....and a Blow out

The superbowl just ended with the Giants upsetting the Patriots. I have to sympathise when a team goes undefeated the whole season only to lose at the final hurdle.

Bosses, Bossiness and Buckets

Our new Volunteer Manager at the hospital, Ca, started in the position today and joined us for lunch in the staff cafeteria. Didn't get to chat with her very much but there is plenty of time for that ahead. Ge told us that my coworker in Medical Records, Fn, suffered a fall whilst visiting her family in South Carolina USA and has fractured her collar bone and broken ribs. She is trying to rearrange her return flight to Australia which is likely to be pretty uncomfortable with those injuries. She was to have returned to work on 18 February but clearly won't be able to now.

The cafeteria was packed, no doubt because it is bucketing down with rain today. The rain hasn't let up all day and the drive home was in murky conditions with lights on.

Whilst at lunch we talked about an item that appeared in yesterday's Sunday Telegraph gossip pages. The 'Guess who don't sue' column contained the following item;

Which blonde power businesswoman ran amok at XX Hospital turning people's televisions off and the like as it interfered with her peace and quiet?

Je knows the inside information and it turns out it is the same woman who had me losing my cool the other week. I didn't feel so bad about calling her rude once I learned how bad that woman's reputation is.

Trash and treasure

Every three months the council has a collection of unwanted household items. In my area these collections are held on a Monday and for the weekend preceding it residents leave their unwanted trash on the footpaths making the suburb look like a dumping ground. It is amusing to see others before the collection wading through this stuff and taking what seems valuable to them. The rest remains in the wind and rain until the collection occurs. This photo taken at 9.30 this morning shows a selection of trash left from my building.

Charlie Wilson's war

A rainy Sunday, perfect for the movies. Went to Bondi Junction Westfield Centre and saw Charlie Wilson's War. A beautifully written film explaining how an unknown Congressman, urged on by a wealthy Texan socialite, turned the course of events following the Soviet invasion in Afghanistan. The film states it is based on a true story and it provides a fascinating insight into United States and International politics. It also is a depressing insight into the politics of money and self interest. I recommend this film.

Afterwards I had lunch in the centre's food court. I bought something called New York chicken mash sandwich. I suppose this is what you might find in a New York deli. A hearty sandwich on rye bread with chicken pieces, not exactly the advertised mash, and lettuce, cheese and some other crunchy bits that I couldn't make out - could have been celery and onion in mayonnaise. In fact it was a tasty and filling sandwich. My only complaint being that it was far too big. This one sandwich was cut into four pieces each of which was sufficient for a sandwich in itself. Next time I should have three friends with me and we can purchase one between us.

Lucky Boheme

After a night and morning of rain the weather has miraculously cleared this afternoon in time for tonight's annual opera in the park performance. Opera Australia is staging that old reliable, La Boheme. Usually 80,000 to 100,000 attend but if it rains tonight like it did last night they'd be lucky to get 1,000. In fact it probably would be cancelled. As it is, the audience will need ground sheets to cover what will be wet grass in the Domain.

All freeze

This looks like fun.

Hands and feet

I visit the podiatrist every six weeks and Tm is the podiatrist I see. This morning it was time for my latest visit. I am attracted to lean men and Tm, at what I estimate to be about 1.85m and 65kgs, is skinny rather than lean. Not that he isn't attractive. His boyish face and wide smile make him look younger than I imagine is his age. I assume he is about 26 years old. He wears stove type trousers that snugly fit a very cute bubble butt. Tm is married and clearly straight. I envy his wife who has that gorgeous butt to grab hold of when they are making love.

One advantage of being in the podiatrist's chair as distinct from the dentist's chair is that you sit over the podiatrist. So, in Tm's case I can view his crotch and package outline from an ever changing variety of perspectives as he moves about my feet on his chair with wheels. It is a delightful way to spend what otherwise would be a fairly dull 30 minutes.

Podiatrists by virtue of their profession are probably tactile people. Tm seems to be. At this morning's appointment conversation somehow drifted on to hand sizes and without any prompting from me Tm offered his hand against mine, palm to palm, to compare ours. It was a very pleasurable moment. My hand was slightly bigger than his, Tm gauged. For a brief moment I wondered whether we might move on to comparing other anatomical aspects. That is a comparison I could only lose.....you know what they say about skinny boys and their cock size!

Colin and Eamon Farrell

I saw this posting on ichatgay.com.

Colin Farrell is to be best man at his brother's civil partnership ceremony. Eamon Farrell, 35, is planning to marry his 23-year-old boyfriend Steven Mannion after a proposing to him in New York last year. According to the Mirror: "Eamon proposed before Christmas. The pair share a love of art and this is what brought them together. Eamon is a respected dance teacher who set up the National Performing Arts School in Dublin more than 10 years ago. And Steven is a really talented artist who has been welcomed into the Farrell family." The Farrell brothers are very close, and have bought houses next door to each other in Sandymount, South Dublin. The couple have not yet decided where they will exchange vows but it won't be in the Republic because of Irish legislation.

Can we see a bit a less of..........

......Britney Spears and Tom Brady please.

Spears seems to be caught in an endless cycle of celebrity and papparazi mania which not only is boring but incredibly sad. She has fallen so far that she has ended up achieving what seemed impossible; making Kevin Federline seem reasonable.

Brady on the other hand seems to be flavour of the month because he left some model and his football team has made the superbowl. I must say that he looked half way attractive to me in some photographs but then the other night I saw him being interviewed by a Mexican journalist dressed in a bridal gown who asked him to marry her. His rather dull reaction to this woman's approach made me feel Brady has the personality of a dead fish.

All quiet on the hospital front

A steady day in Admissions today and as usual for a Friday it was busier in the morning than the afternoon. At the time I finished work there were fewer than the average number of late 'add ons' to deal with. There were several younger men amongst the admitting patients including a naval Lieutenant but he proved less cute than I was hoping. The wife of another patient, down from the country, came laden with luggage. Five items of admittedly very stylish luggage had me staggering like a hotel concierge when I assisted her. I noticed that the husband's luggage was not nearly as glamorous. The discharging patients proved more problematic than usual with one deep in argument with Ky and Ma about charges. I spied an attractive looking nurse across the cafeteria at lunchtime who was in animated discussion with his lunch companions in a manner that attracted my gaydar. I will keep a look out for him in future.

It's way too hot

Storm clouds gathering......I hope they clear the heat and humidity away.

A lazy lunch at Coogee

(Image: David Bailey)

A gorgeous day today for lunch at the Legion Club in Coogee. Superbly situated across the road from the beach the bistro is on the first floor balcony allowing splendid views of the ocean - not to mention the cute surfers returning from the beach in their damp speedos.

Ae has just joined the club and organised lunch with Ba, Sy, Hn, Bb and myself. The food fitted the setting and the helpings (unfortunately for our swelling figures) were generous. Bb ordered Blue Eye cod and Ba in a seafood mode too had a delicious looking Pasta Marinara. Sy and Hn both stuck to Caesar Salad (not my idea of fun) whilst Ae and I got stuck into T-bone steak with peppercorn sauce. I'm a sucker for that sauce.

Unsurprisingly for such a good location and such a beautiful day the balcony was packed with diners.

Driving away from lunch, Ba received a call from a Gf and arranged to meet him at 5pm. After concluding the call all that Ba could say to us when we asked whether Gf was a new beau was 'shit, shit, shit.....how do I get myself into these situations'. Sounds like an unwelcome date.

Rats

Banners on display in Sydney's CBD promoting the festival for Chinese New Year. It is the Year of the Rat. I think most gay men can tell stories of rats they have known.

A market to celebrate the New Year is being held this weekend in Belmore Park near Chinatown.

Rufus Wainwright

Mk and I went to See Rufus Wainwright tonight. Neither of us is familiar with his work but a capacity audience clearly was and responded adoringly to each number. It was a very enjoyable show. Rufus displayed considerable diversity in his choice of songs and also in his costumes. Before interval he appeared in a dazzling Liberace style suit and after interval reappeared dressed like an Austrian boy scout. For an encore, Rufus turned out a la Judy Garland in high heels, long stockings, coat and fedora. A fun night.

Rufus performed at the State theatre, a 1930s movie house that no longer shows movies apart from exceptional events such as the annual Sydney Film Festival. The theatre was not designed for stage productions and is hindered by a small stage, wings and backstage facilities. Nonetheless, the theatre is a marvel and a great location simply because of its lavishness and atmosphere. The picture above is taken inside the auditorium and the picture below is in a foyer where many television advertisements have been filmed promoting glamorous products.

David Beckham

(AP image)

David Beckham intrigues me but sometimes I have to wonder. It's ironic that he is wearing a Tee which reads 'Protect the skin you're in' when his own skin is covered in tattoos.

Edward Scissorhands

Just saw a news item on television about Matthew Bourne's ballet version of Edward Scissorhands which is coming to the Sydney Opera House in April. It included an interview with the dancer Matthew Malthouse. He is a real cutie and looked very much like Johnny Depp in his makeup.

Too much humidity

I feel really tired and it's not just because it was busy at the hospital today. I didn't sleep well last night. It was too humid and I felt sweaty in bed. I got up a number of times and tried to get myself sleepy by watching television. That usually works but not last night. I even thought about masturbating and making myself sleepy that way but I just felt too listless in the damp to try.

February is just around the corner and it is such a humid month in Sydney. I hope we have some relief tonight. I don't want to lie awake for hours again tonight.

From the wards

(Source: The New Yorker)

As I suspected, it turned out to be a pretty busy day for Admissions at the hospital. Not only was it the day after a long weekend but also the first day back after the Christmas/New Year break for many.

Lots of last minute admissions arrived straight from the admitting doctors' offices to be squeezed into the admissions program. Hopefully those admitting doctors are more on the ball than the one depicted in the New Yorker cartoon.

Lunch in the hospital's staff cafeteria was fun with Cs, Da, Jl and Il all comparing notes about movies and shows we had seen. Cs and I became more queenly and excitable the longer the conversation continued. Il shocked Cs by disapproving of two men kissing on stage at the 2003 Emmys ceremony but Cs bit his tongue and stayed mute when I think his first reaction was to bite back. Il mollified Cs somewhat by saying she didn't want to see heteros kissing on stage at these ceremonies either. I couldn't tell whether this was a genuine view or a statement intended to soothe Cs' ruffled feathers.

We also gossiped about Ca taking over as a manager from next week. Unfortunately Ca's reputation precedes her and it looks like when she takes over the volunteers will be wary. Ca faces a difficult task to win respect.

Dwarves' Trojan horse bus raids

This odd item appears in Sydney's Daily Telegraph today.

Cunning gangs are robbing unsuspecting bus passengers blind by smuggling dwarves into suitcases and getting them to raid luggage holds.

The thieves then take the booty back to their hiding place and wait to be collected by mates when the bus reaches its destination.

Thousands of dollars in cash, jewellery and other valuables have been pilfered in recent months, Britain's The Sun newspaper reports.

The raids began on Sweden's Swebus, with a spokesman confirming: "We have had reports about several thefts by dwarves on the stretch between Vasteras and Stockholm. We're thinking of installing video cameras."

A Stockholm Police spokesman admitted: "We are looking at our records to identify criminals of limited stature."

Distractions

It's not often that a cute younger man appears at our bridge club so I'm rarely distracted by the sight of other players in the room. Tonight, however, a younger man was playing and whilst he wasn't super cute his polo shirt was sufficiently short to display his bare torso as he leaned backwards and forwards in his chair. He was sitting level with me at the adjoining table and I spent far too much time snatching glances. Needless to say I made some silly mistakes playing and bidding and we didn't do very well. We finished 7 out of 9 with 47.5%