I took a different walk today... mostly so I could get some different images for the Montage... it was a variation on the Riverwalk walk I did a while back, but on the other side of the bank, and for longer... but I'll babble about it more later, since I think there's probably going to be a bumper crop of babble this morning...And now the phrase that strikes fear into all those that know me... "I've been thinking"... in this case, thinking about my mobile and it's ringtones and whatnot... and suddenly wondered if I could use MP3's and wav files on there for tones and alerts and suchlike... actually I think it was the wav file thing that I thought about first, but one I started playing, the MP3 thing did appear in my brain... and, big surprise (or not)... you can... although not all the wav files wanted to play once I got them on my phone... one turning into this long drawn out version of itself that kinda scared me, and the other one just flat out wouldn't play...
But now, when I get an SMS on my phone it goes "Pikachu"... I also have a quote from the movie Beetlejuice ("I will go insane and I will take you with me") and one from Buffy's Willow ("That's me as a vampire... I'm so evil and skanky... and I think I'm kinda gay") in reserve for when I get tired of the Pokemon thing...
I also stuck 'N Sync's Pop (the same version as on my compilation CD) on there as my generic ringtone and Tom Jones' version of She's a Lady (ala Miss Congeniality) on for when Ma calls me...
And speaking of phones, there was a whole world of drama with Ma's phone on our Saturday excursion extravaganza...
I gotta say though, Saturday, while a fun day, full of some new experiences and whatnot, was a VERY, VERY long day...
As has become standard of late, Ma and I were on the go from around about 8am or so, first with the general grocery shopping, and then into town to pick up her mobile, which was supposedly fixed, from Optus World... it turned out that we had to go back there again because although the repair folks fixed whatever the problem was, they forgot to reinstall all the Optus software, including all the ringtones and wallpapers and themes and whatnot... Not happy... but hopefully we can get that fixed with a quick visit to the nice folks at the Nokia Service Center for a "rebranding", whatever that is, and it won't have to go away again...
Before we did that though, we went into Tabletop & Kitchen in Gawler Place, which is having a Closing Down sale and selling off all their stuff... now, there is actually only one thing more dangerous than Ma and I in a kitchenware shop having a sale, and that is Ma and I in an office supply store having a sale... and possibly Ma and I at the post Christmas sales for Christmas items... so much stuff... so much cheaper... I only ended up with a couple of bits of things... but Ma's "I could give that to somebody for Christmas" supplies were expanded once again...
On the way down to Optus World, we swung past my hairdressers so I could make a booking since I'm majorly in need of a haircut... and joy of joy of joys... my Tinkerbell Hair Girly, Kathy, is back from parts interstate (with new and very cute hair)... yaaaaay... and Thursday is Haircut Day... double yaaaaay...
We also stopped off (before starting the trawling through cheap shops for art supplies) at The Charity Card Shop, so Ma could pick up some Christmas cards... now while I haven't been there for what feels like a million years (probably about the same length of time since I last actually sent Christmas cards), I still have a soft spot for the CCS though... the cards are cheap (mostly under $1), there are a variety of designs, some tacky, some actually pretty cool... and you're helping charity... what I didn't realise is that there are ones in other states... Sydney has one, and so do Brisbane and Melbourne...
So, after the kitchenware, and the mobile store, and the Christmas cards, and the first lot of art supplies... what could be better than stopping off for a nice cup of coffee... so, imagine my surprise as we wandered down the Mall to be confronted by that big iconic green and white sign... yes, Starbucks has finally come to Adelaide! So recently, it would seem, that the store didn't appear on the website when I checked it out last night. And, yes, I know that Starbucks is a big evil corporate homogenetic entity... but I will admit to being inordinately pleased to see that we finally got one... Like, really, really, really pleased... yeah, I know... I need to get out more...
It was also both amusing and pleasing to see that they had the Starbucks Adelaide mug... which, although orange, actually had a nice view of the river on them (and ties in nicely with today's Montage really)... and were roughly the size of my head. And if they weren't $19.95, and I wasn't broke, I would have been able to send one to Michael over at Pipedreams... sorry Mikey...
I will say this as one of the downsides to Starbucks, and, well, just service people in general... don't ask me what I'm up to today... don't ask me how my day has been so far... just do what you're there to do, get me my damn Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino iced coffee (tall, and hold the whipped cream) and don't try and be my friend... okay?
That is, unless you happen to be very groovy and interesting and have a stall in the East End Rundle Street Markets (which although I still think was a bad idea to run on a Saturday instead of a Sunday, was a very pleasant surprise). Actually the Market was very cool... but, I have to say, there was just something WRONG about walking down the middle of Rundle Street on a Saturday afternoon and not having traffic... weird...
Ma was the main winner at the Market though... we found a woman who does a Leafy Sea Dragon print on silk (part of her ongoing seahorse fetish)... a woman who restrings beads (and is also a qualified geologist, scary)... both of whom Ma got cards from so she could contact them... and she also picked up a couple of very groovy but also incredibly cheap glass pendants (with a plain torc necklace), while I bonded with the very funky, purple haired and green & purple face painted girly who worked in the stall (which also did a range of quasi twisted designs on cloth bags that was about 50% Happy Tree Friends and 50% Emily the Strange... I so have to go back there when she starts printing onto other things... although getting a teeshirt in the right size may be problematic)...
Actually it was nice to know that even though my very highly tuned and refined Freak Detector hasn't been used to bond with new interesting yet freaky people in quite a long while (well, you know... real, live, actual people... not you lot), it still works really well... Purple Girly and I were getting on like a house on fire in minutes...
One thing that I will totally recommend at the Market... Fast Life Organic's truly amazing organic donut ball thingies (I can't remember what they're actually called) with either chocolate sauce or this honey glaze stuff... I gotta say, as much as I LOVE chocolate... go the honey ones! Seriously... so divine, so decadent, so yummy! I will definitely have to go and check out the rest of their food too, looks good...
It was after a trawl through the Market that we pretty much called it a day... well, after we got the last couple of bits and piece of my art supplies anyway...
Oh, and for the record, although I didn't actually mention them before know, I just worked out what the batch of about a zillion little bits of pointed wood are that came with my canvases... they're canvas tightening keys or wedges, used if the canvas begins to sag a little on the stretcher... who knew! It's not like they came with instructions or even a label saying what they were... there were just a little plastic baggie full of bits of wood, stapled to the back of the frame... and thanks to said keys, I also discovered what could be a very cool online guide to painting...
Actually, I'm very surprised I didn't actually dream about either art or painting on Saturday night... we bought all the supplies, then I sketched out a couple of ideas while watching DVD's... and when I woke up Sunday morning part of my brain did wonder if I'd been dreaming about painting... but not that I remember anyway...
Like I said yesterday, I didn't intend to actually do a complete painting on Sunday, but at some point I seemed to sink into a Random Artistic Sunday Coma... not only the painting, but I also picked out the three images for my final Camera Club competition on Tuesday... I only get three entries, because it's the Eric Robertson Trophy for Portraiture again... knowing my luck, now that I've decided to actually leave, I will win the trophy and have to come back in December for the presentation... hehe... it's possible... just not very probable...
Just as a general shout-out to the universe... Dammit, dammit, dammit... no more lunchtime Queer Eye... what the hell am I going to watch while I eat my lunch now?
And in the "God, do I have to?" basket this week is an SMS to, and possibly a phone call to or from and maybe even coffee or lunch with my cousin... she's having random drama both at work and at home by the sounds of it, and mentioned to Ma that she would like to catch up with us both, but Ma doesn't think the timing will work out for a couple of weeks, and in grand motherly fashion she wants me to work my very blunt magic on La Cousin and possibly pull a whole Mentor Mode thing on her... but while La Cousin and I were very close when we were kids, we're VERY different people these days, so it could be vaguely like poking myself in the eye with something sharp... it'll be nice when it's over...
I also need to pin down Stu on this photo excursion I suggested to him last week... if he doesn't give me a decent answer as to when he'd free, I'll just go my damn self...
I get the feeling that it's just going to be one of those weeks this week...
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