#61 The Laurel

So the idea of this item was to eat at the local pub, being the Caxton 'cos they supposedly had good meals and there were special deals for local residents. but we never really got around to going to the Caxton, and now we dont live there anymore. It didnt really seem that appealling when you got there (total bogan pub) and instead we went to other local pubs who had better deals such at the Transit hotel. Anyway, now that we are in Melbourne I can change it to eating at one of our new local pubs, which seem like much better places that the Caxton, the closest one being The Laurel. On Tuesday I ate there with my Mum and sister. Maybe its just me but it seems quite a funny thing that Australian pubs have a bistro menu and then a counter meal menu which is much cheaper despite coming from the same kitchen (and sometimes being the same meals), but has to be eaten in the bar area (instead of the bistro area). Anyway Tuesday at the Laurel is $10 counter meals and $5 pints - bargain. The bar area is not entirely atmospheric but not too bad really - I probably would have been perfectly happy with the atmosphere if my Mum wasnt there. Surprisingly the vegetarian pub food was not lasagne or pasta (its always lasagne or pasta) and it was pretty good and even had fresh vegetables in it.
Thursdays has even cheaper pints ($4) and prizes and all within stumbling distance of home - I think we'll be back (minus Mum).

#91 gossip free

wow, I finally achieved this - didnt think I ever would but this open plan office malarky is proving to be more and more beneficial to me. I really dont know why I get drawn into celebrity gossip anyway. I hate celebrities and celebrity cultutre, but thats the problem - I seem to have this semi-concious desire to wind myself up and annoy myself by reading about stupid things those people do - perhaps it makes me feel superior? I do like the frock pictures though.
Only problem will be I wont know anything next time I go a to a trivia night.

back again

yes, I am back and blogging again. But, I dont want to make too much of a fanfare about it since I am doubting it will really become a regular thing again. Basically this is a form of procrastination for me which means I do it at work, but the whole open plan office thing at my new job makes me less inclined to do it sinCe everyone can see I'm wasting work time. Of coruse I could do it at home, but when I get home the last thing I want to do is turn the computer on.
Maybe I will finally become more productive and as such be in the office more reasonable hours and fit more worthwhile things into my life other than work.

#73 home

its kinda cheating, but I have moved back home to Melbourne and as such this one is automatically achieved. Its been wierd coming back. As partly anticipated it didnt take too long for family over-dose. I'm also working in the same building as a few of my old friends from high school which is particularly wierd. It kinda feels like stepping back in time 10-15 years to that life you had way back then, and you're not sure thats really a good thing.
and yet having those friends and family close and being able to easily see them and be reminded of the genuine (I think) relationships I have with them (its so much different tothe friendships formed in adulthood) is great. and, Melbourne is such a great city - if only it wasnt so bloody cold!

#4 Montag abends

Its only a small step towards this goal, but gotta start somewhere... In my an attempt to work towards the Zentrale Oberstufenprüfung, which is a German exam at a level I guess more or less euqivalent to 'proficiency', I am once again taking German classes, this tiem at the Goethe Institut. The annoying thing being the only time a class at my level was available was Monday evening - who feels like learning German grammar until late on a Monday night? and I cant get home in time for Flight of the Conchords which is very disappointing since its one of the very few watchable things on TV. Anyway, so far the class is going fine, occassionally a tad boring/tedious - but I've learnt thats the nature of language classes. I've spent much time in the past wondering does it really have to be that way? - isnt it possible to have a language class thats not tedious? a but experience has taught me its not. Maybe in a smaller group with less of a need to cater to lowest common denominator, but that could be even worse (and more expensive)

unlikely

I have realised that there are several items on the list that I just don't think I'm going to achieve. The question is am I just not trying hard enough, not rising to the challenge and all that and would it be a cop-out to remove them from the list, or am I just being realistic.

#26 - In Switzerland employers are required (by law I believe) to provide you with a written reference when you leave job. as such when you apply for jobs there it is expected that you will have these letters attached to your CV. My boss however, did not give me mine when I left, three years later he still hasnt done it (but always says its coming). I asked him for it at least once a week for the few months before I left. After I left I continued to send him email reminders fornightly to no avail. After a couple of months I contacted the HR people who then put some pressure on him - still nothing. I sent him email every month or so for a while but he always had a (long winded) excuse. I just dont think its ever going to happen. The only option I see is to write it myself and then send it to him to amend, but I really dont know what to write. I would just let it go (I more or less have already), but if in the future I want to apply for jobs in Switzerland, not having a reference letter is going to be a problem.

#37 - so far I have only managed to shift 1 kilo permanently from the weight that I was when I wrote this. I'm doing plenty of exercise and I am a lot fitter than I used to be which is a good thing. The problem comes with food and drink. and I'm not eating a lot of crap - I was very proud a couple of weeks ago when my doctor told me I must have great diet after seeing my blood test results, but I do eat a lot and consume a fair amount of beer and wine. The thing is I think I just dont care about this enough and often enough to really want to achieve this one. After all I'm not fat, and I like food and alcohol and I dont want to become one of those "oh, no thanks I'm trying to be good" people, ugh.

lame

I have to admit a few items on my list are kinda lame and really just cop-outs, especially #29, #30 and #31 so I think I will have to replace them with something more worthy. I'm just not sure what yet. I have one thing in mind but its also really cheating cos I already achieved it, but it was a great achievement

vague

The other problem with my list is that many of the items are far too vague, is particular #11 - how will I decide when enough is enough?, #92 - is this even possible, I mean mothers are meant to try us arent they, #95 - what constitutes 'useful'?, #100 and #101.
so I might try and make these more specific. On the other hand I do have my own way of judging and deciding whether this things are achieved, and it is my list so it doesnt really matter if there's no transparent criteria, so maybe I'll just leave them as vague.

#85 not worth the effort

Keith and Joanne are friends of my father. When I first moved to Brisbane I stayed with them for two weeks and they were great hosts. I planned to stay in touch ,and I really did try. We went out to dinner and drinks with them when my father was visiting. I called them a couple of times to see how they were and invited them over for dinner, but they were vague and non-committal. I thought i should try again but on reflection, they're not really our friends, they're completely somewhere else in their lives (not that that really matters but...) and really they just didnt seem that keen so why bother?
I was going to change this once to 'visit my cousin' (who lives about an hours drive away and I havent seen in at least 10 years) but that didnt work out either and frankly I just dont like her. So I am making this some thing to with developing a better relationship with Lynne, which will be much much harder (more explanation elsewhere).

revamp

according to a friend of mine when you work in government you have to be constantly reviewing things and resetting goals. sounds like a pain in the arse to me (well, actually I do see the point) but since I will soon be working for government maybe I better get used to it. In any case reviewing and revamping this list seems like a good idea or at least a way to keep me interested since there is some stuff on here that I dont really care about anymore. So, I'm going to replace a few items on the list with other stuff. And because I've given up on my other blog I might also add some random stuff onto this one to theoretically make it more interesting or at least more regular. Any posts will still have some vague connection to a list item I think.
I am going to get rid of these items 'cos I am no longer interested:
#85 call Keith and Joanne
well, actually on closer examination thats the only one I really dont want to do anymore, all the rest might not be my chief goals in life but i still wouldnt mind doing them.
I might just adjust some of them instead or make them more specific.