And the other problem was the band that we were their to see (Labretta Suede and The Motel Six) decided to ignore the no smoking laws, so if they could so did every one in the bar - which sucked massive balls, so I left. They weren't to bad, you can check them out here http://www.myspace.com/labrettasuedeandthemotelsix. But to be honest I liked the first band (no idea what they were called), with a bit more practise and a few sessions in a decent manic depressive state they could be really good. But sound issues aside the venue was very cool, would love jazz there. I also mowed the lawns, I always forget how satisfying a freshly mown lawn can be, I guess that is the same with weeding. Which is the next thing I need to do. I made bread - like kneading and that. Wasn't to bad but the problem i had was the recipe had 4 different yeast measurements i went for the low one, and found out I should have gone for the high one. The next lot will hopefully be better. It certainly looked better after the raising step.

Games
Peggel damn well rocks, it rocks so much it is a rocking rock thing. Now to get Nick

to buy it for me. The demo is all good, but can only play for an hour. Other than that i have seen a lot of TF2. Which is in beta at the moment, and the only way to join the beta is pre-buy the game. So if you have a gamer in your life and they start screaming in their sleep, "Kill the medic" or "SPY" or "Orange Box". They have pre-brought and are playing hard.

Wellness
Going well, even with lunches and that. 76.5kg last week which is the half way mark. Every thing is down hill from there.

Yumminess
Garlic and Cumin Prawns. From the latest foodtown magazine, pg 86 if I remember correctly.

Movies
Hogfather

This was really good, it was a average book. But this made it awesome.

Superbad

This was damn funny - a little bit American but full of laughs. With out the cops it would have been lame though.

The Terminal

Would have been better if they got a Russian rather than Tom Hanks trying to be Russian. Was OK, but I wouldn't suggest it.

Fido

This was just pure odd - and not good as in David Lynch odd. Just odd as in your nice uncle that keeps asking for photos of the kids.

Books I finished 1984 which was actually a little bit disappointing near the end. It is defiantly a book of ideology rather than well written. Which is a shame because it could have been both every easily. But all that aside I do think it is a book that every one should read, and in their early twenty's when your ideology of the world is shaping.

Projects
Nothing to see. Hope the kiln is fixed :/

The only thing I know about the dark is you can't see in it.

I spent the week doing plasmid preps and health and safety. Sourcing cocoa. Of a side note here, to find a decent quality cocoa I decide to ring around the places that advertise hand made chocolates and find out where they get their cocoa from. It was interesting - because they don't make them. They import them from Australia. Boxes and boxes of little hand made chocolates from Aus. Seemed kind of silly, and kind of takes away they whole hand made chocolate boutique thing.

Social

It was my birthday yesterday, and I had a party. It was a pot luck thing and all my friends did an amazing job. I made sushi which looked very impressive. So I can now officially say the Wii is mine. Speaking of which it is urking me for some reason more than it should that Terry registered it in his name. In the end it doesn't really matter, but well it is mine. It is times like this I fell like I am behaving as an only child is perceived. Stamping my foot and saying MINE.

But all that aside - I am now older and another year closer to my mid life crisis. Which I am allowed at a minimum of 35, as discussed with my friends. And I fully intend of having one, I might even try for two. One at 35 and other at 45. I may have to put some research into how to have a good one, as I don't want to miss out of any of the fun bits. But I have to make cookies for tomorrow morning to celebrate I am older.

The other thing that I did was went to the parallel imported make up and fragrance clearance sale. I brought some cool things. And well the sparkle - it is great. But finally I have liquid eye liner.

Games

I broke my Bejeweled record with an impressive score of 12573. I was going to play some WoW last night, instead I talked to Remmy and made a list of all the songs I have used in my blog. I found them all but "It doesn't make sense the words that we're saying" I have no idea where I got this one from. My Googlefu failed me for that one. I did play a lot of Wii last night, I need to play some more bowling on another character to get back into it so I don't loose my professional tittle. I want to hang onto my 185 average. Might play some WoW today.

Wellness

Going well, hopefully I have lost the kg which will put me at 15kg lost and over the half way mark. I need to be a bit more obsessive about my calorie counting, but Sept is the month for birthdays. Soon it will be summer and salads will be more the order of the day and I will be biking to work. I am defiantly noticing the loss - most of my pants I don't have to bother to undo now to take them off.

Yumminess

No idea what was in them, but the cookies that Briar made last night. - Yum.

Movies

The Last King of Scotland

This movie was well done, and you would fully enjoy it you are in the right mind frame. But it is sort of like a documentary - so don't expect CGI and big action. But I enjoyed it.

The Feast

This movie all the things that are missing in The Last King of Scotland, terrible acting, drums of fake blood and gore. A script that was written by stoned university students. It was like most of my jokes so bad you had to laugh. B-Grade at its worst and there for good.

Bridget Jones Diary part 1 and 2

I had not seen this before, and now having watched it i regret waiting so long. It was funny and sweet. And the scene were Hugh Grant falls in the lake sold me. No matter how big of a cad he was, what dodgy hookers he has had. I was sold on his sexiness. I like 1 better than 2. But the scene in the jail was worth it.

Books - I am now reading on the train (have been for a while, but decided to start working on books I should have read and haven't) So decided to split the movies and books.

Animal Farm

I can see why it made such a big impact when it came out. But my comment on finishing it was - it was predictable. At which point I got a massive dialogue from Nick (I think he had to study Animal Farm at school) about how you can not say history is predictable. That is like some one about to watch Rome being told that Casar dies, and thus claiming that you had ruined it for them. And really he is right, I had no come back to his you can't claim history is predictable. It was very well written but didn't really do anything for me.

(if you want to suggest a book I should read, just flick me an email, or leave a comment.)

Projects

The kiln is still broken so nothing is fired, shaped my oil burner some more and started on my castle.

Talkin' about coffee, what's your opinion? Is it a social lubricant or a dangerous stimulant?

Been a busy week and it slacked off by Friday - because i ran out of cells. But I did get to do some of my Lab Manger duties which was good to tick them off. But was working on the TNFa promoter this week and ran some of John's samples through it. I still need to graph the results.

Social

Well not much on the social front mainly due to Nick working late most of this week, though I went and got my 30th birthday present. The worse part of it was the anticipation, but once it was started it was about as bad as freezing your self to something. Not very pleasant but not to bad. I felt bad on Friday as I had promised Arlene I wold come to Boogie Wonderland with her, but I forgot, she even sent me a text reminding me which I didn't get until I was home when Nick gave me back my cell phone. I shall have to make her cake. I also meant to go and see my friends in Mt Eden but didn't really make it, due to Nick having to go to work. I mowed the lawns yesterday, then sat on the lawn in the sun and read a book. Was all good. Right now I am really enjoying some Smashing Pumpkins.

Games

Playing some WoW and some Wii Play, and of course Bejeweled when things get boring.

Wellness

Hopefully everything is still on track, though I feel it is and clothes I brought earlier this year are starting to hang on me. Been so busy lately preparing stuff takes time, where as takeaways or cheese toasties seem easier. I need to go and buy some fruit and vegetables today.

Yumminess

I had this really nice salad with fresh spinach, sun dried tomatoes, capsicum, tarragon and pumpkin seeds. Sprinkled with a little bit of garlic salt. Was nice. Argh I still haven't had any sushi. I had a good cheese burger too.

Media

Sione's WeddingThis was a laugh a minute and I thoroughly enjoyed it. One to add to the DVD collection.

Little Miss Sunshine

Although good I felt it was trying to be Running with Scissors for the main stream.

TideLand

This was odd, but in saying that it is a Terry Gilliam movie. I could see what he was trying to do, shame he didn't have the budget and or a child actor who knew what he wanted. The best parts were with Jeff Bridges.
100 Bullets

This is a graphic novel and one of the best you will read. So next time you are wandering past a store that purveys in this type of merchandise, wander in and have a read.

Hell Boy - The Troll Witch and Others

Is a short story collection, but covers the time he went to Africa a long time ago. With some others, and with any short story collection some are good and some are average. I liked it, but then I love the style and all that.

Projects

I am currently working on a oil burner, which is being more difficult than I though, mainly because of the carving I am doing.

I am mentally divergent, in that I am escaping certain unnamed realities that plague my life here

Been busy, but then compared to lately it is normal. Tried transfected a different cell line. THP-1. It went not so well, but it was decided that I should just keep with the cell line I have it in.

Social

Aselle had her birthday this week and so I made her a cake. It was cute and tasted ok. Then we went to Zap 2 for dinner which is this great Thai place and I fully rate it. There was 20 of us so the food wasn't as good as it could be because the kitchen was a bit over whelmed. Then on Saturday night I went to another birthday party, this time one of Nick's work colleagues. And since I had done such a good job on Aselle's cake I was asked to make Andy one. Which was fun (was a race track - Nick iced it)

Games

Some WoW. My priest is now lvl 29. Lvl 30 is when I get some fun stuff. Playing Tower Defense while I write this.

Wellness

I would say I was hoping to loose the 2kg I put on while I was in Queenstown, and that 2 birthday parties do not make that overly easy. But since I am late I know I lost it - So yah me. Now I am working on making my nails strong so they can grow and look nice. Got sick of them breaking and looking like I was chewing them any way.

Yumminess

Kan Moo Grob. It is just damn well nice and well has like a small pig of pork in it.

Media

Knocked up

This was super lame and made me never want to have kids.

Projects

Working on an oil burner and another cat bowl

But wouldn't it be great if number one this Christmas wasn't some smug teenager but an old ex-heroin addict searching for a comeback at any price? All those young popsters come Christmas Day, they'll be stretched out naked with a cute bird balancing on their balls and I'll be stuck in some dingy flat with me manager, Joe, ugliest man in the world, fucking miserable because our fucking gamble didn't pay off. So if you believe in Father Christmas, children, like your Uncle Billy does, buy my festering turd of a record. And particularly enjoy the incredible crassness of the moment when we try to squeeze an extra syllable into the fourth line.

This week I was at a conference in Queenstown - QMB (Same conference I mentioned in my first blog post). So spent the week learning new things and that. I went to a great talk on probiotics and on on pheromones and a whole pile I could have slept through. I presented a poster on my GABA work and hung out mainly with the sponsors. Ummm buy RayLab. I might pad this out a bit tomorrow.

Social

This time Nick came down for the whole week and went snowboarding, that same week 7 of our mates also happened to be in Queenstown boarding so Nick hung out with them durning the day and had a great time. I caught up with them in the evening.

The other thing that happened while I was down there was the 2007 lunar eclipse. This isn't my picture as cell phones don't do so well on moon photos.

But it did look amazing.

Games

Played a lot of Bejeweled durning the boring seminars. And that was about it.

Wellness

Cough.... conferences is free for all, so re weight tomorrow and see how much I have gone up and get back on to the spark plan. How could I say no to free Hersey's kisses the cookies and cream ones. That is just morally wrong.

Yummy stuff

Change of tact her and following Kelly and just mention what the best meal of the week was.

Sushi, oh it was good. Some restaurant in Queenstown - great Japanese and didn't they know it. Still worth the price.

Media

The Host

This was ok, didn't rock my boat but didn't make me want to walk out. Nick loved it.

Black Sheep

This I really liked. Was badly acted, bad script and terrible jokes. It was C grade, and very similar to Tongan Ninja - which is another great movie.

Shooter

This was good action, good script and plot, and well acted. Not sure on re watch ability but def see if you notice it at the video store.

Projects

Tomorrow

You make love as you eat, with a great deal of noise and no subtlety!