Archive for December, 2003
today is foodcourt day, at the special time of 1:00pm, the last foodcourt experience of 2003, dont miss it.
The year in films.
This list is not in any order because my tickets got all mixed up but here they are, the films I saw in 2003.
1. Lost in Translation
2. Peter Pan
3. Master and Commander
4. Love Actually
5. S.W.A.T
6. You can’t stop the murders
7. Intolerable Cruelty
8. Kill Bill vol 1.
9. Bad Boys 2
10. The Italian Job
11. Tears of the Sun
12. American Wedding (walked out after 30 mins)
13. Bad Eggs
14. T3
15. Bruce Almighty
16. Bruce Almighty (second viewing)
17. Fast and furious 2
18. Phone booth
19. Anger Management
20. Cradle to the grave
21. x-Men 2
22. Johnny English
23. The Recruit
24. Jackass
25. Undercover Brother
26. Bowling for Columbine
27. Chicago
28. Master of Disguise
29. One Hour Photo
30. Runaway Jury
31. Honourable Wally Norman
32. School of rock
33. Mystic River
34. Matrix revolutions
35. Just Married
36. Matrix reloaded
37. Hulk
38. Ned Kelly
39. A Mighty wind
40. Finding Nemo (hornsby Odeon)
41. down with love
42. Finding Nemo (second viewing)
43. Maid in Manhattan
44. The Hours
45. Gangs of New York
thief at the station
Sitting on the train from Armidale to Sydney, bottle of water in the seat pocket, discman, chips and a bag full of cd’s and lollies and books. The train weaves its way through the northern tablelands of NSW. Pulling into werris creek an announcement over the trains PA system tells the passengers that the train will be here for 15 minutes if people want to get out for a stretch they can.
So a few laps of walking up and down the platform gets the blood pumping again, the nice fresh air re-filling the lounges before re-embarking the train.
It seems in the short time that was spent on the platform that a thief had done his nasty work, the discman gone, the bag gone, even the bottle of water gone. Frustration builds up inside, whilst on the outside a cool calm and collected poise is necessary. What to do? And who steals bottled water ?
Do I tell the train staff “excuse me but someone has stolen my bag and discman oh and my bottle of water”
“well sir you could just but another water, or we have taps at the end of each carriage”
No no I couldn’t tell the train staff, I could solve this crime by myself, I could become a detective and pull the train apart, searching and interigating every single passenger until someone spills the beans.
To cut a long story short I found my correct seat, and none of my stuff had moved.
I have to say that Ricky Ponting is the bomb!
Been sitting around all day today watching the cricket, yesterday NBN was having transmission problems so i couldnt watch it. Its turning out to be a very exciting match.
I feel like playing pool but i dont think my dad’s all that keen.
only one more sleep in armidale
one day i’m going to enjoy armidale,
there is a life long goal
well i think i broke my template, you’ll have to put up with it, i’ll fix it when i get home
christmas day in armidale.
its hot, very hot.
We did the present thing at about 9:30 whihc was earlier than i would have liked but i coped.
I got Ben Harper CD’s from jo french
Westfield vouchers from my cousin vanessa
Roo Pooh chocolate from jane
a fisher price sccuba action man that “really swims” from my mum
a guitar book and a bill bryson “a short history on almost everything” book from mmy dad
the chaser annual from tinku.
so far so good. As usuall my mum takes the award for “strangest and least likely to be enjoyed” present but thats tradition.
Mum and Dad are also giving me money for some new shoes and some new clothes. Some of which i have already, i bought some new boxer shorts yesterday and one of them is “m &m’s” boxers…how cool.
well tonight i’m going to watch the panel.
the end.
HOWIE’S CHRISTMAS MESSAGE
Dearly beloved,
As another year draws to an end, a year that has shown us tragedy and unrest, a year that has shown us triumph and success, we must remember each other.
A time where we need to take care on the roads, a time where we need to show love to one another, a time where we have to fake a smile and pretend we actually like bum bags and have been wanting one all year.
It is a time to be jolly (alcoholic assistance may be required) A time to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas with family and friends, and yes sometimes family can be friends as well.
This Christmas it is my advice to you that you go out and enjoy it to the fullest, be glad in the gifts you receive and leave the room when your gifts are being opened, this way you save embarrassment of them realising that you got them the same thing last year. Eat lots, forget your diets for one day, is your diet really working anyway? Who are you kidding!
Have an afternoon nap and dream of the presents you would have preferred, after you have woken up force yourself back to sleep because its only 3pm and you still have many hours before dinner and then eventually you can sit down in front of the television and watch ballroom dancing championships from 1987.
Be thankful that Christmas in only once a year, and rejoice in the fact that next year you will have fewer present to buy due to family rifts scheduled for mid 2004.
I urge you to take care this Christmas, don’t over exhert yourself on facial expression after receiving dodgy gifts.
Have a jolly and merry day.
howie
its a very hot day in armidale today, i did a bit of christmas shopping today (with my parents money), its a bit nostaligic buying mum and dads christmas pressents with mum and dads money, its just like beinga kid again. “can i have some money to go chrissy shopping” “sure son”
Dad bought mum a DVD player for christmas, i think when she opens the present she will go “wow what is it? and dad will say “its a DVD player” then mum will look at me and say “whats a dvd, and is it christian?”
I arrived in armidale at 8pm after a long bus trip, which just for a bit of trivia was “australias longest coah”, the driver liked telling us that fact, it was a swish new bus, quite long indeed it had 68 seats. dog of a trip, lots of misshaps and stalls.
cityrail are dogs
I have been affected by the train strike, my trains not running and they are putting on busses all the way to armidale but they dont arrive at hornsby until 11:30, one hour after the train was meant to leave….what a dog….now i’m gonna be stuck on a bus all day.
at least i got to come back to the office and blog
work, guns and a case of coke
Today was my last day at work until the 12th of January, holidays, I like holidays, holidays are good.
Anyway we went out to lunch today at la pacthetta’s or something like that, an Italian pizza place in Mt Colah, the pizza was good but there coke was really bad it tasted like liquefied margarine, I think it was La ice or RC cola or some cheapo bodgy imitation.
After lunch it was back to the office stayed there a bit then walked across to Westfield to sort out some stuff at the medical centre. There where police everywhere in the mall and people everywhere. It was like 10 minutes after a bank robbery in hornsby mall. The police where trying to block off the area and Westfield security where helping, I got to see bess again!. I went into Westfield then came out again after being to the medical centre and they where putting up police tape and tv crews where starting to arrive, very cool, so much action in our little hornsby. I watched the story on sky news tonight and apparently it was national nine news’s top story.
Some woman in the bank got shot in the arm through the window.
Another exciting thing I saw whilst over in Westfield was a young couple probably in their early 20′s getting a helium balloon down that had floated up to the ceiling, now the ceiling in Westfield is quite high, but this was a smart couple they had built a pole out of McDonalds straws and bent over the last straw so it was like a hook, and there they where trying to get this balloon down, good on them I say, there’s nothing quite like a free balloon.
I’m off to Armidale tomorrow on the train, and there is a train strike scheduled for 10am til 2 pm my train leaves at 10:36 so if I’m lucky I might get caught up in strikeness, making my 8 hour journey even longer.
Bel and steve and Phoebe gave me a Christmas present today it was a “fridge mate” case of coke and some bob the builder chocolate, little ripper what more could a boy want ????????
Well I spent the day with jo today, we sat on the couch and I watched the cricket.
Jo made cheese and vegemite sandwiches for lunch and barbs bought us coke.
Helen came to visit a bit later, then jo went to work and I went with Helen, I got to see her house, then she drove me to Chatswood and I came home.
“the couple” season 15 final
I talk to jo every night on the phone for over an hour, we sms during the day, sometimes emails too. But I never get to see jo these days, its always that one of us is busy. It sucks and we live so far apart, if we could drive if jo had a licence it would change our lives for the better. I wanna see jo more, just me and jo. Even me and jo and others, just jo I wanna see jo.
44 films now
david and i saw peter pan last night, it was fun, not bad for a PG film, i hardle ever wathct PG films these days. Yeah i reccomnd it, good film.
council inovations
At work today we recieved a christmas card from Hornsby Council, Now that in itself isnt ground breaking news, but the thing that is ground breaking is that the card is impregnated with seeds and once you are done with your card you simply bury it and water it……such a good idea.
i’m impressed
takes recycleing to a whole new level…
Death is strange, very strange.
No one in my family had died since I have been alive so I have never really experienced death close to me, but since living with the French’s there have been 2 deaths, Joy last year and earlier tonight Ian (toms grandpa). Neither of the two was a very close too or knew all that well so it’s still not a really close death, but its close enough.
I only met gramps a smallish number of times, but you could tell that he was such a nice humble man. He is a cute old man. Every time I saw him he was always wearing one of two jumpers either a red knit or a light bluey grey knit. And often made jokes about me and tom being big strong lads. A very tidy man, he’s a lot like john, I reckon john is most like his dad than all the other siblings. I don’t really know what to say about him, but I liked him. I’m not a relative but still last Christmas gramps and betty gave me a Christmas present and treat me as if I am part of the family its very nice and warm, all the french’s are like that. He’s also mister no fuss, hates people fussing about him and making a fluster, I really like that. When I turn into an old man he’s defiantly the sort of old man I want to be, I don’t think it will happen I think I’m much more likely to become one of the old guys off the muppets, the ones that sit up in the box and complain a lot and make rude comments. But you get that.
Having had these two deaths in the past year has made me think about my Nan much more, she is getting really old and frail and the thought of her dying really scares me, I don’t know if it’s the thought that she will be gone or the thought of having to deal with her death that’s more scary. Me and my Nan are real close, I don’t want her to die, and I think I have this perception that she never will, it doesn’t matter how many years go by I can always go up to Armidale and there she will be knitting in the chair, making rude comments to me and being cheeky. She loves telling me that she is gonna give me 50 cents for my birthday, she has been using that gag for years but I love it.
Death is strange, very strange.