Do you have plans for lunch?

This is where I go..........I loiter, I search, I browse, I wander, I read and I am happy.

It is my lunchtime refuge. The place that calls when I have no socialising planned, the place that I feel safe.

New workstation

We moved to a different level in the same building. This is my new desk

Although, I don't usually have 2 dozen red roses on my desk. GB spoiling me for our 5th!

Check out The Cute Little Dead Girl Lenore, Mr Gosh and all the TMNT's :)

1/20th of a century

GB and I celebrated our 5th anniversary in contemporary style. Usually our tastes run to the older styled venues with lots of character and charm, some might call them dingy.... However, this year I decided a little something different was in order. The hotel we stayed at is The Adelphi which boasts very modern styling and one of the most photographed hotel swimming pools in the world.

Prior to our retiring from the world into the edgy hotel room - and I mean edgy in the way that I have bruises on my shins from walking into all the edges from all the jutting furniture which is supposed to give it the "modern" feel. (Give me rounded, wooden, polished pieces anyday!) - we saw a contemporary reworking of Romeo and Juliet, by Lithuanian director Oskaras Koršunovas', which sets the infamous conflict between the Capulets and Montagues in rival pizzerias.
What I hadn't noticed when I booked was that the play was in Lithuanian with English subtitles. But it didn't matter - the actors were simply amazing. It was a funny and moving rendtition that relied on universal humor to convey the amusing qualities of the characters. The imagery was powerful, so much so, with even knowing the end I was moved to tears. It is hard to describe just how great I thought it was. To convey perhaps how talented the director and actors are is to acknowledge the greatest stage prop they had was flour - and boy did they use it well.

I could ramble on about how much I enjoyed it for eons and I prolly will annoy everyone at work today with my inarticulate praises for the show.

This morning we stopped off for Breakfast.

This is the cafe we were sitting opposite....to me it is so "Melbourne" and that feeling makes me fall in love with this city all over again.

MotoGP 2008 #9

Thursday 2nd October 2008 was the start of my MotoGP weekend. I picked T up from the Airport at 8:30am and it was straight down to the island. We made record time and arrived at the Red Rocks Golf Ranch a couple of hours before check in time. We decided to check in anyway so we could lose the bags and spend the afternoon hanging out in Cowes and checking out the track, which is our usual Thursday ritual.

Much confusion was caused when we rocked up to the Ranch and tried to obtain our keys. The kind couple that were running the establishment couldn't figure out why 2 girls had booked the Queen Studio room. There is a bit of a story behind that - but to make it short.....we left the accommodation organisation a little late and couldn't find anywhere. I did however try to make a booking for a room at this ranch. Apparently one of the parties that had booked several rooms had a DEATH. Yep - that is what they told me. So we got their room. Fair enough I guess since they couldn't use it anymore. But as you can see a Queen Studio really wasn't a choice but all that was left available to us. When the couple still couldn't work out if we knew what we were doing.....they asked us straight out if we knew we would be sharing a bed. I wondered if we were a lesbian couple what we would have made of their reluctance to believe in girl / girl relationships.

The afternoon trip to the track was in enough time to see the hundreds of bikes that made the Barry Sheene Tribute Ride make their way around the GP circuit. It was quite the spectacle. One poor sod broke down on the road beside the track after making the trip all the way from Bairnsdale.


The weather was some of the best that the Island has managed to put on over the last 9 years. The only downside to the weekend, well their was two. 1. M couldn't make it this year and 2. They didn't have the jets this year either. So it was just T and I for most of the weekend. Madjid and Amanda joined us on the Race day and we had a nice picnic on the grass with the thousands of other fans and wannabes.

The Friday and Saturday of the weekend share a very similar ritual. As soon as we get to the track we get a coffee and go to the fence or our seats and watch the free practice sessions for all the bikes 125s, 250s and MotoGPs. The only exception is that Friday I will line up in the merchandise tent to secure my hat for the weekend. I now have 9 of them!
After free practice it is time to walk around the track - taking in the qualifying sessions from every angle the track has to offer. I think it is something like 4.2km around the track. So I get just enough exercise in to balance the beer consumed on race day :)

Here are some of the photos from the podium and the excited crowd storming the track. There really is nothing like seeing thousands of people converge into the one area. These photos don't convey the thrill and sheer size of the crowd.

So far I am still riding the buzz from seeing some of the best sportsmen in the world. Rossi took the championship in the prior race, however seeing him ride out of 12th position into 2nd was just amazing. He is most definitely the best rider. EVER. Hehe I feel privileged that I have been around for his reign as champion. Almost makes me want to spawn some kidlets so I can tell them and their children all about it.......

Until next year.