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I’ve been meaning to upgrade my phone (a Nokia 8310) and get a set-top box for a while. Serendipitously, on the same day results of a study claiming that watching TV will shorten your life expectancy were released, my telco called offering a LCD television or a mini-notebook computer for free if I changed my current mobile plan because I am such a valued customer. I already have a laptop and don’t want to be one of those people who crunches spreadsheets on the train on the way in to work, so I chose the telly.

This is the product description: “With a design that is simply redefined, the Series 4 delivers delight to your eyes. Its’ [sic] slim style refreshes your living space and uplifts your emotions, creating entertainment that is more enjoyable. Its’ [sic] pristine picture quality offers an outstanding HDTV experience that redefines how you connect with the digital world.” Uplifting my emotions. Isn’t there a link between watching TV and depression? More enjoyable entertainment. So there is hope for Home and Away! Wow! I think I’m in love!

Yeah, I know this deal was really about my telco’s profit margin. Oh well. On the upside I will stand out from the glutted iphone crowd with my new Nokia 2730 and have access to all those extra-special-life-changing digital TV channels. Plus I didn’t have to waste time doing any research or product comparisons, and it all gets delivered this week.

Hmmm, I wonder. Will I have to return the telly when I switch my landline and broadband to another company in the next month or so …

I’m back home. It feels a bit strange being here on my own having spent a few weeks living with 8 other people. Happily, I will be having dinner with The French’s tonight to help with the transition from macro to micro community living.

Being the first day of the New Year, I joined Tom, Anmol, John and Cathy to usher in the new decade with some movie watching. We saw The Lovely Bones. I enjoyed the book and was looking forward to seeing the film adaptation. The movie was good. Not great, but good. A lot of the book’s subplots were left out, which I guess they needed to be - as it was, the movie ran for 2.5 hours - and some events were rearranged for dramatic purposes. The special effects were good, and most of the performances were OK, but I thought Wahlberg was miscast. (Is it just me, or do others think he overacts? Non-acts? Was it his voice? I’m not sure. He just wasn’t convincing. Plus the 70s hair and clothes kept reminding me of his character in Boogie Nights.) However, Tucci as the villain was great. His voice, strange eye colour and haircut worked together to create a particularly sinister effect. (If you really want to feel the skeezies, keep your eyes peeled for him in the opening scenes.) Unfortunately, the projector break down 15 minutes before the ending spoiled the mood somewhat. But we were all given a free ticket which was nice.

I’m living with The French’s temporarily. It’s good and a bit weird all at once. It’s good because living in community is nice, and I like my new housemates, and being part of the whirl of activity. It’s weird because it’s home and not home. Familiar and not familiar. I’ve learned a lot about myself in the past few weeks - relationally, spiritually, emotionally, idiosyncratically. Sometimes I have felt waaay out of my comfort zone. Not often, but sometimes. Thankfully, there are books, ipods, and grocery shopping to assist with my need to introvert. Having a good laugh helps too. (Hang on. Now that we’ve made up all the beds, and Jane has taken my pillow, where am I going to sleep tonight?) But it’s all good. The Guests are happy, and that’s what really matters.

The first of the work End of Year parties was today. (We aren’t allowed to call them Christmas parties, but we are allowed to have a Christmas Tree in the foyer. Go figure.) We are a large team - 40 people - over two locations, so in the last few years we have opted to have our parties at work - one at each location - and run a Trivia Quiz. We have prizes too - usually Christmas gifts given to us from vendors, or items won at conferences, and the like. One of the guys makes up a song to the tune of a well known carol or TV theme, and he also creates little posters of us by pasting our head on the body of a movie character. Some of them are hilarious! It sounds really daggy, but they’re actually a lot of fun. Word has gradually spread that our area knows how to put on a good bash, so this year we were given the job of hosting a party for the entire Division - just over 100 people!

It sounded like a good idea at the time, until I thought it through. Firstly, no one actually asked our staff if it was OK for other people to come to Our Party. Unfortunately, the decision has generated some ill-will, with some staff declining the invitation and effectively boycotting the party, and one of the teams organised their own luncheon instead. Secondly, no one accounted for the extra time and effort required to organise what has become a much bigger event. The core team of 5, including me, have been preoccupied with party matters over the past few weeks and consequently been much less productive than usual. (One of the  supervisors has complained to me, and justifiably so! I can see my boss’s face now when I explain that I haven’t completed my assigned work because I was too busy wrapping prizes. That will go down a real treat!)

Today was a complete write-off. All I did was go shopping, chop fruit and veges, prepare platters, attend the party, and do a post-party review to fine tune things for the next party on Friday. It feels wrong filling in my timesheet knowing that today work effectively paid me to cut up carrots. The next two days will also be pretty much write-offs. I may have to go in to work on Saturday to catch up on my real work. One thing’s for sure, next year someone else can take on the mantle of Event Manager. I’m done.

Today at work I was a referee for someone I used to work with who had applied for a temporary position. The ref check was done by conference call and was all quite straight forward, until the end, when the convenor asked about my current position and background. After giving an ‘in-a-nutshell’ run down of my skill set and experience, the convenor suggested that I consider applying when the job is likely to be advertised again in 12 months as a permanent position. How on earth do you respond to that?! Sure, I was flattered, but also disturbed and compromised. Here you are acting as a referee, and the panel is head hunting. They also told me about another position to be advertised soon. I thought it was a very, very odd turn of events, and, frankly, quite unethical.

Since The Informant wasn’t playing in town for reasons unknown - it was playing everywhere else - Tom and I saw Where The Wild Things Are instead. I was curious to see how Spike Jonez was going to translate a 10-sentence picture book into a feature film, but figured that anyone with the imagination to come up with Being John Malkovich wouldn’t have much trouble. And he didn’t.

The Wild Things are fantastic and incredibly real, the boy who played Max is wonderful, the music was close to perfect, the locations were great (particularly the bushfire landscape in Victoria), and the sets were amazing. The treatment and interpretation of the story was interesting. The film explores dysfunctional relationships, strong emotions, growing up, “coming of age”, and taking responsibility. Each of the Wild Things have clearly defined personalities. (Alex and Douglas were my favourites. Douglas is your typical right-hand man, dependable and true. Poor Alex just needs a hug and to be heard.) I suppose they are archetypes, or aspects of Max’s own emotions and personality.

There are some funny parts, but a lot of the humour is quite dark. The story is also dark, and violent and frightening at times. It’s definitely not a kids’ film. The two young girls seated near us were spooked a few times, and cried, and they didn’t really understand what was happening. Unfortunately, the film dragged a bit, and that’s saying something given that it only runs for 101 minutes. And it just bugged me that no-one, except for Max, says ‘Sorry’. (I’ve noticed the absence of apologies in quite a few films seen recently. A few years ago, most movies were drowning in Redemption. Now, not so much.) Still, it’s a movie worth seeing.

After the movie ended and the credits were rolling, one of the two little girls seated near us ran down to the front and danced and twirled her way around the space under the screen. That was a lovely moment, and worth the price of admission. She made me want to run down and join her. It’s been a while since I’ve done any twirling.