I love friday.
I am happy today, the world is good I thought I was falling back into a deep deep hole but it seems it was just a little tumble and I have righted myself easily.
Me and lizey are planning Italy, hopefully she will save the money ok. I really need to book my ticket soon.
I just noticed that post from last Tuesday saying I was feeling depressed and realised I have, more or less, been feeling that way since then. Which is no good, I have been much better lately so why this return to a feeling of hopelessness? I had it very much last night, even the urge to hurt myself was returning. Hmmm.
I had such a strange dream last night. I dreamt that I was in Northern Italy (I think you influenced me Ro) and I was in this garden. The garden was very run down but contained these amazing sculptures of monsters, which also seemed to be automata. It was strange, they were very baroque in some ways, and reminiscent of the sacro bosco at Bomarzo, though on a grander scale, plus the layout of the garden was a bit like a Chinese scholar garden. There were these horribly steep cliffs which reminded me of cliffs from a recurring dream I had when I was a child about werewolves. Then I went to the bookshop but there were no books, only strange knick-knacks. So strange, though perhaps I am just working too hard.
Just had coffee with felicity, very lovely as always. Though she told me some things about Rome after I left which have made me feel a bit strange, I am glad I was sitting in full sun with glasses on as I think I may have been blushing. I don't know what to think or feel now, I really don't like me sometimes.
My day today consisted of lying in bed feeling depressed until 11am, then going to the gym and killing myself, then sitting in the most freezing lecture theatre ever and hearing about prints, which was sort of good and sort of dull. The best was this artist who had got this scholarship to the British Museum Prints rooom which I desperately want) and had spent her time drawing all the prints in a diary. Lovely and gorgeous.
But then she mentioned the British Museum being in Bloomsbury and I started thinkming about my friend there and felt all sad. Hey ho, Very sillly of me really.
THren I had drinks at the Melbourne uni Club in some very odd room with imitation 19th century versions of 16th century furniture in a 21st century room. THere was stupid politics running through the whole night an dpeople being bitches and sizing me up so now I am going home to relax.
What do you when you find out something you don't want to know, that you shouldn't have found because youwere being nosey, but now you now you feel confused?
I'm not sure what to write today. I am pretty tired and exhausted still from the conference. I was way too tired to go out last night in the end so I just sat around feeling sad. Hurrah for me. Lets have some photos.
Roey playing pool, tell me if you want me to take it down, though I'm pretty sure we are the only ones reading this.
My cake the other night.
Beer and coffee, together, gasp!
My favourite cafe that I have never actually had coffee at in Rome.
Well yesterday was a big success, I have just returned all our glasses and empty bottles to the wine people so i feel it is all done finally! My office smelt like a brewery crossed with a winery this morning though, The day just went so smoothly, no realy hiccups, only 1 technology problem and lots of audience in all the papers. Some how we managed to get 44 papers to run on time and everyone really enjoyed themselves, the sun even came out for our BBQ at the end of the day. We had the biggest turn out yet, and also the biggest nukber of people to stay behind for our drinks and BBQ, I think we had about 70 people and we didn't run out of booze or food later either. One speaker even asked if I was in events and media management We also launched our new journal (http://www.melbourneartjournal.unimelb.edu.au/E-MAJ/index.htm) and I was asked to make a speech about it because all the other editors were too shy, but it went well and everyone laughed at my joke too.
Now with a sigh of relief I can go back to my PhD.
I am neglecting you. I am soo busy organisng this conference that is on tomorrow. (check it out www.ahcca.unimelb.edu.au/illuminate) I have actually been doing fun stuff but have no time to write about it so will do some serious backdated issues soon.
Biggest excitement today is putting essays upstairs to be collected, what a relief, I had decided to re-write most of the comments because I was too critical and wanted to point out some good stuff too.
Now I am drinking coffe and eating yoghurt, they don't go together but I don't care. It is funny Mark is so pedantic about foods which match and which don't that I started doing it too but now I have realised that really I am a bit of a food, um, heathen?slob? SO there you go the liberation of coffee with yoghurt, soon I will be a freedom fighter.
We think there is a brothel next door to Eliza's.
Here is the joy of Breakfast at her place.
Good day.
Today was fun, went to Roey's cubby, she made us boiled eggs and I got this urge to try and eat them like they were shown on Australian Princess, but after 2 seconds I gave up and was just messy. We listened to Tom Waits and U2 and Amelie. There was coffee with honey.
Then we went to get a package for her and it wasn't very exciting, I think we built it up too much. Then we had coffee and because we had had way too much coffee we started talking about religion and Roey wrote me some Ani diFranco. Then we went and swunk on some swings in the park which was good but we got sore arses because they were a bit big for the little seats. Then we say a special garden through an old gate.
The skies in Brunswick.
Then I went to uni and got rained on and came home and lizey came to visit and get photos and have a cigarette on a wet balcony.
Mark got his new glasses, very spiffin. 
On my walk the other night.
Yesterday was loverly, picnic on the grass. We all met the lovely Francine, who watched over us, though she was somewhat thin, and made of bronze. The magpies visited too. I think my arm got slightly sunburnt, though it could have just been hurt from rolling down the hill at the myer music bowl.
Here I am with Sarz, and there is Carla doing ultra U.V. protection with three pairs of sunnies.
Then I distracted Carla from leaving for her ball with lashings of red wine, and eventually went out to meet lizey and see 'THe Proposition'. I liked it alot, more than I expected actually, possibly one of my favourite films this year. 
Here is my dry and dry at Jimmy's beforehand.
I am contemplating over all the fun conversations I had yesterday at lizey's afternoon tea/booze up. Hmmmm I don't think I have been thinking things through properly. I have lots of photos to put up though. not now, but soon.
Ohh excitement I kept forgetting to post this in my journsie. I am going to Italy in Feb next year I have been invited to give a paper at an international conference which is great, though quite scary too as I will probably the only student and most of the other speakers are very well known and established academics. But yay, I am definitely soending a month in Rome and hopefully also 2 weeks in Lucca in the archives and 1 week in Milan at a library (and possibly at the shops ) Yay yay yay I am going to book my accomdation now.
Fun weekend, how nice is the weather? It seriously has lifted my mood so much, though I have been a bit up and down lately, must make another doctors appointment but I also am planning to cut down on caffeiene and alcohol. Saturday I tried to work but mostly slacked off, then met Mark for drinks and then Emma and Carla came and met us and we had nice wine an dthen went for pasta at Tiamo then ice cream. Then me and Carla met up with Sarz at Bimbos and tried to convince people we were twins, but with different Dads, haha oh dear. Yesterday I slept in and then later on Mark bought me a new mobile I am playing, at first I was sad to let go my old one, we have had good times, but this new one has a camera and stuff.
Went out last night with E, good night. First we mosied on down to TRansport but Mohair wasn't playing ( he seems to be very upset about New Orleans, understandably). Hopefully he will be back next week. We decided we didn't like the vibe and E had a car so we went off to Prudence in North Melby. When we were leaving the fed sq carpark we forgot ot pay our parking ticket and got stucj at the boom gate so I had to jump out and run across and pay, there were cars waiting behind us. oops.
Hung at Prudence for a few hours, twas fun. There was a hen's night there and they were all well gone. The hen had a sign with tasks she had to complete and was beratinbg us all loudly for not having condoms to give her.
Went home and had a shag. Good night.
Taught today, it was good, we were looking at the gardens of Stowe and also Little Sparta by Ian Hamilton Finlay, I really love this garden it works so amazingly well. Although I haven’t actually seen it in the flesh which one should really do with spaces such as gardens, I just love his approach. Finlay includes such subtleties in his garden art, poems and allusions to the classical gardens and the classical world. Some of them are a bit esoteric, but most are readily understandable. I like the way, as one of my students pointed out, all the objects he inserts into the landscape tend to draw you into a ‘conversation’ with that landscape, without the surrounding landscape the meaning would be completely changed.
This evening I went to the Melbourne fashion festival with sarah, as her photographer. It was lots of fun, I got some good shots too. It was pretty funnny standing up on the media platform with all the big newspaper and t.v. people with their huge cameras and me with my tiny digicam. I loved some of those shows too. The Nicola Finetti dresses were gorgeous, not particularly unusual but very elegant, lots of draping and light fabrics. I loved the Shag show too, lots of oversized sunnies, in fact lots of oversized everything. Sarah wasn’t so sure, she did make the good point that no one would really wear those clothes, but I think it would be fab if everyone did! Especially outfits like this! (insert furr one) One of the models carried a flower printed parasol too which was absolutely gorgeous.
I also quite like the Prime show which was basically sportswear but it was very fun and funky, suddenly made me want to get about in tennis skirts and short shorts and diamond print tops with a 50s tennis raquet as an accessory.
And the bikini show at the start was good, Flamingo Sands, loved it and am definitely buying a bikini this year, wearing it with a flowy kaftan, a big hat and big sunnies.
