It turns out that Jeff Martin from the Tea Party isn’t such a nice bloke. I managed to miss his tour with The Armada last November but reports from the staff that did work that night are that he came across as sleazy, arrogant and a genius on stage. My dreams of meeting him have become somewhat less urgent.

I’ve just spent the weekend with my walking gear wrapped around a 250cc Intruder. Besides being more fun to ride than a Swedish backpacker, it’s more masculine than a carton of VB during Bathurst. A thousand thanks go to Peter Jeremijenko for lending it to me.

When I was a kid I used to spend entire days just exploring on my push bike. I never really lost that explorative urge and a motorbike feels the same way my push bike did all those years ago, except now I’m not so scared of steep hills.

I’ve just read an article about the blacklist being revealed a third time by crackers having a go at Intergard. It doesn’t surprise me but given my relationship with John Hedges I’d still like to see a little more proof that it can actually be done. I know how much effort he puts into keeping Intergard ahead of the ne’r-do-wells and 30 seconds seems a little quick given that I can’t even turn the bloody thing off.

I just found out yesterday that my Auntie Cath has been diagnosed with a 7cm long tumor in her brain. This woman has kept me out of more trouble than is worth mentioning and has always been there for me. I’m sending prayers and a whole lot of my unpublished writing down to her (as per her request) to keep her occupied while she deals with the upcoming months. 

I’m heading over to the Filter Forum at QUT with Senator Ludlum, Nick Suzor and the venerable Irene Graham tonight. I’ve met Nic but so far haven’t had the pleasure of meeting the good Senator or Irene. I’m looking forward to it and hope to learn something at the same time. I’m sure that spending 4 hours a day readin about this shit isn’t enough to cover everything. 

I’ve been having serious identity issues over the last week. I’m so keen to write that I spend most of my time in over my head and wondering where I’m going to fit in the literary world. I think that my passion really lies in editing and political discourse but I’m still feeling like a toddler amongst adults. If it wasn’t for Kaiser Nelson’s landmark article on writer’s block I’d probably have let despondancy keep me in bed for a week now. 

Trying to keep up with what’s going on around me is becoming a full time occupation. This is one of those times where I wish I was back under my rock and able to shroud myself in obscurity. I’m committed now, no turning back. I am a writer, all I need to do now is get paid for it.