The buzz about his haircut (and camera) ...

Merry Christmas Eve! Alas, there are no greeting cards this year, just a lonely post on this here blog. The firefighters have received an early present and hopefully the recent downpours will make the grass and gardens greener again, although keeping a bucket in the shower is here to stay.

Anyway and to the point, I wanted to wish the readers left out there - even the ones who have posted things less than savoury this year - a merry Christmas and all the best for 2007. I'll be travelling with the Blog Family up to the south coast of New South Wales on Boxing Day and enjoying some of time off before returning to a new year and, no doubt, new challenges.

Merry, merry, quite contrary ...

I must admit I'm a bit over the so-called festive season this year and it's only December 20. There seems to be an endless supply of partying to commerorate the beginning of Christmas and the end of the year, which often means free drinks, which, far from being the panacea of all ills is really the reason for them. I can't remember the start of when we started celebrating Christmas, but it seems to get earlier every year. Last week, I had two gatherings involving the free flow of the frothy stuff. There's another one this Friday. All of the time catching up with people - not that they are really going anywhere - and drinking, which spells disaster for the headline and the waistline, can severely mess with one's head. Here are some pictures from last week's end-of-year bash, held at the fabulous Forum (not the one in Los Angeles) in the company of some of my likeable workmates. Needless to say, it was one of many Crown Lagers I consumed that night.










In a bid to avert disaster in the latter category, I have been to the gym three days in a row. Finishing early from work has been a pleasant surprise and I'm able to fit snuggly into some favourite clothes of mine again.

The (hopefully) last end-of-year shindig will be this Friday at a lawn bowls club in suburban Melbourne. Paraletic Paramedic is also having some birthday drinks tomorrow night as well. In the meantime, I'm going to enjoy the start of my holidays as I won't be back at the esteemed broadsheet until January 15. What's the Blur song all about? Woo hoo?

Subject lines can be subjective sometimes ...

You might have noticed that I changed the song of the moment yesterday. It's from a group called Midlake (pictured right) who have recently assumed the band of the moment, as I found out last Sunday when I saw them at that favourite musical haunt of mine, The Corner in Richmond. While I had to leave early - one of the downers of not having a car and living in a satellite city like G-Town - it was still an awesome show. I went by myself, which I sometimes detest, but realise it occurs a fair bit because of my eclectic taste in tunes.

I had planned to go with my wingman Murfuoso but he dropped out to see one of Oasis' Gallagher brothers. It was cool to bump into Starbate there, have a few beers and watch Midlake as well as Melbourne group, The Art Of Fighting. They are also pictured right, while the opening act, Laura Jean, doesn't get a picture because she wasn't that good. Her incessant ramblings before the beginning of each song drove me insane. The Art Of Fighting were surprisingly very good, which makes me regret that I gave one of their CDs away to a friend a while back.

And on the topic of music, I'm currently listening to (Not So) Single Sarah's vast collection of music, which is actually called "MP3 Music For Jamie". The disc is one of a pair she sent me from the OH. I haven't got around to personally thanking her for the generous gift, but I know she visits this here blog quite frequently. After all this time, she'll be quite surprised that I got it but not shocked that I love it. On rotation at the moment is some Ben Gibbard solo stuff. You should know who he is.

Another Sunday night and another chance to reflect. That's if reflection really means having nothing to do, which has been the case this weekend. The Ashes gives sports-loving folk like myself the excuse to be able to sit in front of the television all day long and watch cricket, which is what I did at Murfuoso's crib yesterday. And it's now much easier for to see what's on the idiot box, as Poppa Blog got some fantastic device installed on the computer that allows us to watch TV at the same time we surf the Internet. Fantastic.

Today I went to the gym to arrest some bad habits that regularly show their face at this time of year. I'm a bit health conscious and, as of late, I've been reverting to the old me of not watching my consumption of food and beer, which I admit is sometimes tough to do. My punishment? Three hours in the gym this afternoon. My weight? It's not alarm bells yet as I'm hovering around the 105-kilogram mark but I'd like to look better.

At this point, I'm going to give a shout out to a couple of friends who are a bit down on luck. Both shall remain nameless but they are in my thoughts.

An excellent stocking stuffer ...

It's that time of year.

The people who bought you the concert ticket now bring you the cassette and the church sign. This is significant because, I'm a fan of the making and receiving of mix tapes. And it's nearly Christmas. Despite what the sign says, or what it doesn't say, is that Christmas starts at church.

I might even be getting some songs in the mail from the OR (Rivjuando) and the OH ((Not So) Single Forever) as we speak. An early Christmas present perhaps? And as we speak, like right now, I'm listening to the party shuffle on iTunes. On all topics Apple, I bought a new iPod the other day - a Shuffle for the bargain price of $49. That's not to say that my old trusty, bulky one is on the outer. Far from it, now being more than half-full (as opposed to half-empty) with the grand total of 7450 songs on it! I just need some songs when I exercise in the sweaty confines of the gym.

But what I really want for Christmas - apart from my two front teeth - is a new digital camera. Either that, or world peace. Many shenanigans took place over the past weekend and I have nothing tangible to show for it apart from memories and good times. Not that there's anything wrong with that.