Category Archives: dogpossum

I had time to blog about procrastinating.
But I’m settling for:
a) very short entries
or
b) very odd and stream-of-consciousness entries.
I write my entries straight into movabletype and then click ‘save’. Sometimes I proof-read.
I wish I had more discipline. But not too much.

Today in this book* I read about hypergraphia and hyperlogia.
I wondered (for a little moment) if I was a hypergraph**, then came to my senses.
But really, imagine that – being a compulsive writer. They’re the sorts of people who produce hundreds of novels or pieces of music or …other written down things. I think you have to be using a pen/pencil and paper rather than a keyboard to qualify, though.
It kind of reminds me of the story about Donald Friend on the 7.30 Report last night. Apparently he was a talented writer and artist. According to Lou Klepac,

Donald was given all these gifts, you know, writer, painter, draughtsman, could do anything, and he didn’t squander his talents but he went in each direction a bit.

I’d like to think that’s me – tremendous talents, but unrealised because I’m going just a bit in each direction, rather than actually getting my head down and going for it in one field. ahahhaha.
..ah. Uh. Well, that’s what I’m going to think, so I don’t get all low self esteemy.
But I wonder if part of Friend’s problem was that he was a bit hyper…something. Couldn’t settle and not do something. Had to be writing. Or painting. Or something.
I’m not sure where I’m going with this – I know nothing about Donald Friend (I didn’t even watch the telly when the 7.30 Report was on, I just listened).
But I think my attention’s been caught by all this obsessive-compulsive overwork type stuff in the air.
The university was in holiday mode today – the average age of people eating lunch had doubled, and people looked tired. Staff and postgrads were wandering the halls talking about being tired. And also (sneakily, I’m sure), in the midst of a writing-binge euphoria. On the parts of the postgrads at least.
Me, I feel on the edge of being hyper-productive. If I had a thesis to write, I’d be whipping off chapters by the dozen. But I don’t. I just have papers to mark (I’m 7 short, which means I’ll have to go in again to collect some… or get them mailed to me. Good thing I’ve been investing all that office-lady-kissingup, huh?). And an exchange to run. But they’re very low-brain things. Lots of nittygritty detail, no real creative work or highbrain work. When I say ‘lowbrain’ I mean that it doesn’t involve much serious thinking. Dancing is necessarily lowbrain (well, the way I do it, it is). Thesising is highbrain because it involves seriously complicated thinking over a long period of time. And you combine tasks – reading, writing, thinking. You plan ideas out over a long period of time, and have to keep all that stuff in your head without losing any. Careful, don’t jostle – it’ll spill.
…and right now, all this stressy overwork stuff is making me feel like I should be being creative. Writing interesting things. Solving difficult sewing problems.
But I’m talking crap on the internet instead. And wishing my latest CDs would arrive.
*you know, I couldn’t remember who wrote this or what it was called – I had to go find it and see. It’s because I read so many of these sorts of sort-of-SF and seriously-SF books whose names all sound the same. I don’t really care about the authors either (unless it’s MZB or other doods who I re-read religiously). I don’t even buy these books – I borrow them from my ps.
You know, why is it that music nerds are freakishly anal about copying and borrowing music (ie they think it’s a bad-naughty-wrong), but book lovers (who’ve been around for far far longer than recorded-music-lovers) are all over that shit?
I’m rapidly losing interest in the precious ‘don’t copy!’ music argument. I have yet to hear a thorougly convincing case for never copying music.
So I’m taking a leaf (tee hee) out of my book-brain and being ok with borrowing. Though just with books, I’d really rather have my own copy of something really great.
**ahahahhahahhahahahah

Today I had the final visit to the dentist. There was no anaesthetic, there was no crying (though I did tear up a bit at one point).
There was some filling, some polishing of fillings and some cleaning of teeth. Then there was a whole lot of cleaning out of credit cards…or should that be filling up of credit cards?
It’s nice to think that now I have no income I will still have a massive dental debt to keep me company.
Reassuringly, I am officially a ‘twelve month person’ – meaning that I actually have such great teeth I need only turn up at the dentist office once a year. If only, if only I had gone in to see the dentist earlier and avoided that horrible root canal.
So that is officially that.
On other fronts…

• the marking continues. Slowly, painfully. It is reassuring to see vast improvements in almost every student’s case. One good scare and they suddenly discover they need to actually, well proof read.
• The MLX is well in hand. The DJs are rostered. The volunteers are rostered (with only 3 of 20-odd needing re-rostering). The website is current. The Ham’s Whereabouts Timetable is compiled (hm – in bed at 4.30am Thursday, up at lunchtime Friday. In bed at 8am (if I’m lucky) Saturday morning. And so on until I die. This is a formidable program of events: gold stars to all those who manage to attend each of the 16 (or was it 17?) events. And sees all 5 of the bands and 10 of the DJs. The door sheets for the volunteers need doing, but we have time for that.
• The conference papers are written. Not well, but … look, I’m not that amazing. One needn’t be perfect (I was informed – it’s just meant as a sort of peek into the work I’m doing, not a final draft), the other… well, I will find time to re-edit it and do up a powerpoint with clippage (can’t talk about dance without showing the dance).
• The paper waiting at the publisher/journal thing has had its corrections done. So you might see that soon (well, some day, some time, some century)
• The birthday is done (32 and counting, thanks very much). Not the best birthday ever (what with the ongoing anxiety and general over-workedness and exhaustion), but at least it’s done. Perhaps I’ll have another one in a few months where I can really enjoy myself. Thanks, though, to those who turned up to consume unhealthy quantities at the pub – that was nice.
• Drop-in visit from parents en route to Canberra handled
• Other parent’s drop-in visit enjoyed (huzzahs to the Matriarch for bringing cake)
• Supervisor present purchased

There are other things that’ve happened, and other things that need doing* (catch me at the Spiegeltent this weekend between 2 and 4 if you’re up for a bit of Olde Timey music and an off-colour joke or two), but right now I’m concentrating on the marking. And trying not to think about the 3 house guests who’re arriving next week (and one of whom is currently bedless).
Think of me, will you, and send me calm thoughts – only… um… at least four weeks before I actually get a weekend off. It’s been six months since the last one, but who’s counting?
*Not the least of which is cleaning our house and actually planning a meal more complex than fresh filled pasta with spinach and salami and fresh tomato and garlic. Sounds good, I know, but try eating it 3 days out of 7 every week. WE are living in squalor: orange peels, dirty socks and used tissues? I wish we could find our orange peels amongst the rubble in our nest. And do NOT ask me about the happy mouse family living in our compost bin.

Oh god, I’m a bit overbusy.
I have to write two papers for the weekend in Canberra (one of which is due by the 10th November, and is 4000 words – so we can all read each others’ papers before we get to the conference), and while I’ve had a bash at the CSSA one, it’s not really up to snuff. And I’ve had a look at some stuff I might write for the dance seminar thing, but…
Let’s just say that I’m a bit out of the writing way of things. It totally sucks because before I started teaching I was totally on with the writing thing. And now I am not.
In addition, we have ongoing MLX issues. Because we’re only a few weeks away from DDay (or dee weekend if you’d rather), there are a million little jobs that need completing. I am thinking ‘volunteers’ and ‘get those last couple of DJs to make up their minds‘ and ‘paper program’ and ‘go pimp passes at classes every night’). The registration for passes closes on the 3rd November, so we have about a week to sell a few (million) more. Things look good, but it’s a bit stressy. Especially as dancers like to leave it til the last minute. Especially Melbourne dancers.
I’m also doing those sets at the Spiegeltent (what was I thinking?).
And as of this afternoon I’ll have a hundred exams to mark. Then from the 6th I’ll have a hundred esssays to mark.
So when am I going to write those papers again?
And of course, the Great Dental Saga continues. Round two of the surprse root canal continued yesterday, and I was more brave than last time (mostly because all the drilling was done). I only cried a little bit, and was only a little bit scared. I found thinking of my lesson plans a nice distraction. Nothing numbs pain like tedium. And a few extra rounds of local anaesthetic (thanks Dr Scott – I know it’s madness that it’s still hurting in there, but it is. I’m trying to be tough, but that crying – it’s not under my control any more. It’s a response-to-pain thing). But it’s back for round three next Monday, and then we’re done. Well, except for the whole cleaning the rest of the teeth situation.
All this sucks because I previously had perfect teeth. But four years of neglect meant that a tiny cavity got to go crazy in my teeth and infected the nerve. So what have we learnt? Do NOT neglect your visits to the dentist – if I’d gone I’d have saved myself over a grand in cash and a lot of pain.
Yeah, so things are kind of hard at the moment. I must admit, though, I do like being really busy. I wish I had a few minutes to stop and think and perhaps a chance to think about the music I’ll play. I’d also like a chance to go to yoga sometime soon. But I haven’t been able to go in ages, and I haven’t had a weekend off since I started teaching. Hell, I’d kill for just one day right now. One whole day where I could just do nothing. Maybe sew something. Or lie on the bed and read.
I have, though, been able to treat myself to afternoon films. The whole anaesthetic/pain/trauma thing has made it necessary for me to spend a bit of time sitting down before riding home from the dentist – thank goodness for the Kino across the road is all I can say. So I’ve seen a fair few films lately. Plus The Squeeze and I have squeezed in a Tuesday evening and a Sunday evening of date time so we can reacquaint ourselves with the features of the other’s face. Maybe kiss ’em too.
And I’ve been going to bed really early and getting up early too. Later than 11pm? What? That’s crazy talk! I am all about 9.30pm bedtimes these days.
But I have been doing more exercise – riding to work rocks.
And I’ll have to leave that there. Got to go fuss over those papers for half an hour before heading off to the university. Think of me, will you?
Sam.

The Squeeze’s favourite part of this blog is the neatly aligned list of categories over there on the left. He likes the little circles. And the aligning. So I haven’t the heart to change it, even if it kind of irks me.
But I love him. And mostly because yesterday while inspecting The Matriarch’s position on the swiss ball he asked “can we have an alignment check?”

Describing my hair as looking as if it had just been plopped onto my head, David Bigword (as he insists I referr to him, following his recent exploration of the English Language) advocated a hair cut. I will comply – I can’t hack the mass no longer.

I went to that stupid BBQ yesterday and kissed stupid Brian* (only the cheek, though – is that a good or a bad thing?) and now I have a stupid cold. Guess that’s why I couldn’t smell all the horrid smells everyone was crapping on about at the BBQ yesterday.
But anyway, back to the cold. A horrible, stupid cold – I have a chest full of goob and a nasty, wracking cough that really hurts my throat. I have a temperature, sore glands in my neck, sinus ache, goobs in my nose and sinuses and I am the definition of lassitude.
Poor ham. And just when I was getting hardcore with yoga and dancing (probably because I was getting hardcore with yoga and dancing).
So I’ve been lying on the bed reading and doing some doodling on the internet. No doubt i’ll have to rewrite everything once I’m properly lucid again – I kind of write like I’m transcribing trances for whirling dervish when I write ill, particularly when I have a temperature… but anyway. I’ve added some articles to FSP, noting the vast number of bands on in coming weeks (mostly trad jazz, and at least 3 I’ve never seen – all featuring the same guy, Mike McQuaid, so I’m interested), wondering if I’ll be well enough by Wednesday to do this gig.
I’m also carrying some mild Christmas-related anxiety. Did anyone else know it was only 13 days away? Has anyone bought any presents? Booked that restaurant for Boxing Day? Done anything more than order about 6kg of meat for 4 people?
And it’s hot and windy, with rain looming…
Bah. Humbug.
*Brian has had a heavy cold for a while. That’s why this point is relevant.

and house cleaning is DONE. been fiddling with the statcounter code and doing some blog tidying.
and it’s done.
so now i can quit procrastinating and get back to the thesis. yay!
it’s a rainy crap day, so i’m not sorry to stay indoors….
extraneous details:
– last night i went to yoga. crinks and i are doing bubs or ones. we’ve just moved up to ones, and it’s some scary shit. lots of inverted pose action. but i like to do bubs on monday and ones on wednesday.
– i’m thinking of popping up to the cornish arms to see the pearly shells tonight. they don’t swing so much, but chris tanner is playing with them tonight. and hell, it’s free, it’s a 5minute bike ride, i might catch up with some nice people, it’s nice to lean on the bar and drink pineapple juice and mineral water while The Squeeze has a pint. we used to eat dinner there too, but the kitchen has gone to crap. blurgh.
– i haven’t been dancing at a dancer run event since mlx. that’s nearly 2 weeks. i have been to see two bands though this week and last, and danced a lot in sydney. i am very much in love with virus atm – holy SMOKES that young trumpeter is GOOD! i mean, blow-your-brains-out good. it’s very excellent to go jiggle about with the crazy old jazz niks to virus on a saturday afternoon – and for free, too! i’m interested in going to see the Society Syncopators this saturday at the vic jazz club i think* – $12 though. so i’m getting a gutful of dixie these days – bring on the CHARLESTON! YEAH!! and then there’s cbd on thursday night, and the funpit on friday night (both dancer-run, DJed doos).
– crinks and i are making fillums. short fillums. we talk about the ideas together, we film it together, then she edits it. i’ve been doing the burning of cd copies and could possibly draw the titles. each film is a gem: 100% craptastic stupidity. beautiful. so far we share them with our friends (meaning The Squeeze and michael in sydney). long live the pun! one day we may even get a cast of more than two people together. one day we may buy our own camera and quit borrowing rob’s or using crinks’ dad’s crappy little still digital camera. one day. but we’re pretending we’re robert rodriguez using only scraps of film and with no budget, aiming for a local release rather than international fame. so it’s all about doing it tough.
*for those weird, crazy stalkers who are reading: just because you know where i’ll be, don’t mean you can stop me snubbing you. so quit with the stalking already.

Well, it’s been a slow thesis week. Again. I have no excuse. My conf paper is, however, looking dang fine – chock full of clips and photos. If powerpoint dies, I’m dead.
The birthday is on Friday – 31 years old and still dressing like a playschool presenter. We are making a pinata in honour of the day… meaning, we started last night and it’s still pretty wet. The Squeeze, though he knows everything about computers, knows nothing about paper mache. Hopefully he’s learnt a few things from the Queen of Craft, including smaller-pieces-of-paper=good. He tested the theory and ended up with a bit of a mess. But now he Knows.
On other, procastinatory fronts, FSP has a new style (and a tidied up template). There will, no doubt, be complaints about its paleness, it’s whiteness. But I don’t care. I like the white-blue-green 70s feel of it. I’ve even posted a few entries on it to demonstrate its excellence. Just don’t look at the comments pop-ups – I got sick of the thing before I finished them.
On one more doing-something-other-than-that-which-I-should thing: I’ve been finishing off some sewing jobs that needed doing. That black dress with the indecently low bodice that’s been hanging in the dining room for weeks, waiting to be finished? Done. And teamed with some knee-length, white, lace-edged knickers, will be perfect for the MLX5 weekend. The Squeeze proclaims it “SO cute.” And I’ve finally finished those black, stretch-linen trousers I’ve had sitting about for at least a year. Side-button fly, and very nicely fitted too, thankyou. They will look dang fine with the blackish denim jacket with the black/cream ‘French’ peasant-styled lining. Just need some sort of blouse action so I don’t shock anyone with my incredibly hot bare chest.
And those blue stretchy-fabric-that-looks-like-denim-but-isn’t trousers? Also done and very comfortable. I’m not really sure what I was thinking when I bought that fabric. Sure, it looks just like denim, but it’s not denim, and fake denim is pretty damn daggy. But they’re supremely comfortable trousers (I put darts in them and all to fit them properly), and even though the waist is a tad high for casual stretchy pants (I was thinky ‘real trousers’ when I cut them out and added the waist band), they still fit really nicely and look good as well as feeling good.
I’m considering making one more little dress or perhaps a blouse. I need to waste more time, I’m sure. And I’m waiting for an imovie file to compress, and it’s taking ages because I want top quality footage of dancers for my paper. Can you believe I get to do this? Put together a series of excellent clips and photos of dancers to match a (very) short paper all about camps and exchanges? And then get paid by the uni to travel to another city to deliver it? Is this not the perfect Score?
… now, if only I could finish that half-done final thesis chapter…
Did I mention that I have a new ibook? It’s very pretty. I like the way it has a cd disc drive. Small things, I know… and I like the way I have a pluggy thing so I can watch my clips on the telly. I’m still not convinced that itunes is the best thing on earth (I will miss winamp on the old little lappy – it was nice to use itunes and winamp in conjunction – music database + simple media player = better than itunes alone), but still… It is very pretty. We love each other very much.
I saw the new Pride and Prejudice fillum the other day. I loved it. But then, I would. I’m very into lady-films. I was planning on going on my own, but The Squeeze decided he wanted to come to. So he did. We went to the Nova, which is quite middle class/studenty and has some nice little cinemas that seat about 50 people. We were in one of those. With 44 women and only 3 other men. Dave was awash in oestrogen. It was pretty much the perfect way to see a new Jane Austen flick: a cinema full of ladies (mostly in groups of 2,3 or 4), all rowdy and happy and looking forward to a nice fillum. All of whom knew the story intimately, and were really only there to see how this one ‘was done’. There was much mid-film commentary, laughing at jokes and appreciating in-jokes, cheering for the heroine, etc etc etc.
I had a lovely time. I don’t know about The Squeeze, but he did laugh in the right places, and didn’t do the annoying wriggling-about-and-sighing that he does when he’s bored (and for which I’d originally planned to exclude him from this outing).
Jane Austen = yes.
hm… That’s about it, really. I have no other news. I am too dull for words. Literally.

This has been the couple-of-days of websiting. Obvious thesis procrastination.
I’ve been working on a layout for the Melbourne Jazz Dance Association site (tres minimalism – very clean, simple, modern-looking. ooh la la); I’ve been fiddling with the FSP style (again, a very different look – ‘cooler’ colours (green and blue with white/black basics), and I’ve gotten jiggy with flickr. I’ve uploaded about 19 photos and immediately busted my monthly limit. I either need to upload smaller files (and sacrifice quality? Are you on crack?!) or get me a flickr upgrade – $US24.95 a year. Hm….
It’s some seriously neat shit, though…