Today I had what I believe to be my first MVA, which I learnt on ER the other night is now a MVC (motor vehicle accident --> motor vehicle collision). Fortunately it wasnt major and no injuries were suffered, but unfortunately I missed the visual affair. I was riding in my usual Route 20 bus to uni facing the back of the bus. We were but seconds into the journey when I heard, but did not see, us thud right into the back of a SVU which must have suddenly stopped for pedestrians. Most of the passengers decided to take their lives into their own hands and resorted to foot power or another bus for the final installment of their journey. I waited patiently for the bus driver to get the necessary details for us to be on our way. One of the aforementioned passengers somewhat embarrassedly hopped back on the very bus he just escaped from, one bus stop down the road. Thankfully the bus held together to get me to uni but 10 mins later than usual. Only then could I see the reasonably impressive indented front bus panels and slightly cracked windscreen. What will happen tomorrow!

I ventured home briefly last Thursday for my follow up appointment with my surgeon. I dreaded this moment as I was pretty sure I would be repremanded for my lack of recovery and stupid hobble. I was also worried about the cartilage issue. I knew that I had lost a fair bit, which he had described as being 'half'. The unanswered question was "half what!". Thankfully the doctor was much kinder than expected and was willing to indulge me with answers to appease my worries. I had caused a bucket-handle tear all the way across my inside meniscus disc. This part has no blood supply and therefore wouldnt heal, so out it had to come. This kinda relieved me as at least I still have some all the way around, just not enough. I have and increased risk of artheritus of my knee, which has been pretty much a given after many years of knee problems. The good, good news was that my new ligand is still there and attached. I think it would be rather embarrassing for the doctor to tug on your knee and for him to pull out the screwed in ligament. Thankfully this scenerio did not eventuate. For the rest of the day I was busy backing up the 12 GB of MP3 and video material that I had downloaded over the weeks at home. My youngest brother had been involved in corrupting the regeristry of windows and a full format was required. So now I have all my rare Elliott Smith, Radiohead, Divine Comedy etc files in an uncertain transition state waiting on CDs until I can find them a permanent home, which I am currently working on. About the only requirement for my system is humping thumping sound. So $340 speakers might be in order. I shall have consult the treasury first before I commit to my dream machine.
The next day we were having a potluck lunch in the foyer of the Laby building. I made one of my mondo sausage pizzas at home to take. I was planning to cunningly transport it in sections sealed in ice cream containers but father woke me with 15 min to get to the train station. I crammed my bag full, briefly showered and just wrapped my pizza in glad wrap. It is rather interesting to note the looks one gets when training and busing while carrying a pizza in one hand and a pair of crutches in another. The whole department dressed up in suits and dresses and consumed much food and wine into the afternoon. The red wine unfortunately put me to sleep during our group meeting. Thankfully I didnt have to present and only Emma noticed me knodding.

Twas a rather bizarre incident on Thursday morning. I was patiently waiting for my bus to uni at the Courtney Place bus stop with the usual mix of students and workers. One man particularly stood out. It wasn't because of his age, size or colour, but due to his accesories and manner. I first noticed him as he was kindly asking all the travelers whether they would like a sandwich that he was holding before them. We all gently declined the offer so he decided that the birds would be the benefactors. After carefully unwrapping the sandwich he placed it in the middle of the footpath, even opening the sandwich so as to give the first birds a crack at the bacon. Unfortunately the likelihood of any bird risking the scavenge of sandwich was very low due to the amount of foot traffic in this area. The man proceeded to his seat and sat down briefly. Within a minute he was up and about again, but this time embracing a large stuffed tiger under his left arm and carrying an ice pick in the other hand. I then noticed that he had also been unable to donate a banana to any of the commuters and again had decided that the birds would have meal on the house. But it had taken a couple of minutes for this animal lover to realise the difficulty one bird would have in carrying this large piece of fruit to its nest (as we don't have any African swallows capable of this task). He took to the banana with his ice pick, dividing the banana into seemly manageable pieces. Thus he returned to his seat safe in the knowledge that the lowly NZ sparrow now stands a chance of a free lunch. It was obvious that this adventurer had regretted sharing all his lunch, as after a quick inspection of the broken banana, he selected and consumed one section straight from the well worn footpath. He must be keen to keep his immune system in good order. Finally he turned to the sandwich, devouring the slice of bacon after remembering that sparrows are vegetarians. Alas this was the last I saw of this sorry soul, as just as he returned to his seat my bus arrived and I was off to uni with a bearing a large grin.

This very past minute I received news that my CD package arrived! The joy of returning home has doubled!

Monday was Pop's birthday, what would have been his 75th birthday. It is amazing how fast time has flown since he died. Thankfully I still have voice recordings of him that I can reply in my head. Nice to hear that voice again. My Nana is about to embark on the trip to Vietnam that they had both planned to do. It will be a sad occassion for her as it will be the first overseas trip she will have taken without Pop being there. At least Aunty Roslyn will be there with her. It's weird to think that Nana is my only grandparent left. Both Grandad and Pop have died within the past two years. After that generation is past, death will turn to our parents. Scary thoughts. Enjoy family while we have them!!

It has been rather refreshing returning to the flat. Days seem to speed past much faster here. Evenings hardly exist, with even less being achieved than idleness at home. I have even been watching more tv here than at home when i had all day to watch it. I am glad that I have no longer the opportunity to download in wellington. I was rather sick of downloading making up the most major activity of my life. And i dont believe there is much more that i can download about Elliott Smith except all the live performances that have been recorded. I managed to download the Towering Above the Rest collection of Radiohead bootlegs, b-sides, unreleased material, demos etc. Its a total of 10 CDs worth. Let me know if you would like me to burn an MP3 copy of it.