2007 - a year in review

Well my friends, it's that time of year again - when your kindly neighbourhood evil blog administrator finds herself in a deserted office, haunted by the echoes of a silent phone and still inbox, with time and inclination to idle over a few memories and take a look back at the momentous and the fleeting in the life of the SRF for 2007.

Let’s start at the very beginning, with January, February, March. Some kicked off with a bang,

others with more of a splutter-splutter-chug.

The first three months brought new beginnings for the SRF. For some, new hopes, new careers, new cars.
For others, new stairs. The most notable addition to the SRF repertoire was the big fat FUTSAL win, in February, perhaps the proudest moment in the history of our physically challenged and individual oriented society.

But as in every good story there were sadnesses too, colouring the start of our year with a bitter sweet tinge of blue. The OC, Amanda Vanstone, Freddo Frog, and Anna Nicole Smith all bowed out, puncturing our hopes for the year to come. The House of Chicken suffered a great blow that left a Noodle-shaped hole in the fabric of their domestic lives. Lucky for the remaining housemates, an enormous pair of shins would soon fill that void…

In other happenings, we visited Wollombi,
Nicolai visited Canada, the boys visited Noodle’s feminine side.

The comet came, the Google Earth plane didn’t
and a mouse dropped by the House of Fillet. Nicolai took Flit on their first date. Flit made it to his ½ anniversary with Gretta. Gretta started kicking recruitment arse. Then on the last day of March we all headed to the bush for a hoedown and I married our noodliest.

2007 - a year in review (cont)

As the weather cooled and the changing seasons reminded us all of our mortality, so changed the life of the SRF, FOREVER!

The rhythms of life were humming along - Wodger was born, Futsal died, Paris went to gaol and Bryan went to Adelaide.

Then the unspeakable happened… the life long SRF tradition of trivia was once again interrupted by the sudden encrappening of Kelly’s and our humble society found itself IN CRISIS!
While some of us faced facts and explored other Trivia options, others opted for denial and hid from the problem.

We lost sight of Nicolai altogether, who choose to bury himself in work rather than face up to the gruesome truth - the SRF was once again homeless.

But in our true style, we banded together, gussied up and put best feet forward for Nicolai’s big night.


Then we packed up and headed for the hills to ride out the winter of our discontent, regrouping ready to bravely face whatever horrors our collective future may bring.

2007 - a year in review (cont)

Back on deck and ready to face facts, John started planning a nice relaxing sailing holiday to give us something to look forward to and help us ride out the storm. Shari also showed her support for us by giving us all what we’ve always wanted… a whipping boy little brother of our very own.
Then in August, it all started to come together for the SRF. Mattwa sacrificed his reputation and sunk to new lows, bringing Richard back into the fold and taking home an award for his troubles.

The return of Richie also brought back the Australian idol report, re-linking us with the past and spurring us onward. A working B reinforced our team spirit and revived our self esteem as we sat back and saw what we were capable of creating.

And then it happened. A breakthrough. Noodle spied with his little eye a possibilitiy we just could not ignore… After a little research, the call went out to take up arms and march again as one, to charge, fight and conquer. And we did. Zanzibar was ours! Our group was once again unified in victory and anchored in Newtown. We had come through the other side, scathed but stronger than ever before.

In honour of our victory, and in carnation of our reborn hope for the future, Richard produced us an heir.
On a roll, some put the worlds’ professional cheerleaders to shame, turning up to ensure yet another victory.

Then, as the world turned its spotlight on our fair city home, some of us put in a hard days work for APEC and had immense fun with big yellow toys.

Except John. He didn’t. He missed out. He wasn’t there.

2007 - a year in review (cont)

Restored to former glory, the mighty SRF finished the year in usual form. First, Nick checked in with our Paris branch for updates from the North. (Things seem to be getting a little out of hand up there…)
Hello Jenny & Alex!

Then we bid a fitting farewell to the federal government and rang in the new era of Rudd. We had group triumphs, such as John finally securing Shari for us, legally.
(And hence cementing our ownership of Dean ‘Charlize Theron’ Seccombe.) We had solo efforts, such as Nick’s dash from Bondi to Bronte in under and hour.
We finished the year together(ish) with cocktails and then went our separate ways for the festive season, soon to ring in a new year, when we will once again band together - to overcome more obstacles, share more successes and pick on Dean. Until then, all the very best from your evil blog administrator. Take care, god bless, and here’s to 2008!

Jazz in the Domain 2008

The Sydney Festival is fast approaching, anyone interested in going to the Jazz in the Domain?

It on Saturday the 12th of January. We could head down to the domain with a picnic and a bottle of wine (or two) and enjoy the music.

Merry Christmas to the mighty SRF!!!

Wishing you a happy, holy day.

And here is to a wonderful 2008 for all of us!

Happy Noodley Birthday (festival)

Click Through!

So in our internet usage report - I'm calling it that it probably has a real name but I'm not here for detail - our lovely blog made the top 20 list of places people click through to get to the festival website. In fact we came in 13th so with a little more clicking through we can make the top 10!

Watch out google

Click Here

Happy Birthday Shari!

Have a good one.

Brown Eyes, Blue Eyes

If you have any interest in Psychology this is a great watch. Segregating kids classes into brown eyes and blue eyes.

Headline Of The Day

I thought this deserved a mention:

Paris Hilton rescues Oompa Loompa

Need a last second pressie idea for Matt?

Then look no further than MissPoppy.com and their range of HandzOff products!

"5 oz. of soothing anti-masturbation cream. Keep applying until you get relief."

"Masturbating while driving is dangerous. Please keep both hands on the wheel. Don't jerk and drive! Yummy sunflower scent proven to reduce urges."

Noodle's Birthday Dinner

What: Noodle's 26th birthday.
When: Friday, December 21st at 7:30pm.
Where: Cafe Zimt (368 Crown Street, Surry Hills).
Wear: Casual.
Why: Because it's the one day each year when I finally attain the same age as Sarah's little brother and, damn it, I'm going to celebrate it!

It's um... also official...as well

So I've got a new job. Here's the website of the company I'll be working for. And yes, Mexican wrestling masks are compulsory... for ugly people..
which I'm not...
am I?


Actually , don't answer that. I've had alleged friends cancel dinner on me 2 nights in a row now and I'm starting to think it's not just my repellant personality.

Zero Punctuation

Apologies if this has come up before, but it was too good not to share. This is an English guy living in Australia who does video reviews of games which are absolutely fantastic. The name "Zero Punctuation" presumably comes from the fact he doesn't seem to pause for breath once during the entire thing. A must watch for anyone who is even mildly interested in games.



Check out the website for more videos

It's Official!

The negotiations have been completed, the deal is done and now we sit and wait till the New Year. The overlord is SORTED! woohoo!

For those of you who have no idea what I'm rambling about, I have to be careful as it is still very hush hush and I don't want to risk someone reading over my shoulder and finding out everything.... (I'll write something in the comments section to spell it out for you)

I start in my new capacity in the New Year, and we have staggered the roll out to prevent people's noses getting out of joint and also to stop me feeling too overwhelmed with it all.

Needless to say I'm very happy about it all, I stand to gain alot and learn even more. Onwards and Upwards!!!

Thanks also to everyone who sat and listened and gave advice while I was coming to terms with it all.

End of Year Cocktails

What: End of Year Cocktails for The SRF!
When: This Saturday night, 8th December 2007
Where: Lets' give the Elephant Bar a crack
Wear: Fabulous frocks and suitable shirts....leather shoes for boys and gorgeous heels for girls.
Why: To celebrate the passing of 2007 in style!...and just because we can!

Starting time: Initially we were thinking along the lines of 7:30 - 8ish. But the elephant bar cocktail happy hour is from 5:30 to 6:30pm. Would anyone prefer to meet at 5:30pm for pre-dinner cocktails, then something modestly priced for dinner in the area before another venue?

LET COMMENTS KNOW WHAT YOU THINK SO WE CAN DECIDE WHAT TIME TO MEET!

Newest Arrival

I know this is now about 4 weeks overdue, but here is the latest addition to my family.



Little Edward!
Here he is being held by his big sister, Abby (5)

Under an hour!

Despite being terrified as they toed the sand at a sparkling Bondi yesterday, Nicolai, Jess & Chris not only started the 2.5km swim to Bronte but finished it too, in a very respectable time of under an hour.

Before

After

Bloody well done guys! So proud of you Nicolai. You deserved your yum cha after that effort!

(I hope your calf is feeling better today.)

I bumped into David Beckham yesterday

I would have taken this exact photo with Gi-Gi (my sexy new camera) yesterday, but I was holding my hand luggage.

As I checked in for my flight home at Wellington airport yesterday, the lady commented that we would be on a 747 (they usually only allow the 737 and smaller to land at Wellington due to small runway and one of the most dangerously windy airports in the world) as David and his LA Galaxy crew were flying in on it. (I guess they needed a lot more business class seating than can be found on the lowly 737...? Extra room for entourages? Lots of suitcases? I'm pretty sure there was no seats on QF47 flight from Sydney to Wellington available to the public for that day...)

So I hung around the press area instead of the Qantas club, to get me a look at this high-falutin type. And sure enough, he and his gang came staggering up, smiled politely while a very scary Maori yelled a welcome chant at them and offered them a feathery stick (must research significance but it was a hell of a lot cooler than anything we do to welcome important guests at C.K.S.), then the entire team touched foreheads with the lineup of important Wellington officials, including this woman who was on the end of the line, about 3 feet away from me and the 75 yr old die-hard Beckham fan grinning and moaning away next to me.

My official report - D-Becks is much shorter and hotter up close in his football trackie than dolled up in the press with Posh clutching his arms.

Anyway, then I had to hurry off and board David's jet to bring me back home. Hurrah for back home!

Vale´ Bernie

Two Elections and Two Good Choices!

This is the man we chose to run the country...

First off, I guess Labor got into power or something, and maybe John Howard ended up getting fired? Not sure what thats all about...

Doesn't that look like she is just SO THRILLED that he has his arm around her?

Secondly, and infiniately more relevant and important, last night gave us the excruciatingly awful 3+ hour Australian Idol extraveganza. Suzy and I couldn't bear to watch more than a few minutes at a time, every time we switched over there was either some no-name providing numbingly boring filler, or the final 12 producing some of the most horrendous musical war crimes I have ever heard. It was an abomination, and I hear that they also had several lengthy cuts in broadcasting (although they probably came as a blessed relief when compared to the actual "entertainment").

I only really switched over right at the end, to find out who won. When I tuned in the judges were giving them a few words, and I got to see both Kyle and Mark basically say "Matt, I want you to win". Nice!

The best bit was Mark Holden telling Matt to "be smart. Do what Casey Donovan did, or Missy Higgins. Take your time, don't rush something out". I'm sorry Mark, but what the fuck? Casey Donovan is a stupid fat cow who was inexplicably given a chance of a lifetime, which she then flushed down the toilet... but only after discovering the hardway that it was inedible. If she does anything to make the headlines again which doesn't involve being found dead in a pile of her own waste at 21 I'm going to be amazed, because she has well and truely lost her chance to capitalise on her Idol success.

If you're wondering why that flyer doesn't look quite up to the SonyBMG standards, that would be because she got dumped by the record label after the one album they were forced to give her. Still... looks like a rocking show!

And comparing anyone from Australian Idol to Missy Higgins is just insane (for the record, Missy was discovered via JJJ Unearthed playing original music, and she then took a long overseas break before trying to get into the music industry, which is what he was getting at). The real difference is that she actually has talent, and didn't rely on a national kareoke competition to kickstart her career, but actually put herself out there with an Indy EP and supporting bands like George before getting a record deal.

S, it came time for the envelope (after this break!) and just about everyone is waiting for them to call out Matt Corby's name. But shock of shocks, the Australian public made the right choice and gave it to Natalie Gauci! Even she couldn't believe it, and asked them "are you sure?"

So congrats to Natalie, and thank god it's over. Hopefully she won't end up getting shafted onto the Young Divas or similar, and actually gets to give it a crack. Now we get to see how many of them produce absurdly bad singles and then fade away, only to turn up on Neighbours (Dan O'Connor), Singing Bee (Milsy!) and low budget musicals (just about everyone yay!).

Employment %

Some times I feel the only reason i still have a job is that I'm the only person in my office that can use percentages to their advantage. My ability to take X & Y preform (X-Y)/X x 100 puts me on the mathematical holy ground! Who needs first year maths all you need to secede is to have payed attention in year 8 week 5 Tuesday period 3.

CONGRATULATIONS SHARI & JOHN!!!

Well done John. Great catch!

And great rock.

Another round of exams: DONE

Tonga data collection and member visit

Officially, Tonga is the toughest Pacific location I have visited. Very basic and glamour-free.

But between you and me, (and everyone else I have spoken to in the last 2 weeks) Tonga is my all time favourite Pacific location. I LOVE it! In a very deep and raunchy way. Ok, not raunchy. But a lot!

The riots in November last year have had a big impact and it would be very tough to live on Tongatapu. There are a number of factors that will soon culminate in a heartbreaking 'loss of innocence' for this little kingdom but such a genuine, stripped back, traditional and big hearted place has got me lovestruck.

For me, first there was work to do:


Talamahu markets


Ocean of Light school


I met with Aussies and Kiwis and toured the hospital and a school. The newest assignee at the Australia High Commission and I visited the local market, makeshift supermarkets, browsed the half dozen or so books in the book shop, dodged chickens and pigs on our drive to the south coast of the island, discovered REAL icecream and tested a few 'reputable' restaurants. I heard from some spouses about the hardships of trying to find cheese.

Friends Cafe

Then there was not-so-work.

Pangaimotu jetty

I spent Sunday on Pangaimotu on the waters edge.

WIth a few hours at Big Mama's for fish and chips, beer and some people watching.

View from Big Mama's 'yaucht club'


I met some lovely people, with whom the nightlife was investigated.

And made some friends I plan to keep.

Now I'm plotting the holiday I must take my husband back for, before destiny gets her gruesome grip on my charming little pacific gem.