Peterson's Champagne House Sparkling Pinot Noir.

Which has a bouquet that smells like dog. I'm serious.

See, now you're giving me the same looks that the guy at the cellar door did. It freaking does! Not like bad dog or wet dog. Just dog.

After a furious conversation with my better half in the car, I realised that it smelled like dog fur, specifically, the lanolin that is released when you brush a big dog, like a rottweiler or a golden lab. Which is a nice warm smell.

I'm not crazy. It's my palate, not his!

Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related families of wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera.

So I've learned something. In the small area of the Hunter Valley that I visited (just around the cottage) there are five seperate species of ants. Wikipedia was no help in identifying them, though. There were huge black ones, hugeish red ones with black heads and abdomens (which I learned are endangered Sugar Ants!), medium sized reddish-purple ones with elegant N-shaped legs, little red ones with big heads and tiny black ones. I explained these interesting facts to Tanja, who called me a schoolboy and didn't understand my enthusiasm.

I found a boll weevil too, but they're not meant to be here in Australia.

Oh, and we got seven-and-a-half cases of wine (each of which seems to be more costly than last year's cases, proof that my tastes are improving) and had some fantastic meals.

But the ants! Wow.

Ass Whiplash

So I took part in this work event called Rumble in the Park. It pits rival offices against one another in challenges. My event was called the horizontal bungee. It involves running along a jumping-castle-like-lane with a harness and three bungee cords attached to it. you run as far as you can, place a Velcro sponge on the line, then the cord snaps you back. The first run snapped me back so far that I landed on my shoulders, neck and head, then rolled backwards onto my stomach. I felt nothing then.

"Then" being the operative word.

The next morning I couldn't raise my head off the pillow. The tendons at the front of my neck were screaming, my abs (such as they are) felt strained and the muscles along my spine and neck were seized up. Cue headache. I took some Nurofen and Tanja put some Voltarin on my back which let me walk around as long as I kept my head still.

It's amazing how much your head moves when you're talking to someone on the phone while using a computer. I lasted about an hour at work before calling sick. Tanja had the number of the Sports Physio place at the University, so I booked an appointment.

Turns out I have whiplash. The Physio said I had symptoms common in car accidents Or, as he added wryly "horizontal bungee injuries." Hardy har har.

So my stomach muscles are bruised, my neck needed realignment (read: cracking) and my neck muscles and the tendons at the front of my neck needed deep-tissue-massage. Which fucking hurt. I felt ok for most of the rest of the day, the symptoms only coming back around 8:30. I have a followup scheduled today.

My neck hurts.

Also, in an odd confluence of circumstances, I hurt my nose last night. I was plugging the DVD player in behind the TV stand and I bumped the wires leading to the PS2 controllers, one of which crashed to the floor. The other, sensing what was causing danger, fell from about a 4 ft height and cracked me on the side of the nose. This, to Tanja, was the funniest thing ever. I have a bruise there now.

I'm falling apart.

Market Saturation

A strange thing occurred Wednesday. I was in the lift with Phil, Wendy, Sam and Louise from work. Phil was wearing the Commander Keen shirt I had made him the day before. I looked over and Louise had on a shirt that Mark had got her (which I also made) saying "Louise is a big dirty whore". Sam was wearing a shirt Louise had gotten her, which I had made saying "If Found, Please Return To Pub." Wendy had a shirt with two emo kids on it that I had made. The only person in the elevator without a shirt made by me...

...was me.

It was very surreal.

I do see my work around the office, though I've yet to see a stranger on the street wearing one.

One day.

Rainy Day Off

I like the sound the keyboard makes when I'm typing fast. Makes me long to have a typewriter again.

Well I'm home sick today. After the stress of Wednesday Night Live I was bone-tired last night and my back was aching (Tanja thinks it's due to the lifting and carrying of things). This mroning I woke up feeling like someone had punched me in the face and then clipped me on the back of the neck with a sledgehammer. My face all around my nose hurt and my shoulders were tense all around my spine. I took some tablets and had a hot shower, which eased the ache in my face a little, but not the back of my head. Called Farid, called in sick.

Damnit, what was I going to say? It'll come to me.

Watched Hannibal Rising this morning. Started off halfway interesting but kind of lost it in the last 30 minutes.

Oh right! That was it.

Possibly due to people in Hannibal Rising singing German folk songs (odd, since the early part of the film is set in Lithuania), I have a French Christmas song stuck in my head. I've never sung it myself, but I've seen it in lots of films and heard choirs sing it. If it comes on in a film that I'm watching with my Dad (Ronin, being a recent example) he sings along in French. Apparently, it was drilled into him as a child. Problem is, I don't know the title, or even the words. It kind of goes "da da DA da-da-da da daaa, da-da-da-dada-daa-daa-daa-daa..." Ok, that's not working. Anywhoo. I tried looking in the credits of Ronin, but there are tons of classical songs in that. I'll ask Dad next time I see him.

Stolen blatantly from TheFerrett, but you guys gotta see this.

Wow.

That Hound Dog's a mean wine....

Yesterday was the farewell party Ops support had for the coaches (who are returning to being regular-joe CSRs as of Monday). I had three or four little cups of champagne with the others, and when another bottle was sent for, I asked for a bottle of wine. I asked for a Hound Dog Cab Sav, which I had drank before and knew was *ahem* affordable. They came back with a Hound Dog Shiraz. I had two cups of that, and all of a sudden I couldn't focus. It wasn't drunkenness. It felt like I imagine a concussion must feel. I made it home, couldn't eat dinner, and promptly passed out on the bed. Two hours later I woke up with a huge headache, a queasy stomach and muscles quivering and weak. I was able to eat a bit then, with Tanja helping to keep me conscious. After downing some tablets, I had a shower and went back to bed. Twice during the night I had to take more headache tablets, and the second time a Valerian root pill to put me to sleep.

This morning I took yet more tablets and had a big breakfast, but I still felt queasy, tired, and headachey. I had a short practice with Ted, but then begged off. I still feel like crap, even after a shower, food, and still more tablets.

Tanja reckons it was the preservatives in the wine that are screwing with my system. Ugh. I dunno.