M & my new toy...

Here is my new love...

Kristen, please note - these are your old Target jeans - the only jeans I own that I can comfortably ride in (and without having half my ass out on public display - sorry for the visual dear readers!).

I've almost decided which fancy pants Kevlar jeans I'm getting. Draggin skins, stretchy blue jeans, look like the winner at the moment. A bit too skin tight alright for my liking for the size I need them in if I want them not to gape at the waist, not complete slutdom, though close enough for daylight adventures. The plus side is that they are hipsters - yes, biker jeans for girls that sit below the navel! See, riding jeans are made for safety, and having hot little hipsters on when you crash, with their lack of protection around you hips, really does defeat the purpose of having fancy kevlar riding jeans on in the first place. Harry highpants, however, feel just WRONG

Viva la hipster! Right, now I'm back to my essays...deadline Monday & Thursday.

Ride #2

Ok, so you can all tell I'm a weee bit excited about my newest hobby by the number of posts.

However, seeing that the majority of the weekend was spent devoted to uni work - the first essay that I've written in 11 years. Definately hurting my brain. Consuming vast amounts of chocolate at my parents place and sleep were the other highlights. Yawn.

Day 2 saw me getting more coordinated. Liz & her mate Tanya went for a walk and let me play for an hour or so. I even made it out on to the road at the end of the hour - down into the new estate. I found more gears. My top speed was about 40kph. Thankfully, Coughlan Road is a peaceful street on the weekend. Clutches, apparently, like to be used almost all the time & bike indicators don't turn themselves off. Grrr. The realisation that this is a motorbike and not a push bike, meaning it's damn heavy & I can't ride without my hands when I get tired.

I can't believe I actually am learning to ride a motorbike. I'm stoked.

Brrrrrm Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrm!

I rode my *new* - new as in 2nd hand new to me new - motorcycle today! Eeek! Very very excited! My old highschool came in handy for learner burner riding time. Ahh the BHS bus bay. Such memories...now new memories of learning - some 11 years on!

Instructor Liz didn't look completely petrified, at least most of the time. So I mustn't have completely sucked. I even went out on the street - twice - used my indicator and all!

Tomorrow morn, I shall be back at it. And then next Saturday I'll come up the mountains again, to make use of the tranquil, long wide, empty streets. Then Liz brings my new toy down to the chaos of the eastern suburbs. Scary scary canary.

Holy crap!

I bought a motorbike! Months of talking, lookng & now it's all systems go. It's red. it's a Honda.

It's paid for and my mates taking me for lessons on Sunday & Monday mornings!

I'm just a bit scared. Well, if i'm completely honest, I'm shit scared!

Pictures soon I promise.

University - Kingswood Campus Highlights

Week 6 - and finally the delivery of text books for us Inequality & Human Rights students!

I like the ceiling near the Co-op Bookshop.

Strange, I'd never noticed it in my previous 10 visits to the store.

The gardens are looking quite pretty considering - and they smell devine - it was warm out west today, and the sun was heating the gardenias and the fragrance was amazing!

Way out west. Where appropriate behaviours don't grow....

Ahh, Kingswood - how I love thee!

This weeks joyful story from Kingswood, again, takes place very near to where our friend on the bicycle, with his case of VB was cycling by last week. The Great Western Highway - now days, it isn't the key route out beyond Penrith or beyond to the Mountains. However, it still gets a good volume of traffic. Powerwalking back from campus to the Station, I'm ipodless due to my brain not remembering to charge it up. So I;m just walking to the beat of whatever song I'm singing out of tune, in my head. And being the observant type that I like to think I am, I observe things. Things that I wish I didn't have to observe. Time was 12.45pm. Middle of the day, broad daylight, in an area well know for pedestrian traffic due to the uni 15 minutes walk away, and this being the main walking route. Thought I heard someone watering the gardens, a normal occurence. Once upon a time, non Australians please note - as we're drought stricken, there are water restrictions limiting both the days you may water your garden, and also the times. It has to be after 4pm I think - later afternoon either way - after the heat of the day has mostly passed to maximise water usuage.

How irresponsible, you know being the grown up with grown up thoughts that I keep having. Frankly, a few of the gardens around here don't need watering. Weeds grow regardless.

Then I realised..oh yes, why of course you can water any time of the day with that sort of HOSE.

Yes, a guy, not that much older than myself, was watering the garden with his 'own' personal hose. 12:45pm, watering a garden along side the highway. There was a bit of tree coverage, I mean, the non highway / footpath / main thouroughfare side of the appartment building may have been more appropriate peeing location, but no, nothing like a good public pee for the exhibitionists.

Repeat after me: I LOVE KINGSWOOD. Hmm, that could be a uni student t-shirt design I may just need to work on. Better than the rubbish UWS hoodies...





Does urine works as well as the more plain sort of water that comes out of the garden hose or tap?

The Pixies

I got to see the band that inspired a thousand cool bands since they formed back in the 80's. What a moment.

I confess, I'm not a Pixies obsessive. However, I have lived with a Pixies obsessive, and when the Kasbah kids said pre-sale tix were available, I jumped at the chance to grab a ticket. I was also having a bad day at work, which helped my willingness to part with a decent amount of cash without more than a second of thought as to my budget plans.

Friday night, I rock up to Luna Park. Loads of guys & gals, decked in black, black & a few other deviations of black. I deffinately was part of the younger part of the crowd, which is to be expected from a band that started when they did. I'm certain the the conservative residents of Milsons Point love a good alternative band act destroying the sound scape & breaking up the chinos & blue or pink Polo shirts that is the Friday 'casual' look for many of the residents..



It was ace. I've not seen the Pixies before, and I'm guessing that most of their australian fans haven't due to this being their first Australian tour ever. There were a lot of grown up sorts (physically anyways), with looks of anticipation, hope, glee - they've waited a long time.




Will they be disappointed? Lights, camera - ACTION!

I think for the first few songs, the crowd seemed a bit awestruck. Didn't take too long for the crowd to get over the 'Oh my god, i'm seeing the Pixies. In Australia. Oh my god!' phase, they kicked up there heels & rocked out with the band.



Thanks to my Pixies obsessive, indie clubs throughout the world, and probably Triple J, I knew just over half the set. Yes, all the big huge songs. Debaser, Here comes my man, This monkeys gone to heaven, Wave of mutilation, even Gigantic, which they finished on. I enjoyed it muchly. I've no previous experiences to compare them with, but I left with a smile. I hope the hardcore fans weren't disappointed.