I wasn't going to do this meme, even though I've seen it on a stack of blogs in the past week. But Fiona told me I had to :)

Total volume of music files on my computer…
2.8gb. I don't listen to music on my computer, I'd much rather listen to my cds on a decent sound system (well decent compared to my crap computer speakers). I've only recently started to rip my cds simply as a backup in case they all get stolen.

The last CD I bought was…
"Where were you? 1989" - that and "Where were you? 1988", a semi-decent compilation cd from 88/89, the prime of my music life.

Song playing right now…
Lemme just go turn on the radio.. No Lies by Noiseworks (Triple-M are doing another 80s weekend).

Five songs I listen to a lot, or that mean a lot to me…
The beauty of my cd player is that it plays everything on random shuffle, so I don't hear anything more often than anything else. I've commented in another post about favourite songs.

People I’m passing this on to:
hrm, who hasn't done it? .. How about Stu, Delmer, and Paul? But honestly I don't care! :)

So last night I did something that'll probably go down as a once-in-a-lifetime. I watched all six episodes of Star Wars. In order. Back to back. In 15 hours.

A friend of Striker's managed to get tickets to a midnight showing, so we started at 6pm with episodes I and II, then off to the cinema to see III, then back to Striker's to watch IV, V, and VI.

Was a brilliant night. The hardest part was staying awake between 5-6am, at the beginning-middle of Empire Strikes Back.

Episode III exceeded expections. That is, I had no expectations after I and II, and so was pleasantly surprised by this one. The story was good, the acting was good, the effects were stunning. It's very intense, very dark, very sad. I definitely want to go see it again.

The only two gripes I had with it (spoilers following) were Anakin's descent into evil and overuse of cgi.

I felt Anakin's change to the dark side was just a little bit too much of a stretch. I think he still had too much of a conscience left in him at the time for him to do what he did to the jedi. I actually would have found it more believable if he'd been wronged more deeply by one or more jedi and so he really was out for revenge. But it came across as he was only doing it because he was told to in order to save Padme. I think if it came down to it, choosing Padme's life over the lives of all the jedi wouldn't have been something he'd do. I just don't think he'd gotten "cold" enough to do that.

The other issue is cgi everywhere. I mean don't get me wrong, it's utterly beautifully filmed, but it just felt like nothing was tangibly real. The entire thing was shot at Fox Studios in Sydney. No location shooting whatsover (except a couple of flyby background plates). I can't imagine the actors would have had an interesting work environment. Just a few different textured floors, and lots of bluescreen. It felt almost like the entire thing was just a nice computer game.

So anyway. My 0.022c inc gst.

I still haven't actually had any sleep yet. Think I'll try not to, and get some stuff sorted out that I never get to on the weekends.

Aside from sleeping and getting dressed, I've spent a total of one hour home this weekend.

Friday night was the Unreal Tournament night and didn't get home til Saturday.

Saturday day was a big working bee at Luc's place. We filled a really big skip and half filled another.

Saturday night was Matt and Helen's engagement party (and his 21st). My dad piked cause he hates going to rellie stuff, especially where they play the music loud. Neither of his brothers came either, nor did me brother, so of the "nuclear" family, there was my mum and I, my aunty, and her three sons (one of whom was the guest of honour). And about 60 other people, some of which I see regularly at these events, including really cute uncle-in-law. Was a really good night actually, and they didn't turn up the music to deafening volumes til quite late.

Sunday morning church, then headed out to Picton for a Bookcrossing meetup. Picked up two books. I really *really* need to read some of them!! Took some pics of a steam train running out of Thirlmere then wandered back to Yvonne's and watched the entire tv series version of Hitchhiker's.

My new toll tag didn't go off on the way home, so hope they don't fine me :( Stoopid roadworks mucked everything up.

Star Wars II is on telly tonight, but I don't think I'll watch any of it, hoping to do a Star Wars marathon on Wednesday night, assuming Striker's friend can secure tickets for one of the midnight sessions..

I'm not coping at the moment. I need some time at home, even if it's only to clean up my flat! I feel like I just can't get my life in order because I'm out all the time. It's starting to stress me out.

I don't get why kids refuse to sleep. ok, I do get it, cause I still remember what it was like when life was so exciting that you didn't want to waste it by sleeping. Now sleep is a craving that is rarely satisfied.

Jim and John are just plain rude to me, and it's pissing me off.

Took some more photos at Luc's place. But my opportunities for taking photos are getting shorter and shorter. As it is I have to race off from work early just so I can be at the house for 15 minutes of enough light to take photos. With still over a month to solstice it's only going to get harder :( Oh well, I suppose soon the roof will be done, and everything will need the flash anyway...

Now I'm going to bed.

With all my posting on moon photos, I neglected to post the other boring goings-on in my life (and I *still* haven't done the Friday Q even though it's the easiest one in ages).

So.

Friday Night

Video night at Campbell's. It was a late start and much pondering was done before we started, so it was quite late by the time we got on a movie (Napoleon Dynamite, which was just strange), and afterward we just chatted and eventually wandered home just after 1am (whereupon I took moon photos).

Saturday

Attempt to sleep in. Fail. No matter how late I stay up, I seem to always wake up between 7am and 8am. Did a decent chunk of tidying up, and lego sorting for stuff to sell on ebay. Took moon photos.

Sunday

Attempt to sleep in. Slightly more success. Church, then a bit of a chill out afternoon. I can't really remember what I did. Couldn't have been too important. Then Josh called up to see if I wanted to go to Sizzler with them. Which was utterly unexpected. That's twice in two weeks that lot has invited me out with them. Ate entirely too much, even though on the face of it I didn't eat much at all :( Damned all you can eats are just not good value with a stomach my size! Took more moon photos during the eclipse.

Monday

Attempt to sleep in. Some success. Watched the Anzac Day march for a while and saw my grandfather's battalion, including someone I know from my parents' church who marches most years. Wandered over to Luc's to help at the house. Moved 200 bricks 4 metres. And a bit of general cleanup. Came home and read more of Aurelius' and Pinky's blogs. May have got someone arrested at work today. More later if it actually transpired :) Then went to the parents' for a lamb roast. And suddenly it's 10pm. No moon photos tonight though.

Missed events

I could have seen Campbell every day this weekend. Him and Ric were going to Elixir which would have been fun to go to, but those things just take up so much of the weekend (and with petrol prices the way they are it would have cost me $15 just to get there and back). Then they were going to go snorkling today, which again would have been good, but I'd already said I'd help Luc out. Not that I couldn't have gotten out of that, but ultimately the hassle factor of snorkling put me off, especially since they were thinking of going to the northern beaches.

I'm going to bed now I think.

So my day started with someone commenting on my 100 things list about how lucky I am that I know what I want in life (although I'm not sure how he got that idea).

It descended dramatically when I had to buy petrol this morning. The local Mobil was 115.9c/L, yet across the road it was 108.9c/L. The problem is, to get across to the other side of the road takes a good ten minutes as it requires getting through the same intersection twice against peak hour flow. After having to stop at the same set of lights three times I decided to bite the bullet, put $5 in at the Mobil and get more after work. I'm not sure which works better as a protest, not buying anything, or buying just enough to give them the message that I don't want to buy from them.

Then Marc sent this link round the staff list. You put your income in and it tells you where you rank in the grand scheme of things.

(big chunk of post removed, the thoughts had no socio-economic basis in reality)

I know damned well that I have it good in Australia. Every so often I have to convince myself that I do actually have friends, even though it doesn't feel like it sometimes. I probably have more money that most people I know. I know that complaining about the price of petrol between different petrol stations, and the ten minutes extra out of my life it takes to get a discount is among the shallowest things you can do.

I would simply like the ability to appreciate the good things and not get stressed out by trivialities.

Thanks to Ben for some cool links on Technorati and found another couple of links back to me (eg Gary, a fellow cadbury creme egg lover, and someone who stopped blogging a while ago) .. (as well as one that posted recently to my blog - Aurelius, and a link on yahoo from linux forums hehe).

But I don't get it! What on earth interests people about my life? All I do is whinge about crap. Honestly, I don't lead an exciting life, and I'm not the sort of person people get know in real life. It makes no sense to me!! As Pauline would say "please explain"! :)

As seen at G'Day Mate the other day..

Nobody ever ruined their eyesight by looking at the bright side of something.

Sounds good to me.. (goes off to bed with the sounds of Always look on the bright side of life ringing around my head..)

This song has been getting a lot of airplay lately. I don't actually listen to songs on the radio anymore (I'm not into popular music anymore, that was sooo 15 years ago), but this one pierced my brain the other day. Musta been weird timing issues...

Welcome To My Life
by Simple Plan

Do you ever feel like breaking down?
Do you ever feel out of place?
Like somehow you just don't belong
And no one understands you

Do you ever want to run away?
Do you lock yourself in your room?
With the radio on turned up so loud
That no one hears you screaming

No you don't know what it's like
When nothing feels alright
You don't know what it's like
To be like me

To be hurt, to feel lost
To be left out in the dark
To be kicked when you're down
To feel like you've been pushed around
To be on the edge of breaking down
And no one's there to save you
No you don't know what it's like
Welcome to my life

Do you wanna be somebody else?
Are you sick of feeling so left out?
Are you desperate to find something more
Before your life is over?

Are you stuck inside a world you hate?
Are you sick of everyone around?
With their big fake smiles and stupid lies
While deep inside you're bleeding

No you don't know what it's like
When nothing feels alright
You don't know what it's like
To be like me

To be hurt, to feel lost
To be left out in the dark
To be kicked when you're down
To feel like you've been pushed around
To be on the edge of breaking down
And no one's there to save you
No you don't know what it's like
Welcome to my life

No one ever lied straight to your face
And no one ever stabbed you in the back
You might think I'm happy
But I'm not gonna be ok
Everybody always gave you what you wanted
You never had to work
It was always there
You don't know what it's like
What it's like

To be hurt, to feel lost
To be left out in the dark
To be kicked when you're down
To feel like you've been pushed around
To be on the edge of breaking down
And no one's there to save you
No you don't know what it's like (what it's like)

To be hurt
To feel lost
To be left out in the dark
To be kicked
When you're down
To feel like you've been pushed around
To be on the edge of breaking down
And no one's there to save you
No you don't know what it's like
Welcome to my life

Welcome to my life
Welcome to my life

Last Thursday went out for drinks with Alison and Chris. Was good to catch up, as hadn't seen them in a while.

Sunday went to a Book Crossing meeting organised by Yvonne.

Sunday night went to the dinner I missed out on going to the week before.

Last night's Mythbusters was one of their coolest ever - they proved that people *could* have escaped from Alcatraz.

Tonight's True Crime is set around a murder in Grand Junction in Colorado .. lots of been theres

Decided friend #1 is def a bastard. So have decided it's not worth my while talking about my personal life to him. Unfortunately still have to work with him.

The flat is a disaster area. Feel like I'm never home and it's all just getting on top of me :(