It has been mentioned that it would be a nice idea for us to have a Christmas Barbeque. As the proud owner of a barbie, I am very much in favour of the idea. I would suggest that we do it on either the 18th, 19th, 20th or 21st of December. What do people think?
I went back to Warrnambool on the weekend, with Katy and my Aunty Dexter. My Mum has retired after 37 years teaching at Warrnambool College (formerly Warrnambool Secondary College, formerly Warrnambool High School). We had a nice drinks soiree at Proudfoots Boathouse, and I got to catch up with some of my teachers from high school. Cool!
Saturday, we went to a restaurant in Timor Street to celebrate my Mum's birthday (it's actually in December, but since it's close to Christmas we had an early one). I had - amongst things - "Greek sping rolls": minced lamb spring rolls with with tzatziki (sp?) dip and cherry tomatoes, feta and olives! Wow!
Today is the Kingfisher Festival at CERES - a festival to celebrate the rejuvination of the merri creek, which led to the Kingfisher returning to the area. They have music and dancing from local community groups including Thai dancers and the local primary school - cute!
A worrying thing is that the State Government is going to build a Merri Creek freeway further north from our house which will totally trash that area. It will also create pressure for the freeway to be "completed" near our house, to join it to the Eastern.
As Marie mentioned, the highlight for the last few days was definitely Rob's and Stella's wedding. Better, even, than the Buck's Night. We saw, Brett, Mendi, David, Jenny and Simon from Telstra, as well as Miki and the assorted Daniels and Davids that I met at the Buck's Night.
Marie and I went to a synagogue in Caulfield for the actual wedding. This took place under a small "marquee" (2mx2mx2m) especially set up in the middle of the shul! The bride and groom were dressed as one would expect for a European-style wedding, although the songs had a distinctly Middle Eastern flavour to them. It was quite brief - maybe half an hour - and involved the bride and groom, their families and a couple of Rabbis. There was a sort of circling procession, the reading of the marriage contract and then the breaking of the glass (to symbolise the destruction of the Temple). I had to borrow a yarmulke (mine was at the cleaners ;-). It was very colourful, and after mingling with the others, I realised that I was in all likelihood wearing a little kid's hat. :-P
Then, we had a few hours to kill so we went to see Lantana, which was very watchable. Some great performances in there too.
After that, we went to the Regent for the reception, where we ate, drank and listened to speeches. And danced - between every course, for up to half an hour! It was initially segregated into boys and girls, and while the girls were actually doing folk dances (that look exactly like the Nutbush), we were making up for our general lack of grace and co-ordination with our vigour. There was much linking of arms in circles and running to and fro, and several points where the bride, groom, Rabbis parents etc were getting carried around on chairs overhead.
It was a great simcha (celebration) and I feel very pleased that Robert invited me to his wedding, and that I've had the opportunity to widen my experience of other cultures. Mazel Tov, Robert and Stella!
I reckon Taj had a deal with the airport staff that they let him out a back door somewhere.
Greg and I went to Greg's friend Robert's wedding on the weekend. It was great. It was held in the Regent Theatre, down in the basement. They had this huge ballroom that was all lit up with candles, very gothic. We did lots of Jewish dancing and I learned some Jewish law from Mendi (sounds surprisingly like the common law in some ways.)
I have my final exam next thursday, then, next friday.... TENT PARTY!!!! yay!!! hope you can all come - Marie
It's not really in keeping with the spirit of blogging to do a big monolithic entry, but I've been slack of late. So, in reverse chronological order ...
Last night, Thursday, was Date Night. Marie and I had yummy curry.
Wednesday our house went to the local pub, the Lomond, for a bar meal. Very nice.
Tuesday I cooked dinner (Marie had an exam) and then headed to Farewell To Taj Day (no foolin'). Yes, we actually saw the Big Man take-off for warmer climes. Rickie, Brett, Kelly, Katy, David and I went out and joined Taj's uncle, aunt and cousins to say goodbye at the airport. There was a tense moment with an airport official over transit visas in Singapore, but it was resolved. I look forward to beating Taj at chess over the internet.
Monday ... I didn't do anything.
Sunday I recovered from Saturday.
Saturday was a Big One. I went to my mate Robert's Bucks Night and then went to Sunnyside Up 'til the wee smalls. Saw Katy, David, Taj, Brett, Ivan, Michael, Paul and Jose.
Friday was Marie's 25th Birthday, so we went to her parents and had a lovely dinner with Marie's extended family.
ThursdayI cooked dinner and Paddy came over, which was really nice.
WednesdayI hung out with Rickie and Taj.
Tuesday was at the Melbourne Cup. I went with Gerd and Theresa, Neal, Paddy and Rickie. While the weather was shitty, I managed to spread my $30 loss over half a dozen bets. I believe Theresa did the best of all of us - beginner's luck. We then went out to dinner at "Gluttony" on Smith St - excellent nosh!
Monday was Gerd's birthday. We celebrated at a Malaysian restaurant on Brunswick St and then had some beers in a couple of places in Fitzroy and Carlton.
Now, I've procrastinated enough and have to get back to marking. I'll be buying a wedding gift for Robert and Stella - my first experience with a Bridal Registry! Woo hoo! They're tying the knot (smashing the glass?) on Sunday, which should be good. My first trip to a synagogue.
Marie, you HAVE been the best bloggist, putting the rest of us to shame. I can't speak for everyone else, but I've not found you difficult or painful at all!
i'm seeing fiona tonight - we're going to a freebie be-part-of-the-audience BBC show... should be funny. she's good with finding the weird things to do!
I haven't blogged for a while, so a quick history:
Last night I went to dinner with Sabine, Tilan, Doron, Jonny, Alicia and Mick at the Vegie Bar. It was good to catch up, and we've made tentative plans to do this.
Tuesday I had vaccinations for dyptheria, tetanus, polio and hepatitis A. I've got a script for typhoid and malaria. Then it was Date Night with Marie at Comfortably Numb.
Monday I had Mexican with Gerd and Neal, and Paddy came too. We haven't seen him since he got back from his trip to Cairns. I had lunch with my some ex-Telstra colleagues Drs Bob Warfield and Peter Sember.
Sunday was a lazy day, recovering from Saturday and hanging out with Taj and Rickie, where I beat them all at chess.
Saturday I went to Meg's and Jas's with Rickie and stayed up 'til the wee smalls.
Friday was Date Night with Marie, this time at Cafe Relish on Brunswick St.
Phew. Coming events include Gerd's birthday party next Monday. Then Melbourne Cup Day with the housemates and Paddy etc, which will be a blinder. The following Saturday I'm going to check out Jonny's new place in Elwood, and then go to Rob's Bucks Night, which will also be around there.
Domestic note: there's a pigeon nesting in the gutter which can be seen from the study's balcony. Neal believes we may be liable for water damage. Marie doubts that we're obliged to scramble around on the roof of rented premises. Not sure what to do - at least one egg's fallen out of the nest. The next big rain will almost certainly destroy the nest and eggs/hatchlings. Any thoughts on what we should do?
Lastly, I'm going to cook dinner tonight, and Riqi and Taj will be joining us.
