Pucchini

Went to the opera tonight to see Pucchini’s Il Trittico.  It was kewl.  Typical Pucchini as he finishes off the women in a wide variety of ways.  This time a nun poisoned herself with some nasty weeds from the garden after getting upset by her bitch aunty.  All the people in his operas could have done with some therapy.

Student Fares & Car Repairs

I should have bought a lottery ticket today.  The car was due for a service.  Amazingly, the final price was $100 less than the original estimate.  What’s going on? 

 Life as a student is also quite good.  I had to use public transport from the car service centre to home, and I saved $4.80 because I am a student.  That’s great.  I think I need to keep track of the benefits of being a student, without calculating the costs of not working.  There is a little Indian take away shop in Newtown that gives students discounts, but I dun like Indian food too much.  The Chinese place doesn’t give discounts.

My weekly bus ticket is also half fare, so I am saving $15.50 per week by being a student. 

Student subsidies to date = $20.30.

Grateful Not to be in Mebourne… Part 1

I have a feeling there will be plenty of future entries on reasons why you would be grateful not to be in Melbourne.

In Sydney, there was a lunar eclipse last night, and it was quite spectacular and a little spooky.  I have it on very good authority that it was cloudy in Melbourne.  Another reason to be grateful to be in Sydney.

I am very grateful that the media and government have been working together to ensure that everyone was adequately informed about the lunar eclipse.  Had we not been informed, there could have been mass panic, as it was quite unusual and suspicious, and a possible indication that someone had sabotaged the moon.   Especially since the moon turned red…. an obvious indication that the commos have come out from under the bed and up into the skies. 

Human League and Phil Collins

Today was a chill out day. Note to myself: I promise I will study tomorrow, and not find anymore study distractions.

However, today was also special as JB Hi-Fi had a sale, and I had to go past there on the way back from the gym to home (kind of).

I was really grateful to source some 80’s music, including Phil Collins, Human League and Billy Joel. At first I was surprised that they these CDs were (a) on sale and (b) not sold out.

By about 3pm, I wasn’t that grateful about buying the Human League CD, as I realised that they were really crap, and I may have wasted a substantial portion of my late teenage years listening to them. They are probably living in a little vineyard in Tuscany, partly funded by the cassettes that I bought from the money I used to make as a newspaper boy. This is a potential area of future research. (Note to myself: This is not an excuse for further study diversion in the next couple of days).

I feel like I was tricked back in the 80s when I thought they were good. Lucky it was not a DVD as I think I may have needed professional help.

Funny how things change.

I haven’t even been able to open the Phil Collins CD, as the reaction is likely to be a lot worse. Billy Joel, however, is timeless – so thats something to be grateful for.

Environmentally Sustainable Tissues

The Sydney Morning Herald has followed up on an interesting story where Woolworths were selling their home brand tissues under a label that says they are “environmentally sustainable”. As it turns out, the tissues are being sourced from Indonesia, from a company that has an appalling record on sustainability in tropical rainforests.

We have to be grateful that Woolies has withdrawn the tissues for sale today, but it has to make you think about products that are being sold with a “green” label. It’s a shame that companies claim to say their products are saving the environment, just by putting some nice pictures of trees on the label.

I think we can all take action on this issue. I’m gonna check out a couple of “green” products in my house today, and write to the companies to see if they have taken any steps to verify that they are actually being green…. wonder how that will go. I’ll be really peeved if I’ve been paying extra for green products that ain’t really green!! Hopefully an update later in the week. Hope I haven’t been duped!!

Here’s the link for the full story:
http://www.smh.com.au/news/environment/woolworths-blows-away-dodgy-tissues/2007/08/27/1188067008764.html

Grateful not to be a cicada in August

Well this is the first entry into my Grateful (and Bitter/Twisted) Diary, where I will try to find reasons to be grateful in this miserable old world…

It was such a wonderfully sunny and warm day today, so I took the bicycle out for a ride (had to wipe off the cobwebs). The sun was so nice and warm for the end of August. It has mucked up the inner workings of nature. As I was taking a rest in a park I realised that an eager cicada got all confused and he has hatched out of his hibernation in search for a mate. After being stuck underground in his little cicada shell for several years, he must have been extremely horny, as we was buzzing and making so much noise. Little did he know that it is still winter time and all the girl cicadas are still underground. The only bit of action he will get is when a curious cat comes over and tortures him by pulling off all his legs one by one until he can’t buzz anymore….

Kind of made me grateful that I am not a cicada in August as he had no purpose in life, apart from being a sad lonely individual who came out in the world at the wrong time… never to meet the love of his life… probably freezing to death right now since the sun has set. Unless he has met his fate with a curious cat. Sunny winter days are not so nice after all….