Bee Lee Ben Len

I should like Ben Lee.
After all, we have a number of similarities; thinking dudes trying to make it in a boys world, slightly nerdish appearance but not without some charm, worried about that environment thing, etc.

Despite these things I find it very hard to like him. My first intro to young Mr Lee was through the movie The rage at Placid Lake, which I really liked. I didn't know he was a muso until much later.

I was all set to like him, and may have until 'Catch my Disease'. It was popular here, it broke him in the US and was an incredibly strong marketing move, but he just wasn't a cool person to like. That song never sat right with the person I thought he was.

I heard his new song 'I like Pop Music' and it's all starting to make sense. I think the dude has dumbed his music right down to appeal to the masses so he can talk them out of being retards. This as a move is pretty freakin' smart, he gets the mega wads of cash and might be helping out a planet or similar, but I found myself liking him even less.

I can't really pinpoint why I don't. On some level I admire aiming his music at the masses to communicate thereto, even if it then excludes me. I also admire his putting some strong words in his songs. I think it was smart to tie in those strong words with a fluffy, fluffy chorus so that it does appeal to so many dudes and chicks. I should admire that he could even be trying to trick people into hearing such words, and I tire with songs that just have lyrics that are just words tied together. I totally think it's smart to try and appeal to the wider mainstream market rather than just being a musos muso.

Maybe it's a tall poppy thing, maybe I find the fluffiness too fluffy, maybe he's a bit too smug or thinkery, maybe even too nerdy, but I'd like to like him, I just can't. I should like him, but don't. I feel a bit bad about that, the dude is trying after all.

What assaults my arteries this week.

People at work who should know better but who don't provide anything close to enough information when they want you to solve a problem for them.

Aaarrgghh!!

While I don't advocate piracy, hah! who am I kidding, I so do, I think the pirates who hijacked a supertanker full of oil were pretty freakin' genius.

Honestly, who is going to shoot at anyone on an oiltanker. One stray bullet and bye bye pirates, shooter, ocean.

I do know that today's pirates aren't as awesome as I think. There are no parrots, no peglegs, no sailing under the skull and crossbones with plenty of deserted islands to hide behind, no yo, no ho and probably not even a bottle of rum. I do admit that I miss those olden days, all you needed was a good ship, a couple of good canons, some scurvy dogs and a captain smarter than anyone else. Corporate office life just can't compete.

Supertanker pirates = two thumbs up.

What stabs my salami this week.

The guy at work who asks questions that he knows the answer to, and everyone knows he knows the answer to because he wouldn't ask otherwise, just to try and trip you up.

Schmoneymoon Number 1.

You may or may not know that Cara and I had a rockin' combined 30th birthday/Not-Wedding a few months ago. We got some massive cool presents, a couple of which were weekend away type bizos. The ARC has rehearsals most Sundays so it's taken a while to take advantage of such gifts.

We decided to rock one gift called 'Private Hot Springs Bath For Two' down at the Mornington Penninsula last weekend (renamed from 'weekend' to 'schmoneymoon'). The gift originally included a stay at the gift givers parent's holiday house, but due to some random holiday house using cousins that fell through, instead, I found the only room left in the area; a barn with a manger a golf resort.

I was late from work on Friday so with Cara at so much rediness we were able to jump in the car mere seconds after I got home. I was the navigator which is a much simpler job since Eastlink rocked Melbourne with a road that goes everywhere (mostly East). Unforts the Melways we have was invented before Australia was settled and so the potential for mishap was given a High rating.

Our house has improved a lot since our Not-Wedding, we were given so many crazy awesome presents that we live in near royal luxary. As the King and Queen of Australia, the room at the resort was not up to our royal standards, quite frankly, it's not as nice as our place. There was nothing wrong, it just was quite small (so much space wasted on manicured grass), the TV was supertiny, there was no DVD or CD player and the lights didn't work and were a bit ugly. I guess I was just expecting a bit more from the word 'resort', as in 'really nice' not as in 'last'.

Saturday was brim-filled with massages and hot baths, Sunday was brim-filled with waking and moving slowly.

See how I was writing the whole story and then just summerised 2 of the 2.2 days in 1 sentences? So unpredictable.

The staff at the resort were great, they were all young and cool and they had a werewolf manning reception which was ace because it meant he was there waiting to service our every need 24/7. I would hotels to employ werewolves on reception.

Obvs the Schmoneymoon meant that young Cara and I spent a whole lot of time together, way more than the usual crashing into the same bed at about the same time, and I think we like each other more for it. She really is a big bit of ace.

What gobbles my gizzard this week.

My boss who asks me a question, then his eyes glaze over when the answer isn't what he wanted it to be then he asks me the same question the next day.

Photographies still going strong

Makeup and photographies by a young Adam, modelling done by someone else.
A nice girl called CinaC, she could go far that one...

What crams my collage this week.

People who laugh uproarously at the slightest thing.

And/Or at their own sentences which may or may not have contained a humourous statement. Cacking yourself is not a full stop.

Everyone loves a good update

Yo dudes, what up?

We've been going through some interesting times. One of our good friends has been going through a post trumatic stress syndrome thing from a couple of events she's repressed for 20 years. It's been a terrifying, fascinating and frustrating experience for us all. She doesn't have many friends and me working has meant that I've been available to help her much less than I was. The tricky thing is that she's also not such a nice person. She can be lovely and superfun, but she can also be incredibly mean, manipulative and aggressive. Her husband is totally grouse, but she treats him the worst. It's hard to help someone whom you only like some of the time.

I think I've been working for a month, after my four months of unemployed bumness. I am struggling. My workplace is great. The people are friendly (of course, there are notable exceptions), the hours are great, the travel to and from is carefree, but despite all this I've been exhausted, unenthusiastic and to be honest, kind of lazy. I don't really like the workerbee I currently am, but it's hard to work harder, longer, faster, better when you're just not interested. I'm so hoping I get over that pretty quick, I don't really want to let these people down, they so looked at me as the Saviour Of All.

Cara is currently silent.
Totally without voice.
It's weird and it's kinda fun.S
he had a day procedure on her vocal cords to remove a thing. It was a membrane something filled with fluid who had moved onto her vocal cords. The operation was relatively painless (there was some slight discomfort) and she's currently hanging out at home surrounded with Gilmore Girl DVDs and girly magazines. She isn't allowed to talk for 3 days and isn't allowed to sing for 3 weeks. Hopefully after all this, she won't lose her voice everytime she goes out or has a glass of wine or beer. She's also hoping her singing voice gets stronger and more awesome.

I've been doing Tai Chi and Kung Fu the past couple of months. I am so bad at it. When I was doing Ninjutsu, it and me kinda clicked you know, whereas Kung Fu I just can't seem to really get it. Since I've been working, I've had little energy for it which means it's just not sinking it. I probably would have given it away a million times if I didn't have a mate pushing me. He is the husband of aforementioned PTSS chick and he's right into it. His brain is working, so he's loving it.