Goth Goes to the Big Apple: Christmas in Midtown
21st. Dec, 2009 | 07:18 pm
location: Mount Morris House, Harlem, NYC
mood: 
Festive!
posted by: ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif)
illdrinn
After a delightful breakfast at the inn where we chatted with our mostly German fellow holidayers we suited up and headed out. Thanks to Yuumei and Tech we had some prepaid metro cards and so we wandered up to the 116th Street Subway and caught a very fast train to 42nd and Times Square.
The garishness of the lights and the sounds is a bit overwhelming, it's like Leicester Square caught tacky. Somewhat appropriately one of the first stores we came to was the Times Square Sanrio store, so I picked up some Hello Kitty souvenirs. Afterwards we went to a Starbucks to find some warming coffee which was very welcome as we trudged through the snow and the cold up to Bryant Park.
Bryant Park is well known to the fashionistas being the location of NYC Fashion Week each year (and of course much of the location of Project Runway), but for this seasonal time it's covered in festive booths, hot chocolate booths, Christmas trees and of course a skating rink! So we pottered about and poked at the snow and took pictures.
Here I am in the snow, looking super festive in front of the giant Christmas tree at Bryant Park.
Let me tell you if you ever want good service, wear something festive at Christmas time. I have never had so many smiles or such good service everywhere I went. By the end of the day it got a little grating because strangers approached me all day wanting photos, wanting to know where I got the coat, asking for items off their Christmas list and so on.
From Bryant Park we wandered up to 5th Avenue, by this time it was a bit after 11am and we were surprised that it was quite quiet. Wandering along to the Rockefeller Centre was just magical, there's so much festive cheer and decoration, no wonder everyone talks about New York at Christmas.
The Rockefeller Centre also just seems to be a love letter from Rockefeller to his fellow New Yorkers, the whole place just gleams with hope and civic pride. Rockefeller commissioned much of the building and the artwork during the depression giving hope and employment to many, all the art runs on this theme and a huge plaque bears inspiring messages of hope (and free enterprise ;) such as "I believe in the supreme worth of the individual and in his right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness"
We were surprised to find ourselves disappointed with the skating rink at Rockefeller. Compared to the bright and gleaming sweetness of the Bryant Park Pond this rink was small, slushy and surrounded by pushy locals. So instead we wandered about the shops on 5th Ave for a bit. I have encountered the horror that is American telecommunications... it's not just that there's only a couple of GSM/3G networks (?!), it's not just that the don't understand the concept of a sim card that's not tied to a phone, but a prepaid service starts at USD$60 and contains no data. For a land where the consumer is meant to be king, this is just ridiculous. It is cheaper for me to use my phone on roaming from home than it is to buy a sim card. The concept of a $2 convenience store sim was just lost on the AT&T girl.
Rounding the corner we discovered Nintendo World! There's some fun 'historical' displays including a GameBoy bombed in the Gulf War and an original Super FamiCom, but mostly I was there for the merchandise. I added to my Mario plushie collection and picked up a couple of gifts for the nerds in my life. I find it interesting that the *only* place I've encountered so far with modern EFTPOS equipment was in the store of a Japanese company. All the telecomms and banking infrastructure here seems to be about 10 years behind the times, something I find somewhat bizarre when America prides itself on modernity and consumerism.
In order to prevent my earrings freezing to my flesh for the 18th time I bought these muffs for the bargain price of $5. With as much hair as I have and these muffs there is no need for a hat even in the freezing cold!
Lord I was glad I did though because the line for the Radio City Music Hall was about 2 blocks in the snow. On arrival I was ecstatic to discover alcoholic hot chocolate on sale in the lobby, hot chocolate and Grand Marnier really takes the edge off the cold!
The Rockettes are corny ridiculous festivity, but god I had fun. The whole thing is so cheerful and optimistic in a way that only America could do, 'shine the light of love' seemed to be refrained about 1000 times mixed with traditional holiday songs and themes, cheerful War Era pageantry and pleasant American formalwear.
The dancing itself was sheer precision and beauty, reminiscent of the opening scene of the Temple of Doom, every tap and click to perfection, chorus lines moving with grace and speed. Some of the dance rotations and synchronised line dancing were just breath taking and made even my cynical little heart gasp with delight. Less delightful was the 3D animations that made me motion sick and had me staring at the floor, but they had a lovely "history of the Rockettes" film toward the end that was sweet and interesting.
Of course it wouldn't be American without a hefty dose of Jaysus so there was an extended living nativity complete with camels and sheep, the scripture readings were a bit much but in my seasonal excitement, secular society and atheist parents it's easy to forget 'the real meaning of Christmas'
By this time the city had really started to get busy, and the snow had really started to melt, so it was time to get off the street. Heading into Saks on 5th Ave both a very good and a very bad idea if you get my meaning. The girls at the M.A.C counter fussed over my hair, coat, stockings, nails and makeup and were more than happy to serve. I didn't go silly really but it's worth noting that the cost of M.A.C retail in an upmarket dept store in New York is still 2/3 the price of it duty free in Australia.
I was actively disappointed with the designer clothes on sale, though they had a number of my favourite designers including Nicole Miller and Vivienne Westwood on sale for 40% off (god bless the poor economy!) there was not a single thing worth buying in my size. Even the rubber Westwood platform Mary Janes that you'd think would be oh so me, had a heel so small that I felt awkward walking in them. I did however hit up the "outerwear" section for a lovely new cashmere military style coat with fur collar, suitable for Sydney winter, and a pair of black fur ear muffs suitable for wearing with my black trenchcoat after the Christmas season is over.
Again the Christmas outfit did me some good, I got excellent upbeat service the whole time, and noted with pressed lips the rude rich New Yorkers barking orders at the service staff and willed them to learn the difference that a smile makes. Afterwards a quick run by an Irish Pub for an energy regenerating Magner's ($7USD for a 330ml bottle, ouch) and we were well into the evening. Instead of heading home for a nap we decided to push through the evening and get everything out of the way.
Firstly a run up to Top of the Rocks, the observatory at the top of 30 Rock. The wait was nil and the upstairs not crowded, definitely a better choice than the run to the Empire State Building we had planned to take today. Unfortunately the wind 70 storeys up was far too much for a long stay, particularly after dark in a coat that only reached my knees! There were some beautiful views though and it was well worth the entry fee, especially given the super fast talking elevator to the top floor. For awesome souvenirs of awesomeness I got myself a ViewFinder, complete with a Rockefeller Plaza disk, super happy with that purchase.
Afterwards we decided to head back to Times Square to find a truly horrendous touristy restaurant to round off our day. We succeeded! Here's the giant Reubens sammich I bought at the Roxy Deli after about 15 minutes of eating into it and giving up. I had them pack the leftovers because I couldn't bear to send back that much food, but I do wonder on the etiquette of giving food to homeless people, the rest of my sandwich could have fed two people easily and the lack of support for the needy here is enough to make my blood boil.
Between the long long busy day, the hefty food and the strange waking hours I was super tired after dinner. We caught a taxi home (they're very reasonably priced here) and I almost fell asleep on the way home. On arrival I managed to get my coat and boots off and climb into my bed, where I woke up 3 hours later dripping sweat... I had forgotten to remove any of the rest of my warm clothing in a heated room under a doona.
Once again it's the middle of the night and I'm wide awake by virtue of my nap (ah normality!) but it's given me plenty of time to blog and upload pictures. I hope that wasn't information overload!
The garishness of the lights and the sounds is a bit overwhelming, it's like Leicester Square caught tacky. Somewhat appropriately one of the first stores we came to was the Times Square Sanrio store, so I picked up some Hello Kitty souvenirs. Afterwards we went to a Starbucks to find some warming coffee which was very welcome as we trudged through the snow and the cold up to Bryant Park.
Bryant Park is well known to the fashionistas being the location of NYC Fashion Week each year (and of course much of the location of Project Runway), but for this seasonal time it's covered in festive booths, hot chocolate booths, Christmas trees and of course a skating rink! So we pottered about and poked at the snow and took pictures.
Here I am in the snow, looking super festive in front of the giant Christmas tree at Bryant Park.
Let me tell you if you ever want good service, wear something festive at Christmas time. I have never had so many smiles or such good service everywhere I went. By the end of the day it got a little grating because strangers approached me all day wanting photos, wanting to know where I got the coat, asking for items off their Christmas list and so on.
From Bryant Park we wandered up to 5th Avenue, by this time it was a bit after 11am and we were surprised that it was quite quiet. Wandering along to the Rockefeller Centre was just magical, there's so much festive cheer and decoration, no wonder everyone talks about New York at Christmas.
The Rockefeller Centre also just seems to be a love letter from Rockefeller to his fellow New Yorkers, the whole place just gleams with hope and civic pride. Rockefeller commissioned much of the building and the artwork during the depression giving hope and employment to many, all the art runs on this theme and a huge plaque bears inspiring messages of hope (and free enterprise ;) such as "I believe in the supreme worth of the individual and in his right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness"
We were surprised to find ourselves disappointed with the skating rink at Rockefeller. Compared to the bright and gleaming sweetness of the Bryant Park Pond this rink was small, slushy and surrounded by pushy locals. So instead we wandered about the shops on 5th Ave for a bit. I have encountered the horror that is American telecommunications... it's not just that there's only a couple of GSM/3G networks (?!), it's not just that the don't understand the concept of a sim card that's not tied to a phone, but a prepaid service starts at USD$60 and contains no data. For a land where the consumer is meant to be king, this is just ridiculous. It is cheaper for me to use my phone on roaming from home than it is to buy a sim card. The concept of a $2 convenience store sim was just lost on the AT&T girl.
Rounding the corner we discovered Nintendo World! There's some fun 'historical' displays including a GameBoy bombed in the Gulf War and an original Super FamiCom, but mostly I was there for the merchandise. I added to my Mario plushie collection and picked up a couple of gifts for the nerds in my life. I find it interesting that the *only* place I've encountered so far with modern EFTPOS equipment was in the store of a Japanese company. All the telecomms and banking infrastructure here seems to be about 10 years behind the times, something I find somewhat bizarre when America prides itself on modernity and consumerism.
In order to prevent my earrings freezing to my flesh for the 18th time I bought these muffs for the bargain price of $5. With as much hair as I have and these muffs there is no need for a hat even in the freezing cold!
Lord I was glad I did though because the line for the Radio City Music Hall was about 2 blocks in the snow. On arrival I was ecstatic to discover alcoholic hot chocolate on sale in the lobby, hot chocolate and Grand Marnier really takes the edge off the cold!
The Rockettes are corny ridiculous festivity, but god I had fun. The whole thing is so cheerful and optimistic in a way that only America could do, 'shine the light of love' seemed to be refrained about 1000 times mixed with traditional holiday songs and themes, cheerful War Era pageantry and pleasant American formalwear.
The dancing itself was sheer precision and beauty, reminiscent of the opening scene of the Temple of Doom, every tap and click to perfection, chorus lines moving with grace and speed. Some of the dance rotations and synchronised line dancing were just breath taking and made even my cynical little heart gasp with delight. Less delightful was the 3D animations that made me motion sick and had me staring at the floor, but they had a lovely "history of the Rockettes" film toward the end that was sweet and interesting.
Of course it wouldn't be American without a hefty dose of Jaysus so there was an extended living nativity complete with camels and sheep, the scripture readings were a bit much but in my seasonal excitement, secular society and atheist parents it's easy to forget 'the real meaning of Christmas'
By this time the city had really started to get busy, and the snow had really started to melt, so it was time to get off the street. Heading into Saks on 5th Ave both a very good and a very bad idea if you get my meaning. The girls at the M.A.C counter fussed over my hair, coat, stockings, nails and makeup and were more than happy to serve. I didn't go silly really but it's worth noting that the cost of M.A.C retail in an upmarket dept store in New York is still 2/3 the price of it duty free in Australia.
I was actively disappointed with the designer clothes on sale, though they had a number of my favourite designers including Nicole Miller and Vivienne Westwood on sale for 40% off (god bless the poor economy!) there was not a single thing worth buying in my size. Even the rubber Westwood platform Mary Janes that you'd think would be oh so me, had a heel so small that I felt awkward walking in them. I did however hit up the "outerwear" section for a lovely new cashmere military style coat with fur collar, suitable for Sydney winter, and a pair of black fur ear muffs suitable for wearing with my black trenchcoat after the Christmas season is over.
Again the Christmas outfit did me some good, I got excellent upbeat service the whole time, and noted with pressed lips the rude rich New Yorkers barking orders at the service staff and willed them to learn the difference that a smile makes. Afterwards a quick run by an Irish Pub for an energy regenerating Magner's ($7USD for a 330ml bottle, ouch) and we were well into the evening. Instead of heading home for a nap we decided to push through the evening and get everything out of the way.
Firstly a run up to Top of the Rocks, the observatory at the top of 30 Rock. The wait was nil and the upstairs not crowded, definitely a better choice than the run to the Empire State Building we had planned to take today. Unfortunately the wind 70 storeys up was far too much for a long stay, particularly after dark in a coat that only reached my knees! There were some beautiful views though and it was well worth the entry fee, especially given the super fast talking elevator to the top floor. For awesome souvenirs of awesomeness I got myself a ViewFinder, complete with a Rockefeller Plaza disk, super happy with that purchase.
Afterwards we decided to head back to Times Square to find a truly horrendous touristy restaurant to round off our day. We succeeded! Here's the giant Reubens sammich I bought at the Roxy Deli after about 15 minutes of eating into it and giving up. I had them pack the leftovers because I couldn't bear to send back that much food, but I do wonder on the etiquette of giving food to homeless people, the rest of my sandwich could have fed two people easily and the lack of support for the needy here is enough to make my blood boil.
Between the long long busy day, the hefty food and the strange waking hours I was super tired after dinner. We caught a taxi home (they're very reasonably priced here) and I almost fell asleep on the way home. On arrival I managed to get my coat and boots off and climb into my bed, where I woke up 3 hours later dripping sweat... I had forgotten to remove any of the rest of my warm clothing in a heated room under a doona.
Once again it's the middle of the night and I'm wide awake by virtue of my nap (ah normality!) but it's given me plenty of time to blog and upload pictures. I hope that wasn't information overload!
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Goth Goes to the Big Apple: Winter Wonderland
21st. Dec, 2009 | 01:04 am
location: Mount Morris House, Harlem, NYC
posted by: illdrinn
I think we have been very very lucky with the weather, there's been a blizzard across the entire North East and most flights after ours were cancelled. 30 inches of snow predicted for Rhode Island!
Now the good thing about being an insomniac with erratic sleeping patterns is that when you're jetlagged it works out perfectly. So with the B&B having a very respectable breakfast time of 9am I had time before breakfast to get out and see the snow!
This area is beautiful and the people are all very friendly, add in the pristineness that the snow adds and it's just gorgeous.
For good measure here are some additional pictures of the hotel parlour, the whole place is beautiful and filled with antiques, artworks and a bibliophile's dream of a library.
http://www.mountmorrishouse.com/ is the inn and is just beautiful!
Now the good thing about being an insomniac with erratic sleeping patterns is that when you're jetlagged it works out perfectly. So with the B&B having a very respectable breakfast time of 9am I had time before breakfast to get out and see the snow!
This area is beautiful and the people are all very friendly, add in the pristineness that the snow adds and it's just gorgeous.
For good measure here are some additional pictures of the hotel parlour, the whole place is beautiful and filled with antiques, artworks and a bibliophile's dream of a library.
http://www.mountmorrishouse.com/ is the inn and is just beautiful!
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Goth Goes to the Big Apple: World's Longest Birthday
20th. Dec, 2009 | 03:33 pm
location: Mount Morris House, Harlem, New York
mood: 
tired
posted by: illdrinn
Lets start with a quick picture of the fabulous holiday nails I had done yesterday at the Sparkle Nail Salon at the bottom of World's Square. In the end it took 4 people to do them, with one girl tugging at me for gel layers while another did the 3D acrylic application.
Sadly the search for coffee at Sydney airport was a bit of a failure, even the Starbucks seems to have gone so I couldn't even have shameful Christmas drinks. Sadly despite being promised it would open on Thursday the new airport Danks Street Depot was not yet open for business.
The plane ride to LAX was mostly uneventful; the food was tolerable but not great, the drinks selection is a bit awful on Qantas so I settled on Scotch and Dry which is a rarity indeed. I finally got around to watching District 9 which while gory was *amazing* and left me breathless in parts. To recover I watched Up! again and then plenty of Stephen Fry in America which I thought was awfully fitting. The rest of the time I slept which was quite useful really.
On arrival at LAX I was a little weirded out at the lack of grating American accents, and then I realised why. Every service staff member in the entire airport was either African American or Hispanic and the standard accent of LAX appears to be Mexican. On the other hand I was also delighted at the ease at which we cleared customs and immigration, the line was fast and quick and the man checking our paperwork very polite. I suspect that being white and middle class may have helped in this regard.
I also had my first run in in ... a very very very long time with American fast food, coffee that was entirely undrinkable and meat that I could not recognise the supposed source animal. I'm not sure I shall be attempting either again.
I had intended to watch more movies on the flight from LA to New York however my body had other ideas and I fell asleep before take off. I did wake up to an announcement from the pilot that we were flying over the grand canyon so I got some lovely shots out the window.
After another mediocre Qantas in flight meal my body put me back down again for the rest of the flight; meaning what with my standard insomniac sleeping patterns I had slept much like normal and landed in New York refreshed as any day. At the end of it all Qantas people did not bring me cake or sing as promised, however really, any 36 hour birthday where you get to wake up in another country is pretty fine.
We were informed towards the end of the flight that it was snowing in New York and would be until Christmas (yay!!) but that this likely meant we would be delayed in landing (boo!!). However on landing we had no problems whatsoever, landing on time and smoothly; amazing travel luck continued as I had no wait for my luggage and no wait for a cab.
On arrival the Mount Morris House B&B is even more beautiful than the website gave in. My 'room' is really a suite including a walk in dressing room about the same size as my Newtown apartment sized bedroom. The whole house is a classic brownstone filled to the brim with beautiful antiques and artworks, with a delightful owner. There were already rave reviews online I will be adding to them. At $250 a night for a 4 room suite on a picturesque edge of Harlem, this sure beats staying at a chain hotel, and for NYC? Much much cheaper too.
The owner recommended some local restaurants so we rugged up and went for a walk in the neighbourhood, laughing and stomping in the snow which was now several inches deep all around us and giving everything a clean white and festive feel.
Eventually we tumbled into the Soul Food restaurant we were looking for and by god it was everything I needed. Warm fried food, birthday cake and decent strong coffee, good enough to waddle home in the snow satisfied.
All in all I've been very lucky with my travel today and stepped out into a fluffy white winter wonderland. It's everything I wanted for my birthday, hoorays.
Sadly the search for coffee at Sydney airport was a bit of a failure, even the Starbucks seems to have gone so I couldn't even have shameful Christmas drinks. Sadly despite being promised it would open on Thursday the new airport Danks Street Depot was not yet open for business.
The plane ride to LAX was mostly uneventful; the food was tolerable but not great, the drinks selection is a bit awful on Qantas so I settled on Scotch and Dry which is a rarity indeed. I finally got around to watching District 9 which while gory was *amazing* and left me breathless in parts. To recover I watched Up! again and then plenty of Stephen Fry in America which I thought was awfully fitting. The rest of the time I slept which was quite useful really.
On arrival at LAX I was a little weirded out at the lack of grating American accents, and then I realised why. Every service staff member in the entire airport was either African American or Hispanic and the standard accent of LAX appears to be Mexican. On the other hand I was also delighted at the ease at which we cleared customs and immigration, the line was fast and quick and the man checking our paperwork very polite. I suspect that being white and middle class may have helped in this regard.
I also had my first run in in ... a very very very long time with American fast food, coffee that was entirely undrinkable and meat that I could not recognise the supposed source animal. I'm not sure I shall be attempting either again.
I had intended to watch more movies on the flight from LA to New York however my body had other ideas and I fell asleep before take off. I did wake up to an announcement from the pilot that we were flying over the grand canyon so I got some lovely shots out the window.
After another mediocre Qantas in flight meal my body put me back down again for the rest of the flight; meaning what with my standard insomniac sleeping patterns I had slept much like normal and landed in New York refreshed as any day. At the end of it all Qantas people did not bring me cake or sing as promised, however really, any 36 hour birthday where you get to wake up in another country is pretty fine.
We were informed towards the end of the flight that it was snowing in New York and would be until Christmas (yay!!) but that this likely meant we would be delayed in landing (boo!!). However on landing we had no problems whatsoever, landing on time and smoothly; amazing travel luck continued as I had no wait for my luggage and no wait for a cab.
On arrival the Mount Morris House B&B is even more beautiful than the website gave in. My 'room' is really a suite including a walk in dressing room about the same size as my Newtown apartment sized bedroom. The whole house is a classic brownstone filled to the brim with beautiful antiques and artworks, with a delightful owner. There were already rave reviews online I will be adding to them. At $250 a night for a 4 room suite on a picturesque edge of Harlem, this sure beats staying at a chain hotel, and for NYC? Much much cheaper too.
The owner recommended some local restaurants so we rugged up and went for a walk in the neighbourhood, laughing and stomping in the snow which was now several inches deep all around us and giving everything a clean white and festive feel.
Eventually we tumbled into the Soul Food restaurant we were looking for and by god it was everything I needed. Warm fried food, birthday cake and decent strong coffee, good enough to waddle home in the snow satisfied.
All in all I've been very lucky with my travel today and stepped out into a fluffy white winter wonderland. It's everything I wanted for my birthday, hoorays.
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Busy Busy
19th. Dec, 2009 | 01:31 pm
mood: 
bouncy
posted by: monted
myriadofsins. The BA strike was scary, I'm very glad it was called off as I don't think I could deal with getting in any later where she is concerned.Link | Leave a comment {2} | Add to Memories | Tell a Friend
Goth Goes to the Big Apple: The Departure
19th. Dec, 2009 | 11:40 am
location: Australia, New South Wales
posted by: illdrinn
Merry Vacationmas to me!
I am about to embark on a 36 hour birthday owing to crossing the date line on the flight Sydney to New York.
Hoorays super excited!
.... Even if there was no Danks Street Depot or Breakfast Birthday Cake :o(
Expect silly amounts of blagging and photos!
Posted via LiveJournal.app.
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Goth Goes to the Big Apple: The Departure
19th. Dec, 2009 | 11:14 am
mood: 
excited
posted by: illdrinn
It's my birthday, and it will be for about 36 hours as I get on a plane to New York via Los Angeles.
Excitement!
...Even if there was no Danks Street Depot or Breakfast Cake :o(
Expect pictures and blogging ago go!
Excitement!
...Even if there was no Danks Street Depot or Breakfast Cake :o(
Expect pictures and blogging ago go!
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Stream of consciousness Twitterscape style
17th. Dec, 2009 | 01:00 am
posted by: illdrinn
- 09:42 Dear #lazyweb please send 4 hours more sleep #
- 09:52 Har! Good morning to remember the Berocca 'on the go' in my bag. #
- 11:00 I just ousted @heavens_demise as the mayor of Optus on @foursquare! 4sq.com/7S7zge #
- 12:00 Cancel Christmas actually raised as schedule mitigation option :o( #
- 14:42 Xmas BBQ foiled by steak hunting kookaburras: Birds 2 Humans 0 #
- 15:09 Is watching 5 solution designers fail to construct a volleyball net at the Xmas BBQ. #fb #
- 20:02 I just became the mayor of Shinara on @foursquare! 4sq.com/5aTnIU #
- 20:39 Watching my parentals eyes light up as they order endless rounds of scallops and unagi. I made my father the wine buff drink ume shu. Ha! #
- 23:08 High Distinctions for both IT Strategic Investments and Research Methods. *smug face* #
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Sigh of relief
16th. Dec, 2009 | 11:37 pm
location: Fairy Goth Mother's Castle
mood: excited
posted by: illdrinn
Despite all the drama and the less than exemplary group marks my lecturer seems to have decided to adjust my marks and ergo I have been given a High Distinction for both IT Research Methods and IT Strategic Investments.
Hoorays team me.
Means I maintain my GPA and am a much less crazy person :o)
Hoorays team me.
Means I maintain my GPA and am a much less crazy person :o)
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Stream of consciousness Twitterscape style
16th. Dec, 2009 | 01:00 am
posted by: illdrinn
- 10:24 Have left my phone at home as am idiot. Grab me on Gtalk or my work phone if you need me. #
- 10:57 Very unmotivated today. I think I shall take a lunch break and generally faff about a bit. #
- 11:01 *facepalm* Realisation has hit that we have organised Singapore developer support to come on site at a time we're all on holiday. #
- 12:05 Scary looking meeting not so scary, on site dev support being moved to a time we're actually here. Crises over by lunchtime? Unheard of. #
- 13:09 Coke in a glass bottle is a very cheap way of inducing cheeriness. #
- 13:15 BTW guys no #midweekgeek or #shtbox for me this week; Instead my parentals are flying in for birthday dinner, then 9am airport call for NYC #
- 13:28 RT @abcnews: Violent computer games 'shoehorned into 15+ rating' bit.ly/68sJ8Q #
- 15:14 RT @damana: Geek girl business analysts please DM me. #
- 16:27 Review: Danks Street Depot Christmas Bar Food Night on Goth Gourmande digg.com/u1I4MN #
- 16:43 THIS EXACTLY RT @MetalheadMick: Since Conroy's raping the internet: Can anybody recommend a good Firefox Plug-in & Secure Proxy Server? #
- 18:13 RT @virgilwashere: RT @NewtonMark: You don't need a VPN to bypass. Most of the tested products fail if you put a ? in the URL. #nocleanfeed #
- 23:43 Having quiet drinks with the House of Knives boys. Hmm satisfied. #
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Stream of consciousness Twitterscape style
15th. Dec, 2009 | 01:00 am
posted by: illdrinn
- 10:02 In 8 minutes have managed to get to my desk, book a room, put on makeup, update a meeting and print 3 docs. Win! #
- 10:21 Jesus Christ. Project Review meeting already at shouting point. Case of the Mondays impending. #
- 10:22 I just unlocked the "Player Please!" badge on @foursquare! 4sq.com/7DNKaS #
- 10:22 I just ousted Scott R. as the mayor of Optus on @foursquare! 4sq.com/7S7zge #
- 12:54 Nothing like running past your meeting room to grab a quick smoke after a brain melting session only to find everyone already arrived. Arse. #
- 13:48 UTS admin claim that my enrolment is correct but not showing in my online Student Admin. #
- 14:24 Oooh. A box of Diet Cherry Dr Pepper arrived for me at work! I am in soft drink filled deliciousness. OM NOM NOM. #
- 14:28 Dear Mister Co-worker, while I am friends with many of the more difficult employees you can't send me to talk to everyone you're afraid of. #
- 15:16 Oh. Sad panda. Geoff Dromey from Griffith University passed away. O.o #
- 15:30 From my admin re: Xmas: Please let me know of your dietary requirements by COB today. And Lobster/Wagyu beef are not dietary requirements. #
- 16:01 Phwoar. Manila people bought me Japanese Chocoalte flavoured Black Bat cigarettes! #
- 16:10 Woah. It's 4pm. How did that happen? #
- 20:01 Left carefully constructed packing list on desk at work. Am trying to reconstruct slowly. #
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The missadventures of Miss Adventure
14th. Dec, 2009 | 06:10 pm
location: Corporate Mothership (Macquarie Park)
mood: 
chipper
posted by: illdrinn
I've been doing a lot of stuff really and not blogging because.... well I've been off doing stuff.
Don't forget also that I'm off to the US on Saturday so expect endless blogging and pictures for those of you who I know enjoy my travel stories.
- Last week I attended a very eventful dinner/blogger meet at Danks Street Depot where I didn't crawl home until somewhere after 3am drunk as a lord and wishing death on work the next day. There will be photos on goth_gourmande ... sometime. Accordingly I didn't make it into work until late the next day and was a little scattered though awesomely not hungover. If there's one thing I've learnt in life it's to ignore people who give you grief for drinking water with your boozamahol.
- On Fridays after work I've been attending #SHTBOX which for those of you who aren't Twitter obsessed is the Surry Hills Twitter Meet/Beer exchange. We keep infiltrating a bit with Mid Week Geek people plus Scott, Matt, Helen and Rez.
- Jonathan from Red Oxygen has also been in town on a project so there've been meet ups and dinners and drinks oh my! He was basically refusing to go back to Umerika and had extended his stay by an additional week; even still we spent most of the time together plotting his eventual relocation back to Australia. I must say Ching-a-Ling's the bar we went to on Oxford St definitely deserved to be in Melbourne far more than Sydney, I couldn't find it until I'd asked 3 bouncers where it was and when I did eventually find it was a sammiched bar in dim lighting with funky furniture and bare brick walls.
- I stupidly accepted an invitation from Scott and his fag to go adventuring on the Sydney tourist bus, very trashed. Fun time was had and I'd recommend it as an outing, but we did see people shagging on Elizabeth St in broad daylight and got weirded out by some creativity festival down at Darling Harbour.
- Finally made it out to Canberra for Chrome. It was a lot of fun and I think well worth the drive, particularly with Joseph and I nattering at each other terribly the whole way. The club itself was great fun, full of energy and really filled with the vibe that's missing in Sydney at the moment. Also cheesy dancy tunes that really make me grin. Wooyah.
- More importantly for many I went to the beach! I know! It was fun and I hid in the shade and the sunscreen with berym our resident red head but we had fun, and fish and chips, and I think I would even do it again. Miracle to me is that I still fit into my swimsuit despite having not worn it in ... I want to say 4 years?
- The Optus Christmas Party was on last week also, but with 6000 people served by 3 bars the wait got stab inducing even after the sort of 'marketing brochure' perfectness of the entire hustling laughing campus and its Australian themed food and activity stations. So I toddled away and spent the time with far better company than the usual band of ratbag sys admins I hang out with.
- Also I've been "dating" which is ... well it's odd after years of serial monogamy. Flattering though and I've spent a lot of nice time with some lovely nerd boys; which we all know I like really. I will say though that by the time you accept a couple of dinner invitations into an already overloaded time table your time really backs up!
- Worn Wild was on the weekend so Joseph and I headed out early in the morning and were glad to just have a table full of magazines after watching carload upon carload of fashion and mannequins arrive. Still we made the best we could of a working Sunday and had some fun chatting and gossiping.
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| From Danks Street Depot |
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| From Bronte Beach |
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| From Optus Christmas Party |
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| From Worn Wild - Sydney |
Don't forget also that I'm off to the US on Saturday so expect endless blogging and pictures for those of you who I know enjoy my travel stories.
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Stream of consciousness Twitterscape style
14th. Dec, 2009 | 01:00 am
posted by: illdrinn
- 02:40 Full of mirth and sleepiness. This little insomniac is going to bed before the tiredness passes. #
- 10:23 Hooray Batman and then off to Worn Wild. Good start to a Sunday. #
- 13:47 Fuck me, someone whose taste in music stopped dead in the mid 1980s is in charge of the music. Hhhhrrrrngrgh. I fear I may stab a trad.goth. #
- 14:07 On the plus side I have managed to get tethering working on my iPhone so that I can work on the laptop without my 3G modem. #
- 14:43 There is a goth girl floating around in a distressing ethereal fashion with a plastic smile frozen on her face; she's the Stepford Widow #
- 15:27 Protecting myself with a small wall of EBM via a very jury rigged portable sound system. Joseph won't let me play any real industrial. :o( #
- 17:38 Beauty and the Beast? Team Rivetting working at Worn Wild. dailybooth.com/u/198eh #
- 20:22 RT @dannychoo: For folks who like their ramen cooked by naked men bit.ly/7AqRnE 上半身裸の侍が作ってくれるよ。 #
- 20:29 Oh god that nap was divine, free time is amazing, no wonder other people are more sane than me. #
- 23:07 Way to make me panic. One of my subjects that I just finished is no longer on my enrolment advice. Sent e-request, hope it's worked out. #
- 23:33 Watching #tbbt and cleaning my apartment in preparation for parental visit #
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Stream of consciousness Twitterscape style
13th. Dec, 2009 | 01:00 am
posted by: illdrinn
- 11:28 *stretches* Hmmmm now *that* was a good night's sleep; it's been a while #
- 14:34 Ah girl talk with Melissa at the hairdresser I have missed it terribly. Must tweak budget so it is once again regular. #
- 14:47 Oh god 2 girls with scenester mullets just walked into the store asking about apprenticeships. #
- 17:21 Hmmm toffee nut latte you are my not so secret secret shame. #
- 17:53 I just unlocked the "Superstar" badge on @foursquare! 4sq.com/90QXDp #
- 17:59 After haircut, paying off Custom Gallery Serpentine order and Christmas shopping I think Mister Budget advises against Die Maschine. #
- 19:19 I just became the mayor of Woolworths CBD on @foursquare! 4sq.com/7LsiUA #
- 19:25 I just unlocked the "Overshare" badge on @foursquare! 4sq.com/6vIDZ4 #
- 19:35 Hooray ramen dinner luff and budget friendly plans achieved. #
- 21:26 $200 and several hours at Doppelganger Hair and my mane is back to its usual shining self dailybooth.com/u/18yv0 #
- 00:33 Hells yes! Finally got the goddamn 50 pet acheesement and the skunk carrier #warcraft #
- 00:36 Aaaah #Newtown, where the sirens run loud and long and seeing a man with dreads in a Santa outfit on a Saturday night is hardly surprising. #
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Ye gads
12th. Dec, 2009 | 02:54 pm
mood: 
worried
posted by: monted
It's been so damn dry over here for so long there's now a new Fire Danger Rating here in Australia- it goes: Low-Moderate -> High -> Very High -> Severe -> Extreme -> Catastrophic.
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Stream of consciousness Twitterscape style
12th. Dec, 2009 | 01:00 am
posted by: illdrinn
- 09:36 Office Christmas party today, in honour I'm wearing an actual dress. No #shtbox for me this week. #
- 10:10 I just ousted Scott R. as the mayor of Optus on @foursquare! 4sq.com/7S7zge #
- 10:46 Heh. I think I should have diverted my phone while working at home the last couple of days. 25 messages and counting. #
- 11:52 Hooray scary meeting turned out to be full of solutions and now everyone is in a good mood. #
- 12:05 .... Apparently my grandmother drove her car through her bedroom wall. ZShe is fine, but I think 90 might be too late to be driving. #
- 12:54 Star Wars themed Adidas Sportswear on #nerdgirlarmy digg.com/u1HqzW #
- 13:21 I have been invited to be a representative on our corporate IT Innovations Forum. I wonder what will come of it, hopefully positive changes! #
- 13:43 Hoorays! And then they gave me free Red Bull. Every day should be this positive. #
- 14:22 And now they're sending out one of my favourite developers from Singapore for Integration Test support in January. This day rocks! #
- 15:14 LET THE DRUNKENNING COMMENCE! #
- 16:00 There are 6000 people in my office why are there only 3 bars? #
- 16:12 First drunken co- worker of the night professes to be 'only staring because I love your look' #
- 20:01 Sitting next to the most ill informed self important twat in the pub trying to impress his gf. I want to make him eat his laptop. #
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Mah peepers and mah pinkies
11th. Dec, 2009 | 11:21 am
mood: 
accomplished
posted by: monted
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Stream of consciousness Twitterscape style
11th. Dec, 2009 | 01:00 am
posted by: illdrinn
- 09:50 Have had total morning fail, trying to determine if I can work at home again or need to jump in a taxi. #
- 10:41 Working at home again. Hoorays. Anyone up for coffee or company later? #
- 10:44 Depressing critical path analysis requires coffee. #
- 11:09 Taste of Sydney 2010 is on the week after my project goes live. No greater impetus to keep the schedule on track! #
- 11:11 ZOMG! Better Off Ted Season 2 Episode 1. I know what I'm doing at lunch! #
- 13:40 Ahar! Corporate VPN and dial-in working again on the Windows 7 machine. I no longer feel disconnected to the outside world. Thanks @notrez #
- 17:26 Getting ready for city missions dailybooth.com/u/18e43 #
- 17:39 Another deployment down. Sadly it appears my deployment for tomorrow is without a Unix rep, which dampens that one a lot. #
- 20:32 I just became the mayor of Pepper Lunch on @foursquare! 4sq.com/5e7t9M #
- 22:39 Good lord Christmas shopping crowds are woeful. 9 was steam-tastic good fun. #
- 00:28 Good lord I did a lot of washing this week. #
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You can haz..
10th. Dec, 2009 | 12:40 pm
mood: chipper
posted by: monted
[ insert strange Australian / duty free type things you would like me to bring back to London for you. ]
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Stream of consciousness Twitterscape style
10th. Dec, 2009 | 01:00 am
posted by: illdrinn
- 13:52 You know the good thing about working at home? I can eat Frozen Yoghurt (non-cursed) in the middle of my Business Core Team Meeting. #
- 17:13 Glad I worked at home today, meetings were painful enough without having to hide my facial expressions. #
- 17:50 A group of my devs in Manila got together and bought me cartons of cigarettes. Does this say good things or bad about how I treat staff? #
- 18:00 Implementation kicked off, I think that means it's time to start wrapping up my day and get changed. Who's going to #midweekgeek? #
- 19:41 I just ousted @teknetia as the mayor of Buzzzbar Cafe on @foursquare! 4sq.com/60fhym #
- 23:11 Hoorays! Miss @rachelsoma asked me to be a bridesmaid, and I have said yes. #
- 00:20 While I am now happily working on an functioning Windows 7 box, I find myself unable to install Adobe Air. Tips tweeps? #
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Stream of consciousness Twitterscape style
9th. Dec, 2009 | 01:00 am
posted by: illdrinn
- 09:23 Another awful night's sleep and my usual insane meeting load and paperwork on desk prevents work at home today. #
- 10:23 Today I will be mostly arguing with Change Mgmt. *sigh* #
- 10:45 My line manager is approving change requests while on holiday. Helpful but not healthy. #
- 10:53 Justification for salary review sent to management, I haven't had my salary reconsidered since I moved from operations. Wish me luck. #
- 11:33 Hoorays, my dept is now all Christmassy :o) Mind you I just had the living hell scared out of me by a co-worker up a desk I hadn't seen. #
- 12:02 I can has tortellini with smoked cheddar. Om nom nom. #
- 12:17 Future dating timesheets for my vacation makes me smile. #
- 13:33 I could kiss you Past Amaya, that $65K testing bill you thought you hadn't budgeted for has line items and quotes already. #
- 13:42 The new change mgmt person drives me fucking nuts. She cancelled a CR that I raised 40 mins ago because I hadn't attached the plan yet. #
- 14:31 Remember that additional 40 days of code merge? It will make my final code drop date, because I am that awesome (or my team in Manila is) #
- 17:36 Xbox posted back for repair finally. Going very odd having to watch real television in my room at night. #
- 19:55 RT @grantshow: Know a freelance designer who has time for a week or so's work? #sydneyjobs #
- 00:20 Hooray main OS drive data salveaged ready for reformat, rebuild and Windows 7 later in the week plus good company and lamb burgers. Win! #