Bulli Bulli

I attended a lecture as part of the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival yesterday. While I love my food, and (as previously mentioned) enjoy food shows on Foxtel's Lifestyle or Food & Wine channels (second only to test cricket, perhaps), I had not previously heard of this chef.

Ferran Adria runs the elBulli restaurant in northern Spain. It is a restaurant that opens for only 160 days each year, from April to September, and has 2,000,000 requests each year for the 8,000 possible reservations.

In his own words (or those of his translator Lucy), 'cuisine is a language' and his cuisine is using a new alphabet. His inspiration is drawn from snow, art, or even the earth as he flew from Adelaide to Sydney. OK, back to avocado on toast for Monday night dinner. I'll have to save up the $400 for 30 courses over 3 hours at elBulli sometime in 2015!

Hipy Papy Bthuthday

Apparently today is the anniversary of the 'birth' of Winnie the Pooh.

Winnie has always been a favourite of mine, and I love to quote 'Vespers' at every opportunity (whether relevant or not).

..."Little boy kneels at the foot of his bed; droop on his little hands, little gold head ..."

Even the 'bump, bump, bump' down the stairs leads me to smile, despite the thought of the headache.

Today the great corporate master announced yet more significant changes. I can understand the new direction, even though the prospective work causes just a little headache. Tonight it was a glass of Wirra Wirra Churchblock Cab-Sav-Shiraz-Merlot with dinner to ease the dread of the forthcoming workload.

Personally I don't mind if the advised changes lead to the cancellation of the work conference in Mumbai in December, just so long as I can get through almost of the work before my July holiday next year.

no excuses ... no promises

yes, I know that it has been some time since I blogged and apparently it is very poor etiquette to have such extended breaks.

I can't offer any valid reasons other than I've been busy and tired at the end of the day when I would usually blog. I know that one of the purposes for connecting via wireless at my new home was to allow me to blog while parked on the couch (yes that new one from the last blog) while watching TV. Watching TV is a very important part of my relaxation time. I find it very conducive to my mental health to watch re-runs of 'Friends' or new episodes of UK cooking shows.

But now it's cricket season!! To date, while the sun has been shining and the days are longer, I haven't yet smelt freshly cut grass nor heard the sound of willow on leather. Just the thought of experiencing the smells & sounds of summer is enough to make me smile!

The weather on AFL Grand Final day was more like cricket than football ... and in deference to my Geelong supporting friends I'll leave reference to that day there. However, I did wander amongst the crowd in my new neighbourhood, and observed some amazing sights ...

a new way of working

I'm becoming accustomed to my new routine in my new house ... and routine is important!

Lists are in order and not just one but many -

• grocery shopping


• other shopping


• furniture shopping
  
• services (including a plumber)


• clothes shopping

and the lists continue to grow. Not that I'm complaining mind you.

Last week I went in search of new office furniture: a desk and shelves, but to no avail. I did discover a lovely lounge suite, which was delivered last week. Yes, the colour is 'snow' but it has been 'scotch-guarded' and has already proven itself against red wine!

Also new on the list is a new way to exercise. I'm walking to and from the bus/tram, but I do miss my walks around Princes Park after work. To my missing walking partner and therapist, Lurextoga, I hope that you're finding new ways of working/living in the country.

ding, ding - tickets please

Today was my first day back on public transport, and also the first REAL rainfall in Melbourne in months!


I went to bed last night with a sense of excitement, eager to embrace my politically correct and socially responsible move from car travel to public transport. The signs when I awoke, didn't bode well - I could hear the rain on the skylight (so many exciting features in my new home)!


However, by the time I had readied myself for work, the rain had cleared, to be replaced by a brisk westerly wind. Armed against the cold with a coat and colourful scarf, I walked jauntily to the tram stop and joined Melbourne's early starters on my way to work. I even travelled down Melbourne's Punt Road by bus.


It reminds me of my favourite Merv Hughes story so I smiled all the way to work.


During the 1991 Adelaide Test, Javed Miandad commented that Merv Hughes looked like a fat bus conductor. Big Merv dismissed the Pakistani soon after, running passed the batsman yelling, “Tickets please!”.

ch-ch-changes

I have been told that the only thing that stays the same is change, and recent events are backing that up.

As I sit in my new spacious family room, tapping away on my flash new laptop, I'm keeping an eye on the cricket score from the West Indies via wireless broadband.

Yesterday I bade farewell to my psychologist boss, who is off to work in the transport industry.

last night I listened to the further demise of the West Coast Eagles (my second football side)

oh, and today foxtel will be connected, or at least it had better! yippee!!!

but right now it's time for golf. That short 12 minute trip gives me a few extra minutes to blog and surf.

even David Bowie is changing - he is now a character on SpongeBob SquarePants (or so his own blog tells me). No photos of Ziggy Stardust, but a lovely picture of SpongeBob!

all the key numbers

It is 18 days since I took possession of my new home (also known in this street as 'Mary's house')

15 days ago I moved in!

I have unpacked all boxes, except for 14 boxes of books

In 28 days I settle on my old unit (that's also the number of days I have to clean it)

1959 is the year that the neighbour who greeted me on my arrival moved into this street

My colleague lives 3 doors away, and we have only had the $10 Wednesday parma at the local pub once (so far)

Golf is a 12 minute drive away at 6.40am on a Saturday morning

It took me 16 minutes to walk to Punt Rd (and 2,569 steps), and I was in my cushioned seat at 'the G' 25 minutes after leaving my front door.

My internet connection took 14 days (and help from Katrina at Bigpond)

...and I still have to wait 8 more days for my Foxtel connection!

On my first Friday night here, it took me 8 minutes to 'jiggle' the lock at my back door - not a good sign

It took me 2 more days to work out the secret jiggle ... but I still want to change the locks

I picked 23 lemons from the 2 trees in my back yard last Saturday (and there are more to pick tomorrow)

I still have a lo-o-o-o-ng list of things to do, but I have plenty of time ... and now I have my internet to help with the relocation process. Welcome to number 21, it's great!