Working Girl

You know the film “Working Girl” with Melanie Griffiths and Sigourney Weaver? Big haired secretary makes it to her own office after pretending to be her boss when her boss has a skiing accident to the point of wearing her suits. Oh, and cutting her hair. Well that’s how I felt today. Sitting in my boss’s glassed in office on her big leather chair - wearing incidentally - my own clothes. I’m the BSD for the next two weeks. So far no-one knows I’m there…

Number one son has done us proud and made it into the ATP program of the local high school next year. The question is - do we send him?? Worried look. We’re supposed to say yes or no by Friday and we won’t know about scholarships for the private school he’s down for until the end of June… high priced dilemmas - don’t they make life interesting?

What else?

Oh yeah we went to the Ballet on Friday night. A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Gorgeous. Loved the costumes and the ballet… before the headline act they did some Don Quixote which I didn’t really get into - too trad for me and a bit school ballet concert. Not the standard but the format. They’d had a blow just before curtain up. The musical director Dobbs Franks was involved in a serious car crash and in critical condition in hospital. So they had to use recorded music. Which I think probably threw them a bit and didn’t sound so special.

I was surprised they didn’t have an understudy but he was the only one facing the right way. Very important to see the ballet when you’re doing the music for it - as you’d expect if you think about it! So first violin couldn’t take over…

Anyway - I loved it.

Lazy

Groover64: I think blogs are such a great record of your life.

CB: Hmmmm… (reading Adelaide Writer)

Groover64: Hey if we get divorced, can I just link to yours?

Read the book? Forget the movie.

Went to see The Da Vinci Code last night. Yes I’d heard the reviews but I wanted to see for myself. That’s the kind of girl I am. So it’s well made. And I’m sure if I hadn’t read the book I’d have found it quite mesmerising. But I had. And I didn’t. I suspect also that seeing the movie will spoil the book. And that is a pity because if you don’t know what is coming - the book is a good read. Not high literature by any means, but fun.

They did a good job of explaining all the history without you feeling too much like you were in a lecture. And it was really nice to see the places they were talking about and the art as they are explaining the Holy Grail theories. I imagine the Da Vinci Code in pictures does the same thing.

Tom Hanks was okay - once or twice I even thought of him as his character. The French girl was good. Sir Ian McKellen (is that how you spell his name) was very good I thought.

Yesterday I wandered down Oxford St - went to the Paddo markets (so expensive!) and window shopped. I found a groovy little gift shop called Via Alley which had opened only the week before. They are an online store - experimenting with being offline. Some very cute stuff from around the world. I now carry a Poketo wallet. Very hip.

Mike’s exhibition launch was very well attended. Perhaps too well attended - you couldn’t see the art and he didn’t make many sales. I think he was disappointed - it is his year’s income. To be an artist must be so hard. You put your soul on the line every time. He is being philosophical about it. Interestingly we went past another launch last night - the paintings were 5 times as expensive - and didn’t look like better art. It’s all about “the name” I suppose.

It was the gallery owner’s first night too. He is an artist as well. I’m not sure that really works. Artists are not salespeople and galleries are all about sales. So a few lessons to be learned. The gallery itself is a lovely space though.

Work on Friday was great. Shadowed my opposite number and found a few ideas to steal. We even came up with a plan which I hope will be adopted by the network. One can hope anyway. It was really beneficial to see how another station worked… well I think so anyway.

Well I fly back to reality tonight. I’m about to head down to Bondi with some friends for a coffee (I’m missing my coffee machine) and this afternoon… my mission is to by Groover a present. I’ve already found something for the small people.

Jet setter

I know what you’re thinking. Adelaide one week, Sydney the next… what a global traveller Cellobella is… what a jet setter. Well I can understand your envy. Yes I’m in Sydney this week for the opening night of my brother’s new exhibition and first solo show in Sydney. Very exciting. http://web.mac.com/mhknight/

These days I just can’t seem to get through those airport security checks. Last week I had a corkscrew which I’d chucked in my bag to take to work where occasionally a corkscrew would come in handy. Completely forgot about it of course and of course I was running late and couldn’t find the wretched thing! Last night it was a hairclip. Oooooh dangerous things hairclips, although to be fair once he identified it as a hairclip he let me take it on board. Mad woman attacks pilot with jewelled hairclip!

Anyway I caught the red-eye and I don’t know why wasted precious z-time eating the wretched “supper”. I don’t know why! Who eats at 1am? Now I feel stuffed. Both tired and bloated. The good part was getting two seats to myself next to a window.

But the weather in Sydney is beautiful and I’m looking forward to checking out the Archibald later today and maybe do a bit of shopping. Brother dearest has gone to do some hanging duties at the gallery so I might even make up some of that z-time.

After this trip things settle down and I go back to the normal humdrum. In the meantime (hi kids) LET’S PARTY!

Pimp my shell

Is the name of one of the hermit crabs in my son’s class.

An interesting sign of the times.

Quote from Kaz Cooke regarding commercial radio executives: “There they were with their Tin Tin hairstyles, entering the room scrotum first…”

You get the mental picture.

And the winner is…

It’s not that I don’t care…

[17-year-old boy on the fact he doesn't read news or listen to current affairs]

“It’s not that I don’t care on purpose… I just don’t care.”

These and other interesting tid-bits I have picked up at a conference in Adelaide this past three days.

Adelaide itself was beautiful if cold. A surprise. I don’t know why.

Heard on radio a complaint about those in the “Eastern States” - well I’m sorry Adelaide but YOU ARE part of the Eastern States!

Still even though their casino is seedier than ours (I know can you believe it), journeying to the most west of the Eastern States was very pleasant. In particular, Chianti Classico. What a fabulous restaurant. A menu so extensive you cannot believe how nice the food is when it arrives. Posh wine list, cloth napkins. Classy.

And who knew Amanda Vanstone had a sense of humour? Seriously an eye-opener for me. She is a republican who suggests a campaign with the slogan: “If you love her (ie the Queen) - set her free.”

Funny.

Oh and I won an award. Stand by for image of phallic glass object.

Embarrassment

Bringing two pairs of the most pathetic spectacles you have ever seen into the optomistrists.

I swear, they see us coming and say KER CHING!

One pair - no arms - held together with blue electrical tape. The other - no arm plastic bit to put over your ear, no nose thingy, chipped left lens, right lens completely broken in half. How old are these glasses?

We were there last November.

That is a record.

Choices

Like being able to choose which set of gym clothes to wear.

Like pulling out a line of agapanthus and putting in kangaroo paws.

Like whether or not to defrost home-made tomato soup for lunch.

These are the choices you have when you spend a weekend at home.

Back in the hotseat

I’m on air today filling in for someone. And it really is a hot seat. Yesterday a battery melted in the UPS room and the ensuing smoke meant that the entire building had to be evacuated - even the on-air studio.

Apart from the power room nothing else has been damaged.

Exciting isn’t it.

By the way - bombed badly at bridge last night. A shame as it was my last night. I didn’t play too badly - well there was one instance that I really failed to defend properly but apart from that.

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