Back! Had an excellent time. I am going to write out my whole trip here as much as possible. I meant to keep a diary but it frankly felt like too much work and ate into precious novel reading time and sunbaking time.

Day 1. Drive to Holbrook
Quite uneventful, just mooching in car. Had our first introduction to The Russian Enigma. We got to Holbrook just north of the NSW border a little after 8pm, had dinner and just crashed out really.

Day 2. Drive Holbrook-Gundagi-Goulbourn-Katoomba
Got up early (this was a theme of the trip, I was most impressed with myself). Drove down the road and found.........

A Submarine! Yes, miles from the coast.


Mum and Dad on submarine


A mini-model


Why it is there.

From Holbrook we drove to Gundagi to see dog on tuckerbox and drink some overpriced, overmilked coffee in a mug, a rural Australian speciality.



Dog on box.



Would you eat at that Picnic Area?


FRom there we went to Goulburn for lunch and I was excited to add the first BIG landmark to my collection.

Behold the BIG MERINO WITH DOUBLE CHINS SYMBOL OF GOULBURN!!!!




I am afraid.

THere was a nice fountain though

I lay in the sun and read the paper (I can never move to sydney as the SMH doesn't have a general knowledge crossword on saturday).

THen we dove to Katoomba, I last went there absolutely years ago, it is so beautiful.


That evening we decided to eat out and went to the local RSL, which was fun, I had fish and chips and beer, and got beer for one dollar! I forgive the RSL its eye blindingly bad carpet for my $1 beer.

So excited, don't have to come back to this damned hellhole (uni) for nearly 2 weeks, and in meantime will have some sunnin up in Queensland, mostly in some rainforest with parents and sis. Will be like a family holiday :yikes: hopefully though with less hairpulling and fighting over the coco pops in the variety ceral pack that so characterised earlier such trips.

Before that I have to hand in a full draft of thesis, around 70 000 words at present. I have no idea how it will happen, but I will just try my best.

I love my students on wednesday, one today said I was very stylish 8) and the others just laugh at my jokes about 17th century architects.

God I am so tired, thank goodness it is semester break soon, though I have masses to do before then. Don't how it will happen, but I just have to try. Had a good weekend. Friday mark and i went for drinks then got chinese and watched dvds. Saturday we were meant to be going to an opening in Prahran but got a message it was off but decided to go to the gallery anyway as we were looking forward to our excursion to the other side of the yarra, looked at some second hand books. Though I couldn't get past the fact they all smelt like cats but I want to collect some kind of books, I am always just looking for art and architecture books, and gardens but they are generally shit in second hand shops, so it hought maybe travel diaries, hmmm. Then we mooched and got some spanish food and some Godello, I love spanish wine so much. But mostly I had to eat as last time my friend had an opening I got plastered on cheap wine and was sick and made mark walk me home from Prahran. So we hung out at the gallery and drank some of the booze that was meant for the exhibition that never turned up, Jarrod just put up a ladder and printed out the email from the artist and that was the exhibit, ha. Then we went back to his place and had pizzas and I played with their dog and we all just chatted and hung out and tried some proper sake, god amazingly delicious. Got drunker and drunker and sleepier and sleepier, evenetually worked out that this woman there wasn't actually known by any of us, she had just tagged along, Then sunday I got up and ran to market, ran home and went out for coffee with lizey and ro, which turned into an 8 hour drinking session as ro was quitting smoking and drinking and wanted to go out with a bang. this is to symbolise what she is leaving behind, except for the rose that is just for decoration, and for her birthday. So both ro and I kept ringin mark and trying to make him come to the pub, but he wouldn't so I went home and yelled at him these things must be debated when sober. Then decided to do some cooking and watch buffy.

Me and Mr Hamish McGoo



I actually look as shaggy as him which is a worry.

Oh my friend tried on ^^ dress. Wow was amazing, so gorgeous, is 9k but then it is for a wedding and one of those crazy bouffed up meringues can cost that. She wouldn't even need it altered. She looked like Botticelli's Venus (well if Venus had clothes one that is). It is so meant to be, she first saw it in Venice but felt too hot and gross to try it on, then just popped into Belinda in GPO rabndomly and it was there, the only one in Australia and in her size!!

Went to Alice Euphemia opening with lizey last night, had some champagne chatted and I very very want a Kate Moss lampshade



then went to an opening at Blindside, anti-Heide apparently, great b&w photos recreating photos of the Boyds from the 50s, and a little dancing version of Nolan's Ned Kelly. Loved it so.

Fashion show with Carla, was fun, but Lexington bar sucks, all shiny and blergh. Reminded me a bit of Milan but lacking the ultra groomed almost scary beautiful people.

Now trying to work in the state library after spending the morning chatting to mum, making batter for madelines and dancing to Etta James.

Going to look at a dress for Zoe's wedding tomorrow at GPO am jealous, she is 6ft+ so it will look gorgeousness

I am so tired, and grumpy, blergh.
I am going home.
I want a holiday.
I hate uni.

The state library has wireless and it is just a hop skip and a jump from my apartment. Very good, plus have found a room with groovy comfy orange chairs that do clash a little with my new purple dress from KinkiGerlinki but I think it is going to be ok.

Annnyways had fun with Carla boo yesterday, bought another dress that was two yesterday, I love love love my one from CJ though, is black and floaty with gold sequins, so good, though is the hardest dress ever to put on, I was in the changeroom for quite a while.

Hung out at home with marky mark last night, was very relaxing, we had a long discussion about how to turn our rsearch into popular fiction so we can loads of cash and buy an apartment in Rome (well I say rome he says Venice).

Have been to the market and bought delicious fresh fruit and vegies, this warm weather is making me psyched about being more healthy, want to tone up for warmer weather.

Mark helped me out with Poland too so I can also add that Poland didn't exist in the 18th century, how bout that? Napoleon put it back together, good boy.

I am so stressed, so stressed I am in the eye of the stress, and everything seems still. But I want to punch people who ask how my work is going, especially uni people because they should know better. Plus I am stressed out about money. Technically I am fine, but I want to have some money for Italy in Jan/Feb so I don't just increase my credit card bill, and so I can maybe hopefully stay a bit longer and visit London, though how I will swing that one by MArk and still be married I'm not sure.

I am so slack. Just had lecture and tute, all went well I think, though I couldn't remeber the word attribute so I just said that St Jerome's lion was one of his companions, which is quite a nice idea really...

Now I must must finish a chapter draft.

I also found a conference on Baroque villas in Warsaw next year, so I will apply. I am intrigued by Poland. Things I know about it.

-The old pope was from there
-My friend Cezar is from there
-They have vodka with grass added that bisons have peed on and it tastes... interesting
-Hitler invaded

Guess what I just nearly said in the tute? We were talking about which point of the sculpture is the climax, so I started to say to the girl 'what brings you to climax?' gah, did a quick save before i lost all dignity.

Random photos from the other week.

Had a pretty good weekend, how nice has the sun been today?! I just lay on the bed sunning my belly like a cat for about an hour. Finished reading the First Stone, read the Travel pages from yesterday, read some other random stuff. Now downloading the Chaser video podcast, oh why oh why won't they video podcast all my favourite shows??

Yesterday I worked hard on footnotes all day, oh yes, a whole day and they aren't even done, I have started highlighting undone bits in magenta so I don't miss them. Then I went to look at the MNG sale but was reminded why I own nothing from there, the cuts are atrocious, so many of the dresses look pretty but they have no booby room at all. Then mark and I boozed it up at the wine shop. Went pretty well considering our tendency to get mean when drunk, we did have one slip, but both made an effort to get back on track (without either having to apoloogise which may be the problem, but I am not bloody well saying sorry for everything anymore. )

Friday I went out with Grania to see the 1930s film Freaks about Circus Freaks. Twas good fun, I nearly pulled out because I was feeling so down on Friday night, but miss Carla called just to say hi which cheered me up lots and going out was good clean fun. We even had coffee after, not booze, so got home sober and not smelling of smoke. The film was hilarious, oh god, it was so un pc, but so good. Don't cross the freaks!! They will kill you in the mud with knives.

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet and current street name) Trudy Bennetts Tammy Bennetts 2. YOUR MOVIE STAR NAME: (grandfather/grandmother on your moms side, your favorite candy) Edith Caramel George Mars 3. YOUR "FLY GIRL/GUY" NAME: (first initial of first name, first two of your middle name) KCA MDE 4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal) Green Dog Blue Dog 5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born) Caroline Frimley Denzil London 6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first name, first 2 letters of mum's maiden name and first 3 letters of the town you grew up in.) GRAKAHODON (grrrrr) SHEMABRTOO 7.SUPERHERO NAME: ("The", your favorite color, favorite drink, man/woman) The Green Campari woman The Blue Armaro Man

Gosh, golly, haven't posted since last Tuesday.

Let's see here are 10 quick pointers to assessing my past week.

1.Spent a total of 2 hours on thesis
2.Wrote, or nearly wrote a book review of Urban Space and Cityscapes: Perpsectives from Modern and Contemporary Culture, it is good and may inspire a new blog section on Melbourne, though it will be without pretentious semiotic text analysis.
3. Moved onto my new desk, still looks tidy and I am giving over to fantasies of having become a tidy person.
4. Finished reading 'Alyzon Whitestar' by Isobele Carmody and have started 'THe First Stone' by Helen Garner, both are reccomended.
5. Went dancin on Staurday, though was sensible and came home early.
6. No hangovers.
7. Two pilates
8. Four dunplings
9. Six episodes of Dr Who
10. Found a scolarship for England.

kisses to you all

I am off home soon, silly uni. At least my slides went fine today, god I hate slide projectors, but the overhead projectors are still so icky. Oh well, we all had a good argument about whether Caravaggio is perverse.



hmm

In other news.

7:50am is TOO EARLY TO BE AT WORK. grr.

Aww come on guys, let me in, please?! Promise to stop trying to sit in your laps.

I had a good day so far. Went out to Cranbourne (no wait it does get better!) to see the new Australian Garden out there, it was great, they have these amazing land sculptires made from red sand. It still has some growing to do, but generally it is a big improvement over most native gardens, which are basically dull as dishwater. Dad bought me lunch and I just cooked madelienes, and spent 20 minutes moving my computer around trying to find someone's unsecured wireless I could use :ssh:

Going out in a bit to a gallery opening, should be good.

Had pub drinks last night, twas fun, is always quite tame I spose with uni people but that is nice too. Met a girl from Columbia who doesn't drink coffee and has the best accent ever, her. CHatted to various people, including this funny guy Stephen who is like a subversive nerd, one minte he is talking far too in depth about latin, the next he is telling me about the boys he picked up on capri and trying to get me to come to an AFL game (never have been never will ) Got annoyed at stupid Dave as usual, as soon as he hears anyone talking about sport he comes and takes over and excludes and women from the conversation, grrr. He is studying the bronze age but is positively neanderthal.

Over and out.

Uni, how can it only be wednesay? I feel like I have done a whole weeks work. Currently arranging slides that will hopefully work today. Yesterday it was slides no worky day, they are the oldest technology here and the most recalcitrant. Grr. I ended up having to change each one by hand, but because they are mounted so high this necessitated me standing on a chair to do it. So glad that I wore a mini dress yesterday Haha anyway, it was quite funny, at one point I was making a point and changing a slide and I got distracted and realised I was standing on a chair at the front of the class gesticulating and talking... I must have looked like some drama queen tutor, haha. Oh well. Had to rush in early for supervision this morning, joy, well actually it was quite useful, except that every time I am always rushing to get soemthing printed and then the discussion is such that I end up deciding it needs to be completely changed before my supervisor reads it, ah well. I have written so much that it starts to get bewildering and becomes more a case of working out the best structure to fit it into. My aim now is to have 80% thesis 90% complete.

Oh and random pictures ok this is hard to see but it is a huige person sized bear thing in a townhouse office in north melbourne, very strange this is just funny, though perhaops not so wrong if you know melbourne transport and some strange picture that was on my phone

What to say. My weekend was a bit up and down and all over. At least there was a sunshine theme.

I messed up the samurai sudoku, that made me sad.
I bought taromasolata, that made me happy.
I got nowhere on my chapter draft, which I am used to.

Teaching will probably take up most of tomorrow through to wednesday as gard as I will try to not let it.

The guy from the apartment down the hall locked himself out so he just came through our apartment so he could climb over the baclonies to his. Yikes, we aren't that high up, but high enough. He made it safely though!

Blood oranges have arrived at the market, yum, even though it isn't very campari-esque weather I will be indulging nonetheless. Actually it is funny, I have no incliunation to drink it here in winter, but I drink heaps of it in Italy in winter? Same goes for ice-cream, somehow in rome it is never too cold for ice-cream, or maybe it just tastes better walking through pretty streets with a cute guy. hmmm. One of life's mysteries I suppose.

Oh I just found the best website, for gardens anyway, just when you think there is nothing useful on the web.... I also discovered that one of the villas I am working on was bought by a billionare who is obsessed with the story of pinocchio and he is going to turn it into 'a palace of dreams' . Actually he is restoring the villa so it is probably all good.

A self-made millionaire who drew inspiration from the story of Pinocchio has bought a vast, derelict villa in the Tuscan town of Collodi - where the wooden puppet's tale was set - to house a museum in its honour. Federico Bertola plans to turn the Villa Garzoni, a vast Baroque mansion built in the early 17th century and now classified as a national monument, into a "museum for dreams". He has already invested almost €5m (£3.3m) simply to restore the vast facade and roof of the villa, which was owned until 2000 by the Countess Gardi, who lived modestly in a few rooms while the rain poured through holes in the roof and the paper peeled in hundreds of empty rooms around her. The villa's garden, overgrown for decades, has been restored and opened to the public. Mr Bertola hopes to complete the restoration and open a museum in the town, which already attracts Pinocchio-loving pilgrims. The story is widely believed to have been set in Collodi, the town from which the author, the journalist Carlo Lorenzini, took his name. Lorenzini's mother worked at the Villa Garzoni and he is believed to have known the area well. "Dreams are hidden in books. And for me the big book of dreams was Pinocchio," Mr Bertola, 58, told the Corriere della Sera newspaper. He described how when he visited the Villa Garzoni two years ago, he realised he wanted to make it a tribute to the fact that dreams can come true, as they did in his and many Italians' lives as they turned from peasants into rich industrialists over the past half century. "Sometimes dreams come out of the books and become reality ... I was a farmworker and a ploughman, with only elementary school in my pocket, and I managed to make my dreams come true, just as the little wooden puppet did," he said. He grew up in a village called Pecorara, near Piacenza, working in the fields with his seven siblings from the age of 10. "We worked hard, but we never had enough money," said Mr Bertola. "So at 16 I decided to leave and go and make my fortune in Milan." Mr Bertola survived mishaps and crooks, ending up today the owner of an industrial construction firm with a turnover of €120m per year. As a young man he read Pinocchio over and over again. Besides telling a moral tale about the effect of lies, the story describes the simple life of Geppetto, the carpenter who dreams of having his own child and eventually makes himself a wooden one which comes to life. A Pinocchio theme park at the bottom of the villa's garden already has lifesize statues of Pinocchio characters that draw thousands of tourists every year

Just photocopied a whole book, boo, took an hour but I had to do it as it was special deivery from Yale in the US and i'm not allowed to take it out of the library. I have another to do sometime, joy.

Met lizey for coffee this morning, then I went and signed up for kung-fu, well for a free trial, wooo I'm gonna be dangerrrrousss!The place is sooo nice, it is above cookie and run by this cool couple, their little kid is there, she must be about 3, she does kicks and is co cute, she ran off with my beanie.

Finished article and nearly finished paper for tonight, but remembered I have a book review to do. Argh. So I should stop reading fantasy novels and read this book but I don't wanna.

PLUS I just got invited to a summer party in Tuscany in August, argh and an email from a friend in venice that I only got halfway through because it was too depressing. Boo I want to go overseas.

Also my special superpower today is breaking make-up containers

Ok things I have to do that are stressing me out... -finish well overdue article for website, should be done tomorrow -organise pics or said article -fix up conference paper from feb for publication -write a paper and make presentation for monday -finish a chapter so can give supervisor 'big polished chunk' (his words) when he gets back from spain (bastard) -work out what on earth an article that is due on 31 Juy is going to be about and write it -fret about having no money coming in after August 23rd -write up a travel grant application by next week -prepare for measly tutoring I should be glad in some ways that lots of things are cmoing together but it is just stressful. Plus I haven't had a break from any of this since i don't know when, February I suppose, and can't see the possiblity of having one until november. I also hate that it is all so damn essential for my cv/career whatever but pretty much none of it is paid, meaning I am busy and poor and just have extra stresses. Oh man I just want to cry. An now my blog isn't even any fun, just a catalogue of woes.

A bit better today, just down at the moment, going to make some biscuits or something soon.

I just went to Myer and bought a matching elle macpherson bra and knickers for $30, yay, and a gorgeous Cue shirt, dark green with billowy sleeves and elastic around the bottom so it flows in this bubble like hem, gah bad description, but so nice, and they gave me $10 because ther was a small tear which will take me about 5 seconds to sew up.

Then I should do some more work. I have tutoring for next semseter, only 2 tutes at this point but hopefully lots more students will enrol and I will get more, but still that is at least $130 a week which will pay my rent after my scholarship ends. Boo I am going to be so poor.

don't know I am so down lately. First I thought it was my cold, then my period, then missing my medication but now all those things are gone and I don't feel any better. Just very blank. Yesterday I just sat around reading all day, it was ok, but not as nice as reading all day should be. I wanted mark and i to have nice night out on saturday but then by the time we had a few drinks, wel I did he only had one and went ot the movies but he wouldn't stand in a queue so we couldn't go, it was a saturday night for fucks sake! what did he expect? Then we went home and he just lay on the bed saying he was hungry but nothing I could make would be ok. grr. so over it all. I really need my nights out, I am at home all the time working and I need to et out, the apartment is not a relaxing place to be, and I would like him to come out with me but there doesn't seem to be anything he enjoys, and getting him out at all takes so much energy. Great now I am crying at uni.

At fed sqaure for football back when we were stilll in, ah aren't flares fun?!





























































at drinks launch



























randomness pictures

I have been sick, ergh, just a cold so don't worry, cos I know you were, very worried. But its ok I am getting better and the world can start to turn again. Tonight I will celebrate this health improvement by going to a tasting a fine burgundy wines.

I just had coffee with mum, that was fun, we talked for 2 hours and I made her late because I wouldn't stop talking, haha. Now I am going to go home and make madelienes and listen to Radio National.

Au revoir.

What has happened since last update hmmm.

Went out with sarz to a drinks launch and took photos for her, so my perfect job, not that I got paid, well I got free cocktails and that is something I am happy to work for!

Went to fed square to watch football on friday, good times, then had breakfast at the ungodly hour of 7am, not a time I am really acquainted with. Rwas fun though, me and eliza went to a cafe run by these italians at the qv, and they speak lots of italian and serve good coffee and bomboloni. The guy he owns it bought in a projector and we were watching re-plays, oh yes good times.

Made dumplings at Carla's on friday night, yum, we did pretty good for first timers.

Worked all weekend! Gah so much work, handed in 20 000 word report on Monday, then went to pilates then got really down, exhausted I suppose, which wasn't helped by the socceroos bloody losing to bloody italy, gah, Totti, grr. So mad at that penalty shot, what nonesense. Still they did play well. But also Italy was meant to be my second team, but now I am too angry and think I will go for england instead.

Took yesterday off to make chocolate cupcakes and go out for lunch and read fantasy novels.

Working today again, have an article to finish by friday, yikes.

Pictures coming soon, as soon as I can find a decent computer, stupid piece of crap state library. I hate hate this library. Full of slack students listening to music loudly and talking and sick people coughing up phlegm, urgh. I remember the good old days when we had a pretty arts library and the only real annoyances were the bums who slept in the corner, and at least they were quiet.

Photos from last friday, black and white is such a good idea for trashy photos, some how it makes silly drunken dancing look a bit arty, haha!

















Me and sam, I was trying the serious look.





















My first Jaeger bomb, apparently it was outrageous that I had never tried one, it was revolting.



















Ben being silly, sarah being gorgeous, me being out of the frame














A classic carla, can you believe they kicked her out shortly after?!

Hamish in the Jungle! or just in the vegie patch at mum and dad's




















The QV looking atmospheric.



















Shark Attack!! It's a coffin, from Ghana, pretty cool hey.

hey chickens, all is more or less well in kat-land. I am busy writing and editing to submit something for a review by circulation, my deadline is friday and it is 20 000 words Its ok really i have the words, just need to make them super dooper fancy and intelligible words and all will be good.

otherwise, went with elena to the gallery yesterday, was tres fun, we chatted lots and laughed at old portraits and drooled over the fashion and said intelligent things about the photography and rated the furniture in terms of comfort. Got home to find makr had built his new office chair, looks very fancy, very *I am about to take over the world* all he needs is a white persian cat.

tuesday wasn't much, tried to write a letter to someone, went badly, boo and word crashed twice

Monday, umm worked.

I am considering putting in an abstract for a conference in oxford in november

Not much to report, had a nice weeekend between going out an dstaying in but was mostly drunk the whole time, watched the football last night, haha I was yelling and banging th floor when Australia got their third goal, teehee. Oh found this photo of the evil carrot my mum grew. It grew between the bricks of the vegie garden, instead of in the garden and came out evil!!





























Now I must leave evil carrots and get back to writing my 25000 word review by circulation, after coffee, and a tart that is.

From last friday, write it out but couldn't upload....

*have five minutes on internet left, takes deep breath* Have worked hard writing most of week, been tired and verging on sick but survived nevertheless, met alice yesterday, she is gorgeous and bought a beautiful skirt which makes he rlook hot, carla tried on pretty dress, amazing actually and we ate dumplings. Went out for dinner on monday which was fun, my supervisor is about to go away to spain, damn him and I have to submit 25000 word review, yes 25000!! eek but should be ok, bought a red dress on tuesday which is delicious and warm, short 70s? I think tunic dress, belted it is hot, last friday bought a pretty shirt which I am wearing today, 1980s with poofy sleeves and peral buttons, a bit big but goes well with white cinch belt. that is all there is time for, love you all.....




me having fun on saturday with carlabarla

yo kids! Boo that was my attempt to be bright and breezy but it isn't working. I declare the weather today revolting. The mist was nice this morning but it never cleared just sat around like an unwanted relative, a grey one. Booo to you clouds.

have attempted to brighten day by wearing of red and silver top and stilettos, is working a little bit.

been to doctor, studied, scanned pictures, listened to spanish music, decent monday I suppose.

weekend was pleasant, bought lots of food at the market on saturday, then studied all day, edit edit edit, decided my supervisor is maybe slightly better, though he may never be forgiven for writing 'GRRR' on my draft (kidding).

Had nice drinks at the wine shop, they have a pinot grigio that I love at the moment, partly because of taste but also because the producer is 'Armani' so I say 'I'll have the armani thanks' *bats eyelids and looks suave* I think the joking is paling slightly, though not on me

that is me evil laughing.

saw x-men three, which was good though I was left with the desire for superpowers which slightly marred my enjoyment of sunday, which was sunny. Had coffee with mum and dad, worked, had drinks then watched sunday night movies.

Ah I am sleepy, I think I am getting sick. I was dizzy all yesterday, well not all the time, just for like a second every five minutes. hmmm.

Plus i need a secret supervsior with a bonnet. :( I really really need to talk about my content in this chapter and all David will do is talk about grammar and send me to read fowlers, arghh *tears hair out*. I need a lie down and tea, and biscuits and probably wine.