Tuesday, December 31, 2002

Am getting addicted to eMode now - have taken the Enneagram test and have come up with the following result:

Tim, you're a Type 1 - The Idealist

Friends, family, and colleagues probably appreciate you for both your high standards and commitment to excellence. They're also apt to know that when they come to you with a problem, they can trust you to be fair and objective. As an Idealist, you're likely to be seen as a wise and balanced person with strong integrity.

Being a member of this type puts you in good company. Jane Fonda with her knack for athletic ideals and commitment to standing up for just causes, and Ralph Nadar, with his idealistic determination as a consumer advocate, are also Type 1s.

This means that compared to the eight other Enneagram types, you have a strong sense of what's right and wrong. In fact, you're someone who is typically committed to doing the right thing and making sure you're as good a person as you can be — no matter what situation arises.

Am going to stop now...

MrT 12/31/2002 03:57:00 am [+] : Feedback!

Hmmm - starting to doubt the accuary the tests on eMode. I took the true talent test and it diagnosed the following:

Tim, your true talent is mechanical ability

Given this talent, you're most likely curious about how things work and may enjoy tinkering with machines. Have you ever taken something apart just to see how it would fit back together? If this sounds like you, you may have earned the reputation around your household as a real Mr. or Ms. Fix-It.

At times, people like you can be both self-sufficient and a great help to others because when it's time to change a car's oil or tighten a leaky faucet, you can be just the right person to get the job done. No matter what kind of career opportunity you choose, chances are that you'll enjoy it most if it involves working with your hands or seeing the tangible results of your efforts.

How do we know that your true talent is mechanical ability? While you were taking the test, we calculated your responses to each test question, and noticed that, relative to others, you consistently answered questions that measure mechanical ability correctly.

We have a leaky tap upstairs, perhaps I'll give my newly diagnosed talent a go.


MrT 12/31/2002 01:37:00 am [+] : Feedback!

Have been practising playing the Didgeridoo with Geoff after being inspired by Aboriginal sales man in shopping arcade in The Rocks. We have both managed the drone, but the continued "circular breathing" technique required to maintain the noise could take one to three weeks to perfect. Am determined to master, despite running the risk of upsetting the neighbours.

Took the "Discover your Parenting Style" test on Emode and received the following diagnosis....

Tim, your parenting style is Type III

You give your children ample love and affection, as well as stable and predictable boundaries. Research shows that your parenting style helps foster your children's sense of independence, as well as high self-esteem and academic competence.

Without the proper checks on your parenting style however, any disruption of your consistency could shake the foundation you've laid for your children.

... this doesn't sound too bad to me. What do you think?

MrT 12/30/2002 10:51:00 am [+] : Feedback!

Back in the office today for a few hours to catch up on e-mails and start to prepare for next year. Am supposed to be writing up conference notes from our trip to the Hunter Valley but am slowly running out of inspiration/motivation. Having the last few days off has scuppered my work routine and now I long to be out in the sunshine. Air conditioning in the building is broken and this combined with the fact that my legs and arms are slowly cooking due to yesterday's sunbathing activities are making me feel very lethargic. Walked out of the house today to see that our rubbish was not up to the standard required for automatic house collection. We've been here eleven months now, and we still haven't worked out what combination to throw away our glass, tins, paper and food rubbish to guarantee collection. I'm sure the bin men ( or should that be private waste desposal consultants ) are playing games with us now.

There has been a minor breakthrough in the fourth test match, we are about 50 ahead and Australia are on the rocks at 56-3 at lunch. It's all plain sailing from here.

MrT 12/30/2002 01:28:00 am [+] : Feedback!

Went to Bondi today in the bright sunshine and warm temperatures. Forgot to suntan my legs and feet and so am glowing from the waist down. Geoff and his first taste of Australian surf life this afternoon and seemed to enjoy himself despite being momentarily dragged under the waves by a rip tide early on. Everyone had good time and have caught the sun this evening it seems. Picked up book "Catch Me if You Can" from airport and have read it cover to cover - one that Dad would enjoy reading, although perhaps a bit tame after Mr Nice.

Caught myself staring at small children on the beach looking for the naughty ones. Hope we don't get one of those.

MrT 12/29/2002 10:45:00 am [+] : Feedback!

Turned out that Vic's Mum and Dad were feeling quite chipper after their 24 hour flight, which was an amazing effort. We returned home and then walked up to the Royal for a quick introduction to Aussie beers ( VB and Tooheys ) before returning home to warm chicken sandwiches and cheese and biscuits. Spent the day today walking round the city and circular quay in bright sunshine. So far so good.

MrT 12/27/2002 09:44:00 am [+] : Feedback!

Decided to go for LOTR II, but completely sold out at Fox Studios and in the City. The pouring rain did not help my mood, but was instantly cured by watching Amelie on DVD(9/10). Made another New Year's resolution to be bolder in next Year's film choices. Going to pick up Vic's Mum and Dad in a few hours from the airport. Vic said that they sounded very tired on the phone in Singapore. Dread to think what they will be feeling now.

MrT 12/26/2002 07:22:00 am [+] : Feedback!

Turned out to be a good Christmas Day yesterday after all. A strange feeling waking up and stepping out into the bright sunshine. When the Christmas carols are all talking about Santa's sleigh and snowflakes, it is really difficult to relate that with the hot weather and long summer days. Spent the morning unwrapping all of the presents that our family sent us from the UK. I got a book by Christopher Reeve, a puzzle, supplies of Marmite and plenty of chocolate. Vic got a Revlon nail kit and lots of other goodies.

Had Christmas lunch at some friends and played cards with Rob's new 007 cards he got for Christmas. I think we spent more time looking at Ursula Andress in *that* swimming costume than actually planning our respective strategies.

Regular communications by Webcam to the family has kept homesickness at bay.

It is now Boxing day and we have to decide between going to see the start of the Sydney to Hobart race or joining the crowds at the cinema to watch the new Lord of the Rings movie, The Two Towers.

MrT 12/26/2002 12:05:00 am [+] : Feedback!

More shenanigans with the Woolwich last night - not at all impressed with the IVR(interactive Voice Recognition) merry-go-round and never being able to speak to a "real person". Looking forward to selling up and chalking the whole thing down to experience. Need to get some good local finanical advice will make getting financially savvy number one New Year's Resolution.

Have decided that I will never buy a house in the future that is at the bottom of a steep hill like the one we rent at the moment. There is a certain physological barrier in knowning that you have a ten minute climb in either direction when you venture out - especially in the hotter weather.

Tis Christmas Eve, and everything is very quiet at work. Special lunch laid on for the remaining workers, will eat and chat, then wonder home.

MrT 12/24/2002 12:25:00 am [+] : Feedback!

Almost perfect Sunday spent milling around yesterday. Decided to go to David Jones and stock up on the usual Christmas supplies. Bought ham off the bone, topside beef, four cheeses from a choice of hundreds, indulgent chocolate biscuits etc. No turkey though as we don't fancy cooking just for the two ( or should that be three) of us. We returned and watched back to back episodes of Louis Theroux - very amusing. One thing that is strange here is that when they get a good TV show, they will show all the episodes of the series in one go, instead of spreading them out over a few weeks. No wonder there is hardly anything decent on in the evenings. Finished off the day by watching Sense and Sensibility in the evening and catching up with Mum on the phone. All very relaxing.

I'm not sure if Vic is eating for two, but she is certainly pumping for two, she seems able to pump on demand with a highly impressive level of volume and duration. Have found a way to get my own back, by breaking wind in front of the fan and letting the fan distribute the odour with ruthless efficiency around the room.

MrT 12/23/2002 02:08:00 am [+] : Feedback!

Have finally got arrangements sorted for New Year's Eve and so can relax. Although, I'm not sure what we've let ourselves in for. We decided that a cruise around the harbour would be the best option after all and a small tourist booth on the edge of Circular Quay rang round and found a boat that was still free - "The Blue Moon". It was only afterwards that we became slightly suspicous; why were places on the boat still available when we had been searching for weeks with no luck? I had a sudden panic attack that we would be stepping aboard a retired oil tanker having a couple of days off from it's usual people smuggling activities in Indonesia. I expect to have bad dreams about this decision over the next few nights.

Talking of bad dreams, we have finally invested in a pedestal mounted oscillating wind fan to cool us during the summer as there is no air conditioning in our old terraced abode. Very effective, although Vic reported nightmares concerning being trapped in a wind tunnel and found it very difficult to open her eyes in the morning as the constant stream of air had evaporated all traces of eye lubrication.

To get our "sea legs" before NYE, we decided to go across the Harbour to Manly on the ferry. It's the first time we've done this for a couple of months now, and it reminded me what a beautiful place Sydney harbour is. Everyone talks about the Bridge and the Opera House, but it is the harbour itself that is the most breathtaking once you arrive. Hot and sunny but very windy with small sailships zig-zagging in front of the ferry. One particular small catamaren was nearly wiped out by the ferry - I'm not sure how they didn't see us coming, but a sharp blast on the fog horn cleared made them completely s**t themselves before they lept to the other side of the boat to faciliate a sharp change of direction.

And so to bed, late night after video night double header (Monsters Inc(8) and Rules of Engagement(8)).

MrT 12/21/2002 01:28:00 pm [+] : Feedback!

Last day at work for most people, but not for me. Absolutely boiling hot and blue sky today, went down to Darling Harbour after work and had Cocktails and salad with Vic. Felt very fine and as if we were on our holidays. We inquired about getting aboard a cruise ship on New Year's Eve, but all of the cheaper options are booked leaving only the $450 per head option. Way beyond our budget. I think we have decided to go to Watson's Bay, should still get a good view despite being a little further away. Will have to think through our transport options though.

Watched Vicar of Dibley Christmas special this evening to help us get in the mood.

MrT 12/20/2002 10:54:00 am [+] : Feedback!

Have just tried to get tickets for the Australia vs England Test match but found that all tickets have been sold, apart from the ones in the "Concourse". Having not been to the ground I'm not sure what the "Concourse" is and so could be a bit risky. Will go to Ticketek tommorrow and get four tickets after I've had a chance to have a look at the Plan of the ground. We should get a discount for being Poms, based on the fact that it is likely that we will not fully enjoy the occassion.

We have also got to decide what to do on New Year's Eve. Looks like it gets really busy around the harbour and a lot of the vantage points close at 3pm - that's a full 9 hours before the festivities start. I'm not sure Vic and her bump will last that long. Am thinking a cruise round the harbour will be pretty special - could cost $250 each, but that includes food and drinks as well. Supposed to be one of *the* great events so would definately be worth it.

Had slightly odd Thai Green Curry from the supermarket tonight. A little bland and disappointing, can't beat the "Eat Thai" version at the top of the road. Ah well, big presentation tommorrow going to relax in front of Bargain Hunt.

MrT 12/19/2002 10:50:00 am [+] : Feedback!

Hello, felling a little tired today as I didn't get too much sleep last night. It was boiling. We've taken to filling the bath with freezing cold water then standing in it for ten minutes while brushing our teeth. The idea being to cool down before going to bed. All seems to work quite well, apart from yesterday, Vic forgot she was in the bath and spat out all of her toothpaste foam and covered her feet. Throughout the evening, if either of us wakes up from the heat, we pad along to the bathroom for another cool foot soak and then return to bed with two temporary blocks of ice surrounding our feet at the foot of the bed.

Have just finished reading Frank Muir's autobiography; A Kentish Lad and really enjoyed it. It's the first book in ages I have managed to finish in less than three months - which is a record for me and unlike Vic's ability to devour a book in about two days. I didn't realise he had a hand in so much of our great comedy classics and a thoroughly decent bloke into the bargain. Have moved on to Alec Guinnesses' second book of Memoirs called A Positively Last Appearance. Only into the first chapter, but have a feeling it is going to be a mildly depressing account of getting old and cynical. What a contrast to Frank.

MrT 12/18/2002 09:30:00 am [+] : Feedback!

Vicky is writing our Christmas cards and going to send them home. I have been trying to write a Newsletter, but feeling a little bit short of creative inspiration. Perhaps we should have gone away for a fortnight on a desert island to reflect on all of the things that have happened to us this year. I tried to insert a few photographs from iPhoto to give me something to write about, but couldn't quite get them to size correctly before pasting them into Appleworks. Hmmm, maybe we should have bought a PC after all. Still our iMac does look sexy. We will have to write our newsletter in blue, as we have mysteriously ran out of our black ink cartridge. This has not lasted long at all. With the last one we were able to print out the entire version of Harry Potter's Chamber of Secrets or Goblet of Fire or whichever was the thickest anyway. I've hardly printed anything with this one . Perhaps someone has secretly been breaking in the night and printing full pages of black paper.

Had nice tea of chicken, salad and pots with some cheap red wine donated by a sales rep from work, for some reason I put it in the fridge last night and so it was chilled which is just not the done thing. Very slow progress with Jigsaw bought from the Rocks. Turned out to be incredibly difficult as all pieces contain bits of greenery and trees. With a bit of luck Vic's mum will turn out to be a jigsaw freak and I will be able to get her addicted to finish it for me.

MrT 12/17/2002 10:08:00 am [+] : Feedback!