Ouch!

I have this stabbing pain in my upper back on the left hand side. Practicing piano is a bit painful. Using the computer isn't much better. Uh-oh.
Thankfully, I am going to the physio tomorrow for a massage. He's pretty good at inflicting more pain (or just pressure) to relieve pain somehow...
The Moleskine is starting to have bits and pieces scrawled over each page. Lists of people to email or talk to or see. Jobs that need to be attended to. Lots of question marks - many of them indicate that I need to ask lots of things.
Things to do, people to see, places to go.

I've had a couple of phone calls from people that have wanted me to play for them. Both are good gigs, so I'm quite excited. Before O.S. starts, I hopefully will do some work where I can.

One of the questions I have is why so many things are on 3 July? There is one clear stand-out event that I shall be attending. The second I have to see if it fits in with the first. The third is overseas - I don't think I'll be going to that. But I'm trying to figure out whether I can take that overseas trip after that weekend though. I think I can get a good deal. It just means that I will be away for a while and nobody can plan things that need me then. Perhaps it's first in, best dressed? Surely people know me well enough by now to know that if they want me for a specific date, they need to get in quick?

About this second thing, though. I didn't really listen that well when I got the call. I did what I always do, and asked her to "put it in an email to me". That means I can go back and read it. And when she did email me, I was surprised. Not because of the content of it - I could deal with those, the details. But rather, the first line - not just who she is, but who recommended me on. The strangest part is that I had to google this other person and was surprised that somebody like that knew me. I don't think I know her. I think there are some people who are saying some good things - for that, I am very thankful. Honoured, humbled, and a little bit weirded out (in a good way! Like how amazingly cool it is).

I've been to Cicalata three times this week. Eeek. Yes, the owner already knows me. But he already did a few years ago :P
Perhaps I now qualify for some sort of discount? Even if it's like, 5% off?!? Let's put it this way - I don't have my own tab there (yet! Haha). I do know a few people that do, there!
Anyway, all three meetings have been lovely. I like coffee/lunch dates. Hehe :)
But anyway, while I was there, I thought I'd pop into Borders. You see, I received a Borders gift card from somebody last year, and spent some of it at Christmas time. I knew I had a bit more money left, so I wanted to check it. Over the summer, my brother was just kinda looking through my wallet (not as weird as it sounds!), and pulled out a couple of other Borders cards. I thought they were old, and all summer they just kinda sat there, because I thought I'd throw them out because I'd used all the money. But just before I left, as I cleaned out my room, I thought I'd just put them back in my wallet and check that there wasn't any money left on them. So, I went to Borders yesterday, and asked the people there to check if there was any money left on the cards. And YES! There was a grand total of about $60! YAY! I love it when you find that you have gift voucher money on a card when you're not expecting it :D
So today, after my Cicalata lunch, I thought I'd spend some of the afternoon just browsing. I wasn't set on definitely buying something - more of time to have a look and consider what I'd like to buy.
But I saw so many great things to buy, and still can't decide!

And I suppose this same problem is going to arise when I step into Readings with about the same amount of gift voucher money...!!!

HELP!

So, also yesterday, there occurred this crazy freaky torrential rain/flash flooding in Melbourne. It was truly mad. The previous few days have been pretty hot and humid. And you bet the cool change came through. I just didn't expect it so suddenly and MUCH! I went to the supermarket after coffee date #2. You know, the supermarket is kinda 'underground' - so you can't see the outside surroundings. But as I came up the escalator, I could see it was raining. And I thought, 'Yeah, that's ok. That's why I have an umbrella!'. But then I saw. It was PELTING down. Lightning, thunder, the skys had truly opened up. The sort of rain where if you stand out for a few seconds, you're totally DRENCHED. It was pretty funny to see people just kinda standing there with either paralysed looks of "What do I do now?!" or amused looks of "Hey, what can I do now?" on their faces. I think I was somewhere in-between both of them. I was supposed to make an appointment in about half an hour! Haha.
So I did something very stupid, and when I thought it was easing up a little, I ventured out with my shopping and my umbrella. This is the stupid thing: umbrella + lightning = stupid. Stupid -> me. I admit it.
So I had to cross the diagonal of Lygon/Elgin Streets to get home. And I thought I was being smart, when I saw that the petrol station side had a MASSIVE puddle on the side, and that the cars driving through it at a decent speed would drench any pedestrian. So I got my thinking hat on, and thought I'd cross the road (not at the traffic light...) to avoid this large drench-potential puddle. Smart, I think!

Perhaps not.....I thought I was safe, until I looked at the other corner. Also overflowing, the sidewalk resembling a lake. So I resumed that "What do I do now?!"/"What can I do now?" face that I had before. After several light changes, I decided to suck it up. I was wearing shorts and thongs, so I decided to take the plunge and wade through the lake. It was pretty disgusting - just the leaaves and stuff was kinda gross, but it was pretty funny at the same time. I waded across part of Elgin Street. Yep, still stupid (remember, umbrella+lightning?). I managed to get home, though fairly wet and smelly! I managed to re-schedule my appointment. Hopefully next week will have no more torrential rain....

So those are the exciting things in my life at the moment. Around the meetings, various documents I'm writing (Position Description, Proposal and Budget, profiles, year-long plans etc). I've also just started keeping a complete record of my expenses for each month. It's quite horrific, really. To know that I spend that much money, that often...! But I think it'll be good to actually know the breakdown.
And no, Accounting Reports and Analysis in my final year of university isn't really helping me. I've got a few categories - groceries, food/drink (that is, going out), bills, transport, and the like.....and no, GST is not counted separately :P (GST Receivable, GST Payable). And no, there is no double-entry system (Debits/Credits woo!). It really is about cash flow here.

Busy busy. Like it'd be any other way..!