Though I do divert into the occasional public post, more often than not.

And I'll friend anyone, really.

I have made it to the BBC Magazine's front page! \o/\o/\o/ Many a letter I have had published (and o! the glory), but today my letter was the tagline for Thursday's letters. Even though they put my comma in the wrong place, I would just like to say: WIN.

Incidentally, is anyone else as addicted to the Magazine as I am? Is quite ridiculous.

Anyway. Hi. I'm alive. I have a giant update which has been lurking in my saved drafts since Christmas. It will get posted at some point.

Recent things: birthday. Twenty three. Mad. Went home for the weekend and stayed an extra few days (because really, who wants to go to work on their birthday?) and it was tops. Lots of chasing the young sproglette around the house (possibly the most fun ever) and eating of Victoria Sponge and souvlaki (though not at the same time). I was gifted Love Soup (which I had never heard of) and Where's Stig? (hours of fun) and JOOLS HOLLAND TICKETS BOOYAH.

Came back to Canberra on Wednesday, turning up at work to find balloons attached to my chair and monitor with a "Happy Birthday Katherine!" banner. Colleagues quite lovely. No birthday related fun ever seems to happen at GA so was both wonderful and horrifying to be the first. I have even been pestered to bring in my own birthday cake.

BEERY: So Katherine, where's our cake?
KATHERINE: Excuse me?
BEERY: Our cake! Surely you brought us cake. Where's your birthday cake?
KATHERINE: Er, eaten last night with my family.
BEERY: Oh, come now! Andrew, don't you think that's awful?
COLLEAGUE ANDREW: What?
BEERY: Katherine didn't bring us birthday cake!
COLLEAGUE ANDREW: Yeeesh!! It was my birthday on Monday and-
BEERY: And you brought cake, didn’t you?
COLLEAGUE ANDREW: -and I brought cake!
MC LYCRA: It seems only fair.
BEERY: Cake, Katherine. Bring it. Good cake.
KATHERINE: ...are you just pestering me because you want me to make you a cake?
ALL: *silence, crickets chirp*
BEERY: *cough* Of course not! *whispers* By the way, can I have the recipe for that raspberry cake you made the other week? It was sublime.

A similar conversation took place yesterday and is only not happening today because Beery is away.

After choir on Wednesday (oh yes, I joined a choir. Am I mad? Quite possibly), and an episode of the IT Crowd ("Apparently we are living in the kind of society that sees a man who just wants to take photos of some naked old ladies as some sort of weirdo!"), housemates gifted me with many presents wrapped in foil (as a tribute to Spaced, which we have started devouring - "I see it as a waste of Baco, the foil"). It was superb! The card was a cd, all thirteen tracks of which were Never Gonna Give You Up though the track names were all references to the House Rules or other in-jokes (Track 12: "James she May be" - even housemates are in the Katherine-is-a-middle-aged-man-probably-James-May conspiracy!). Jesus Feist indeed.

Anyway, I am now the proud owner of a spiffy cushion, beautiful cookbook, metamophosing cake tin, crazy green rose and piggy bags, and a hipflask. Apparently I am to fill it on alternate days with gin, vodka and water, and my colleagues are to guess the drink when I am having a particularly fruity day. :)

Non-birthday things: I joined a choir and we are singing Requiem. Is worth blasting out my off-key tunes just for the joy (and anger?) of singing Dies Irae. Have met a few nice people through it too which is nice, as part of the reason I joined was for ~socialising~. Actually, socialising has been better lately and I tend to sit in my room moping much less often... Is mostly due to housemates as nights tend to descend into "let's have a glass of wine and listen to Andrew Bird (YESSSSSS) and talk about crap until midnight", we have drinkies or people round to tea or we randomly go out for pizza and hurrah. Is good. This partly explains my departure from the interwebs. I will try to get back, honest!

Work things: Am still in the same job but not so much doing the same things. Todd-Lover informs me that I found fame at the OZRI conference as my boss' presentation on catchments had mah name on it at the end (I did make a really terrific bunch of slides.. and okay, worked on the actual data a fair bit). Am now making work packages to send to WA and trying to chase up orthophotography. And why yes, not one watercourse attribution change in sight! \o/ (Still waiting on news about a job downstairs. And also from DEWHA. But apparently I am to be here forever... is not so bad as I like the people so much but sometimes one wishes for something challenging!)

Speaking of work things, I am writing this at my desk so should away to do something productive. Only here for a half day anyway as it is the Solstinox Barbeque with CSIRO folks at lunchtime and I can't see myself wanting to come back afterwards, particularly as it is a Friday...

Will try and get the giant update done soon. Pictures and everything! :O

Has anyone got some excellent news that I have missed out on? Do share!

Slightly belated season's greetings, everyone.

I am alive, honest, though my liver might be slightly damaged.

<3

Two updates in not quite as many days, but I had to share this:



!!!!!!

In other news, the drains that chucked a fit on Saturday morning are FINALLY being sorted tonight, which is good because my flat reeks of drain (so all the windows are open) and there is a giant puddle of scummy water outside. I'll be able to have a proper shower! For the past few days mother and I had to take over my sister's hotel shower which was a bit rubbish and drizzley.

Weekend was good but quite cold. Sprog was very happy to be spoken to in baby talk and laughed at me quite a lot, which goes to show that she knows her priorities. :) We did Nice Weekend Things - curry takeaway (bumped into Giant Colleague Mark outside the pub), WINE, cake, more cake, pastries, many cups of tea, Kingston markets, Civic mall, more cake. I got some new work trousers, skirt and a blouse - yay! Also there were hilarious (if disturbing) slightly drunken texts from ACC. Heh.

I had a slice of foodcolouring!cake with foodcolouring!icing today and have been bouncing off the walls a bit. :D

Ahhh, hurry up, plumber! It's freezing with all the windows open and Top Gear's about to start!

[EDIT:] Plumber has been and gone, and can't do anything until tomorrow when he has tools.

PLUMBER JOE: So I'll come round tomorrow and fix it while you're out.
KATHERINE: ...can't you do it tonight?
PLUMBER JOE: Well, I only got my car back this morning and I haven't got round to putting my tools back in it yet...
KATHERINE: But... how am I going to shower? I've been stealing my sister's hotel room for the past three days, but she's gone now!
PLUMBER JOE: Naaaahhhh, you can still have a shower, it'll drain outside!
KATHERINE: NO IT WON'T, YOU STUPID MAN, OUTSIDE IS ALREADY WATERLOGGED SO WHEN I HAVE A SHOWER IT FLOODS MY BATHROOM, WHICH IS WHY I CALLED YOU IN THE FIRST PLACE. BAH!

Bored at work, going through old James May columns, I came across his one on satnav (My Life Lacks Direction, 18th May 2009). It's very good, and one part struck me in particular:

The weird thing is that, despite not being able to find my way around a hotel using my wits, I'm actually pretty good with proper maps. In fact I have a navigation qualification, and can explain magnetic variation and why nautical miles make more sense to seafarers. I like a good map.

OH MY GOD. I THOUGHT I WAS THE ONLY PERSON IN THE WORLD WHO GOT LOST IN BUILDINGS AND CAR PARKS BUT WAS STILL GOOD WITH MAPS.

(I mean, I kind of have to be good with maps, else the country's waterways would all be flowing uphill, but still.)

Things are very, very quiet here at work. Sarah has left (or rather: Sarah's contract ended and happened to co-incide with her going to England to referee for a month), Chris I is on holidays for the month, Mark left on Wednesday to go to the US for two months, and then there are all the people who are randomly away today... It's a bit disconcerting. However, Dick is still managing to whistle, hum and sing out-of-tune so it's not all weird.

I liked this article too, mostly for the line about Daniel Radcliffe: There is no conceivable way he could play the lead in Spooks, or the suave villain in a Bond movie: "Tell me the code, damn you, or I'll bash your shin with this Quidditch broom!"

emsana pointed me in the direction of The Cryptic Canvas. You all need to do it. So far the tally stands at 48 of 50 - so if anyone manages to get the little kids, and the insane cheerleaders, let me know. :)

Going home this weekend and leaving in a few hours. YAY!

Posting LJ entries at work? Probably not the best idea. But hey. :D

Well.

My (newest) niece is now eight days old. Wahooo! I stayed at home til Tuesday, then came back to make Amy some spaghetti carbonara and go to work for the rest of the week - not counting Friday afternoon, which was spent lunching and beering in Trendy Manuka for Colleague Sarah's farewell. Then it was back home to Not Do Very Much other than make an excellent spinach pie and hang out with La Famille. Rose turns out to be very well behaved but very much a mummy's-girl (which is good, because her mummy is very much a Rose-woman). Everyone is smitten and it is delightful, though the sleep deprivation isn't so good. I did was my car for the first time ever though. Apparently it's not actually made of dust and a gearbox.

I can feel myself coming into the Bimonthly Blues. Boooooooooo.

I was awake at 6am yesterday and decided that it was as good a time as any to get back into exercise now that a) I AM (more of) A WHALE and b) my headaches are allowing movement. So I went for a brisk walk. IN MINUS 5C APP TEMPS. IN THE FOG. AND THE FROST. AND THE DARK. Clearly I am insane. However, I am determined because I am getting the tiniest bit puffed walking up the flights of stairs to work and O! HOW APPALLING.

Found some very clompy man-boots for $40. They are quite tempting as my current work shoes (which are actually very old school shoes and so about 7 years old) are showing a few signs of wear, and I have finally woken up to the fact that my Docs (the alternative work shoe that's not a Nice Heel) are actually a size too big. So new boots are a possibility.

I picked up Singin' In The Rain on the weekend. WAHEY! Now I don't have to search for the old video recording every time I want to look at Gene Kelly's forearms in a non An American In Paris way. Am reminded of the time in year 12 when, for French HSC practise, we had a movie day at my place at watched SitR with French dubbing and subtitles. Metro!Jack was convinced that Don, Cosmo and Kathy are a 1920s threesome. Can quite see his point.

Feel the urge to take up tap dancing again.



Miss Marple had Oliver Wood in it. And also HotFuzz!DCAndyCartwright which was odd because he is rather attractive without the moustache.

ANDY: Yeah, 'cos we all sell apples round 'ere, don't we?
DANNY: Your dad sells apples.
ANDY: And raspberries!

Brrrr. Cold.

DEAR EVERYONE,

I WANT YOU TO MEET SPROG!

( EVERYONE KNOWS THAT ALL BABIES LOOK THE SAME BUT I HAVE PICTURES )

:D

Your results:
You are Leonard McCoy (Bones)

Leonard McCoy (Bones) 65% Beverly Crusher 65% Jean-Luc Picard 55% Deanna Troi 55% An Expendable Character (Redshirt) 55% Chekov 50% Spock 49% Geordi LaForge 45% Mr. Scott 40% Uhura 40% Will Riker 35% Data 34% James T. Kirk (Captain) 30% Mr. Sulu 25% Worf 25%

You are a pessimistic and bitter doctor, but you are skilled in the ways of medicine and science.

Click here to take the Star Trek Personality Test


I always knew I should have been a doctor! Also, lols.

I think I may have triumphed over my headaches: I've not had a bad one for a couple of weeks, and even then I've only had a few little ones. Also (and this is most important) I have had one whole glass (actually two tiny glasses) of wine and I'm not dead. I'm not dead! TRIUMPH!

In other news, Canberra is friggin' cold. I haven't been in these sort of temperatures since I lived in England, and even then I don't remember freezing quite so much. I suppose that living in a concrete block of flats with no central heating does make a difference. Alas, it won't snow because the city is in a valley, so while the surrounding hills get snow we just get cold. It was -5 last night, with an app temp of -8.6. HOLY CRAP! However, as I have been complaining about never having a proper winter since we moved here, I must stop my whinging! It does give me a very good excuse to dig out my Warmest Coat Evar. It's ankle-length, black suede with (fake) fur inside. Mmmmmm toasty.

Happily, work is less evil of late: while there are still spreadsheets to be done, and I've had to re-run my analyses twice and essentially lost three days' worth of work, CP has been rather jovial and I have been feeling as if I'm actually Doing Real Work. Kind of. The entire exercise still seems a bit of a shambles but now that we all understand (and have seen) the very final product towards which we are working, it is all good.

Kaylie is coming to visit this weekend which will be fab. I hope she doesn't freeze.

I need to tidy up. But, more pressingly, I need a cup of tea.

FLIST, I NEED YOUR HELP.

My friend Amy (mmmjonah), the one who is getting married this Friday, DOESN'T HAVE ANY MUSIC CHOSEN. For ANYTHING. Walking up the aisle, first dance, cutting the cake, etc. etc. Kimberley (kjd_pferd), who has been tearing her hair out over this entire shambles of wedding organisation, has tried and tried but nothing is working. As far as I know, Amy and Laurent listen only to Christian rock and ska and therefore are limited by their own music collections.

Does anyone have any suggestions for me to force upon her? I have a few but anything would be welcome.

PLEASE HELP!

And when I say giant, I mean giant. Honestly, this might break your internets. And also your eyes. Enjoy!

( PICTURES! )

In other news, I had a great evening yesterday with highlyeccentric, a bunch of her workmates, and xxlucyferxx. We went to the pictures and saw The Boat That Rocked and I very much enjoyed it - though its plot was as flimsy as they come, it won on many levels, up to and including not being a typical Richard Curtis film, having amazing sixties clothes, having a fabulous ensemble cast, and a soundtrack that was MADE OF WINNNNN. I spent most of the film singing along (sometimes out loud, sometimes not), and having lightbulb moments of realising just what an important role music holds in my life. Siiiigh. :) We had dinner at Wagamama after the movie - I had never been before but enjoyed my strange veggie noodles of doom - and then back to Amy's for tea, wine, biscuits and conversation. Very nice. Good to meet new people, likely as it is that I shall never see them again.

I have spent today doing nothing and it's been lovely. Back to work tomorrow, which is annoying, but work is warmer than my flat! Not that my flat is terribly cold. Suspect I felt extra cold today as I spent a good two hours defrosting and chipping away the ice in my freezer. Rubbish freezer. Rubbish fridge. Grrr.

Hee! Watching The IT Crowd and it's the one with Tim Messenger and his dislike of sharing. "In a tapas restaurant, he doesn't like sharing!" Am horribly reminded of the time I went out to a tapas (tiny food from Spain) restaurant with school friends and tried to introduce them to interesting food, ending in "I'm getting the chicken wings. I'm not sharing with anyone, because you shouldn't share food!" and "This food is tiny! Tiny! No way am I sharing, there's not enough even for one person!" and "Does anyone want to go for Asian after this?". Oh deary me. I do enjoy eating out but when one has few friends who are foodies (at last count: none) one should learn just to go with their flow of the same Vietnamese restaurant every time. Should get out and exlore Canberra's dining scene... it can't be worse than Wollongong. :D

Not hungry at all, but going to make minestrone a la fridge so that there is lunch for tomorrow.