Juno - jenTopia movie of the year?

Well I do SOTM here at jenTopia why not MOTM. (Movie of the Month..). Nah I'm not going to do MOTM. We went to the movies today and it costs $19.50 for me to go. That's $15.50 for the ticket and $4.00 for dark chocolate bullets.

Yes, the bullets are a necessity.

Anyway so we went to see Juno. I'm a big fan of Michael Cera who plays George Michael Bluth in Arrested Development which I'm currently hooked on. Bonus points because it also has Jason Bateman in it (Michael Bluth in the show).

But the movie was really focused on Juno, the girl who Bleeker (Michael Cera) gets pregnant.

At the end I didn't know whether I was clucky or if we should double our contraception. I think I had a hard time deciding because I was crying slightly. It was such a good movie though, really funny. One of those movies where you walk out and go 'that was awesome'.

I highly, highly recommend it. Just for the record I wasn't the only one in the audience sniffling at the end either.

- Jen

In the nose-bleed section.

So the man and I were settling in to eat dinner tonight (roast lamb & vegies in case you cared) when we heard all this music. Really loud music. It sounded like it was coming from outside the building so we were standing on the balcony trying to work out where the rock concert in Moonee Ponds was.

Well, its not in Moonee Ponds, its in Flemington. We can hear the big day out from our balcony! Boo-yah!

Well, not really. I'm pretty sure I heard Rage Against the Machine. But I already knew they were playing and it just sounded like angry rock music. But it probably was them! SUCH a pity the foo fighters aren't playing...

Yeah, we're hip! We're cool!

Edit: Just checked the big day out timetable - it IS Rage against the machine, pretty sure they're playing that killing in the name of song now.... Cats look bewildered.

- Jen

We've got the creepiest bar that I've ever seen.

On Friday night a friend and I went on a hunt for a particular bar. I am quite sure it is the creepiest bar in Melbourne and it wasn't one you would just stumble upon. Unless you frequent creepy alleys.

The Croft Institute is one of those Melbourne bars I've read so much about. Yeah yeah so there are bars down alleys. You hear about these places and how they are 'like, so hard to find'. Which makes them cool of course. However this was no exaggeration because as we were traipsing around the back of kitchens in Chinatown I really thought we were going the wrong way and quite possibly might end up as the meat in someone's sweet and sour something. Then after taking an alley off another alley right down the end in the shadows I saw a small sign on the wall.

It was well after 5pm on a Friday and as I was musing to myself about how these places would get any business we walked in to an almost empty bar. It had filled up a little by the time we left but yeah, the quietest bar I've seen on a Friday night.

The place has to be seen (and found really) to be believed. There are seats at lab benches (complete with sinks), the toilets have hospital beds in them and are referred to as the 'department of female hygiene'. I think they are a cocktail bar really because they had about 5 different beers ranging from hahn light to TEDs to Heineken as their exotic beer.

I could be a beer snob though.

Had the bar been packed I would have thought the whole hospital/insane asylum theme was funky but with the lack of people it was just plain creepy.

I recommend you check it out - in pairs.

- Jen

p.s. See the website for directions (department of environmental whereabouts).

And I'll get along with you - SOTM January 2008

Sit me down, shut me up, I'll calm down....and I'll get along with you.

Edit: Erm..Jase might have been nice enough to mention I didn't actually say who got SOTM.

It's 'you only live once' by The Strokes. Happy?

I've been listening to this song for ages, its always got a lot of airplay on my ipod but it wasn't until Jase mentioned it in a blog post that I went 'oh, thats the lyrics' and since then I skip through every song on my ipod to get to it. It even finally edged out 'Australia' by the Shins.

So I don't know why I struggled so much to find SOTM when it was staring me in the face the whole time. Either way I did get some good music with some suggestions taking my fancy.

Anyway click here for SOTM. I love the build up to the chorus. And the nice little riffy bit all the way through.

One other song I'm getting hooked on is Know your onion - by The Shins. Have a listen its got nice little different 'bits' to it.

Until next month..

- Jen

No time for a smart title.

I cannot believe what happened to me on the train this afternoon. I didn't get a seat, as usual which is no big deal. I didn't have anything to hang onto either but I was leaning against the wall between carriages so it wasn't a problem. Until we came out of North Melbourne and the train suddenly swayed and I almost fell over. I had to lean onto the side of the train (above someone sitting down) to balance myself. Okay a little embarrasing but not my fault.

THEN as I righted myself I looked over and some smug goateed man was laughing at me.

Did I mention this SMUG goateed man had a SEAT!

THEN because I'd caught him laughing at me he had to keep grinning at me, like Manny does in Black Books when he gets caught poking his tongue out at his boss. Didn't fall for that though I just fixed him with my brand new 'how dare you laugh at me when you have a seat you prick' look. Invented right on the spot.

What is WRONG with people! I could have hurt myself or someone else!

- Jen
p.s. Song of the month decided and coming soon. 7 comments! A jentopia record surely..(quiet Daniels and Rens).

Time to put the ear goggles on....no!

I am struggling. Realising that song of the month would be a perfect blog post I sat down and decided to work out what I'm enjoying at the moment. Nothing! I've got no new music. I've spent a good hour scouring iTunes looking for new stuff and I've got squat.

Suggesteroonies please! Not only for SOTM but for my poor ipod who is going to self destruct if it has to play any more of the songs on it right now.

Let me make you an offer you can't refuse. If I don't get some feedback SOTM is going to be a Maroon 5 song.

Probably the reason why I don't have any new music is because I've gotten back into reading. Recently finished the godfather. You will note above I'm putting my new mafia talk to good use. I'm hoping it will come in handy for wedding related negotiations.

Eagerly awaiting your suggestions

- Jen
p.s. I'm not joking about Maroon 5.

Bloggers Block.

I know. I know I'd said I'd update because I figured by the time I had to I would have something blog worthy. But I don't. I've got zip.

I was feeling guilty until I read Tony's post this morning and he is 100% correct, I could have blogged every day last week but it would have been 'got up. went to work. came home'. Not very interesting.

We just haven't been doing very much! The man is at work today, at the moment he's working 7 days a week which I think is wearing him out (understandably). Its not even helping our holiday savings because we've just been slugged a ton of bills. Someone forgot your car has to get insured and registered every year. Just when I was moaning about that we got our renewal for our contents insurance and the next instalment of our rates.

Anyway I'll sit here for a little bit longer, and maybe the flood gates will open. Keep checking and I'll update one day.

- Jen
p.s. new blogger template, yay or nay? Still have some work to do on it.

Dear Santa,

Octan
Originally uploaded by trojen_hoarse

All I wanted for Christmas when I was about 10 was a Lego Octan petrol station. I couldn't get over how he could completely ignore my request when he knew wanted it so badly. In FACT I think I remember being in Big W on Christmas Eve and being devastated when there were no more Lego Octan Petrol Stations and someone mentioned maybe that was because Santa had them all. Which created just a little bit of FALSE HOPE ...SANTA.

We went back to Berrigan on the weekend and the man brought home all of his childhood lego. Which is creating a bit of a mess as there are half built pieces of pirate ships and trucks littering the apartment. The cats are excited though because they're bored of gnawing on star wars lego.

Its only really hard to cope with because I know my lego is so much better than his. Really, pirate ships?

Anyway this afternoon when I came home he presented me with what he'd found in toys-r-us.

So there Santa.

- Jen
p.s. updates on the weekend I promise!

Snakes alive!

snakeDead
Originally uploaded by trojen_hoarse

The man's brother woke up with this in his BED yesterday.

You wish I was joking!!!

I actually mean his bed too. His bed, in his house! With him in it.

He's fine, but there was an incident with the snake. And Chris. And a kayak paddle. Unfortuantely the snake didn't make it.

1.3m!! Never staying at his house!!



One more pic here
- Jen

p.s Will hopefully get time to update in more detail later this week

The most dangerous key on the board

The delete key.

Was working on a document all day at work today, its 6pm and I'm just tidying up some files when I hit delete, and then without thinking pressed yes. Then I realised I'd just deleted something I'd spent literally 8 hours working on.

Then I remembered, our pc's don't have a recycle bin.

Frantically I phoned our IT service desk because surely the document had to be somewhere. No, not it was not because I only created it today. It wasn't in temporary files, it wasn't anywhere.

All I could do was shake my head. It was so late I didn't even have anyone to complain to. The IT guy was everso helpful when he told me I 'had to be careful when you delete stuff'.

Gee thanks.

- Jen

2007 - year in review

Thought I'd continue the year in review thing I did last year.

January

- Find out Rae and Tony are pregnant 'with a twist'.
- Complete final grad program assessment
- Schroddy pees on bed
- Nelly the cat put to sleep
- Finally remember to roll over my super
- Knee starts to hurt..
- The man accepted to do PhD at Melbourne Uni
- Joined a gym

February
- We get windows vista - vista bites! Nothing works!!!
- The man proposes!!
- Start to make engagement party plans

March
- We take a trip to Canberra..Questacon was good...
- Get MRI on knee, remember how much I hate loud noises
- Go to career fair at Swinburne, this time on the other side of the table
- Turn 23, as mum says '23 is a nothing birthday'.

April
- Pies beat Tigers 17.9.115 - 13.11.90
- Our engagement party!

May
- High heels harry upstairs starts to grate on my nerves
- Have a yucky job interview

June
- Climb Sugarloaf (Mt Piper)

July
- Rae & Tony's twins born!
- Attacked by cat, suspect Schroddy - too scratched on face to go to work
- The man's front tooth falls out
- Launch attack on crazy high heeled folks upstairs
- Decide to start buying music, no more free illegal downloads
- Read and finish Harry Potter over the weekend

August
- The man does his ankle
- 'Everyone' leaves for overseas

September
- Another job interview
- Pies knocked out of finals

October
- Craigieburn line opens, however everyone still knows I live on the 'broadie' line.
- Grand Final bbq
- We bought our backpacks, minty fresh and clean smelling (note this is important for later)
- Drive to Canberra for the weekend with a mate
- Saw Melb Victory play at telstra dome

November
- Make some wedding plans
- Made some new friends, friends who like wii!
- Kevin Rudd is our new PM
- ANOTHER interview

December
- It RAINS
- The man gets weekend job
- Schroddy pees in my backpack. Backpack not so minty fresh.
- Fankhauser Christmas in Mansfield
- Cousin's wife gives birth to baby boy. Am shocked and confused because I would of thought she had to be pregnant to do that. In which case someone would of told me.
- Have awesome NYE

Looking back I had a great year, last year. Funnily enough even with the ring on my finger I forgot about 'the proposal'. Definitely the best thing to happen to me (us!) all year. I'm saying us. But the man did get a lot of new star wars lego so you never know.

- Jen

Wake up in the morning with a head like what you done

Had an awesome NYE. My sister and two of her friends (Mick and Chels), plus Gus and his girlfriend Laura and of course the man had tickets to the James Squire brewhouse at Docklands. Place was pretty good, we'd booked upstairs and it was all you could eat with prawns and steaks that weren't half bad. You had to fight over desserts though. As soon as they would refill the dessert table a bunch of seagulls would descend and then struggle off with 3 chocolate mousses and a couple of cheesecakes apiece. Well not actual seagulls but older women who sounded an awful lot like seagulls when the dessert trolley was wheeled over.



Midnight came and went but there wasn't even a countdown and I had to track the man down for a kiss. He looked confused so they obviously need to make more of a fuss there at midnight. He was wearing a streamer that he'd poked eyes into and tied around his head so he looked like some kind of drunk ninja turtle (Raphael if you must know). Although....Michelangelo is the party dude.

The fireworks were going off outside (literally just out on the water) but they go for so long that halfway through you kind of lose interest. Make them shorter I say! Save some money too.

Speaking of money the man and I did not win the $30 million on Saturday in tattslotto which we were a bit surprised about. We did win $43.55 though so I was stoked, I mean its not $30 million but it paid for the lotto ticket and then some.

Anyway...back to new years. Shots were consumed with Shellmatching me with tequila so she's not as soft as I thought she was. Some banana head was doing jager bombs which is silly, and some other gooses were doing black sambuca which is plain crazy.

The staff shut the bar down for ten minutes at midnight and told everyone it was last drinks. I consulted my ticket and it said open 7pm until late. I started to get worried they'd stuffed us around because they seriously looked like they were shutting up shop so Shell went over there and demanded they tell her that it just wasn't so. Apparently they were cleaning and would re-open in a few minutes. PHEW. Don't actually think we had any more to drink after that anyway!

EDIT: Apparently we did have a lot more to drink after that.

Went back to ours, public transport was easy only fifteen minute wait for a train, very easy. We sat in a carriage that was full of 'Jonahs', many a 'puck you miss' and the word 'bro' was bandied about by us. Bandied about after we got off the train of course.

Anyway, I'm up early re-hydrating and everyone else looks pretty seedy lying around asleep with their mouths open. The man'scooking bacon and eggs for breakfast so the grease should help!

Seriously really great new years though!

- Jen