Gillian Polack's Blog, page 256
April 13, 2011
gillpolack @ 2011-04-13T18:17:00
Only one form to go this week, if I'm lucky. Mind you, that form is proving recalcitrant.
Even my passport form proved recalcitrant, however, during my official interview. The interviewer ventured into a mild state of concern when she realised that my only photo ID was a student card. I do not have a driving license and the State of Victoria does not have birth cards. I checked this latter a couple of weeks ago, in case it would expedite matters: when I discovered they really don't have them, even though they're a primary form of identification if you want to obtain an Australian passport, I wondered if the State of Victoria likes to pretend its babies aren't born. It might be that it's only me they want to disown, which is understandable, after all. It's probably simply that the Passports Office hasn't convinced them yet that I need to be definitively alive.
Also, the Birth Certificate issued by the State of Victoria had to be puzzled over (justifiably, in my opinion) because it really did look a bit fake. In 1983 they used a glow in the dark photocopier for birth certificates - I'm convinced of this.
In the end, all was well, and now the form and proofs of identity have been kicked upstairs. In two or three weeks, I may have a passport. Or I may not. I'm pretty sure that forms don't appreciate me. My passport depends on the powers-that-be taking this into account.
It's all swings and roundabouts. A family (the family I spend Christmas with most years) who can't get to my birthday party are giving me a birthday dinner instead. The only decent eating place in the whole of Canberra open that day is the Yacht Club.
I love the Yacht Club. It's such a strange thing to find in a city with only manmade (small) lakes. And yet it has produced a Sydney-Hobart winner. The Yacht Club used to have very fine food, served overlooking the lake. I suspect it still does. On a really rough day, the waters of lake Burley Griffin become ruffled. Yachting in Canberra isn't quite the same as yachting in Sydney, I suspect.
I will have to dress up. The friends who are taking me are very unsympathetic about this. They think I might be able to manage. Anyway, it's going to be wonderful - a table full of my alternate family and, earlier in the day, my oldest friend (who is in town for the Folk Festival) and my god-daughter.
PS I have 6 spare passport photos. If anyone wants a picture of Gillian-about-to-leave-49-for-the-final-time, just say. I look peculiarly vacant, as if I lost my intelligence on the road to menopause*.
PPS Blogging will be very late tomorrow. Everything will be very late tomorrow. I will have no electricity. A bunch of blokes have been standing outside for two days, talking and putting up different kinds of fences. They put one up, draw lines, take it down, put another one up, dig holes. Apparently this all culminates with a brand new power pole, tomorrow. All tomorrow. The sad contents of my freezer go to a good home tonight. Just in time for Passover.
*I intend to mention menopause a lot in the future. This is sympathetic magic, of a kind. I want it to hurry up and arrive! I'm getting all my earlier symptoms in reverse and the latest one is sleepless nights. Today I was functioning on two hours sleep, which was not enough for an excursion and all those messages and forms and my passport interview and the ritual pre-Passover cookathon. It's certainly not enough for the crit group I am about to attend. Let me, therefore, say the word again and hope that it WORKS: menopause, menopause, menopause.
Even my passport form proved recalcitrant, however, during my official interview. The interviewer ventured into a mild state of concern when she realised that my only photo ID was a student card. I do not have a driving license and the State of Victoria does not have birth cards. I checked this latter a couple of weeks ago, in case it would expedite matters: when I discovered they really don't have them, even though they're a primary form of identification if you want to obtain an Australian passport, I wondered if the State of Victoria likes to pretend its babies aren't born. It might be that it's only me they want to disown, which is understandable, after all. It's probably simply that the Passports Office hasn't convinced them yet that I need to be definitively alive.
Also, the Birth Certificate issued by the State of Victoria had to be puzzled over (justifiably, in my opinion) because it really did look a bit fake. In 1983 they used a glow in the dark photocopier for birth certificates - I'm convinced of this.
In the end, all was well, and now the form and proofs of identity have been kicked upstairs. In two or three weeks, I may have a passport. Or I may not. I'm pretty sure that forms don't appreciate me. My passport depends on the powers-that-be taking this into account.
It's all swings and roundabouts. A family (the family I spend Christmas with most years) who can't get to my birthday party are giving me a birthday dinner instead. The only decent eating place in the whole of Canberra open that day is the Yacht Club.
I love the Yacht Club. It's such a strange thing to find in a city with only manmade (small) lakes. And yet it has produced a Sydney-Hobart winner. The Yacht Club used to have very fine food, served overlooking the lake. I suspect it still does. On a really rough day, the waters of lake Burley Griffin become ruffled. Yachting in Canberra isn't quite the same as yachting in Sydney, I suspect.
I will have to dress up. The friends who are taking me are very unsympathetic about this. They think I might be able to manage. Anyway, it's going to be wonderful - a table full of my alternate family and, earlier in the day, my oldest friend (who is in town for the Folk Festival) and my god-daughter.
PS I have 6 spare passport photos. If anyone wants a picture of Gillian-about-to-leave-49-for-the-final-time, just say. I look peculiarly vacant, as if I lost my intelligence on the road to menopause*.
PPS Blogging will be very late tomorrow. Everything will be very late tomorrow. I will have no electricity. A bunch of blokes have been standing outside for two days, talking and putting up different kinds of fences. They put one up, draw lines, take it down, put another one up, dig holes. Apparently this all culminates with a brand new power pole, tomorrow. All tomorrow. The sad contents of my freezer go to a good home tonight. Just in time for Passover.
*I intend to mention menopause a lot in the future. This is sympathetic magic, of a kind. I want it to hurry up and arrive! I'm getting all my earlier symptoms in reverse and the latest one is sleepless nights. Today I was functioning on two hours sleep, which was not enough for an excursion and all those messages and forms and my passport interview and the ritual pre-Passover cookathon. It's certainly not enough for the crit group I am about to attend. Let me, therefore, say the word again and hope that it WORKS: menopause, menopause, menopause.
April 12, 2011
gillpolack @ 2011-04-12T13:29:00
I've finally reached the next state in my Amazing April Sort. What this means is that everything looks quite abominable. Eight bags of rubbish and recycling gone, and my workspace and my kitchen are still fretful and crowded and jostling. One big corner will be emptied on Thursday (when various things go to Marg) and everything else is getting tidy very slowly. As I finish with a book, it moves from the to-do pile to the when-this-piece-has-been-approved/published-this-book-can-make-another-room-feel-crowded pile. That latter pile has a habit of clearing in a rush. Editors must talk to each other...
I have a backpack full of volumes to return to the library tomorrow. If I can add one or two more to that, that will help. If I can read one and a half books (which I had intended to do) today, then yes, more space. Yay for more space!
By Friday, my workspace will be almost tolerable. By Monday, it will be civilised. Then I can start messing it up again.
Also, no matter how many forms I complete, there are more to do. Only two to go this week, I want to say, but that will be famous last words, so I shan't say it. Same thing with reviews. Only one promised one to go, but more books on their way. I want them all done by Monday, regardless. Then I take leave of absence from two (maybe three) editors and can focus on wildly progressing my studies.
I have a backpack full of volumes to return to the library tomorrow. If I can add one or two more to that, that will help. If I can read one and a half books (which I had intended to do) today, then yes, more space. Yay for more space!
By Friday, my workspace will be almost tolerable. By Monday, it will be civilised. Then I can start messing it up again.
Also, no matter how many forms I complete, there are more to do. Only two to go this week, I want to say, but that will be famous last words, so I shan't say it. Same thing with reviews. Only one promised one to go, but more books on their way. I want them all done by Monday, regardless. Then I take leave of absence from two (maybe three) editors and can focus on wildly progressing my studies.
April 11, 2011
gillpolack @ 2011-04-11T22:42:00
Two quick reminders.
First of all, we're looking for photos of any Conflux banquet for the Conflux cookbook. If you have pictures (high resolution) and would like them considered, please get in touch with me ASAP.
The second reminder is that the competition for naming/describing a workshop to be given by me at the next Conflux. So far Mary Victoria is the clear winner. I dare you to persuade her into second place! (no pushing or shoving - just give a more interesting workshop topic and description)
First of all, we're looking for photos of any Conflux banquet for the Conflux cookbook. If you have pictures (high resolution) and would like them considered, please get in touch with me ASAP.
The second reminder is that the competition for naming/describing a workshop to be given by me at the next Conflux. So far Mary Victoria is the clear winner. I dare you to persuade her into second place! (no pushing or shoving - just give a more interesting workshop topic and description)
gillpolack @ 2011-04-11T18:22:00
I still have migraine. I still am ploughing through work. I've actually done nearly 2/3 of what I need to do today, which is not bad, considering. Mind you, I had help.
gillpolack @ 2011-04-11T11:21:00
Monday has begun in a most interesting manner. The new course software has lost one of my proposed courses. It is naturally the one for which there was no backup because my incoming migraine ate that (Of course it did - what else could it have done, let me have a new course straightaway? All I have left is the title.). And of course my incoming migraine turned out to be a rather hefty ache-all-over one. And naturally, heavy machinery has been overwhelming every room of my flat for the last two hours.
Today is, of course, the other day of the deadlines. I shall regard it as a day for doing much and enjoying little. Tomorrow will be better.
In the meantime, I have both pain relievers and chocolate. Also coffee. I believe I shall indulge in all three. I shall also work my way systematically down my gotta-get-this-done list and make it easier for tomorrow to be a better day.
Today is, of course, the other day of the deadlines. I shall regard it as a day for doing much and enjoying little. Tomorrow will be better.
In the meantime, I have both pain relievers and chocolate. Also coffee. I believe I shall indulge in all three. I shall also work my way systematically down my gotta-get-this-done list and make it easier for tomorrow to be a better day.
April 10, 2011
gillpolack @ 2011-04-10T23:12:00
Today is a tad busy. Just a tad. My BFF instructed me to take time out and talk to her, so I did. That's when I realised that I am busy with added migraine. If anyone adds water and stirs, then I shall explode. In fact, thinking about it, I did. I said firmly "I don't want that. Look what happened last time we did things this way." Not with my BFF. With someone else. About something else. All my tact went the way of tact during migraine season and overwork. Anyhow, the migraine will be gone the day after tomorrow, like clockwork. It always does. Until then, I can drown myself in the things that need doing.
If I can clear enough things tonight, then tomorrow I get to write 1800 words of novel. All my guilt at waxing sarcastic and pointing out faults will be expressed in my singular dislike of a particular character. We'll both be the better for it.
(I'm doing much better than I sound - I just need to cross 7 more things off my list tonight and I'll be doing *much* better than I sound. I lost the morning to unwellness.)
If I can clear enough things tonight, then tomorrow I get to write 1800 words of novel. All my guilt at waxing sarcastic and pointing out faults will be expressed in my singular dislike of a particular character. We'll both be the better for it.
(I'm doing much better than I sound - I just need to cross 7 more things off my list tonight and I'll be doing *much* better than I sound. I lost the morning to unwellness.)
April 9, 2011
gillpolack @ 2011-04-10T00:29:00
Today was mostly a planning day. The rest of my April is falling into place, for instance. My brain is still peripatetic and drifting into unknown places. This is largely a combination of the end of a very hectic term, this turning 50 thing, and the fact that Europe's getting closer and closer.
If anyone is after a 2 bedroom flat in Canberra, in a good location, with an absoutely outstanding neighbour, the one next to mine is up for sale. I inspected it today, just to see what the owners had done to make it sale-ready. They now have a decent stove (well, more decent - same type as mine, same model as mine), they've painted almost everything (which is what my migraines were from), put much cheap carpet down and made the patio pretty.
The patio was the clever bit. A thick layer of paint over concrete and bits of furniture made it look very inviting. I'm going to check that paint over time and see if it wears well, however. I suspect it's slippery when wet and will be hard to keep clean.
What interests me about next door is that my library (which is supposed to be the master bedroom) is significantly larger than its counterpart. They lose a chunk of living space to a longer corridor. I celebrated the discovery that more books fit in my place than would fit next door by putting some books away. I also realised that if my books mysteriously disappeared, I really wouldn't have that many possessions. Everything here looks crowded and messy, but it's 6,000+ books in a small space.
Also, possibly too many desks. I have five desks. None of them are big, and they all have their place and their use (one is a bedside table, one is for documents, one for my printers, one for working when I'm sitting on the comfy chair, and one is for the computer) but still, I have five desks. I must like desks. And possibly books.
If anyone is after a 2 bedroom flat in Canberra, in a good location, with an absoutely outstanding neighbour, the one next to mine is up for sale. I inspected it today, just to see what the owners had done to make it sale-ready. They now have a decent stove (well, more decent - same type as mine, same model as mine), they've painted almost everything (which is what my migraines were from), put much cheap carpet down and made the patio pretty.
The patio was the clever bit. A thick layer of paint over concrete and bits of furniture made it look very inviting. I'm going to check that paint over time and see if it wears well, however. I suspect it's slippery when wet and will be hard to keep clean.
What interests me about next door is that my library (which is supposed to be the master bedroom) is significantly larger than its counterpart. They lose a chunk of living space to a longer corridor. I celebrated the discovery that more books fit in my place than would fit next door by putting some books away. I also realised that if my books mysteriously disappeared, I really wouldn't have that many possessions. Everything here looks crowded and messy, but it's 6,000+ books in a small space.
Also, possibly too many desks. I have five desks. None of them are big, and they all have their place and their use (one is a bedside table, one is for documents, one for my printers, one for working when I'm sitting on the comfy chair, and one is for the computer) but still, I have five desks. I must like desks. And possibly books.
April 8, 2011
gillpolack @ 2011-04-08T23:38:00
I have rationalised my life. I now have only three books to read between now and Monday (four in a pinch). My diminished reading began this evening.
I could have done housework with all this free time, but instead I did precisely nothing. I did nothing, however, with great thought and intuition.
I could have done housework with all this free time, but instead I did precisely nothing. I did nothing, however, with great thought and intuition.
gillpolack @ 2011-04-08T18:27:00
I've done all the easy things on my list for today - I've read a book and a bit, drafted some dissertation, sent some urgent emails, started sorting my cupboard for Passover.
Most of the stuff I planned to sort and the writing I intended to do will have to wait until I find the rest of my brain. I've sent out search parties, but they haven't reported back in. Until then, I'm stuck starting a search then forgetting what I was looking for and why and beginning a paragraph and wondering what I was writing. I look at the book I'm supposed to be reviewing and wonder what it was about.
Some days are just like that. Tomorrow will be sufficient for all but two items on my to-do list. It's going to have to be.
Mind you, today wasn't nearly as quietly desperate as it sounds, just a bit tired and lagging. Yesterday was a bit similar and, because of that, I read five books. This means I now have only six books to read between now and Monday and only one of these is dauntingly long. That's definitely achievable, especially if I can manage another 400 pages before I go to bed.
Most of the stuff I planned to sort and the writing I intended to do will have to wait until I find the rest of my brain. I've sent out search parties, but they haven't reported back in. Until then, I'm stuck starting a search then forgetting what I was looking for and why and beginning a paragraph and wondering what I was writing. I look at the book I'm supposed to be reviewing and wonder what it was about.
Some days are just like that. Tomorrow will be sufficient for all but two items on my to-do list. It's going to have to be.
Mind you, today wasn't nearly as quietly desperate as it sounds, just a bit tired and lagging. Yesterday was a bit similar and, because of that, I read five books. This means I now have only six books to read between now and Monday and only one of these is dauntingly long. That's definitely achievable, especially if I can manage another 400 pages before I go to bed.
gillpolack @ 2011-04-08T12:49:00
The Bureau of Meteorology radar tells me that we're going to have fine weather for a little. We always get a few days of fine weather when the rainfall mimics the coastline. I like it that you can tell the shape of at least one country by following the rain.
