing. Maybe put on a face mask. Get an early night.

Or I could go back to the couch. 

Bed rot is real. 

It's time to go back to work so this sort of behaviour can be minimised. 

Today's song:

The Rude Awakening

 "Meet me for coffee on Little Collins Street at 9. a.m."

HOW RUDE! Doesn't he know I'm between jobs - I'm barely out of bed by nine. 

But, as he's my favourite recruitment consultant, and I've been trying to catch up with him for a coffee for weeks, there are things that will get you out of bed at seven thirty, feeding the cat, showering, washing your hair, dressing in something other than active wear, grabbing your bag and getting on a commuter train.

We used to do this every day. The rigmarole of going to the office. 

After COVID, we would do it maybe two or three times a week.

After six weeks of long lay ins, this all came as a shock. 

We talked about all sorts of things - he's awesome, you see. That time off, how our training sessions were going (his awful, mine good), about films (See Wicker and La Bola Negra and give Digger a go). About the dodgy market at the moment, how America is sneezing so the rest of the world gets the ebola.) About moving jobs. About his new partner. About me carting around a backpack on what time between jobs. 

"I'm heading to a library to write."

"Can't you write at home?"

"There are fewer distractions. No cat demanding treats. Nothing to clean."

All of this is true. 

After the coffee, I wandered down Little Collins Street, looking at the building I've worked in, the new cafes, the retrofits, the abundance of low lighting and wood tones. The dress codes of the workers. Gone are the days of the suits. Dress casual. Clean sneakers. Wide legged jeans and a blazer. Gone are the days of dry-cleaning bills and sheer tights - I mean how did I ever wear them to work for thirty years. The faces look younger. Of course, there are the anomalies. The baby goths with white makeup and pink hair. The school kids prepping for exams, sneaking in a bubble tea on their way to another space. Faces that show the melting pot that Melbourne has always been but now is more on show. Chinatown has morphed into a plethora of Korean and Japanese cafes, there's shawarma at every turn, butting up against the hipster coffee shops. 

I walked down Centre Lane and wonder if I went to the Zen noodle shop they'd still know my order (Flat rice noodles with hot chilli and chicken). Koko Black has given Haighs a run. High end footwear and expensive but dodgy face creams line the street. Mork Hot Chocolates, an expensive delight, calls, but I walk on. 

I'm waiting on the paperwork to start this job. It's been a long process - a not for profit is something different for me, and I very ready to go back to work, but this getting up early crap, I'm not sure I'm really ready for that, and all it entails. 

Today's song:

Outsource to AI - Voting

I'm about to vote in the Victorian State Election. When I say I'm about to, I'll be going along to an early voting centre and casting my vote early. I've been an early voter for years. Avoid the crowds and the barbeques and the people trying to push paper into your hands. Early voting starts on the 18th. 

Having a bit of time, I'm doing my research. I know where I stand, but I'm rather interested in what goes down the bottom my vote. I'm reasonably informed. Having a chat to the local Greens candidate the other day I set out my list of grievances, being:

• Fix the bloody potholes
• Stop the corruption
• Stop selling out to the CFMEU (I'm very much for unionism - but more along the lines 
• Pay teachers and nurses better
• Fund the Arts and not just the highbrow stuff
• Sure up funding for Domestic Violence
• Ensure women's rights
• No AI data centres
• Look at taxing the Churches
• Look at getting rid of Melbourne Cup Day and Footy Day (Pointless public holidays)

The taxing the Churches and the eradication of the two pointless days off are just nice to haves. The rest I would like to see happen. 

I've also spent the weekend within the echo chamber of a writer's retreat, where one of the crew is a counselor at an inner city local council. We discussed the joys of politics and how keeping your promises is hard when you have to work with others. There are budgets and timelines and all sorts of other things going on in the background. Want your green bins collected every week? Are you good with the rate rise that comes with that? What about new bike lanes? What do the Traffic Safety people say about that? There are all sorts of things going on which mean your promises are, if not watered down, thrown out the window. 

"So it's a bit like the Dutch system?" I asked her.

"What's that?" she asked back. 

"Everybody compromises and nobody's happy."

She laughed at that. 

I've also got my no go areas. One Nation. Last on the preferences. Absolutely not. I get the desire to disrupt  - but not that. Give me a disrupter like Abdul El-Sayed - thoughtful, educated, articulate and driven by facts. Not the shite Pooline and her crew grind out. 

Anyway, I put the following prompt into ChatGPT.

"I live in the Richmond District in Victoria. I am left wing, want the best for schools, hospitals and the environment, I want them to fix the pot holes and believe we should have a train that goes to the airport. There should be no AI data centres built. I want the Arts and DV better funded.  Who should I vote for and where should my preferences lie?"

To be honest, I rather liked the initial response:

"Based on the issues you've raised, I'd suggest looking closely at the policies of the Victorian Greens, Labor, and any progressive independent candidates standing in your electorate.

There are some important distinctions between them, particularly on public transport, environmental protection, public services, arts funding and family violence prevention.

I can help you work out where each party and candidate stands, and how to allocate your preferences under Victoria's voting system. I won't simply tell you who to vote for, but I can give you a factual comparison so you can make an informed decision."

Below this were a list of comparisons between Greens and Labor, links to policies, links to candidates web pages and generally it collated the information I required without having to go searching for the information. 

It didn't tell me who to vote for. 

But it did give some good information and cut down the search times. 

I'll give it that. 

Today's song:

Lazy Days and Tuesdays

 A dot point bllog because I've had a lazy day today:

• The job is coming - just waiting on the paperwork, but I've got verbal confirmation from the Program Manager. 
• I did two loads of washing and got them dry on the line - bliss. 
• I've rediscovered True Blood - the reason why nothing got done today. 
• The New York Times has Mushroom Wellington as its recipe of the day - Australians are going bonkers in the comments. 
• Tomorrow, new episodes of Rivals are coming out. 
• I wanted to go to the gym today. Didn't happen. It will tomorrow. 
• As the job will be coming soon, I've started making a list of things I still want to do during this time off. 
• I'm heading interstate for a night on Saturday. 
• Must contact my cat sitter.
• I should keep a tinnitus log - funny, it was really bad when I was down the Great Ocean Road, but it's settled a lot today, Hmm.
• Maybe I should start learning that freemason's ritual for the week after next. 
• And yearh, tomorrow is another day, but maybe, with the new episodes of Rivals coming online, I might have another down day. 

Today's song: 

Everything's Coming Up Pistachio

When did pistachios become a thing? It's like overnight, this rather niche flavour has gone viral. 

It's so fetch. 

Like fetch, pistachios have been chipping away at the zeitgeist like a teenage wannabee chipping away at the popular kids lunch spot. 

What was a fairly uncommon flavour of nuts and the occasional gelati has gone absolutely nuts. 

Pistachio is a favourite colour now (I admit to being a fan of this pale green.)

 (This image is AI generated using the prompt "Design me a gif of a woman wearing a casual outfit in a pistachio green colour with an italian inspired background looking very pleased with herself.)

There is the pistachio version of nutella - which I rather like. 

I had a pistachio drink this evening made of pure coconut water infused with pistachio and white chocolate. It was very nice, even it it reeks of hippy shit. 

I've also had a pistachio flavoured pudding, which wasn't as successful. I think there are better ways to get 15 grams opf protein into my system. The pudding itself tasted too artificial, but as a low carb, high protein treat it was fine. Thanks to the predominance of GLP1's everything's coming up protein at the moment. 

I also have some pistachio flavoured toothpaste - but that's for use at night. I prefer minty breath using the day. 

But with this explosion of pistachio, I have some questions:

• Where are all the nuts coming from?
• Who has to shell them? 
• Is this fad going to last? 

Just saying...  I will admit that I rather like it, when the flavour isn't too artificial. 

And don't get me started on Biscoff. Unlike pistachio, I can't see myself using Biscoff toothpaste. 

(Yet another AI generated gif.)

Today's song: