A terrific day today: our very first Wiggles concert! We set off nice and early (7am) and headed in to the City (I was able to take a day off work, in lieu of the Queens Birthday holiday). After a latte and breakfast at McCafe, we crossed the road to join the gathering throng of parents and toddlers waiting outside Dallas Brooks Hall. When the doors opened at about 9:45, and we were shown to our seats, we were pleasantly surprised to see that we were right at the front corner of the stage (Mel had bought the tickets on eBay - they were the only one's still available - so we weren't really sure what to expect). The show started at about 10:15 and it was - from the opening moment to the finale - just fantastic! There was just so much effort and energy and enthusiasm out into every part of it, and the guys really went out of their way to interact with the kids and ensure everyone had a special time. It was a scaled-down show due to the fact that it was a much smaller venue than where The Wiggles routinely perform (places like the Entertainment Centre, Rod Laver Arena etc), but that only meant that the set wasn't so elaborate and there were fewer props (ie. no Big Red Car). But due to the intimate size of the venue, our proximity to the stage, and the fact that performances were still at a 110% level, it felt more special than I imagine a stadium show might feel. We were able to get some great photos, and I'll post some of those tomorrow. Jessica was overwhelmed for the first half of the show - I think it was too difficult for her to initially comprehend (she was giving us looks of, "why are they here? they're supposed to be on my TV screen! why are they so big? what's happening??"), but by the second half she was starting to dance around (in her Dorothy The Dinosaur tutu, of course), clap and do many of the actions (in the photos where her hand is on her head, she's actually doing the 'cockadoodledoo' action in "Quack, Quack" (or "Captain Feathersword Fell Asleep On His Pirate Ship" as they've started calling that song on their DVD's).
After the concert, we walked through the Fitzroy Gardens to Federation Square, and went in to the "Pixar - 20 Years of Animation" exhibition. If you're a fan of the Pixar films (we certainly are - The Incredibles and Toy Story 2 are two of my favourite films ever), then you'd find it well worthwhile. It takes you through a lot of their early sketches and clay models, their storyboards and "colorboards" (where they decide the overall palette that they'll use throughout the film), and there are some kiosks where you can watch some of the animators and writers talking about their work. By far the most impressive thing for me was something called a Zoetrope. Unfortunately you're not allowed to film or photograph anything, so my description won't do this justice, but essentially the Zoetrope is a large circular platform encased in a large glass display, where characters have been positioned in slightly different poses at each point around the circle (eg. there were about 32 "Jesse" dolls posed in a circle, and each had Jesses' lasso positioned in a slightly different way. Around that there were about 32 "Woody" dolls riding horseback, all positioned slighly differently. The circles were concentric, with about 9 or 10 rings and therefore 9-10 different characters. Confused yet?). Anyway, the platform would start spinning very fast, then the main light would dim and 3 strobelights would come on. The moment the main light went off, and the strobe light combined with the spinning platform, you no longer saw the 32 different Jesse dolls, but instead 1 Jesse doll swinging her lasso up and down around her head and down her body. The Woody doll was just a single image, galloping around the place. The Army Men were parachuting, the Penguins were dancing and jumping off diving boards, the Aliens were waving and doing somersaults, Buzz Lightyear was riding a big bouncy ball and there was a huge amount of activity. It was amazing how this machine suddenly came to life, as your eyes were suddenly tricked into seeing something that wasn't really there. We watched it twice, then went back at the end to watch it again. Another room had a huge screen (5000x1080 pixels wide - utilising 4 linked projectors) to show some storyboards coming to life in pseudo-3D. Overall it was a really good exhibit - the Zoetrope alone is worth getting along to see.
After a walk back through Fitzroy Gardens, it was off home. Jessica was exhausted due to 1. the 6:30 wake-up call, 2. her recent sickness, 3. the excitement of the day, 4. the lack of a midday nap (which is now often up to 2hours long), so she had dinner and was asleep just after 7:30. I also went to the gym tonight and - while it is still excrutiatingly hard - I did a lot better this time around (maybe there's hope for me yet). And now I think it might be bedtime for me aswell - too much excitement today for an old man like me.
Goodnight,
Matt
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Fully Sick
Note to self: avoid a lengthy discussion at the beginning of your post about the fact that you haven't posted for awhile: 1. people get it already, 2. it takes up valuable posting time and screen real estate, and 3. nobody wants to hear your lame excuses. So tally ho!
Jessica has been very sick recently: in fact she first came down with 'gastro' two Thursdays ago (ie. not last Thursday) and hasn't really been well again since. The gastro really took hold for a little over a week and then, just when that was getting under control she suddenly developed a fever and became listless, irritable, unwilling to eat etc. After a number of calls and visits, she was diagnosed yesterday as having contracted tonsillitis...again! So it's been a hefty dose of antibiotics four times a day now, and she really does seem to be on the mend. She had lost a worrying amount of weight in the last week or so, so we are trying to sneak in as many calories as she'll cheerfully eat: even with the offer of chips, chocolate cake, ice-cream and biscuits, she shows remarkable restraint (must be Mel's influence - it's definitely not mine). Jessica was at her most perky today and it's wonderful to see her running around pretty happily again. Hopefully in the next 24-48 hours she'll be back to full Jessica standard.
Speaking of restraint around bad food (and other related but equally-unfamiliar concepts), I joined a gym this month. It's a local gym - on the way to work - and it seems pretty good from the two times I've been so far (well three, if you count the time I walked in to look around and sign up!). It has been 4 years since I've been to a gym, and boy has that been patently obvious. Absence hasn't made the heart grow fonder; it's made the heart grow weaker and made the belly grow rounder. I do a one hour session (30 minutes cardio, 30 minutes weights) but on the first night I just couldn't get through the program. I did the 10 minute bike ride, the 10 minute run, and about half of the weight session, but I couldn't o the last 5 minutes on the cross-country-skier thingo, nor the reminder of the weights. It was a real eye opener to how ridiculously unfit I've become: I eventually stumbled back into the changerooms exhausted and feeling physically sick! The second time I went I did a bit better (finished the cardion and most of the weights) but it was by no means easy: I'm quite sure a few people around me were embarassed on my behalf as I plodded slowly through the tasks laid out on my form. At one stage one of the erabud headpones from the iPod fell out of my ear, and I didn't have the energy to lift my arm to put the earpiece back! And when I dragged myself to the car, I hoped that everyone drove very well on the way home, because I couldn't see that I'd be able to quickly apply the brake pedal in an emergency. I'm no expert, but I think that probably suggests I've been inactive for too long. I know on an intellectual level that it gets easier each time, and that eventually I'll sail through the program and be looking for more challenges, but that day seems soooooooo far away at the moment. (There's a great big heated pool at this place too, which I'm entitled to use and look forward to using sometime soon, but at the moment I'd probably just sink straight to bottom and wouldn't even have the energy to wave for help!). Hoping for visit number 3 tomorrow, once Mel comes home from working in the City.
Speaking of Mel, she is getting a bit sick and tired aswell (not just the usual 'sick and tired of her husband', either). She has been working so much recently, and has been given lots of late, urgent jobs from her clients. I think she worked about 35 hours last week on top of caring for Jessica, so that meant a lot of 5am starts and midnight finishes (working while Jessica was asleep). I think she's just feeling unwell as a result of being rundown, but perhaps she's coming down with either of the things Jessica has been battling. Thankfully she's not required in the City until after 11am tomorrow, but she'll still be in there after 6pm, so won't get much - if any - chance to get some rest.
Last night we went to a birthday party for my eldest niece, Susanna. Susanna (or Fruitbat, as we used to call each other when she was much, much younger) turned 18 this week! I know it has to happen, and it's a terrifically exciting time for her, but it's difficult accept that little Susanna is now not so little. It was a great party, with lots of people (close to 100 I think), masses of food, music, games and great company. I think Susanna had a great time. She is a truly wonderful young lady - smart, funny, caring, beautiful etc - so it was great as an Uncle to see her surrounded by so many friends who obvious think the same things that we do. As my small contribution to the party, I was hoping to put together some photoshows interspersed with mini vox-pops about Susanna, but in the end we didn't get to record enough of the mini-interviews and instead just presented the three photoshows. For a number of reasons, there was still a lot of work to do on those as late as Thursday/Friday, so I got an hour and a half of sleep on Thursday night, then didn't go to bed again until about 10:30 on Saturday night (i think that means 90 minutes sleep in about 64 hours?). I must get better at finishing these well ahead of time - though I'm not sure how that would have been possible. Anyway, it was finished in time and I liked the way the photoshows came together. A bit disappointed that it wasn't the full package that I'd hoped (at one stage there was going to be a Pirates of the Caribbean meets Lord of the Rings themed montage (with Susanna and references to her edited in) but since I couldn't even get the vox-pops done in time, I can't see how I was ever going to finish anything quite so complex. It might have to wait until her 21st (which I should probably start working on this week!).
The montage for Susanna's 21st will have to wait until at least Friday, because we are taking Jessica to her first (and our first) Wiggles concert this Thursday. Jessica is fanatical about the Wiggles, and we would watch their DVD's 12-15 times per week. She never gets tired of dancing and wiggling along to every song, especially "Rock-a-bye Your Bear", "Move Your Arms Like Henry" and "Can You (Point Your Fingers And Do The Twist)". I think Thursday will be off the chart, and will help Jessica to completely forget about the rough couple of weeks she has had. It's funny, but although Mel & I originally thought we'd avoid the whole Wiggles phenomenon (by choice), we've become surprisingly fond of them: I wonder if it's related to Stockholm Syndrome? Although we still sometimes cringe at certain aspects, it's hard to criticise anyone who does something with as much enthusiasm as they do (their live concert DVD's are great fun in particular), and I don't begrudge them the $45m they supposedly make each year.
Anyway, it's somehow become 11:50pm, and I need to go to bed. We have the iMac in our bedroom (we watch DVD's or podcasts in bed), so I'm actually going to impede Mel going to bed if I stay on this (and she has just turned her laptop off and started brushing her teeth). Must say goodnight and click on Publish.
Goodnight (and click on Publish),
Matt
Jessica has been very sick recently: in fact she first came down with 'gastro' two Thursdays ago (ie. not last Thursday) and hasn't really been well again since. The gastro really took hold for a little over a week and then, just when that was getting under control she suddenly developed a fever and became listless, irritable, unwilling to eat etc. After a number of calls and visits, she was diagnosed yesterday as having contracted tonsillitis...again! So it's been a hefty dose of antibiotics four times a day now, and she really does seem to be on the mend. She had lost a worrying amount of weight in the last week or so, so we are trying to sneak in as many calories as she'll cheerfully eat: even with the offer of chips, chocolate cake, ice-cream and biscuits, she shows remarkable restraint (must be Mel's influence - it's definitely not mine). Jessica was at her most perky today and it's wonderful to see her running around pretty happily again. Hopefully in the next 24-48 hours she'll be back to full Jessica standard.
Speaking of restraint around bad food (and other related but equally-unfamiliar concepts), I joined a gym this month. It's a local gym - on the way to work - and it seems pretty good from the two times I've been so far (well three, if you count the time I walked in to look around and sign up!). It has been 4 years since I've been to a gym, and boy has that been patently obvious. Absence hasn't made the heart grow fonder; it's made the heart grow weaker and made the belly grow rounder. I do a one hour session (30 minutes cardio, 30 minutes weights) but on the first night I just couldn't get through the program. I did the 10 minute bike ride, the 10 minute run, and about half of the weight session, but I couldn't o the last 5 minutes on the cross-country-skier thingo, nor the reminder of the weights. It was a real eye opener to how ridiculously unfit I've become: I eventually stumbled back into the changerooms exhausted and feeling physically sick! The second time I went I did a bit better (finished the cardion and most of the weights) but it was by no means easy: I'm quite sure a few people around me were embarassed on my behalf as I plodded slowly through the tasks laid out on my form. At one stage one of the erabud headpones from the iPod fell out of my ear, and I didn't have the energy to lift my arm to put the earpiece back! And when I dragged myself to the car, I hoped that everyone drove very well on the way home, because I couldn't see that I'd be able to quickly apply the brake pedal in an emergency. I'm no expert, but I think that probably suggests I've been inactive for too long. I know on an intellectual level that it gets easier each time, and that eventually I'll sail through the program and be looking for more challenges, but that day seems soooooooo far away at the moment. (There's a great big heated pool at this place too, which I'm entitled to use and look forward to using sometime soon, but at the moment I'd probably just sink straight to bottom and wouldn't even have the energy to wave for help!). Hoping for visit number 3 tomorrow, once Mel comes home from working in the City.
Speaking of Mel, she is getting a bit sick and tired aswell (not just the usual 'sick and tired of her husband', either). She has been working so much recently, and has been given lots of late, urgent jobs from her clients. I think she worked about 35 hours last week on top of caring for Jessica, so that meant a lot of 5am starts and midnight finishes (working while Jessica was asleep). I think she's just feeling unwell as a result of being rundown, but perhaps she's coming down with either of the things Jessica has been battling. Thankfully she's not required in the City until after 11am tomorrow, but she'll still be in there after 6pm, so won't get much - if any - chance to get some rest.
Last night we went to a birthday party for my eldest niece, Susanna. Susanna (or Fruitbat, as we used to call each other when she was much, much younger) turned 18 this week! I know it has to happen, and it's a terrifically exciting time for her, but it's difficult accept that little Susanna is now not so little. It was a great party, with lots of people (close to 100 I think), masses of food, music, games and great company. I think Susanna had a great time. She is a truly wonderful young lady - smart, funny, caring, beautiful etc - so it was great as an Uncle to see her surrounded by so many friends who obvious think the same things that we do. As my small contribution to the party, I was hoping to put together some photoshows interspersed with mini vox-pops about Susanna, but in the end we didn't get to record enough of the mini-interviews and instead just presented the three photoshows. For a number of reasons, there was still a lot of work to do on those as late as Thursday/Friday, so I got an hour and a half of sleep on Thursday night, then didn't go to bed again until about 10:30 on Saturday night (i think that means 90 minutes sleep in about 64 hours?). I must get better at finishing these well ahead of time - though I'm not sure how that would have been possible. Anyway, it was finished in time and I liked the way the photoshows came together. A bit disappointed that it wasn't the full package that I'd hoped (at one stage there was going to be a Pirates of the Caribbean meets Lord of the Rings themed montage (with Susanna and references to her edited in) but since I couldn't even get the vox-pops done in time, I can't see how I was ever going to finish anything quite so complex. It might have to wait until her 21st (which I should probably start working on this week!).
The montage for Susanna's 21st will have to wait until at least Friday, because we are taking Jessica to her first (and our first) Wiggles concert this Thursday. Jessica is fanatical about the Wiggles, and we would watch their DVD's 12-15 times per week. She never gets tired of dancing and wiggling along to every song, especially "Rock-a-bye Your Bear", "Move Your Arms Like Henry" and "Can You (Point Your Fingers And Do The Twist)". I think Thursday will be off the chart, and will help Jessica to completely forget about the rough couple of weeks she has had. It's funny, but although Mel & I originally thought we'd avoid the whole Wiggles phenomenon (by choice), we've become surprisingly fond of them: I wonder if it's related to Stockholm Syndrome? Although we still sometimes cringe at certain aspects, it's hard to criticise anyone who does something with as much enthusiasm as they do (their live concert DVD's are great fun in particular), and I don't begrudge them the $45m they supposedly make each year.
Anyway, it's somehow become 11:50pm, and I need to go to bed. We have the iMac in our bedroom (we watch DVD's or podcasts in bed), so I'm actually going to impede Mel going to bed if I stay on this (and she has just turned her laptop off and started brushing her teeth). Must say goodnight and click on Publish.
Goodnight (and click on Publish),
Matt
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