Trysting Fields

Stuff I Did This Year

In a nutshell: systematically climbed the fuck out of hell. Again. (See previously: 2005; 2007; 2009.)

And it's good! Can't complain.

:)

"Friends - you know who you are; you know we're grateful." - Blur, 1993. (Seriously. If ever a year was about Who Your Real Friends Are, it was 2011.)

Similarly, those who have fucked me up and fucked me over this year most likely know who they are also, and possibly how I feel about this (hint: angry, bewildered and sad) - with the possible exception of the Rt Hon Lord Mayor of Melbourne Robert Doyle (note contact details), who I strongly suspect does not have any idea who I am.

(I also doubt he reads this blog. But since it just can't be said often enough I might as well take this opportunity to (re)state, for the record: Robert Doyle, you're a fucking cunt. You really are.)

The bulk of this year's SIDTY post I rendered in audio format at the coast a few nights ago. It goes into a bit more detail (although, to be honest, not all that much). Enjoy:

Vale 2011. Viva 2012.

Happy new year!

~ Occuparty ~

Saturday, 17th December.

Tentmonster Rally

Saturday, 10th December.

Footage of (failed) police raid the same night here (207 MB).

Fifth Of November

F#$book Is In, Apparently

One of the main reasons my blog is so dead these days is that all the action it might once have seen is now occurring on my two Facebook accounts.

FB - rapacious motherfucker that it is - has eaten my blog.

I'm not particularly happy about this, but so it goes. Can't force shit.

Here is the news:

I am doing alright; better even. I've become a bit decadent over the semester break but that's okay. I need a new job, and I've all but decided to defer school for the rest of the year to focus on making some money and generally sloughing off the final vestiges of My Worst Depression Since 2005 (tm) - which is, pleasingly, drawing to a close fucking FINALLY.

Bring on spring.

I had another bustup with Lady J the week before last, which has made me a bit sad. But I'll get over it. And in thematically related news, I'm still estranged from my former associate the artist sometimes known as Schnozzie, which also continues to cause me grief.

Being severely alienated from people you love a lot and have epic history with really sucks.

What else? My sister moved house last weekend, which was a major operation and marked the end of an era. Her new place is massive - she now has her own studio, which I am very envious of - and her new housemates are lovely. Yay Toots's new house.

Finally: I'm having a birthday party on September 24th. It's going to go OFF. You should totally come.

Generally speaking we're on the up, at long last.

That is all for now!!!

So I Went To A Party Last Night

At my friend Dan Cross's house.

We've known and lived around the corner from each other for about three years, but it's only this year that we've started hanging out regularly for whatever reason. It's been good.

I've been living la vida recluse of late and ergo felt severely awkward and freakish initially. But the night came extremely good in the end and did excellent things for my faith in people and awesomeness, etc.

Here's a photo I took at around 1:30am, the point at which I started to feel the full force of the awesome and was compelled to document it:

It was also at around this time that former operative Deadsoybean sent me some audio, which means that - as per a bargain we struck on January 30th - I can now send her the handmade thing she is owed under the terms of a F$&book status meme I posted a month or so ago.

(The preceding post was a picture of the first handmade thing, which was for Master Luke Hand. The next one will go to Jonathan Carfax. The one after that to the legendary Twyllan Mynodal, and the last to the artist formerly known as MC Gezus.)

Here's some audio I recorded for Carfax (starring the aforementioned Dan Cross) on the night of January 23rd, when I made Soybean's thing:

I like this audio a lot. I've listened to it over and over in late night goon stupours and it's made me happy. I don't know why. (If anyone wants me to bleep out their name, they can freakin complain.)

What else? I'm in a quandry about whether to go back to school in March or defer again. I kind of liked the idea of graduating in December 2012, just in time for the Mayan apocalypse/whatever. But when the world ends/whatever it won't really matter whether I have a whole diploma of visual art or just half of one. And that I'm so not sure suggests to me that I should save it for when I'm feeling less not-sure.

I could do it part time but that seems half-assed, and I don't really do half-assed.

Dunno.

So hungover rn omg. I'm going back to bed.

Stuff I Did This Year

My 2010 started on a high. Life was good and all the stars were aligned, etc. Unfortunately the wheels started to come off in the second quarter and the second half was an increasingly shitful and regressive abortion.

So it goes. We'll do this as many times as we have to.

Amongst other things (hosting some fairly awesome dinner parties, etc) I:

• Went to Thailand;
• Started studying art in fulfilment of longterm ambitions (alongside baby sis);
• Went part time halfway through first semester (see also baby sis);
• Reconciled with a former close associate after a long estrangement, which made me very happy;
• Got very suddenly & unexpectedly shitcanned by a then-close associate three weeks later, with the inverse effect;
• Deferred school and everything else and moped around reclusively for months doing increasingly little except thinking about everything, with increasingly hilarious consequences;
• Turned 34 24 2.0;
• Slapped myself around some for having fucked up so badly, thereby fucking things up more;
• Got a job and started to apply the breaks.

I'm not going to thank specific people Oscar-stylez like I have the last two years.

People who've been awesome: thanks. People in general: also that other thing. Seriously.

Life is improving. I think we'll be doing just fine if we relax a little.

Happy new year.

Sat With My Legs Over The Gateposts Out The Front Of My House This Afternoon

Wondering if I'd lost my shiny new job due to being too discombobulated, a random passing woman stopped and said to me, randomly, "You could totally get a job as a gate."

I was unsure how to respond to this.

"Y'know, if you ever need one," she clarified.

I was skeptical. I couldn't raise my legs like a tollbar. I actually tried. But then it occurred to me that - although it was slightly awkward - I could swing them to one side.

"See, there's always an angle," she said.

As randoms who approach you for no ostensive reason when you're tripped-out mental invariably seem to be, she was dead on the money.

(Previously; previously.)

Dinner Party V

Saturday 17th July.

Most fiasco-tastic DP evar! It's been a bit like that lately. I almost gave up and cancelled it. But I'm very glad I didn't, coz despite all kinds of stupid problems in the end it still went OFF.

(10:21pm; 4min 59sec)

Amongst other things, the DPP planning committee encountered considerable guestlist difficulty. Despite and at least partly because of no less than three date changes aimed at accommodating them all and genuine enthusiasm from at least some quarters, exactly none of the invitees I'd originally lined up ultimately managed to make it.

(10:55pm; 1min 17sec)

Which might have been considered a fairly abject fail - were it not for the inspiringly circus-saving company of previous-attendee legends who, in flagrant violation of DPP rules, valiantly braved the cold and brought the awse instead: Matt K (DPs I and III), Twyllan (DP II), Henley (DP III), Sarah aka The Major (DP IV), Pablo (DPP virgin), Luke (DP IV), and of course Grimsey (DPs I, II, III and IV). Fucken <3.

(12:24am; 4min 28sec)

It was an unprecedentedly structured DP. As per a preestablished order of proceedings there was soup, then salad, then pie, then the merciless destruction and defilement of an old chair that had unforgiveably given way under DP I alumnus Bourkie at CH the night before. Then, naturally, muffins.

(1:16am; 2min 26sec)

Along the way there were tears (not really); there was laughter. It was epic.

(2:34am; 2min 49sec)

:)

Friday 2nd July.

Thailand (Three)

Bangkok, 2nd February.

Stuff I Did This Year

This year was all about recovery. It started out in the absolute pits of hell, slowly got better, and - a few ickle problems here and there aside, but whatcha gonna do - ended all up in unmitigated gnarley.

Result.

As per last year I feel more like talking about people than doings or accomplishments. Specifically, and without wanting to get too gushy, all the people who've helped me in all their various ways to remember what the whole circus is about. Really forgot for a while there. Fucken' sucked.

So couldn't have done it without yiz.

Thanks. Seriously.

• Mum, Dad & Jess.
• Ben.
• Despite - and partly because of - some serious difficulties, Liv (and co).
• Henley.
• On an obscure tip: Martha, Dolly, Magnus, Tim, my secret admirer, and the other Barn*by Ev*ns on Facebook.
• Li.
• Nada A.
• Nada Z (nb not technically a person, but we'll let it slide).
• Em & co.
• Kav. Georgie. Twyllan. Kinkel. Vicwie. Sims. Brendan. Zanella. The Major. Freedman. 2003 & co. And all the countless other people at/from my thankfully now-former work who are fucking awesome. But most especially them.
• Relatedly: motorscooting Keith! Party and associates - most especially Bourkie, and Carol. We don't really know Trajstman yet - but you may rest assured we intend to.
• Cel.
• Freakley.
• Mr Ad*m F*rd (not the poet), and Mr D. Allan.
• Grimsey.
• Gab, obvs, and associates not previously mentioned, especially Pets & Dech (+ Scott, Ewan, Chirsp etc etc etc).
• And last, but the exact opposite of least: Ms M. F. "prog081" Evans and associates, esp. Kat, Hayley, Fran & co, Ange & Chloe.

The admittedly sometimes finite limitations of my resources notwithstanding, these people can - at any time, and to whatever extent they may deem necessary and/or desirable - stand the fuck under my umbrella.

I'd also like to extend a really colossal, biblical-epic-stylez "fuck you" to one or two other individuals whose selfish, infantile cuntishness and astonishing lack of Vision (tm), conversely, reeeallly hasn't helped. Anyone. But I won't. It won't help. We can only have faith that in time they will grow the hearts, brains, spines and souls they surprisingly appear to lack.

Having A Soul: It's Good.

:)

Happy new year.

Just, Wow

Whole calendar month without a new post. This has never happened before in the entire history of TF.

The reason it's occurred is that:

• I recorded some audio of Liv drunkenly abusing Henley at my birthday party, which I didn't want to listen to for fear it'd be excrutiatingly embarrassing.
• Subsequently-captured media started to pile up behind it.
• The whole thing became a procrastination bomb of horror proportions.

The stupidest part is I already know I can't actually use the aforementioned audio anyway, coz L has - not unreasonably - vetoed this.

Then I got distracted preparing for art school interviewage, which finished today. (Went well; we're happy.)

But now there's no excuse. We're gonna grind through it this week, before CH Dinner Party II on Friday night.

Please stay tuned.

FTW!

It'll come good.

Yup.