For a while in the 1990s I was obsessed with Nirvana.  The band encouraged me to learn guitar, I smoked dope to their records, I met a girl because of them, i sat glued to the radio for days after his suicide... you know, all those things that the nerdy indie kids did around that time.

So how did I never listen to Nevermind in its totality?  That's right, as a "junior high" know-it-all I deliberately snubbed their critically acclaimed album because it was, well, critically acclaimed.

On Sunday afternoon I found it on sale for $10.... Last night I listened to it from start to finish.

what an arse ... this is possibly one of the best albums I've ever listened to.

Seriously, I'm an arse.  Someone throw tomatoes at me.
 

...our bodies get bigger but our hearts get torn up”

Livejournal, it has been a considerable lapse on my behalf. Between the demands of life and work’s IT department blocking every social communications site under the WWS¹, I have struggled to access you...

“May it please the Commission in Court Session, my name is Alex Lyon and I represent the Minister for Commerce in today’s proceedings.”

I worked through many weekends preparing for the State Wage Case – advocating for an inflation-based increase to the Western Australian minimum wage. There were newspaper reports, appearances at hearings, web broadcasts (the Commission archive the broadcasts on the web... why does anyone need to see that again?), hostile stakeholders, economic downturns, legislative requirements, ministerial wants....

"phew, for a minute there I lost myself"

I guess this means I'm now a semi-senior public servant ... Suffice to say, I have spent the past week a little burnt out...

 Now, what to do with myself? 

 ·        I have a week off soon but have nothing planned – any ideas? A sojourn to the south 
      west with fishing rod in hand?
·        I’m lecturing at notre dame with a good friend in second semester. Third time round we 
      should get it right.
·        Perhaps I could invest a little time in worrying about problems faced by friends? ·        Cooking… I made a delightful pad thai the other day, and a slow cooked oxtail 
      soup. Not to mention a decadent choc brownie/cup cake combination … should start
      taking photos.
·        I’m off to Sydney for the first time (late August) for a conference and a chance to
      wander the street and take photos.
·        House sitting in peppy grove in July (sweet!).
·        I’m turning 30 in August – how should it be celebrated?

 Friends – what’s been going on?

 ¹ World Wide Sun

"I believe in God because it gives me a reason to look after myself".

Ok... but why would self-preservation be affected by whether or not a god or gods exist?

A short break to a famous mining town was greatly needed, if only acting as a circut breaker for an otherwise hectic life.

Summer’s been and gone
Only winter’s from now on
‘Cos I’m tired of the ever changing seasons

You're past it when you rise for work to discover neighbours arriving home from painting the town hues of red, green and all the colours inbetween.

Lovers in the sun
Play in water when it runs
But they never chase a river to the sea

I'm starting to fall in love with music again... New songs are starting to grab my attention and I sit mesmorised by the interaction of different sounds. It's been a long time.

Hearts heavy load
Left bleeding by the road
Thumbing all the passing cars

I don't appreciate the opinions of as many people anymore. Either they or I have become unbearable... I do hope it's them.

Love comes and it goes
I suppose
Where the winter wind blows

Whatever happened to my youthful (w)recklessness? Gone the way of the dodo or hibernating like a winter bear?

Makes you think about the absurdity of it all....

 

girl, if you're a seascape
i'm a listing boat, for the thing carries every hope.
i invest in a single light.
the choice is yours to be loved
come away from an emptier boat.

on february 3 we escape modern life and venture to turangi (new zealand). perth-auckland-rotorua-taupo-turangi-auckland-sydney-perth.  

a chance to untangle, relax and resolve. volcanoes, rivers, thermal springs, wine, forests, walks, craters of the moon, bees, food, trout.  that beats travelling with hordes of australians to bali or thailand on a booze cruise.perhaps i’m just getting old.

and we got sea legs
and we're off tonight
can i've that to which they've no right?
you belong to a simpler time
i'm a victim to the impact of these words,
and this rhyme.

tonight we venture to the introspective thoughts of the swell season at the fremantle arts gallery. how can a fan of the frames resist the melodies of glen hansard and marketa irglova?

 ryan adams plays just down the road but combining the two events may lead to disaster. sorry ryan – you’re an interesting chap but you’ll be running second in this race.

'cause when that dead moon
rises again
we've no time to start a protocol
to have us in.
and when the dog slides,
open the door, and where'd she go?
there's no time, no use to searching for
the mutts remains.

this weekend i throw myself headlong into a job application for a level seven government job. 

at the risk of sounding arrogant, opportunities continue to make themselves known as i firmly grasp onto the middle rungs of government.   career paths are becoming obvious and the next decade should prove interesting if the tarot cards are on the mark.

throw all consequence aside
the chill aspire, people set alight.