AUTUMN

this morning i woke up beside my beautiful, snuggly dan. it was great! when we opened the curtains, we were greeted by gorgeous clear skies and steamed-up windows (not for the reason you're thinking, either)... upon opening the windows we discovered the crystal chill of autumn air. autumn has come a day early.

this weather is quite a change from sydney - hot and humid one day, warm and humid the next, humid and raining the day after. and why was i in sydney? you may well ask! i went up for work: we had a stall at the gift and homewares trade show in olympic park (i.e. where people go to sell to businesses). it was our first fair, and the stall looked amazing - so amazing that we won the best new exhibitor award (all credit going to people other than me - i had nothing to do with it, i only stood around looking pretty and selling tea!). i also had a little bit of spare time on sunday night, so i visited sarah and philip (dad's sister and her husband), where i was fed delicious foods and enjoyed the company of non-selling-obsessed people for a few hours... the fair was a fantastic experience, but REALLY INTENSE.

also, i stayed at the ibis hotel in olympic park (O.P. IS SCARY), where the air-conditioner only goes down to 18 degrees, and turns off if you open the window. there was a photo of two half naked men above my bed. they were grappling on the floor. "wrestling" i believe it's called. much bulging of muscles and closing of eyes in... "concentration."

i love flying. leaving sydney last night, the plane climbed into some low cloud, and the low-lying sun lit up the fluff with oranges and pinks. i wouldn't have been surprised if a couple of little cupids had appeared beside my window. it was like falling through a painting. when we banked around and sunk towards tullamarine, the sun was huge and orange on the horizon. it disappeared in our final descent, and by the time i left the airport in the taxi, there was little more than a smidgin of yellow-green to the west...

and now i'm home for a few days, before gallivanting off to east gippsland with esther j for a concert we're playing...

i'll have to get as much snuggling with dan as i can before he leaves for sth africa on sunday.

GARAGE GARAGE GARAGE SALE SALE SALE

THERE IS A GARAGE SALE:

Corner of PLENTY RD and WOOD ST in PRESTON
(entry behind chemist via wood st)

this SATURDAY 25th february.

our friends are MOVING OUT (going overseas indefinitely) and MUST SELL all this stuff!

FURNITURE
A WEB CAM (STILL NEW!)
CROCKERY, GLASSWARE, CUTLERY, KITCHENWARE
NEW CLOTHES (KIDS/WOMEN/MEN/SPORTS)
SECOND HAND CLOTHES
BOOKS AND CDS
JEWELLERY
CANDLES AND PARAPHERNALIA
SHOES
CD RACK
KIDS TOYS AND GAMES

so make your way over there during the day on saturday and check it out. there is SO MUCH STUFF... so much GOOD stuff, most importantly!

OUR FRIENDS

so many things are happening.

erin and julia leave for the world in a couple of weeks.

esther j is moving for ascot vale (or is it travancore?) on the weekend.

theresa and nathan have recently welcomed their baby to this life.

sara-jane and i are both back at uni doing masters degrees.

esther o'r-dg (!!!) is settling into her teaching job.

may is soon going to spain with her dad to walk a pilgrimage trail.

rachel b is planning her trip to the USA, or is she planning fame and glory? or both?

i am going to sydney for work on the weekend.

esther j and i are going to east gippsland to play music for people the weekend after.

on that weekend, dan is also leaving for south africa - his cousin is getting married, and he will be away for about 2 1/2 weeks (*pouts*)

there will come a day when i will have space to think. BUT IT IS NOT THIS DAY!

THIS IS US

NEWS!

dan and rachel are in the process of buying an apartment in thornbury, right near the merri creek and the lygon st tram!

DETAILS: 2 bedrooms, gas heating and cooking, a bath with shower, laundry facilities in bathroom, decent sized lounge with balcony, off street parking, security entrance... it is tenanted until june. our settlement is on 11th june, and we will move in shortly after!

we have a building inspection at 5pm today (my uncle leigh is doing us a great favour), and will then go to the real estate agent's office and give him ALL OUR MONEY as a deposit!!! and also, quite probably, our souls.

for pics, check out dan's site (link on right) and click on the link called "HOME"...

HOW EXCITING!

FOOD. WALKING. WHAT MORE COULD YOU NEED?

Here I am, blogging it up again. You can probably tell that I’m typing offline in a word document, because capital letters are making appearances at the starts of sentences. And ‘sentences’ is spelled correctly. Not spelt. No, no, no.

Yesterday (Saturday) I went to work, which was OK apart from a couple of FERAL children. I worked with Julie (the owner) and Anita. Anita has only just started working at the Tea Party, and also works at Kathmandu. I hope that means good advice on packs and walking gear… and maybe a discount?! We got 4 new teas in on Friday – Turkish Honey Rooibos (3.5 stars in my out-of-5 subjective judgement), Blood Orange (flavoured black tea, 3 stars), Strawberry Sencha (decaf green tea, 4 stars), and Springtime (herbal with liquorice, mint, lemongrass, ginger and lemon peel, 4.5 stars). I have discovered the BEST eggplant dip in the market, at the shop diagonally opposite the place where we get our wraps and boreks. So I have eaten a lot of eggplant dip, which, teamed with their WONDERFUL felafel balls, makes a very, very, VERY yummy lunch.

While I was feasting on dip, Dan was out and about, paying rent and looking at apartments. Well, one apartment. It was in Flemington, and was quite nice, if a little "nice" in tones of beige. Fully renovated, with some rather bizarre nooks and spaces. It is a block of 6, and 3 are for sale – makes me wonder. It is right near the racecourse, so plenty of fun in spring…

After work, we met Esther J and Rachel B at Ripe, on St Georges Rd, and had a drink before heading to the Moroccan Soup Bar. YES! After years of trying, Dan and I finally made it. The food was absolutely delicious: favourites being the chickpea bake (it had yoghurt and paprika and parsley and pita bread (yep!) and some sort of delicious-making-stuff in it to make it delicious) and the tomatoey rice with eggplant. Also didn’t mind the sweets. Or the dips. In fact, it was all great! We had a banquet for $16.50 each, and left very satisfied. YUM. YUM. YUM!

Today Dan worked, and I met Paulina (who works with me at the Tea Party) to go for a walk. We met at the corner of Glenlyon Rd and Lygon St, walked over to the Merri Creek, and along the bike trail to Lake Reserve in Coburg (I figure it’s about 9 or 10 km from my door). The walk was very lovely, though a bit over-populated with Sunday strollers/cyclists/joggers/dog-walkers in some places. We saw a bike race at the Brunswick Velodrome – a first for us both! – and landed at Lake Reserve in the middle of a Greek festival, with dancing, music and food. We ate our picnic lunch while watching the dancers, then wandered up the hill to lay in the sun/shade and read (Paulina: Voltaire, Rachel: textbook on semiotics). Took the tram back down Sydney Rd, where we parted ways, and I had a fossick in Savers. (Let’s just say that I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IT IS. But it was only $1.99, and I got a 20% discount, so it was very worthwhile. If I ever find a use for it, I’ll be sure to inform you!)

Next week, Dan has Tuesday and Wednesday off, so we’re going to visit a couple of apartments in Coburg for a squiz. Hope everyone is well and enjoying whatever weather you’re having (ours is lovely). Cheerio.

CHEAPER THAN AN APARTMENT

we didn't get that apartment... i've taken the link down, so it won't taunt me!

what i DID buy today is a marvellous t-shirt: "ladies sewing circle and terrorist society." it is very cool! and, as the heading tells me, cheaper than an apartment.

now, onto more househunting and dissertation research...

APARTMENTS. TOGETHERMENTS?

Soooo... we are putting in an offer for an apartment in Northcote. Tomorrow. Eek.

You can have a look at it: on the right hand side of this page, there is a link called "Will We Own This Soon?"... Click on it, and be transported into the future home of us. Maybe.

Wish us luck.

WALKING LIKE DORKS: THE SEQUEL

a reasonable amount of fun was had on tuesday when dan and i were joined by erin, may and katherine on our escapade up the moonee ponds creek. we were blessed with one of those mid-20s, sunny-but-not-too-hot days, with a cooling breeze. the creek was still there, and was only slightly fuller than it had been on christmas day (the last time dan and i made our way to five mile creek reserve).

we stayed pretty much on schedule, making it to cross keys reserve at 12:25 and deciding that it wasn't that attractive... so we retraced our steps to five mile creek reserve (that's my name for the nice patch of green anyway!) and spread out our picnicing blankets and stuffed our faces. on the way back we kept up a steady, brisk pace, and were back home by about 2:20 - ahead of schedule.

items of note: half a shopping trolley filled with boulders; a couple of eels in the creek; ducks and ducklings; a strange man standing on the bridge at cross keys reserve; a very cute yound dog/old puppy that we stopped to pat; the aboriginal heritage art at CKR; erin's pumpkin and coriander muffins; jumping or paddling through the creek on the way home; grilling may about her new walking shoes and her planned walk across spain; sharing travel stories with katherine, who went to europe around the same time as we did...

thanks guys for coming! i hope you enjoyed it. we will keep you all informed as to when the next walk will be - hopefully on a sunday, when more people will be able to join us.

*

it makes me proud to be australian: a dilapidated white holden just drove past, sporting a large australian flag, and hooting loudly. really, guys, do i care?

happy australia/aboriginal survival/invasion day, all.

NEARLY THERE

(c) Williams 2006

i'm stealing moments to think of
a boy i never knew
his arms outstretched against the summer skies
dirt knees and an old bike
and a nearly there smile

between the sleeping and the waking
a second when i see his eyes
like sepia or faded colour polaroids
a world stretched out before him
in an album of nearly there times

times when no one can fault him
they don't know what it's like
to be the boy on the nearly there bike
to be the boy with the nearly there life

breaking pictures into pieces
and pieces into sand
the dig for gold goes deeper
into the river bank
the river bed

collating histories for you
- and then she said
- remember when
- you laughed the afternoon away
- the time we had to leave the nectarines unbottled
they melted back into the ground
nearly there, nearly there

and no one can fault you
when they don't know what it's like
to be the boy with the nearly there
to be the boy
nearly there

wrapping all of your collectibles
in cotton wool and tears
your arms stretched thin against the summer skies
small hands and an old bike
and nearly there eyes

WALKING LIKE DORKS

welcome to the brunswick city walkers' society newsletter #1.

heheh, almost had you fooled that i was joking, didn't i?

yesterday dan and i went for a lovely walk. we left the house at 9:30am, greeting the fresh sunny morning with a spring in our step and a mission to find a hat for dan. the hat was found at kmart, barkly square, soon after. we then perambulated along the brunswick streets of barkly, ewing, brunswick (rd) and lygon in the direction of what is now called the capital city trail - the bike/foot path running alongside park st in the line of the old railway. we then proceeded along said trail over nicholson st and st georges rd to rushall station. there we met the merri creek (not the first time we have exchanged pleasantries) crossing and recrossing the water on low wooden footbridges before reaching heidelberg rd. this section was most beautiful - dappled sunlight and the refreshing song of water bubbling over smooth stones. so lovely it was that we have decided we want to move to northcote (or westgarth if we can afford it!) and spend our spare time beside the creek. we emerged from the valley at heidelberg rd, and crossed the bridge (the second of many interesting bridges on our walk!), making our way to yarra bend rd, through the park of the same name, then down past nmit (formerly the fairfield hospital) and to the yarra river and fairfield boathouse. at this fine establishment we partook in devonshire tea (lovely scones, let down by that HORRIBLE squirty-can cream and the presence of - yes, gentle reader! - a teabag!!!). after resting for a time, watching the kayakers fall in the water, and willing the small children to do the same, we retraced our steps towards the merri creek and the capital city trail, heading south onto map 2D. we eventually passed beneath the eastern freeway, stood at the intersection of merri creek and the yarra river, crossed to the western bank, and spent a little while at dights falls - taking our own refreshments and watching a tiger snake trapped in the well of the mill (i never thought i would feel sad for a tiger snake. but who to tell? the council would probably just kill it... but would that be more humane than leaving it to die slowly in its watery cage?). pressing on, we passed through the collingwood childrens farm, which is actually in abbotsford, and (as far as we could see) farms only three small children. there were, on the up side, many cows and goats and sheep and horses and ponies and chooks. still on the capital city trail, we crossed the yarra and climbed up to the ridge in studley park, affording us a fantastic view towards the city and down across richmond towards toorak. soon afterwards, we recrossed the river (yet another bridge!) and arrived on map 2H. from there it was a simple matter of following the path to bridge road, where we emerged at rydges (we are classy).

then we went to visit my grandparents in east kew, and took a taxi home, collapsing into bed at 9:30pm, 12 hours after we left.

*

second item: in case we have somehow missed you out, we will be hosting a walk up the moonee ponds creek next tuesday, 24th january. arrive at our house at 10:30am for fun and good times. we will have a picnic lunch at cross keys reserve (byo everything, free bbq if you're interested). info as follows:

MOONEE PONDS CREEK WALK
TUESDAY 24th JANUARY, 2006

DISTANCE:
Approximately 9km return; 2 1/2 to 3hrs.

RATING:
Very easy; Sealed path.

ITINERARY:
10:30 Meet at ours.
11:00 Start.
11:30ish Evans St Reserve – water fountain.
12:10ish Five Mile Creek Reserve – free electric BBQ.
12:20ish Cross Keys Reserve – toilet.
LUNCHEON!
1:30ish Start return journey.
2:45ish Back to ours – afternoon tea provided.


CHECKLIST:

MUST-HAVES:
Water bottle/s (at least 500mL, preferably 1L)
Comfortable walking shoes (sneakers)
Weather-suitable clothes
Backpack
Waterproof coat (even if rain is not forecast)
Hat and sunscreen (even if it’s cold)
Lunch and a snack (remember to bring cutlery if you need it)

OPTIONAL EXTRAS:
Beanie and scarf; sunglasses
Insect repellent and bite lotion (we’re not going to the jungle, but there might be mozzies)
Bandaids and disinfectant (just in case)
Camera
Book, game, journal, iPod (bring one for me, too!) etc.

*

in other news, the magpies are warbling at the west brunswick breezes, and my tea is cold.

AYE! AVAST!!!

AN AS YET TO BE TITLED SONG

by

Johnson & Williams

for

Bowen

*

you gotst boots
gotst pirate boots from ebay
and i wants them
wants them on my feets
and if you don't want to give them to me
i'm gonna have to make you walk the plank
make you walk the plank!
and the fact that i don't have a ship won't hold me back!!!

i'm going to build myself a galleon
i have a diagram in my book of ships
i'll steal all the wooden fences in my street
and cut down the trees in the park to make a keel
cut down the trees
cut down the trees

and i'll get joe from down the road
who knows a bloke who built a table once
i'll commission them to nail the boards together
into a ship
into a ship
my pirate ship!

and i'll call her the devastator
we'll sail the seven seas
and bring your pirate boots to me!

just outside my window
there are some likely looking telephone poles
in the middle of the night
i'll resource the for my mainmast
for my mainmast
my mainmast

then from my neighbours' washing lines
i'll retrieve a quantity of sheets
even floral ones, but not the fitte ones,
and i'll sew myself some mainsails
and some topsails
and lateen sails
and foresails (sometimes called jibs)
and gaff sails
and all the sails int he world for my ship
for my ship
my pirate ship

and they'll call her the devastator
we'll sail the seven seas
and bring your pirate boots to me!!!

we'll sail
into the bay
on the devastator
say see ya later
to your life
and your boots
you leave me no choice
it's what i have to do
take them off now
and your frock coat, too
and your feathered hat
we won't use that as shark food
i'm sorry
it's come to this
those sharks
look hungry
don't they?

ORANGE JUICE

so, leaving aside my issues with "orange drink" and other slightly misleading labels, and the use of added sugar in juices... WHAT IS THE DEAL with almost all orange juices containing FLAVOUR?!? a typical (sugar-free) ingredients label might read:

orange juice (freshly squeezed and/or reconstituted)
flavour
vitamin c

now, i can let them off on the added vitamin c - i mean people EXPECT orange juice to contain a lot of it, so the company is probably required to have a controlled amout in their juice - but, really... flavour? orange flavour?

IT'S ORANGE JUICE! IT'S FUCKING ORANGE FLAVOURED ALREADY! (albatross! allllbatross! it's fucking seabird flavour!) why? what is it about these oranges that mean they don't taste enough like orange and need orange flavouring to make them taste orangey? IT MAKES ME MAD!

anyway - this reminds me of a time i got a banana muttin on special from safeway, and it didn't taste like banana at all. it tasted like banana lollies. sure enough, it had lots of banana flavour in it. yuck. we are breeding a society in which people think orange flavouring tastes more like oranges than oranges do; banana flavouring tastes more like bananas than bananas do... a society of simulacra, if you will.

BEATLES IN THE AIR...

Dan's turn for a blog, now.

As you may or may not know, our abode is situated a mere 15 minute walk from Melbourne Zoo.
As you may or may not know, in the summer months (starting from today), the Zoo hosts live music sessions.
As you may or may not know, this years inaugral act is Aussie Beatles tribute band The Beatnix.

I am sitting in front of our computer and can here the concert floating out from the menagerie. It is very strange to hear a live Beatles concert in the air above the streets outide your house.

As you may or may not know, they are currently playing Back In The USSR.

You don't know how lucky you are, boy...

LURKERS

people, people, people. did you know that we have lurkers, lurking in a lurkerly fashion around this blog? did you know that they are INTIMIDATED by some (such as samsam and johnnyswitchblade - entities who are altogether too fashionably daring and frighteningly witty for their own good) and are thus not leaving comments? at least, that's their excuse. but i think we will all play nice, don't you...?

come out, little louis-rupert. no one will hurt you.

much.

*

on other notes, i gather that all approximately 4 friends (including dan) have visited me at the tea party. POOR FORM! think of all the great things you will get to be near: tea, for one; me as well; the market (prime target for terrorism in melbourne, my boss told me!); joe's potato and onion type stall out the back (i think he's almost convinced himself that my name is sinead. no, really)... um... the funny fish-smell, and that convenience store that sells little wibbly jelly sweets, like the squishy things from vina-bar. so come and visit. i am next working on thursday.

louis, i expect to see you there. what with the time difference you could even make it home in time for shabbat (or whichever variation on the spelling you prefer).

*

and an update on the short breakfast: "BREKY," as seen (fashionably misspelled) on a chalkboard for a brunswick st cafe. i have witnesses (esther? julia?).

BLOODY HELL

i just spent 25 minutes writing a blog, and the computer crashed. genius.

in essence, i was rambling on about a hypothetical situation in which a young couple ("rachel" and "dan") were renting a very small apartment, and wondering whether they should rent a bigger apartment for about $20 more per week, in a location of their choice, with laundry facilities... even if they were looking to buy somewhere and didn't really want to move AGAIN and AGAIN (4 times in one year? nooooooooo!!!)... i was wondering if you, dear reader, had any helpful suggestions for the pair.

my preferred option is for them to settle into their current apartment, obtain furniature (shelves, storage, etc) to suit the dimensions of their place, sell their unwanted stuff on ebay (heehee), create some sort of herb garden in pots on the concrete strip under the desolate washing lines out the back, get a small couch (floomping space)... and keep looking for somewhere to buy.

...

who'd be grown up, i ask you?

BOXING DAY TEST

a. the cricket was rather boring. slow. australia won the toss and elected to bat, so we didn't see much of them. ponting made a century, hayden took about fifteen hours to make something like 80 runs... in case any anti-cricket people read this and scoff that cricket is always boring, well... in this case it was, and if you happened to catch a day like this on tv or radio then you would think that cricket is always boring. so. boring.

b. sat near rowdy group of yobbos (young yobbos) who alternated their chants between "aussie, aussie, aussie, oi, oi, oi" (on the odd occasion that hayden hit the ball) and "you are a wanker" (to pretty much anything at the mcg) and "skollskollskoll" (to members of their sect) and "wwwoooooaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrritrirrr" (to any female-type humanoid in their bleary line of vision), occasionally interspersing them with the time honoured "you're going home in the back of a divvy van" and "bay thirteen are wankers" (the sentiment i agree with, but in this case its a bit of a pot/kettle situation), the alarming "she sucks all the boys" (at which point i decided i didn't really like being in that area any more), and the always amusing "we want a streaker". at one point i wa fascinated to hear "wanna see the cops kiss", and thought all my suspicions about male sports fans and repressed homosexual desires were wrong, and that those desires were actually manifesting around me. alas, the police officers were both female (not that i mind the idea of women loving women in uniform). oh, and also one fist fight, into which came a few baton-weilding keepers of the peace... yuck.

c. despite sitting under shade for most of the day, and applying sunscreen and wearing a hat, i have been pinkened. yes! pinkened!

d. i bought some chips, which were delicious. the person in front of me bought a 600ml bottle of water. for THREE DOLARS AND NINETY CENTS!!!!!

... on the plus side, there are at least two more days of the test, and i could go to both to see if the game can redeem itself... mmm, cricket!

"NEW" AND "YEAR" AND "RESOLUTIONS" IN THE SAME BREATH

i don't make new year's resolutions, and if i happen to break the habit this time round i certainly won't be writing them up here where everyone can see them, and mock me mockingly if i don't keep to them.

thank you

THAT TIME OF YEAR

it's that time of year, when you suddenly realise that christmas is not actually 'a couple of weeks away'... it's NEXT WEEKEND. and then you think about all those good intentions you had of sending cards to everyone, especially to your friends OS, and the dreadful knowledge creeps over you that the cards will NEVER get there on time, and you are doomed - DOOMED! - to the pits of hell for your slatternly behaviour.

on a more positive note - i got the scholarship! so i will be rich, RICH i tell you!... well, at least i won't be starving.

a wattle bird landed on the rosemary bush outside our window, and as the rosemary bush is rather small, and the wattlebird rather large, it fell off. but all is well, as it then turned its attentions to the paperbark tree, and hung upside down for a time to regain its composure.

other news? oh, the house was sold to someone with more money than us - damn them! so we are looking around for another place in the area... one day, one day!

dan and i are about to enter the sixth tier of hell, known to others as 'christmas retail,' so your thoughts, prayers and/or condolances will be much appreciated!

STEVE MARTIN

as far as i can tell, i'm the only person i know who has a phobia of steve martin. it is, as all phobias tend to be, a slightly irrational fear... the threat steve martin poses to me is far smaller than the fear i have of him. i examined this fear the other night, and this song emerged. (it has backing vox, in brackets, too!!!)

*

ODE TO STEVE MARTIN

dear steve
i don't like you (ooo wah-ooo wah-ooo)
in fact i despise you (steve)
they say all these things about you
you're talented (talented)
intelligent (intelligent)
but you're american
i hate your voice, your smirk, your smile
i hate your hair - it's too damned white

steve (steve)
i don't like you (no, no, no, she doesn't like you, no, no, no)
in fact despise you (steve)
they say all these things
they say you're funny but you're not
i heard a twelve year old girl say she thought you were hot (oh no)
please steve, get off my tv, get out of the movies
go and play golf or something
somewhere (somewhere)
i don't have to hear of you ever again (shoobee doowee doowop)

please steve, i'm begging you
begging you to go and do
something that doesn't require you to be seen by me
you're giving me nightmares (nightmares)
your horrible white hair (white hair)
your hideous smirking sneer
(wah-ooo) you're old and ugly
(wah-oo) you're worse than bill murray
(wah-ooo) at least he's funny
sometimes (sometimes)

get off (get off, get off) the magazines
get off (get off, get off) the tv
get off (get off, get off) the movies
before i hurt your feelings

steve (steve)
i don't like you (no, no, no, she doesn't like you, no, no, no)
in fact i despise you
steve

*

pretty mean, aren't i?

A MIXED CD

muchas flores: rosario
it's gonna be alright: gerry and the pacemakers
diamonds on the soles of her shoes: paul simon
the way you dream: michael stipe & asha bhosle
clandestino: manu chao
who needs forever?: astrud gilberto//theivery corporation
be careful what you pray for: vika & lynda
eireann: afro celt sound system release
stuff and nonsense: missy higgins
the badger: the tea party
baby please: johnnie johnson
bei mir birst du schon (means that you're grand): the andrews sisters
lafayette: hot lips page
see-line woman: nina simone//masters at work
electric blue: the cranberries
rainyday: emaline delapaix
love is a place i dream of: luka bloom
truth: neil finn
last train to clarksville: the monkees
skye waulking song - chuir m'athair mise dhan taigh charraideach (my father sent me to a house of sorrow): capercaillie

*

what are the hallmarks of a great mixed cd? it all depends on the purpose - who is it for? what do you want to say? when and were will it be played?...

when i get a mixed cd, i really like it if the mixer has chosen some songs that i am familiar with but don't have, some styles of music i like and some that i don't usually listen to. i am a big fan of lyrics and vocals, so i like it if i can hear what is being said. conversely i also like songs in languages other than english. i don't like getting mixed cds that only reflect the mixer's tastes. sometimes i am guilty of this myself.

in this case, the cd is for my new place of work: a boutique tea shop at the vic market. the vibe is slightly chilled, slightly left of mainstream. the music needs to be smooth and easy to listen to but not tackily so, relaxed and chilled but not morose. the other cds in the shop include dido, moby, many chillout sessions, the new madonna album, another mixed cd i made... (you can see the track listing to that on sam's blog - click on the link at the side>>)

what do you think of my mix? what do you like in a mixed cd? what do you put on a mixed cd?