Avecmatilda: Busier than a one-armed Melbourne cab driver with crabs.

Back at Blogging

noreply@blogger.com (Tristan) — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 13:22:00 +0000

Its been almost a year since my last blog here and everything has changed and not much as changed. Time passes so quickly and so much happens and yet as I look through my photos of the last five years, I can remember each of the events so clearly that its hard to believe it happened so long ago.

Twitter

noreply@blogger.com (Tristan) — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 11:30:00 +0000

its been way too long and i forgot that there was a big photo at the top of my website, so i thought it time that i get back on here and post something. i have recently become enthralled with Twitter, much like the rest of the world, but i was surprised to find that not a single person in my gmail contact list was using it. so as a result i have gone out and started searching for new twitter friends. so far it is pretty cool, and i can see the possibilities are quite great as twitter becomes more popular, in Australia in particular. there is the ability to find out things from people as they are happening, like natural disasters, election results, etc. because people write a quick, one-line message about them as they happen and it appears on my twitter page. also people twitter about things that interest them, interesting news articles, websites and the like. Finally, there is the opportunity to ask a question as a twitter and have any one of the people following your twitter to respond with their opinion or their useful answer. it is quite extraordinary and exciting.

Movember Yes! Exams Done!

noreply@blogger.com (Tristan) — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 13:03:00 +0000

Its Movember and I've donated my face, specifically the space between my nose and my mouth, to raise money for research into prostate cancer and male depression. To find out more click here, or to sponsor my Mo please go to http://www.movember.com/au/donate, enter my registration number which is 179488 and your credit card details. Or you can sponsor me by cheque made payable to the "Movember Foundation" clearly marking the donation as being for my Registration Number: 179488. Please mail cheques to: PO Box 292, Prahran VIC 3181. All donations over $2 are tax deductible.

The money raised by Movember is donated to the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia and beyondblue - the national depression initiative, which will use the funds to create awareness, fund research and increase support networks for those men who suffer from prostate cancer and male depression.

In other news, I have completed all of my exams for the year and I am relatively happy with how it all went. My first and last were ok, but marketing in the middle was supposed to be my best but i think i mucked it up. We'll soon see. At this stage there is nothing I can do except enjoy my holidays and try and get some stuff done. These holidays I'm doing three weeks of work experience at three different companies, holidaying in Mollymook, and have a conference in Perth (as well as time for fun). I can't wait. In the mean time I'm working on a number of little projects and catching up with friends I've been meaning to see for ages.

I love summer.

Its been a long time

noreply@blogger.com (Tristan) — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 23:32:00 +0000

Hey. I'm back. Its been a while since I have posted and I have no excuse except for the fact that i'm blog lazy. I've been trying to avoid blogging of late so as to concentrate on studying, but I feel I have to leave a quick post. I lost my domain name this week which has resulted in avecmatilda.com leaving my hands. If you are reading this post you have visited it at avecmatilda.blogspot.com . All this is a big pain in the ass, co sit has meant me having to redirect all emails and links to non-avecmatilda.com addresses and it couldn't have come at a worse time. I'm not sure if i'll be able to get it back. i have emailed the registration company but i dont know what will come of it. it really pisses me off. i never once got a warning or anything and i have had the domain for 4 years. damn it.

in other news, i have three exams this semester, and they are all next week - mon, wed, fri. and I am very much looking forward to getting them done so i can relax and do some other more constructive stuff. its a beautiful day today, i love the sun. i'm gonna head into uni and do some study. wooo.

My AIESEC Experience Thus Far

noreply@blogger.com (Tristan) — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 11:38:00 +0000

It feels like a lifetime ago that I went searching for a student organization that would allow me to stay in touch with my love for travel, but it is not that long ago. Last year I lived and worked in Paris and met many people from around the world. On returning to Australia at the start of the year I knew that I needed to do something more than just study and went looking for a student club that I could join, which would enable me to maybe do some more travel and have some other adventures overseas before I finish my degree at the end of next year. However, what I found was so much more than that.

I joined a handful of student organizations at the start of the year because I didn’t really know what each one was, and what each one did, so I figured, like most things, trial and error was the best way to find out which one was suitable for me. The first days of AIESEC were interesting, but it took me a while to get even the slightest grasp of what the group was. I took a leap of faith and went to the State Conference over a weekend in April, to a little site in Flinders somewhere with 80 plus new people I had never met. I, like many other new members, didn’t know a single other person, so it was a strange experience, heading out to the countryside, to who-knows-where, with total strangers, to find out more about an organization I knew nothing about. I remember my fear that AIESEC might be some fundamentalist Christian group or that there would be a no-alcohol policy at the camp. However, I soon found out that, although AIESEC is a force unto itself, it is not fundamentalist, and it certainly doesn’t have a no-alcohol policy.

After State Conference I had a better idea of what the organization was. It wasn’t just about exchange, although that’s the main purpose for the group. I discovered that there was much more to it, all centered around the people of AIESEC. Essentially, the organization works to enable people to go on exchange from Australia to other countries, and for people from other countries to come on exchange to Australia. However, it also enables new friendships of people who would have otherwise never met, to foster understanding between different cultures, to improve individual’s management and organizing abilities, to challenge people and push them from their comfort zone, and to expand people’s belief in themselves and help them discover that they are only limited by their own perception of their world.

I soon realized after State Conference that AIESEC was probably going to dominate my life as I discovered that everything the organization believed in and stood for essentially aligned with my own beliefs and goals. I had found an opportunity to challenge and improve myself, while meeting new people and discovering new cultures, and to top it all off it opened up a world of exchange to me. Exchange possibilities such as going to a development conference in Africa, helping set-up committees in countries like Yemen or Bahrain, working for a non-profit organization in Veitnam or China, teaching English in Romania, or working in a business management firm in Brazil, or Russia, or South Africa, or South Korea, or Canada, or anywhere… The possibilities are truly endless.

My world is simply limited by me and what I believe I can do. You discover in AIESEC, through real experiences, that you can truly do anything that you believe you can do. You realize that in the past, the only reason you didn’t try something is because you thought you couldn’t do it, and looking back you discover that it was YOU who stopped you from achieving and nothing else. Everyone has the amazing ability to do wonderful things, if you just try and do it, succeed or fail, try, and try again and before you know it, that event or goal that you thought could never be done, will be accomplished and you will be looking for the next great challenge to conquer.

After National Conference in July this year, AIESEC Melbourne came back to university with a renewed vigour and true understanding of this limitless potential. We are now striving to pass on this opportunity to as many people as we can and have them living and working their dreams overseas or in Melbourne. All members of the organization in Melbourne work so hard for AIESEC to enable themselves, other members, and new recruits terrific opportunities in Melbourne and around the world. We go to uni and attend classes, but after learning about event management or human resources, we don’t just go home and open a book and do some more study, we attend meetings with Melbourne businesses, organize our own events, strategise new possibilities for the future, and develop our members in the direction they want to go. In AIESEC you aren’t just studying at uni and meeting friends, you are developing an aspect of yourself which other people won’t develop for many years in their life, or may never develop. As an AIESECer you are leagues ahead of the rest of the pack, but it doesn’t matter because you are achieving amazing things with wonderful people and having a great time doing it.

Holidays?

noreply@blogger.com (Tristan) — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 12:28:00 +0000

Exams are over. Woo hoo. I've been on holidays now for a week and its been a welcome change from studying all hours. For the last week I have been planning for Global Village, helping my parents with their business, and working hard at the coffee shop. Its been a nice break, but it is soon to be over. I've managed to do somethings that I wanted to achieve these holidays. But there is still tonnes I would like to do. So far I've managed to get a haircut, the shortest in the last 3 years, and today I went to the dentist. It was very worrying because I was visiting a new dentist (because my old dentist was a butcher) however it wasn't a big deal. I had a really big hole, which he filled, and he found another small one, which I'm getting fixed up tomorrow. My teeth are not in good condition and I blame all the sugar I ate while travelling in the US, and the fact I didn't brush enough while I was travelling.

So Sunday July 8 is the day of the Global Village, a big cultural celebration being hosted by AIESEC Victoria at the University of Melbourne. And its FREE. It starts at 10am with morning tea and an introduction of the day. Then you can chose to attend a forum on 'Media’ s representation of race and culture' or an 'Oaktree foundation leadership workshop' or a 'Story of migrants workshop'. A free lunch then follows, where there will be stalls with representatives from various NPOs and AIESEC Local Committees, music from Jungal and the Ghana Association, and cultural trade stalls. Following lunch, you can then attend another choice of a forum or one of the workshops: a forum on the 'Impact of immigration policies on Australian society', or a workshop on 'Love and Friendship across cultures', or a workshop on 'Interpreting and translation'. Then at 2:45 there is the closing ceremony and the day ends at 3pm. It should be a fun and exciting day, and I am looking forward to meeting some new and interesting people.

Then on Monday the AIESEC National Conference begins where representatives from the 14 AIESEC committees around Australia meet at Melbourne University to discuss the issues we see as important in the world at the moment, strategies for tackling these issues, and skills to enable us to better live and lead in the future. We'll also be doing lots of fun stuff too, and partying every night. It should be a blast.

Exams Goddamit.

noreply@blogger.com (Tristan) — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 13:01:00 +0000

Exams are coming up hard and fast and I am studying like a ferret chasing a rabbit through a bamboo garden with a water feature. Its getting tiring and I haven't even had my first exam yet. Its in two days and its Operations Management and its a headache. But my exams and assignments are reasonably well spread out so its not that bad. I have roughly a week following this exam to finish a Classical Athens essay, then I have another week til my HRM exam, then another week until my Viking assignment is due. So its pretty good. However, I am still stressed and I cannot wait for it to all be over.

Today, on the tram into uni, an old man sat opposite me. He looked a little down on his luck, with a torn cardigan, a hole in his shoe and an old gym bag, but I was busy studying so I tried to concentrate on my reading. However, this was difficult as he was attempting to fix his watch. When the tram made jerky movement he kept almost dropping the watch and I could see he was battling. Then, inevitably, he dropped the little metal pin that was causing all his grief. The pin that holds the arm to the watch. He leaned over, head virtually in my lap, and tried for the next 5 minutes to pick up the minute piece. However, his old eyes and shaky hands prevented this and he eventually gave up. I offered my assistance and, thanks to the fact that I haven't cut my nails in too long a time, I had no trouble in picking up the tiny piece. He pushed the watch into my personal space and said in a slightly desperate tone, "you fix?" I told him that I doubted I could but that I would give it a shot. He said, "oh, thank you, thank you." I told him to hold onto his thank yous until we saw how I went at it. Unfortunately, I had no luck and I apoligised, handed it back to him and suggested that he kept it safe and take it to a watchmaker. He said ok and proceeded to continue to try and fix it himself. He dropped the tiny metal piece again, but lost it that time. He then lifted his left foot, lifted his right foot, I lifted my feet. He looked all around, in the folds of his jeans, in his cardigan pocket, under his bag, then finally he stood up and it was there, underneath him. He then droped the watch.

I picked it up and asked if I could have the little metal part again. I carefully examed it and realised that one end of it was springy, so for the next ten minutes I fiddled and fiddled, and finally, thanks to my femininishly long nails, managed to click the little pin back in, and thereby fix the watch. He said, "oh thank you, thank you" again and I told him that it was no problem. He got off the tram at the next stop and thanked me again before departing. I then returned to my study, comfortable in the knowledge that if these exams don't go as I hope, I can always fall back to my other skills such as watch fixing.

You have got to watch this. It is seriously cool.

noreply@blogger.com (Tristan) — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 12:35:00 +0000

Check out this awesome video of Lions vs. Buffalo vs. Crocodiles vs. Lions vs. Buffalo again. Its a real battle that took place in Africa.

President Giuliani 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Tristan) — Sun, 27 May 2007 05:30:00 +0000

I think I'm gonna be sick.

Wanna learn more bout Copywright Law?

noreply@blogger.com (Tristan) — Sun, 20 May 2007 02:13:00 +0000

Have a look at this great disney parody on Copyright Law.

Shapez

noreply@blogger.com (Tristan) — Thu, 17 May 2007 17:16:00 +0000

Schapelle Corby having a laugh with the Indonesian Justice Minister and a jail guard. Looks like they've been enjoying the contents of her boogie-board bag.

Argentina commuters riot over train delays

noreply@blogger.com (Tristan) — Thu, 17 May 2007 00:35:00 +0000

From the SMH 16/5/07

May 16, 2007 - 12:35PM

Commuters enraged by delays in evening train services in Argentina have set fire to parts of a railway station, looted nearby shops and clashed with riot police.

Police fired rubber bullets and tear gas as rioters pelted them with rocks. The fighting at Buenos Aires' Constitucion station spilled into a nearby street as demonstrators shattered windows, set fire to a ticket sales area, looted shops and ripped pay phones from walls.

Hundreds of passengers fled the fighting inside the train station, one of the largest in South America with an estimated 300,000 users daily.

Twelve police officers were injured by flying rocks, mostly with cuts and bruises to the head and chest, and nine people were also treated at the scene for smoke inhalation, said Alberto Crescenti, a spokesman for emergency medical workers.

Police Commissioner Ricardo Falana reported 16 arrests, including two minors.

He said about 100 police were needed to quell the rioters, who he said threw a "hail of rocks" at officers.

During the disturbances, a motorcycle was set ablaze and angry youths used metal poles to try to break down tall wooden doors to a security office in the station.

Firefighters quickly put out small fires in garbage cans and the ticket area. Shattered glass, bricks and sticks littered the hall afterward.

The fighting threw the evening rush hour into chaos, forcing the cancellation of all train services.

Fernando Jantus, a spokesman for the Metropolitano train service, said disruptions occurred during the evening rush hour today after a train broke down on a key track just outside the station, blocking other trains from leaving the station.

"The problem happened at the worst moment," he said, noting the rioting began in the peak evening rush around 6.30pm.

Passengers have long complained about poor commuter rail service on lines leading from Constitucion station in downtown Buenos Aires to poor southern suburbs of the Argentine capital.

Today's riot was the second major outbreak of violence at the station since passengers angry over cancellation of train service one day last September set three train cars ablaze and police made seven arrests.

Buenos Aires area commuter rail lines were privatised in the 1990s under then-president Carlos Menem but passengers for years have complained about the failure of new operators to provide timely service on often crowded routes.

Connex and the Victorian Government are lucky that we don't deal with unhappiness with riots in Melbourne.

Blackout on the Trains

noreply@blogger.com (Tristan) — Wed, 09 May 2007 08:12:00 +0000

As the tram slowly chugged along Swanston St from Melbourne Uni this afternoon at 4:30pm I had a difficult decision to make. Would I stay on this tram and ride it home or take the train from Melbourne Central? The tram is easier, I'm already sitting on it, and I can read the paper, but it will take at least 40 minutes to travel home, however I won't have to walk once I get there. The train on the other hand will be faster, about 15 mins, but I will have to stand and then walk when I get home, adding another 15 mins. I tell myself I need the exercise so I jump off the tram and head down to the pit that is Melbourne Central Station.

As I step off the escalator deep inside the underworld of the neglected Melbourne Central Station I see the train sitting there and I think, "Yes! Good decision." However as I walk closer to the train I realise the people inside look pissed and there are no lights on in nearly any of the carriages. Its just darkness and many crammed-in uncomfortable people. I decide that this train is here, who knows when the next one will be, so I squeeze my way in. But things don't improve. The lights stay off and we head through the loop in pitch black darknesses. Only seeing each other's faces in a flicker of light from inside the tunnel, in a "Willy Wonka - side of face flashing" kind of way. You know, a "There's no earthly way of knowing / Which direction we are going / There's no knowing where we're rowing / Or which way the river's flowing / Is it raining? / Is it snowing? / Is a hurricane a-blowing? / Not a speck of light is showing / So the danger must be growing / Are the fires of hell a-glowing? / Is the grisly reaper mowing? / Yes, the danger must be growing / 'Cause the rowers keep on rowing / And they're certainly not showing / Any signs that they are slowing" kinda way.

WARNING: Its boring and loud ( I think people talk louder when its dark because it makes them feel safer).

Then the train stops at Parliament. It is already packed. But there are obviously more people waiting here, compounded because this train is late. So people cram in. Then the train just sits there. Lights off. Doors open. After about five minutes the driver announces the train is going to be delayed for another five minutes. So we wait. This guy that was standing near me was obsessed with getting a good grip on the nearby pole. He kept trying to reach around this guy who was leaning against it. He's move his hand to the left of the guy's head, but his arm didn't bend that way. Then he'd try the right. Then he tried reaching around the guy's waist. Nothing was working for him. When he finally did get around he placed his hand exactly on mine. Why don't the trains have handles of bars for people to hold when they are standing in no-man's land? Of all the trains I have been in Europe and the States, Melbourne's are the worst for giving people a place to hold on to when standing. And these trains need it the most because they all have faulty breaks.

The train stopped a few more times and went express and I managed to get home about 15 minutes later than the tram would have taken me. That is, as long as the tram didn't break down.

Tristan's 2006-07 Euromerican Invasion

noreply@blogger.com (Tristan) — Sun, 06 May 2007 12:54:00 +0000

I realised the archive of my blog for my trip wasn't working so I quickly fixed it up and made it easier to navigate. So if you like nostalgia and want to read about my thoughts and experiences from my overseas trip of 2006 you can now view my old site here. After exams it is my aim to reorganise all my photos and get a proper journal of my trip together, but this will do for now.

University and Sport

noreply@blogger.com (Tristan) — Thu, 03 May 2007 12:40:00 +0000

Its been a busy week for me this week and I think next week will be very similar. I'm playing a little catchup at study after I realised this week that exams are in a month and I feel far from prepared. I'm also doing quite a bit of work with AIESEC at uni, including major preparations for the Global Village we are having at the University on the 8th of July. Don't miss it. I'll let you know more soon. JULY 8.

With regards to sport, all that I have done in the past few days is watch the following video. Enjoy.

The Great Melbourne Public Transport Debacle

noreply@blogger.com (Tristan) — Tue, 01 May 2007 11:28:00 +0000

This is my final rant on the subject. Today my train was delayed by 10 minutes and I am not content to just accept that its fine. Even though people say that bad public transport is a fact of life, I don't think it should be, especially if its privately owned and run. Its acceptable that the government can screw it up, but when they sell off the system, they don't have such luxuries. Of the last 10 trains I've taken in to or out of the city, two have been on time, one delayed by 5 minutes, six by about 8-10 minutes, one stopped at the a station and everyone had to get off, and one was cancelled and never actually arrived. If I had that kind of timing and organisation at my job I would have been fired a long time ago, as would anyone in any job. But to make up for a month of delays I get a single daily ticket. Well enough is enough. The responsibility rests with the government and Connex to get it together and act and stop making excuses.

This is just the month of April:

11 April, 2007 - Victoria's Transport Minister, Lynne Kosky, sends email to parliamentary colleagues telling them that she doesn't want to be bothered with commuters' complaints.

12 April, 2007 - Trains get disrupted on Hurstbridge line and replacement emergency buses never arrive, or are already full and don't stop for stranded commuters.

14 April, 2007 - Connex is forced to compensate ticket holders with a daily Metcard as the number of late and cancelled trains continues to rise. 10 per cent of all trains were late and 460 services were cancelled in March. The third month in a row that Connex has had to pay compensation for poor service.

17 April, 2007 – The Age reveals that the number of trains running late on Melbourne's suburban rail system in February was the highest in eight years.

23 April, 2007 - Victoria's Transport Minister, Lynne Kosky, admits that the government bought back second-hand trains (at 700 per cent of what they $old them) after selling them off to a collector. These trains were first introduced in 1972.

27 April, 2007 – Trains delayed for hours on all lines after an elderly man was fatally struck by a train after ducking under lowered boom gates. Its tragic that this man died, but it affected the whole system for the whole day. This kind of terrible thing happens and they should be prepared for this.

Yesterday - Commuters were forced to walk to the next train after a derailed tram blocked trains on the Frankston line early yesterday.

Other Articles:
The Age - Customers left standing on platforms
- Scrap-heap trains an 'embarrassment'

Other Disappointed Travellers:
Connex Whinger

Connex, we’ve had enough!

VLine Whinger

Coalition for People’s Transport

Lynne Kosky

Victoria's Transport Minister

Appointed to the job against her wishes five months ago, Ms Kosky earns $226,790 a year in salary and allowances, has a full-time driver and ministerial car available to her, as well as a taxpayer-funded vehicle that can be used by the minister, her staff and her family.

Website: http://www.lynnekosky.com

Email: lynne.kosky@parliament.vic.gov.au

Ministerial Address: Level 26, 80 Collins Street, Melbourne 3000

Ministerial Ph. (03) 9655 3300 Fax: (03) 9655 3313

Electorate Postal Address: PO Box 1047, Altona Meadows VIC 3028

Electorate Ph. (03) 9360 7500 Fax. (03) 9360 7654

Peter Batchelor

Victoria’s Infrustructure Minister

Post: PO Box 219, Thomastown 3074.

Email him using this form from Envict.com.au

It seems that Steve Bracks was on to something when the slogan our number plates changed from ‘Victoria – On The Move’ to ‘Victoria – The Place to Be’.

LATEST NEWS - Victorian commuters will reap the benefits of an $872 million injection into public transport, Transport Minister Lynne Kosky said today. So by the beginning of 2010 we should get a reasonable train service. Well done Ministers!!! We'll just make do with 30 year old trains, no air-conditioning, and waiting for trains that may not show up for the next three years.

I think my ipod is hot for will smith

noreply@blogger.com (Tristan) — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 01:53:00 +0000

This is bloody annoying. Every time I listen to my ipod and I put it on shuffle, "Gettin' Jiggy wid it" is in the first ten songs that play. It has seriously happened the last three times I have used the feature. I have over 6,000 songs on my ipod and somehow it finds the one Will Smith song I have on the damn thing. So now I am afraid of using shuffle. I going to have to make heaps of non-Jiggy playlists.

The Trams

noreply@blogger.com (Tristan) — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 05:01:00 +0000

Talk about boring topics on which I am posting but I feel I have to say it. This morning another train I was taking was delayed again, this time not as bad, only 5 minutes. But then when I got to the tram stop at Melbourne Central, swanston st, there was not a tram for at least 10 minutes. The trams along this major thoroughfare should be up each other's arses, but as I looked over the horizon down the street there was none. By the time one finally arrived the tram stop was packed with people and as a result the tram was chockers. Luckily I maneuvered my way to the front and got a seat, but after two stops, the tram stopped and couldn't get its back doors to shut. FAULTY TRAM. The driver tried over and over again to close them, but they wouldn't. So he got out of his cockpit, walked to the back and pushed them, then hit them, then opened the little hatch above them and fiddled around. He then hit them some more. At this stage I had missed the start of my lecture. They then magically shut and we started off again. At the next stop the doors opened and the driver said, "Last Stop!" We all got out grumbling. So I walked. Yay.

There is a great punishment for the train and tram service in Melbourne. If they are late a certain amount of times then the public gets subsidised. Well sort've. If the trains and trams are late an incredible amount of times. More times than any sane person would consider acceptable. Then those people with a monthly or a yearly ticket get a single daily ticket as compensation. If you have a daily or a weekly you don't get shit. It makes sense I guess. Although I'd prefer that they take all the money from these stupid fines and invest in new trams and trains. Then they should sack the minister for transport, sack the director of Connex in Melbourne, and replace them with competent and intelligent individuals.

The Trains

noreply@blogger.com (Tristan) — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 07:26:00 +0000

Jeez, I'm getting pretty fed up with Melbourne's train system. Whoever is running them is mediocre at best. Its so frustrating. It seems these days that every train I want to take I have to wait for. They are always delayed. Today I took one train into Uni and one train home. The train into uni stopped at my station and i got on and grabbed a seat. It was a backwards seat, but I don't care cos riding backwards doesn't make me sick. Then the train just sat there. It sat there and sat there. Other people ran down the ramp to the train and pressed the door button and got on, looking please with themselves, and still the train just sat there. After about 7 minutes, and after another train had been and gone on another platform, people started to get off. I was unsure of what to do, but as I was not in a terrible rush, I decided to sit tight, hope for the best, and read my paper. Then after 12 minutes of sitting there with no information as to what was happening, the train driver announced that the train was faulty and everyone would have to get off. Seeya!!! He sounded like he was drunk and there was not even a hint of an apology. I thought that at the very least they could have given us a little bit of info of what was happening 5 minutes after we had stopped. 12 minutes is unacceptable. Do they teach no customer relations at CONNEX? Either way, what the hell is going on with the trains? The train I then took in the afternoon to get home was delayed by 9 minutes due to a "faulty train". So, today, both of the CONNEX trains I took were faulty and delayed.

In happier news I was incredibly hungry this afternoon on the walk home and I felt like some meat. I didn't know what I should get. I went to a bakery and I was going to get a sausage roll, but they only had pies for $4. I thought that was too much for a crappy pie, so I entertained the idea of going to Grill'd and getting a burger, but $10 for a burger, even though they are good, was also a little out of my price range, so I settled on going to the supermarket and getting my money's worth. I walked down the meat aisle and found some nice tender juicy beef cutlets and grabbed them, $7. I would cook them when I got home. But then as I was walked to the registers I saw hot roasted chicken. There was a small one for $6.50 and I couldn't resist. So I swapped the beef for the chicken and ate the whole thing on the walk home. It was gone by the time I had reached my door and my fingers were all sticky. Finger lick'n good. Yum T-Rex!

Australian Flag

noreply@blogger.com (Tristan) — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 10:41:00 +0000

I love Australia and I respect the country's history but I think that it is crazy in this day and age to have the British Union Jack in the corner of our flag. It is time to choose a new flag which is more appropriate for the country we are today. I created this image to highlight how stupid it is to have a Union Jack in the corner of our flag.

Sick in the Stomach

noreply@blogger.com (Tristan) — Sat, 31 Mar 2007 14:33:00 +0000

There are so many terribly disgusting aspects to this whole Guantanamo Bay situation that it makes me angry and sick at the same time. This man is probably not a bad man, but made poor decisions and deserves to do his time. But he highlights every problem with the Guantanamo Bay jail and the fact that it symbolises everything the great country of the United States should be fighting against. The USA was created in response to terrible mistreatments of people's rights and now it is possibly one of the worst examples of these mistreatments and abuse of power.

Imagine being arrested tomorrow, men storm your room, put a black bag over your head, carry you out, drive you somewhere. After a day of travelling they remove the bag and you are in a small cell with no light. Then the room is flooded with light. You get tortured everyday, and you have 1 hour of sunlight outside your cell. This is your life for 5-years before you have been charged, stood trial, or found guilty. This would be a reason Australians and Americans would band together and go and fight in another country, maybe a country like Iraq.

Or imagine this. You commit a crime and go to jail. They torture you and do all kinds of ghastly and inhumane things to you. They then tell you that they will release you early only if you never tell anyone about these things. They have the perfect setup. What is this United States of America? What do they think they are doing to their tremendous history and reputation around the world? What happened to the beacon of light and the example for all? And what is Australia doing letting this happen? These events symbolise everything that Australia and Australians stand against. It is because of these things that brave young Australians have died fighting for all around the World. And now it is happening in our team and we're turning a bling eye. It makes me sad and disgusted.

Elderly Woman vs. Tram. Who wins?

noreply@blogger.com (Tristan) — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 11:30:00 +0000

Answer: The Tram.

Today on the tram on my way from uni to the train station it was dinging along nicely, then suddenly... Bang! The tram hit an elderly lady who was crossing the road. It was quite a thud and the driver slammed on the brakes. He jumped out and ran down the side of the tram to the woman. She was conscious but didn't look too good. Everyone got off the tram and I walked to the train station. Two cop cars and the paramedics hooned past me as I walked.

I have 3 days until next week starts, and I have 3 days of work. Yay! No weekend. Partytime! So, after basically no sleep last night working on an assignment, I am going to get a good nights sleep tonight so I am prepared for 3 three closes. Also, I posted myself a package from the east coast of america when I was there in January, and after 8 weeks of waiting I had come to the conclusion that it was lost, or some guy had it in his house. I thought that this guy was wearing my beautiful parisian coat that I had worn all through winter. So anyway, since I had sent it i'd sent another from the west coast, returned to Australia, posted something to the US that had already arrived. Then finally today my package arrived. About 10 weeks after I sent it. It turns out it was in quarantine for a week in Australia and they forgot to tell me. I think it must of got stuck somewhere else as well. So today I was able to give my sister her 21st present and my dad his birthday present, and the notes that I'd written them saying that I was looking forward to seeing them in a month. Yay. T44

Explosions

noreply@blogger.com (Tristan) — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 14:12:00 +0000

I left home early for work today in order to arrive with enough time to relax with a coffee, read the paper, and change for work, but it didn't go as planned. I walked to the train station and my timing was perfect. I would arrive 4 minutes before the express Train, so there were only 3 stops til I arrived at work, instead of 7. But as I got closer to the station I saw many people standing around in groups, then I saw some firemen, then I saw the police. There was this pungent smell in the air but I didn't take any notice of it because the visuals were more important to my brain. I walked to the train station but there was police tape everywhere. The policewoman standing there told me it was closed and there were no trains or trams for the next 2 hours. I asked her what had happened and she replied, "can't you smell it?" It was the unmistakable smell of Natural Gas.

"The crash began when a truck suffered a tyre blow-out and pulled into the tunnel's left-hand lane. The tunnel does not have an emergency lane.
Two cars caught behind the truck tried to merge right. They were struck from behind by a semi-trailer, throwing one against the wall and one into the back of the stationary truck.

A third car was hit from the side by the same semi-trailer, then struck by a third truck."

"Explosions rocked the tunnel, motorists told of a huge wall of flames and temperatures soared above 1000 degrees. Police Assistant Commissioner Noel Ashby said some of the crash vehicles had turned into "balls of molten metal". Investigators had still not identified the make of some of the cars."

The crash happened in the Burnley tunnel which is about 7 kilometres from my station, so the amount of gas must have been immense to travel all that distance from the crash site.

However, it turns out that what I smelt was just a regular gas leak, and had nothing to do with the incident in the Burnley Tunnel. The gas leak just brought trains to a standstill and screwed up the public transport network during peak hour. A bit of a busy day for emergency services.

In other news, at 9:53pm this evening, as I crossed Victoria Parade and headed down Nicholson St, after a long 8.5 hour shift, some ripped guy in a tight white bonds top punched me in my left shoulder. I was walking along eating a wrap and feeling tired and the guy who was walking to the left of me, coming in my direction, just turned and smacked me in the arm. I turned and said, "what the...", then he turned and with huge fierce eyes, raised his arm to hit me again. I told him I'd just finished work and I just wanted to go home. I then turned and started walking, and thankfully he didn't do anything then continued to walk in the opposite direction. It was a bit strange, but the muggy windy weather does that to some people. They go crazy.

My New Site! L.A.N.T.E.D.

noreply@blogger.com (Tristan) — Mon, 19 Mar 2007 13:50:00 +0000

I'm just getting my new site going, please go and check it out. I always find myself looking up facts and interests each day on random things, so I figured I should chuck what I learn on a website in a quick, easy, readable fashion. And here it is: 'Learn A New Thing Every Day' - LANTED. So far I have written about Thor's Magical Goats, the Hawaiian Flag, Bananas, Leprechauns, Ferrari's Prancing Horse, and Lake Eyre. Please go check it out and sign up for the daily feed.

Summer

noreply@blogger.com (Tristan) — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 04:57:00 +0000

Its been a long time between drinks for these posts lately so i apologise to those who regularly make the effort to check if I've added any new posts. I haven't been posting recently because I was thinking that there wasn't really anything to say but I have been thinking this afternoon and plenty has been happening in my life. I'm not sure if any of it is interesting but there is still stuff to say.

Saturday was my sister's 21st birthday party. It was a fun night and I think she classified it a success. There were plenty of her friends there and non of them got too drunk or started fights or anything. It was a masquerade formal dress party. I went in a tux with a bat mask. The bat mask was chosen as an homage to my favourite super hero - Batman. It was not a regular bat mask, but slightly nicer quality. I also blacked around my eyes under the mask to add to the effect. If you watch all the Batman movies closely, Batman has his eye-lids etc painted black. Some of the interesting aspects of the party was the marketing of my sister. She is a modest girl with lots of friends but with a certain creative flair, particularly with pandering her name and face around. At the party she gave out free badges with her face on them and everyone was wearing them. But the pièce de résistance was the cake. Instead of a big ice-cream cake, she made 120 small 50 cent sized cakes, all from ice-cream with a thin, edible rice-paper photo of her on the top of each one. To make it even more special each of the photos was unique, not one of them was repeated.

Summer officially ended at the end of February but thankfully the weather is still very much stuck in Summer. It is pleasant every day. I love it. I hope it doesn't change for a while cos I am enjoying wearing shorts and flip-flops and feeling the sun warm my face as I walk to the train station. The other day I was at Fed Square and there was a public performance, I believe, advertising the Swimming Championships. It was a crowd sitting in a part of a stadium all watching something, but it was just a trick. They were simply watching us. Then everyone looks at them, then turns to see what they are looking at.

I went to the Melbourne Motor Show the other day, which is always pretty interesting and fun. Its a little dry and family friendly for my liking, but somewhat entertaining. They could do with some cars actually running. The sound of an actual motor could be quite a nice touch.

At the moment I am concentrating on managing my studies and fit in some exercise somewhere. I think the trick is a regular sleeping pattern. If I go to bed at a good time I will better use my time in the day and then be able to make time for some exercise. It is also difficult cos I have uni everyday then i am working on both days of the weekend.