As I did answer that I would, I repost here in its entirety a meme that I just completed for eneit.

( Memage! )

(Optional 28. Will you repost this so I can fill it out for you?)

I introduced eneit's youngest son to the pleasures of licking the bowl after someone has baked something sweet. At under one, just, he has been corrupted.

eneit and I were baking - her famous chocolate mudcake (viciousdisorder, in that post is my chocolate cupcake/muffin recipe*) and orange muffins. I dipped my finger into the bowl a few times and fed Daniel some of the mixture.

After the baking was complete, and we had moved onto the mudcake, we walked away from the table for a few minutes. eneit was mixing the mudcake, and I was ... well, I was probably checking out LJ.

eneit turned back to the kitchen and burst out laughing. Daniel had leaned as far forward as possible in his high chair and grabbed the bowl that the orange muffins had been mixed in, and the spoon, and was licking both!

Smart child.

*I keep wanting to mash the two words together ... but I don't like cupmuffin, and muffcake =X is just downright wrong. lmao!

When I stayed with ph8 and her man, a few weeks ago, something happened to remind me of the lovely thing about long term relationships.

What I really like is the way a couple who have been together for quite some time know about each other's "spoons".

"Spoons?" I hear you say.

Yeah, well, it seemed as good a word as any, and actually comes directly from the occurrence that sparked this post.

When a couple have been together for quite some time it usually follows that they know each other's little quirks and personal preferences, and usual cater to them for each other without needing a reminder or to be asked.

Case in point - we were serving up dessert (tasty, tasty, mini-pavlovas for those who must know) and I watched ph8 get out spoons. Two normal dessert spoons for herself and me. One teaspoon with an extra long handle for her guy. So .... "spoons".

I love it. I like that part about relationships. Especially when both people remember these sorts of things for each other.

I had a simply brilliant weekend in Canberra. I stayed with the knowledgeable, entertaining and utterly loveable gillpolack. (Seriously, I laughed a lot! And I kept turning to Gillian and saying "I have a question that I think you will know the answer too!" and every time she did!).

There were various home-made liqueurs, salt & vinegar chips, lemon roast chicken (oh my tastebuds), chicken soup, a-tasty-but-unspellable Jewish pastry with honey, lemon and poppy seeds. There were dvds (Stardust) and anime movies (Spirited Away). There was reading, and more reading! And there was a Folk Festival that was attended with some dancing, a lot of watching people dance, a lot of eating (poor Kitten ended up with eyes too big for her stomach and couldn't finish her dinner - what a waste!) and a lot of browsing of stalls.

I left with more food than I arrived with (Gillian and I made chicken soup/broth/stock, I took some of the unspellable Jewish pastries - yum, and by the by still good, GP, because I knew you needed to know, plus the remaining food I had brought to Canberra originally). I took lots of awesome photos at the Folk Festival - one or two of which I shall post in the next day or so. I bought a beautiful amber necklace as a keepsake.

I also relished the opportunity to cement a friendship which had, until now, only been an online friendship. It was fascinating that a comfortable rhythm was settled into within half a day of being in Gillian's company. No photos were taken of us together, which was an oversight and is a shame! So, I will have to visit again and not make the same mistake.

Well, I will remember. I owe pictures of the house my family lived in when I was born. I owe pictures of some of the elements of the Folk Festival. I wish I had taken more random "location-y" shots rather than just shots of the performers ... but never mind. I am resigned - I do need a new camera as the shutter speed on this digibomb just doesn't cut it (for me) any more, even though it's only 1.5 years old. Must save.

Well, I've been bitten by something. I felt the sharp sting and within thirty or so seconds, I had a raised and tender red lump on my back just below my left shoulderblade. Ow. gillpolack to the rescue. She gave me ibuprofen (my first taste) and teatree oil. The swelling subsided, and even reversed to some degree, within ten or so minutes. Awesome. We've also have several very in depth discussions on allergies versus sensitivities ... and how to manage both. It's been very beneficial.

We noted that we have slipped into a comfortable elder-younger sister pattern. It's nice.

We plan to go to the folk festival tomorrow. Should be exciting. In preparation for being blissfully happy but probably very tired and sore, we have cooked Ming's Master Chicken Broth to be reheated and eaten with rice when we come home. It is less the bay leaves, as it's the only spice gillpolack couldn't locate, but the broth appears to be working anyway (as gillpolack said, in the scheme of things, it's probably the better spice to be missing - or words to that effect). Mmmm tasty.

I had anticipated, on my arrival, that I would probably be withdrawn and shy in the presence of gillpolack's other Friday night guests ... but to my surprise, it wasn't. Well, I was certainly more open and interactive with the first two guests, and then when the last two guests arrived, the group had increased enough for me to find it significantly less easy to make or develop a connection with the individuals. Still, it was very fun, and I kept up with the conversation - I was very proud of myself because there was quite some ranging and high-intellect-y topics touched on over the course of the evening.

Also, there was medlar liqueur (yum! and I and one other guest helped ourselves to seconds, a fact which seems to have pleased gillpolack immensely), kosher wine (...), and aged peach brandy (super tasty, I could have drunk it allllllll night). All very tasty. The medlar liqueur was in fact made by gillpolack and I am very impressed with it - she says that with more time, the bite of the brandy will mellow until (I think) is it s not bitey at all. I am impressed.

I just got to taste gillpolack's cherry liqueur. I'm honoured because she doesn't pull it out for everybody. In my mouth it lifted as though it was going to have bite but suddenly melted away softly to leave the taste of cherries and no sudden sharpness that you get with other liqueurs. It was an experience and ... a few minutes on, I'm still tasting the fading cherry flavour on my tongue and enjoying it.

It's very exciting. miss__scarlet went to Europe for two months and met up with her man in Paris. And he proposed. Yay! =D

I mentioned this to Darius in case he was out of the loop (which he has been known to be) but he texted back to say he had heard and that he had wanted to tell them they were a really cute (possibly the cutest ever) couple ... but he felt it might seem weird saying it to miss__scarlet's man. So, I thought I'd say it for him.

They are totally cute. I also think, and therefore must add, that they have a really romantic story of a relationship. It's all blissful and very lovely. Yay! =D

What a moodlifter for my week =)

I'm really looking forward to being in Adelaide again this weekend. I may not have made mention of it yet, this year, but this Sunday it's my birthday.

For my birthday, I've treated myself to a ticket to the Big Day Out event in Adelaide. I'm noping Bjork throws a tantrum on stage =X which is apparently what she did mid-song at the Melbourne event. I'm also just generally looking forward to seeing her perform.

Boost Juice are also treating (haha) me to a free birthday juice on Sunday. I just need to find my vibe card ... which I can't, I've just realised. So I won't get one. =D Dammit, lol.

just2draw is monopolising a lot of my time on Saturday - we are going to lunch, then going to see a film of my choice - The Jane Austen Bookclub. I also plan to go out to dinner with a larger group of friends on Saturday night followed by drinks and dancing or karaoke.

Sunday I have plans to do something with my family. Monday I will catch up with a ex-workmate friend before I fly back to Sydney in the evening.

Busy like whoa ... but I have charged my camera batter, and packed the charger as well just in case! =D Should be an awesome trip!

Office Secret Santa can be the source of a lot of laughs.

Notably, today, one of the Partners of the firm got a Borat-style mankini in camouflage print ... because last week, he locked himself out of his hotel room still drunk and butt naked, after the Client Christmas party in Melbourne.

Someone else got a half-emptied bottle of cognac with the message: "sorry, the other half took the gift over the budget ... so I removed it." And then was gifted with the actual gift - a (whole) bottle of wine.

I gave my victimperson a Kid's Bathtime Fun Shaving Kit (plastic razor, plastic mirror, bubble foam, and a brush) with the message "Pre-season training for Movember 2008" because he had been involved in the Movember fundraiser this year.

What did I get? Well, there's a dude in the office, and he's new. We get along well. We talk cars, amongst other things. He knows I drive a ricerHonda Civic EK Gli, 1.5L. He bought me a model Integra Type R and a 2 litre bottle of Coca Cola. His card read "Sari, I know you love your Hondas so I bought you one! Now you also have a considerable upgrade to your 1.5L Civic - fix the 2L bottle inside the engine bay, and you'll go faster! VTEC, yo."

Haha =X It made me laugh so hard. =X

Well, things are considerably more settled after the drama of last week. I reviewed my postings, and noted that five of my six most recent posts have been about Indigo. She would tell you "that is as it should be", and I'm sure she's correct ... but it's commonly said that variety is the spice of life. In that vein, here is some variety.

Virgin Blue's flight service is rock bottom (and I took the time to tell them so in a survey I was offered the opportunity of completing). Both flights with them, in the space of 8 days, were half an hour behind at least in landing and allowing us to board. That would be understandable (although, disappointing that it appears in my experience as the norm for them) but it was sub-standard that there wasn't any communication of the delay and thanks for patience to the waiting customers (some of whom had appointments to keep at the other end!). However once we were in the air, the pilots made the decision to fly higher than they normally would in order to regain lost time. We arrived only 15 minutes later than we should have. Also - I managed to land pole position in seating for the flight. Seat 1F, window and front. Nice. Those things did make up for the lateness, but I still can't shake the disappointment - makes me less inclined to fly Virgin Blue again.

I had an awesome dinner (sushi at my favourite place in Adelaide) with Manda and laughed hysterically with her about my latest idea that I had for a wedding ceremony (how long will this one last, lol) - instead of music while the bride (that would be me) and the groom (Mr Plug-In since I don't currently have a potential groom) were signing the register, I wondered if lion dancers wouldn't be both more entertaining and a little sort of "taste of culture" from my side. Anyway ... that did afford both Manda (and just2draw who had arrived to take me on to coffee and a catch up chat) a lot of laughs.

just2draw and I walked further down the street from the sushi bar and into a cafe where we had hot chocolate in a latte style (that is to say, milkier ... because I prefer milkier hot chocolates, lol). We chatted for a while, and I don't think it would be inaccurate to say that the opportunity to touch base and talk about some more intense issues going on in our individual lives was relished and just what we both needed. I really value the amusement and insight that I can offer to just2draw and that he seems to take from my company. In fact, his amusement often amuses me! And he was kind enough to make a detour when dropping me home in order for me to purchase new batteries for my SLR camera.

Batteries, by the way, were a good purchase, and I took a good number of photos at the wedding over the weekend. I won't post about Indigo's return home, as I did that in the entry just prior to this one. And, I think I will post wedding commentary and reflections in another post following this one.

In any event though, my weekend was awesome! I ate good food, caught up with good friends, my darling Indi came home, and I saw all of Darius' family - which meant so much to me because they have been dear to me for a very long time.

Weekend in Adelaide was joyful! =D

I landed on Thursday evening and my mother took me to meet my brother's new girlfriend Jess ... 19, one quarter Maori, one quarter Scottish, the rest mostly Hong Kong Portuguese with the possibility of some Chinese somewhere. She is, in a word, beautiful. And not just physically. She is the most confident, open and friendly girlfriend James has had yet! (Although, his first ever girlfriend, and one other, still remain very dear in our - the family's - hearts).

On Friday morning I took the cats to the vet. Oscar was chipped (there was hatred glared at me for the rest of the day) and had his claws trimmed (possibly, the chipping didn't bother him as much as the claw clipping - this might be where the hatred comes from). It too him all weekend to forgive me. Indi was scanned for her barcode (hehe) and will be registed on the national register. She also had her claws trimmed but didn't even blink at it.

As a treat, I purchased a toy (feathers on the end of a bendy-ish rod, Oscar ignores it, Indi loves it and tries to play with it by herself even) and a cat bed for Indi. Oscar already has one. She loves that too. It's very cute to see her head just peeking out of the entrance to the little set up. Heh.

Then just2draw came around. He took pictures of the cats! (Here, and here. Also here.)

We went to lunch at a little Malaysian cafe/restaurant I discovered last time I was in Adelaide (August) called Kopi Tim on Gouger Street. Very yummy Hainan Chicken Rice! And then just2draw kindly took me past my mother's office to collect something and then dropped me at the Bead Hive on Pulteney Street for my next catch up (a couple of hours with miss__scarlet spent creating a necklace together, as she is very experienced, to display a large bead of Venetian glass that one of my Italian lecturers gave to me).

From here I managed to get a lift with miss__scarlet to my old workplace and caught up with a number of people there. It was good.

Then I rushed back to the city (only a couple of blocks from these offices) to meet Manda. I ended up wandering on Rundle Street briefly and bought a leather bolero. My necklace, created that day, was also admired by a prefessional jewellery maker! (one of the staff in Blue Chilli on Rundle Street).

Then Manda, her boy and I made our way to T Chow restaurant. We caught up with a number of people there (approximately 8 others). Food was good (well, the noodles and ice cream were ... the chicken was not as good as on other occasions, though not bad either).

Then I dropped past Kami's house ont he way home (scored a lift from Moni!).

Saturday saw me go to the doctor - a number of blood tests and check ups were done, plus the first of the three Gardisil vaccinations. I'm being tested for Coeliac generally and also the genetic Ceoliac test (not requiring gluten antibodies to be present in the blood, and predicts risk of developing Coeliac disease).

My day did get better though, as all the unconfortable and needle bits were over and done with early! I went with Moni to the supermarket and grabbed a few things (primarily cat food for Oscar and Indigo) before rushing to the Central Markets with my mother and brother to meet up with his new girlfriend for lunch.

James was disappointed as we spotted a school mate of mine (from primary school) and although I wanted to catch up with the friend and reconnect, I was hoping to avoid it then as then was not the time. Unfortunately his dad hailed us over, and I foolishly went (and then couldn't extract myself until it was time to leave for the next thing I had planned). I will look forward to the opportunity to get to know Jess properly though, next time.

I then caught up with Darius. We went to Marion to try and find him a shirt and tie for his sister's wedding, then to the beach to talk and walk, and I scouted for washed glass for his dad's aquarium - something I always automatically do when I'm on a beach. After that, we dropped into his house before heading out again (past the cemetary to visit his grandfather's grave) and then up the hill to get chicken and chips. We ate in the car at the look-out near my house, and shared a bottle of rosé (plastic cups! hehe).

On Sunday, I went to the wedding that had been the reason for my visit. It was nice, though not my style. (miss__scarlet, I'll fill you in when we catch up, instead of writing it ... Hopefully people will put up photos on Facebook, but I know Elisa already has on MySpace).

The reception was High Tea. I had a lactose allergy moment. It was unpleasant, though my own fault (I would try a sandwich from the non-lactose free plate on the off chance it was the same as from the lactose-free plate...). I vomited. Heh. But I felt better after that!

The bouquet toss is something else to write about. I'll do that in a separate post.

Then I dropped past Darius' dad's house and petted their cat and caught up with Darius, his brother and his brother's girlfriend. I also watched a tiny bit of Australian Idol before I headed off to meet Manda and her boy for dinner (stew. cooked by boy, was very tasty in fact!).

Then I had a ridiculously small amount of sleep before I had to rush for the plane. I slept on the plane, but it couldn't land quickly enough. For some reason I was nauseated in the last twenty minutes of the flight (a lot of turbulence, but not the scary kind, just the uncomfortable kind ... I don't usually get motion sickness).

And that, folks, was my weekend.

I managed to get out only 10 minutes later than I wanted to, last night. And it really was only a stone's throw to the Firehouse.

ph8 found me all right. We started with a Chocolate Fireman cocktail. Potentially, this undoes any good work done by being healthy earlier in the week .. but it was very, very, very tasty and very, very, very chocolatey. And I have all of the rest of this week and next to be healthy again. (I even brought just roasted vegetables for lunch today!)

Then we had dinner - risotto for ph8 and t-bone steak for me. We talked a good bit, about boys, about cats, about books, about work ... I very much enjoyed it.

It was raining when we left. We were greeted by some guys on the street (I think they looked like road workers or couriers ... I can't remember, but I think they had orange fluoro vests on). We parted ways at the train station.

It was a good night!

It is cold and grey outside =( It is officially "go back to bed" weather. No such luck though, I am unfortunately stuck at work! And (although, this part is not unfortunate at all) after work there are drinks at the Firehouse with ph8.

Drinks with ph8 are sounding almost like a set up in a bad romance novel starting with a blind date. All cliches - "I'll be wearing this, or that" (in my case a green dress which I shall tell you more about later) and no romance! Hehe. Fortunately, we're not meeting for romance ;)

About that green dress. Did I ever mention shopping for the weddings that I'm attending in Adelaide in November? Well, anyway, I wanted to buy a new dress. And I bought one. A nice green halterneck. I'm wearing that today - giving it a trial run you might say.

Sorry guys, I totally forgot to bring my camera so ... no pictures of me, my dress, or me with ph8.

Anyway, I've never been to the Firehouse before. I had to ask a co-worker where it is. Fortunately it's less than a stone's throw away from my office (especially if I threw the stone from the 11th floor - where the office actually is - although, that might cause some carnage on ground level so I refrain from actually doing so*).

Mmm, drinks before food *giggle* ... I might have to taxi home. Ok, not seriously. One drink will not do me in. I might get something to nibble on with the drink too. And I don't want to keep ph8 too late. But goodness it will be nice and fun =) Yay!

* Not like the time I threw disposed of a saturated roll of toilet paper out the window of my fourth storey hotel room and clocked some poor sod on the head with it!

It completely slipped my mind to mention that Valentina called me on Sunday evening.

My little sister successfully applied to study veterinary science at a university based in Bologna (Italy). She is sharing an apartment with other students, but has to catch a train every morning out to the small village where the school of veterinary science is based.

She was also excited to tell me that the guy she dated while she lived with us in Australia will be visiting her in November for 2 months! They are not dating now, but I think there's a connection between them still. And it's very nice for both of them to get to spend such a decent chunk of time together. I wonder if he will pick up some Italian! (I'm sure he will, but I wonder how much, and if it will prompt him to learn Italian back in Australia afterwards.)

I filled her in on things at my end. We discussed whether or not she would make it to Australia for our winter (her longest break) or whether or not it was a possibility for me to visit her. I guess that second depends on other travel commitments that I have going ahead. Exciting discussions though.

I also told her about my weekend (which you can hear about in my next post) where I made her some jewellery because the fabrics available to choose from made me think of her.

I'm going out salsa dancing tonight. First time in ages. I will be so rusty. Couldn't convince anyone else to go, so will only know one person there - a friend from Adelaide who moved to Sydney some years back and who invited me to go out with her tonight.

Looking forward to being back in Adelaide for a little while, next week. Plans are to hit the ground running - straight from the airport to coffee with a girlfriend who leaves the next morning to go to Spain! Then Friday (I think, or possibly Monday) will be lunch with an old co-worker from the previous place I worked at. Maybe a dinner at my favourite sushi restaurant with my mum. I'm also hoping to catch up with _flygirl5 for an evening. Saturday I'll be having coffee with Darius before he heads off to Renmark for the weekend. Then Saturday evening - no plans yet, maybe catch up with monggy and go out? Sunday I will catch up with Sarah for coffee in the afternoon, and follow that up with dinner with the family on Sunday night. And a touch-base appointment with Dora on the Monday. Should be good!

Ahhh, home.

Dinner last night was a success. The cake was most definitely rescued and edible (even though I left the cream to make the ganache at the office instead of taking it home with me that night).

We had wine (Moondah Brook Verdehlo) and some Kettle chips as starters while I prepped and finished off everything else.

Then we sat down to beef Masaman curry and Thai green chicken curry served in the sweetest of clay pots (images courtesy of miss__scarlet) with rice and garlic fried bok choy.

We finished with warmed mud cake with a scoop of ice cream and some strawberries.

Yum. We laughed a lot - talked about boys, boyfriends, cooking, childhood experiences, my mum (and her vegetable regime, her new experience that she had recently in Sydney, and her "your fertility/ovaries/future generations" spiels). People were in hysterics over the last bit. People also laughed at stories of me pretending to be a horse as a child, lol.

The kitties were petted and admired (and Oscar was humiliated and razzed up by me which ended in a "snake strike" style attack with tooth and claw on my hand which only glanced off my wrist lol). L says: "your kitties are beautiful! (but scary)."

The night was a success and there are plans to have a cocktail and dessert night (dessert only, no dinner or anything). And I plan to have people over again (thinking: roast and roast vegetables, followed by brown sugar baked peaches or cinnamon poached pears with chocolate frangelico sauce).

I have friends in Sydney! I'm over the moon ^__^

So, well - the weekend in review ...

Friday night clubbing. We met our friends in the city, they were running late and hadn't yet eaten so we accompanied them to a Korean bbq restaurant. I ate ox tongue. I am never doing that again. However, I can now say I have actually eaten it.

After this, we went back out onto the street to continue navigating to the night club. My internal compass told me which way to go before the guys had worked out their little map. So I flung my hand out to point in said direction. I should never fling my arms or hands in any which direction. In fact, I should be taken out in a straight jacket so as to avoid doing any damage to innocent bystanders.

Yes, I hit someone in the face with my hand. I was terribly worried that I'd poked them in the eye, but fortunately not. The guy staggered around crying "oh my eye, my eye" to ramp up the theatrics, then peeked through their hands at me and said "Ohhh! Beautiful girl! Is ok!" And then righted themselves and kept on walking.

The club was ok. Full of people dancing to what I think was supposed to be r'n'b, but I have to say I might be stuck in the past with my r'n'b because I hardly recognised or really even liked much of the music that was played. Still we had fun, dragging our partners and friends onto the dance floor before we piked just shortly after midnight. Still, I would like to do it again.

On Saturday I made chocolate mudcake. I think I over cooked it, as it is dried out on the outside. This calls for ckae-shaving (paring back the burnt and dried out bits, and then sealing it in cling wrap to keep the moisture in.

Or a remake.

After making cake and dinner (homemade chicken schnitzel sandwiches, mm - Luke does his with seeded mustard, tomato, and cheese, I do mine with ... tomato sauce - classy, no? hehe) we headed to the cinema and saw Transformers. I had been reluctant to go to what sounded like a boys' toys film ... but after the finish of the film, apologised to Luke because the film had actually been pretty entertaining. Then we went home and watched some OC (my season 4 disc set came in the mail recently, yay).

After disc 4 of season 3, Luke turned to me and said "can we skip forward to the season without Marissa?" You can imagine, I think, my heartfelt and releived agreement with that suggestion. I do like elements of Marissa and her storylines, but she is just so angsty drama-drama-drama and outright stupid about things. And I still cannot believe that the OC ended up being pulled because legions of Marissa worshippers gave it the flick after her character was nixed. Like I said, I like elements of Marissa, but I think she had had such an excess of drama that by season 3 she was dragging the series down. It's such a pity that the series was then canned because I think they had managed admirably to rescue the series after Mischa Barton's departure.

Anyway, on Sunday I went shopping - food and a few other things. Preparations for a dinner I'm having on Tuesday night at my place with a few girls from work. I got food stuffs, and also purchased two new Scanpan pots (one big enough to cook Oscar in ... not that I intend to, lol). I also used a birthday/farewell voucher from miss__scarlet to buy the sweetest little claypots for cooking in and serving in from Wheel & Barrow. I will take a picture of them and see if I can get them online, although my digital camera is broken at the moment. Sigh.

Then I came home and cleaned and watched more OC. Bearing in mind Luke's request from the night before, I skipped straight to disc 1 on season 4, but then he asked me why we were missing such a chunk of the storyline. I reminded him, and he asked how many discs of season 3 were actually left to be watched. I told him 3. He said, we should really be able to manage that, I'm sure. So we watched most of disc 5. Then Luke went out to have a beer with a mate, and I kept cleaning and watching. When Luke came home, I was set to watch another episode, but we got held up finishing up with the cleaning, so I postponed that. I have reached some point on disc 6. Which is unfortunate, because now I am ahead of Luke, and we were watching together. Still, we can just re-watch the ones he missed until he's caught up.

And today, Monday, is work. Hooray! ....

I went to the Robbie William's concert in Adelaide last night with Sarah and Mon. The venue was a football (AFL) park with grandstands and seating reserved for gold and silver tickets, and general admission onto the playing field. We were on the top level of the grandstand, toward the back. We had a decent view of the stage so despite being far away and Robbie looking like a stick figure, we still had heaps of fun. It was definitely enjoyable. I'm not a huge Robbie fan, to be honest with you, but I know and enjoy some of his songs for sure! Still, with the atmosphere and the lighting and effects, and in the company of two very good friends who are huge fans, I was able to get into the swing of things.

Before the concert even started, a couple of police officers came up the aisle next to where we were sitting and went to the back of the grandstand (only 5 or so rows away) and pulled out four mysterious carboard packages. Apparently some of the concert-goers had found them and called for police assistence as nobody was claiming them as theirs. The police put plastic gloves on to open the boxes, and pulled out some sort of mechanical/electrical contraption with wires hanging out ... and then put them all back in and carried the boxes away. So, it looked bomb-ish, but I don't really know what the truth was. That was a bit scary - especially the police officer opening the box and pulling out the contents - not very safe for bystanders if it had turned out to be the worst possible explanation.

I would probably have liked to have left at the point, but my friends were in control of the transportation, so I was much at their mercy, lol. In the end however, it was a fun night with no other scary happenings!

After the initial drama, the concert got under way (not that it was ever held up by the discovery in our area). The opening lights and special effects were very dramatic (in fact, in the end this was the best element of the whole night for me). Among the songs he did were Millenium, Let Me Entertain You, Rock DJ, Kids, Rudebox, Angels, Come Undone, Strong, and Sin Sin Sin. Some people got into it a little too much and threw their bras onto the stage! (Not me, I am too poor and too attached to my sexy lingerie to throw it about like that.)

At the end, we managed to get out rather smartly - after the initial bottleneck caused by everyone trying to exit their seats all at once. When we were outside of the stadium, people were milling about and in some areas had stopped entirely due to too much foot traffic. Sarah employed her usual nightclub tactic. She grabbed Mon's hand, and Mon grabbed mine, and then just towed us through the crowd at an almost-run (I was just dragged along by the two of them - I can't work out if that was a positive or a negative, lol, but it was certainly to do with being the smallest of the three and at the end of the chain). People seem to clear for people running, and also you get to the gaps quicker than anyone else. All in all were exited the venue and got home in around a total of 30 - 40 minutes ... which given that there was a crowd of sixty thousand, was really not too bad at all.

Just this week a friend from many years ago signed into AIM. I was so excited I dropped the phone and had to try to IM her immediately. Unfortunately Anna couldn't reply straight away, but when I next signed on (the following day) and IMed her again to see if she was there, she replied straight away telling me that she had sent her response just a moment too late - I signed off before she hit send.

I haven't spoke to Anna in about 3 years, but she was one of my closest friends when we were in regular contact. I don't know entirely - I'm pretty sure it was to do with my changing email addresses and her computer dying but I do think that the loss of contact seemed to come from her side.

I have always added Anna's AIM sn to every new login that I created, just in case! And over this weekend, the just in case occurred! Yay! I filled her in on the happenings in many of our mutual friends (or friends from that time period). She was interested to know that so many had married or had children, and that many of the marriages had come about between people who had met through the organisation we were all involved in.

I expect, from our conversation, that she will be online a lot more now - having finally remembered the password to her AIM sn! lol.

Monica and I got together and made a calendar for Sarah's birthday.

The months, January through to December.


( More pictures of our work for those interested. )

I went swimming on Sunday. It was actually very fun - it's been a while since I went swimming. I should swim more often.

I swamkicked/paddled my way from end to end of a pool for 1.5 km. My legs were hurty and lead afterwards, lol, but I hung out in the steam room for a bit after and then had a drink with my mother before heading home.

We made tortillas for dinner (although, Jorge insisted that they were fajitas - in Spain anyway), and I managed to fit in a long (over an hour) walk with my friend Monica before we flopped in front of the tv and watched the Helen Mirren two-part show on Queen Elizabeth. I was actually quite impressed by parts of it, and can see why she won an award.

In another note ... Jeremy Irons has aged. Badly. I thought it was the guy from House briefly, before I remembered who was billed as playing the Earl of Leicester.