Shane.Blamer's blogspot

Met L for a coffee at 96 café in Blackburn ~ 1pm She's of to nz for 3 weeks on a holiday, hiking & a trail marathon 96 café was very neat, japanese. It had a line to get a table & a lot of rules, like QR code until a certain time & then limited menu option I would go back. Very many interesting food items on the menu to try We walked to Blackburn lake, saw many turtles, fish, birds 3:30 PM Home for rest & sandwiches Watched 1 bluey, ate a banana & yoghurt 8:15 - 10 PM  Had a stout & played soldat Total steps: 7,000

Natural Science, Laburnum  • Worked from the office, many disruptions • 6pm arrived back home, 30 min door to door • Natural Science "4th Bday" w/ Tristan, Gabbi • Sessions, Box Hill • Walked to Bar Nearby; Ella + James • Then uber to foragers, left at 12:30 am

KopCha's nice coffee & self-serve sparkling water 7:40 AM I've walked up rooks rd, even tho N has cancelled Took a frog photo for Adventures of Hi-Vis Frog Some work anxiety. This project is impossibly big. Complex and under resourced. It would have been 5 seperate sub projects, not all done in 1 year However, i have thought of a few tasks which i can make progress on today & tomrw (Feels like this year living for the weekend...again) • Worked 9-6:30pm • Ate turkey sandwiches, tomato, lettuce • Walked to Woolies to buy cheese • Watched a few more Bluey episodes • Played some zombie ctf soldat 10:40 PM Microwaved cereal Listening to Darknet Diaries podcast episode 168

Blue-tongue lizard by the side of the Mullum trail 8:20 AM (Coffee in bed) Called in sick but i'm not sick. We are allowed "personal" days, so i'm not doing anything dodgy really 1:40 PM (Mullum Mullum trail) Blue tongue lizard! Plenty of fish in the river too I saw some fish from the South bridge Digger Wasp unblocked his tunnel in about 5 min  Weights Re-homed my mosquito-fish, Pixel, to his bigger tank — cleaned his original tank which is 1yr old  Picked up a pizza from the bed place on category rd, near Boronia rd cnr — tasty, messy, square  Drank 2 beers and watched about 6 episodes of bluey to continue with my ratings ("Blamer's Best of Bluey"). I'm up to me episode 70 of 150 approx.

Artwork on high street, between Croxton and 303  WORKING FROM HOME (WFH) 8:30 AM Croissant & coffee at Manta Ray, off rooks rd. I walked to Jolimont, forgetting that it's a tuesday so it's closed. Then took the car up to rooks rd 1:30 - 2:30 PM Lunch-break & meditation (which put me to sleep) 5 PM Logged off the laptop. It feels much too hot to go out tonight: currently 42°C. The forecast says to expect: 40° at 7pm ➡️ 30° at 10pm ➡️ 20° at 4am I've moved Pixel inside, to a bucket in the laundry ARCHSPIRE + ABORTED GIG   7:30 PM (Kitty Somerset) Had 2 schooners of Tallboy & Nose pale ale  Ran into KC from ~6 years ago, E55, cave clan 8:20 PM (Northcote Theatre) Inside i ran into McK who described his migraine symptoms & recent hospital visit / current meds Saw K & H sitting behind the mixing desk & said hi briefly Spotted S who is at every gig & gave him a hug It was the most comedic death metal gig i've ever attended by far...

Shawn sheep at Bundoora Park Farm, in plenty rd 11 AM (Showered, ready to go find a coffee) Slept in, it now like dozed. Listening to podcasts, re-listening since i kept falling asleep  Feel like going for a walk, so i've msg'd N (and my sister)  12:15 PM Coffee at Black stallion café on Britannia mall Bundoora Park Farm emus, 60min (4,500 steps) • cows, goats, sheep, donkeys, horses Old England Hotel guinness Carluccia chardonnays Mullum mullum (10+ rabbits, 2 kangeroos, birds) 7:30 PM Foragers Total steps: 10,150

Wolf's Lair "The Maple" café for b'fast bagel / BLT with N 11 AM Mullum Mullum was closed ("Total for ban"). Instead went across the rd ~ 40min Saw fish in the river but that's about it, few birds — fairly busy with walkers and joggers on the carpark side of the river. Not much action on the far side of the river. The path doesn't traverse very close to the river which is a shame Weights Meditation 6:30 PM Pinot noira at Wolf's Lair, off Lygon St in Carlton. Then a beer at the cinema on a balcony we found 8:30 - 11:30 PM One Battle After Another (DiCaprio) with A. It was entertaining, not great. It didn't feel too long, surprisingly, at 2h40m Then drove A straight home to Thornbury ("West") Arrived back at Vermont by 12:30pm or so  Total steps: 6,800

Fitzroy Beer Garden, Smith x Gertrude St 4 - 7 PM 36% discount deal thru R's eatclub, 5 of us, 40°C Home to rest —under the air-conditioning 9:45 PM Foragers with TD and his bartender friend from b•side, HH

Malcura at shotkickers Jan 23, 2026 WFH: Car serviced & new contact lenses picked up. I'm ready for a long weekend in 3.. 2.. 1.. now I had a radiator leak, so they replaced it — which made my car service twice as expensive. But shouldn't need to be back for 6-12 months Weights at lunchtime. Not as productive at work as i had hoped. Because of car service mostly, which involved 2 uber trips. However, i did solve 1 issue for my customer fairly quickly. It's like that saying, it's only looks it was easy task because of my many years of experience, training, and exams 6:15 PM Uber to high st to meet H and A. Neither of whom pulled out. They know each other a little bit, so it should be fine It's a warm night. It feels good to be in a tshirt & sunglasses 7 PM Gigi rooftop bar  8:30 PM Dinner at Ballard's vegetarian, potato lasagna, mushroom steak Later: My mates' band, Malcura. It's a single launch. They had 3 support acts, so they were o...

Fairy tree, stevens reserve (vermont) During covid, i contributed this tiny furniture. Today i see this art project (fair treehouse) has started to make money (2 x $1). It's now officially a wishing tree 8:15 AM Rise & Grind for breakfast, chili scramble* N cancelled sadly, i decided to walk here anyway New owners have improved the look:  • no more yellow • new wood-look tables • no more totoro decal on the wall • new menu • new artisan coffee brand.... delicious! • they've added astro-turf out the back. *Ordering this means i won't get to work on time 8:45 AM Walking back to the laptop. Happily i can login to my customer's Microsoft Teams (and customer's email inbox) from my phone, to check that nothing urgent has popped up  My employer took away my ability to check my primary work email inbox (for security reasons) so i can't check that.... but i can login to Slack 5 PM I worked thru without a lunch break, so i closed the laptop approx 4:30pm. ...

10:30 AM Jolimont coffee & fruit toast, which i don't recall seeing on the menu No morning walk, instead fussed over my fish & hops Feeling tired after last night's last night, socialising & drinks 1 - 2 PM Weights. Listened to a NWOTHM album that A sent me, it was just okay 4 PM Wordle (i nearly forgot to do it today)  8:30 PM I'm just back from a walk. I've hit 10,000 steps today. Much cooler outside than in the house by now 17° v 23° I had a mixed souva at Patrida's, dine in Took ~65 photos of Tiny Survivor, who arrived today Total steps: 10,600

Praying Mantis hanging out near my hops plants 5:30 AM Cereal in bed 8 AM Woke up later than usual by about an hour 11:30 AM My customer wants a "return to the office" from Feb, which means 3 days in the office (1 of which must be monday/friday). I think i'll try out wed-fri 12:30 PM Walked up to my parcel locker — because i didn't do my morning walk today (and listen to pods) There's a new Bahn Mi place, which i tried today & enjoyed: Central Core café, rooks rd, nunawading 5:30 PM Logged off the laptop 7 PM - 11:30 PM Trivia at the Pinnacle Hotel, fitzroy T and i stayed until last drinks Chatted with N in the uber on the way home, her idea

7:30 - 8 AM Figure 9 for breakfast, granola, yoghurt & mango  10:30 AM Drove to Bellbird Dell for a quick walk — before it gets too hot 1 - 2 PM Weights. Listen to some podcasts, Alt-Ctrl-Speech and SYSK (Stuff You Should Know)  Ordered dinner groceries thru Coles Online 8 PM Walked up to Boronia rd to try a Kenny Kebab which was awful. Listened to metal on the way home Oh: It looks like i only begun my daily journaling here in Apr 2025 (Easter) not Dec 2024 (Xmas) which means i haven't been at this a full year yet Total steps: 9,600

6 AM Wordle 4/6 was a truely bizarre word 11 AM Mr Robertson for breakfast w/ N, chilli scramble Mullum Mullum 1 turtle (twice) 5 large fish (carp) 0 kangeroos 2 PM SubUrban. We tried 2 mid-strength beers 4 PM Hargreaves Hill tasting paddle. First time. This tap-room has only been open for 2 months or so • Pale Ale american style • ESB • WC IPA • IPA north pacific west-style 5 PM Hop Hen, which is almost directly next to Hargreaves Hill. I got the mid-strength as a pot, and it is 100% better than the two middys that we tried at SubUrban (bridge rd hazy ale tinny, and mountain culture's three-fiddy middy) 6 PM - 7:15 PM PJ's mexican dinner, ringwood

N and i both woke up with headaches, hungover  12:30 PM I drove home to rest 6 PM Mullum mullum • 1 turtle  • 2 huge fish (carp) • 2 rabbits • 4 kookaburras • 2 fan-tails • 8 coughs ("chuffs") x2 • evidence of horses • 0 horses • 0 kangeroos 7:30 PM - Midnight B•Side w/ N and T

Worked in at the red supermarket HQ, quiet, productive Subway for lunch Out to eltham w/ N • Naught Distillery ... cocktail flight @ 7:30 PM • Prosciutto Bros ... nice woodfire pizza, one beer • Slowbeer, Montmorency ... better beers • Foragers ... nice beers NAUGHT DISTILLERY (GIN) They started out with alcohol-free gins, now they do the regular gins too. It's a good looking place inside. The outdoor area is more relaxed & a nice-to-have option in Summer The cocktail tasting flight means you can try 3 small gin cocktails (about ½ size) without breaking the bank Home by about midnight

9 AM  N cancelled b'fast due to a headache. I guess i should get used to that happening. I felt disappointed that i don't get to see her She must be in quite a bit of pain to be unable to make our b'fast date, which is a bit worrying too CENTRAL CORE CAFÉ I felt tired this morning (although felt okay/normal when i went to bed), which is most likely because it's my 1st week back. Drove to C³ for a coffee I was starving at 5:30am, so i'd already had a bowl of cereal: weet-bix, weetie-bites, granola The coffee at C³ is delicious, high quality. I had a chat to the young guy who runs it wrt the rooftop He's • Never been up there either • Unsure what its purpose is • Planning to talk to the landlord • Landlord is back Jan 19 Also, he mentioned that the landlord had offered that he start a "sky bar" up there. He said he'd see how downstairs goes first: café, bookings, catering He said to try the bahn mi WORKING FROM HOME (feat. COFFEE) I told him i wfh ...

Woke normal time 6:45am, got out of bed 7:30am It was nice to wake gently, rather than with a start & my heart slightly elevated Noticeably lower anxiety last night / overnight too 8 AM I walked from Jolimont café to Springvale Rd — looking for a gold bracelet, which i saw a "Lost" poster for yesterday  1 PM - 2 PM I did a workout at lunch time (and fussed around with my new fish-tank) Listened to the first new KATG episode for the year. It was just Keith by himself for ~60 min 6 PM I felt productive at work today. I'm pecking away at the basics for my project. There is heaps to do Black cockatoos near Forest Hill police station: 3 Bird species: 11

Slept poorly again last night, same as Sunday night Less anxiety. Also, the house was still 22°C when i looked, so i opened up the frontdoor, backdoor, & bedroom windows 8:30 AM I've walked up to Rooks Rd for a coffee. Spotted a cheeky Kookaburra sitting above a bird-feeder in someone's backyard & got an okay photo of it too I found 3 of my "free range" born critters (pictured). They had lost all colour & two needed sticking back together again. One had completely disappeared & two were only a stick with plastic taped to it — those two were thrown in the bin Will login around 9am for day 2. It looks like my project manager is away until next week, so hopefully this week is relatively relaxed After work, i sent for a walk. Took a pretty good photo of a butterfly. 9 PM Watched a movie, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988, Steve Martin) 1h45m No alcohol today (nor yesterday) 11 PM Bedtime On this day: 2025 gang-gang cockatoos Bird species: 8 Total ...

I'm back at work today. I'll log in from home soon. But first coffee 8:30 AM Redwood café looks a bit different: bare, no self-serve water, new art on the walls. There's a new cook, here by himself — so he's taken my order & made my coffee  He said it's only his 2nd magic (coffee?) ever, if it's no good his barista is arriving soon. I said i'm sure it's fine, it's the caffine that's the main part I didn't sleep amazing. I felt hot at times. Some anxiety in my stomach. Or that may have been the hot English mustard on my steak 1 - 2 PM Did weights as a lunch break 5:30 PM I've had no issues with work today. Nobody bothered me, which was a relief. I had 3 quick training courses to complete, and i've caught up on all my emails & chat rooms.  • Fish tank has arrived • Caution Wet Floor miniature sign • Matchbox cars (2x) On this day: 2025 black-cockatoos & free beer Bird species: 12 Total steps: 7,000

Final day of my Summer holidays 11:45 AM Coffee and a toastie at home. Ever so slightly hungover (from the tequila). Listening to podcasts in bed, dozing Unsure if i'll do weights (which i had no time to do yesterday) Walked with N near the big watermelon, Wantirna 5:30 PM Mitcham social for steak dinner with N 7:45 PM Back home. My dinner was a big meal. It sat heavy in my stomach. It made me feel tired. I got into bed soon after eating it (perhaps not clever) Total steps: 12,000

12:30 PM Breakfast w/ N at Figure 9 café in mitcham 2 PM Bbq meet-up with JB and his mates in reservoir, edwardes lake park 6 PM Meditated, slept for 30 min The uber has to take the long way because the eastern Freeway was closed for road-work. The uber maps app was unaware of some of the on-ramp closures — so it was the looong, long-way 8 PM Met T at Red Betty. What a great little bar. Tiny stage. Apparently, used to be for stage magicians 9:15 PM Very fun pop-punk (novelty?) band with T at post office hotel, coburg: Lewi* & The Jets. Four piece, 3rd gig ever, jake on drums. Female duo opened, and their vocal harmonies made me smile widely *"Lewis" seems to formal, he informed us both 12:30 PM Back to Red Betty. Somebody bought us tequila shots & a verde chaser shot 1:30 AM Uber back home

I did a quick grocery shop this morning: cereal, cheese, milk, bread, avocado 12:45 PM i'm listening to tunes on the couch, having a luke-warm coffee, and flipping thru Dad's ozzy magazine. I found his unique "G" bookmark with a cat face habd-drawn on it The house is only 24° for now, so i'll hide out under the air-con later 1:15 PM Meditated for 10 min Then went to pick up N to bring her back to my place We went to suburb for lunch and 2 pots Then odered pizza at mine, watched withnail & i

9 AM Kettle bot. I switch on the kettle using the app on my phone, which can toggle that power outlet  While it boiled, i made a bowl of cereal: granola, the end of the weetie-bites, crushed up weet-bix I used the 9L bucket on my back porch to fill the (same size) bucket next to my 2 hops plants, so that the solar-powered dripper won't run my hops' bucket dry. The dripper gives each of the 2 hop plants ½L of water every morning & night — otherwise it beeps to tell me the hops' bucket needs re-filling Click. 2 heap tea-spoons of instant coffee + milk Took bowl & mug to bed/fan/air-conditioned room Opened the curtain for light, but the outside roller blinds are down from yesterday (41°). I'll leave them down for tomrw (41°) Today i plan to do weights, visit La Sirene brewery in reservoir at 5-7pm, then from 7-9pm see Rachel Clark's gig at edinborough castle hotel in sydney rd brunswick 4 PM Arrived at hawkers brewery right in closing. They let me b...

Forecast says today 41°, tomrw 32°, fri 41°, sat 22 Had breakfast with N in mitcham rd, Two Brothers It was already fairly sunny & got by 8:30am She has had a tough couple of days with headache pains, fever (sweating, shivering), and sleeping in until 3pm — so she hasn't worked I mentioned she could see her GP across the road. And mention to her the occasional blurred vision. And check that her GP got the patient information that was to be sent from the hospital Hopefully, the fever (perhaps unrelated to her hospital visit, she said she didn't have any known infection) & blurry vision issues (likely caused by the head trauma, rather than the pain-killers) have cleared up by now: I'm trying not to worry about it  12:12 PM It is 37.5°C in Vermont already, forecast top is 39° Played some soldat (pc game) It's really too hot to do much, it may get over 40°C 4:20 PM I played soldat, drunk beer: Kicks "Flying Solo" 6.9

10:30 AM N has been unusually quiet on messenger all day yesterday and today, i hope everything is okay 12:30 PM Coffee near Blackburn Lake at Miss Lucy, 2hr park 1 PM 5 black cockatoos by foot bridge near miss lucy 2 turtles, murray river (not the invasive red-earred) 10 large fish, resting together in the shade, v still 1 tawny frogmouth, apparently a chick under wing Total steps: 9,000

Monday night trivia is apparently on (?) but if not then i'll meet up with A for a drink. She's back from NZ Are a banana for breakfast 10:30 AM I decided to drive and walk near Jells Park area, so i have stopped in at Brandon Park shops to stock up on anti-histamines & have a coffee 1 PM Dropped in on Squire to check out what it's like. Had a cider on the back outdoor decking (up 1 level). It looks a bit like a resort  On my way home, i dropped in at the Springvale Rd aquarium (pet store) to eyeball some tank fish, small snakes, and bearded lizards I ate sandwiches for lunch, salami, cheese, salad 7:30 PM Trivia is indeed not on tonight. Anyway i'll meet A in westgarth 8 PM Kelvin bar Total steps: 10,300

I did weights then visited my M&D in Greensborough for lunch & to play guitars Oh the way home, i decided to do a walk around mullum mullum & saw an echidna near the residential part — which was such a surprise 9 choughs ("chuffs") 1 kangaroo that i had a staring competition with 1 rabbit that ran around, zig-zagging humorously  It was still daylight and warm, so i dropped in to Cherry Hill for apinot noir on the back deck. I was mostly on my phone but it was still very relaxing. The wine is good and inexpensive ~ $11.50 (for the posh one) At home, i finished binging the Watchmen tv series: episodes 5,6,7, and 8. It is altogether excellent which i remembered from a previous viewing I had one NZ beer which was (same as last night) was pretty good, Garage Project (yest: Behemoth) 10:15 PM N called. She'll attempt some work tomrw. On tues, she'll tell her younger brother about her fall Total steps: 5,100

11:30 AM Woke up feeling a bit hungover at N's, her too Coffee at the black stallion on the brit 4:30 PM Caught bus to parcel locker w/ N & walked home Brentford Square cheesymite scrolls from bakery Pizza dinner w/ M at the pizza shop in Mitcham, yo momma Watched the first 4 episodes of Watchmen, brilliant

Breakfast in blackburn, Food Republic Café (chilli scramble) Forest Hill Chase to look for mens face moisturiser Walked mullum mullum, 0 roos, saw ~7 choughs 4 PM Weights 8 PM Uber to Richmond, Royston hotel Mountain Culture (at Fox Friday) and meet Abbie and her friends, and 2 young irish travellers 11 PM Uber to forager. N was a bit drunk & i was too, neither of us had had dinner

2 PM Drove N for a walk at Cardinia dam. No kangeroos 4:30 PM Belgrave micawber tavern. Schooner of Guiness Chicken parma 8:30 PM Sessions whiskey bar, Box Hill for an espresso martini & a beer Total steps: 12,000