A Mundane Week in Autumn

[aggienaut]

I've got a million pictures of Cato on my shoulders but I think this one came out particularly good.

   Just a mundane week here. It's a depressing time of year, as Autumn sets in, but we don't even have the autumn holidays one looks forward to in the states - April being the southern hemisphere October, we'd be thinking about Halloween at this time if this was the states, but nope nothing. Though I am thinking about making eggnog, since I read somewhere it should be aged a few months and want it ready for the heart of winter in June/July. Because terms for the different cream-levels of milk are different here I had to talk consult with cooking magician Koriander for recipe adjustments.
   Normally this time of year I have projects abroad to look forward to, but this year all the organizations I usually work with are saying they don't have budget for any new projects -- I vaguely suspect I can blame Trump for this (the money all cmmes from USAID). Other than a possible project in Haiti, anywhere I go will have to be on my own dime and time, yuck. There's a traditional wedding in Kenya I am invited to and would really like to attend but it's expensive getting oneself to Africa... and it's the exact same day my uncle is getting married in the States so I might be in trouble if I go off to a wedding in Africa instead ::hides::



   For four days this week the weather was actually extremely nice, highs in the upper seventies, sunny. Even in the evening it was comfortable! I don't think we've had four days in a row of nice weather all year. Went to trivia in Geelong town on Tuesday for the first time in possibly months just to see everyone. Wednesday I finished the labels for my honey -- In the picture above you see the front and back of the label as seen on the smaller 500g pale/bucket/jar/thing, as well as my really messy table (the two wine bottles immediately behind it are Udi's wine actually). The honey is a different color in the bottom 1kg bucket because thats the one that's been sitting on my kitchen table for months and has crystalized. Its currently the same size label on both buckets, but it kind of covers the whole side on the smaller buckets and I may get smaller labels for the smaller buckets in the future. Any thoughts on anything even as subtle as font choice are appreciated. I set the expiration date as "5:08pm 01/02/2099" as sort of a joke -- the health official I talked to had said honey doesn't need one but it's worth putting on since people expect one on food products, and I can set it at absolutely anything I want.


Logo and the nearby landmark it's supposed to be reminiscent of -- this is the "cover image" our designer made for our as-yet-uncreated facebook page.

   Also I might increase the opacity of the three hive logo that is currently under the name on the front label, since it's currently so faint it kind of just looks like a stain.

   Thursday I brought a load of honey to the cafe my friend Joe and his wife run and sold it to them. It was interesting negotiating a price with my good friends since instead of trying to hardball eachother we were like "so.. what should the price be?" "::shrug::, what do other people sell you honey for?" "ummmm let me check" ... I think in the end I matched the prices of the higher priced other local supplier -- $14/kg from the store to me, to be put on the shelf at $22 (for the 1kg units, for the 500g $15 on the shelf and same $14/kg wholesale) I think the Apiary has 390g jars on the shelf for $14, I've always thought their prices were ridiculously high. But hey if people will pay it... and since it has an infinite shelflife I'm happy to set it at a high price that may sell eventually over a lower price that may fly off the shelf.

   Felt like I was comning down with a bit of a cold so used 5 hours of sickday to take the rest of the day off. Was just sickish enough to be mildly uncomfortable all day.

   Friday I had to drive down to Melbourne to get one last load of hives from the sterilizer. Man it's a whole long day of driving to go down there and back. It was a good my-health-may-not-be-100%-yet activity though ... but then my health was bound to take a thorough shellacking because my friend Trent is going abroad next week for potentially years so we were bound for a night of heavy drinking at his favorite place Friday night. Rheingold's is one of those Kitschy permanent-Oktoberfest style German restaurants, located in the basement of an old bank so it feels a bit like a dungeon. One pays one amount for all-you-can eat dinner (they roast a whole pig, as well as provide sauerkraut and other such appropriate things. I found I was strangely loving the sauerkraut), and one can pay for drinks as one goes or like $60 for all you can drink tap beer -- which I did the math and I'd have to drink three liters to make that worthwhile which is NOT about to happen -- but many people go for it and try to get their money's worth and hence end up ridiculously drunk. Really funny animated-gif picture of Trent being goofy as the roast pig is paraded by behind him. A large group of students (of medicial imaging apparently) from a local univsersity happened to be there too, all dressed up in lederhosen and such. It was a really fun evening. As we were leaving a cold wind was beginning to gust but it still felt nicer than most evenings all summer.

   In the morning I woke up on my friend Greg's couch to sideways rain pelting down outside. Driving home through it was wild, as the car got buffeted and in places it looked like the water was just flowing across the country roads in a roiling mist -- I passed at least one car that I think had decided to stop and wait it out. All weekend it's continued to rain and generally be cold and yucky. Fortunately I didn't need to leave the house. I'm actually glad when we get this shit weather on the weekend because unlike the rest of you, my work is not a fun place to be in poor weather -- I'm either outside or in a non-temperature-controlled shed.



And here's Cato looking more sweet and innocent than he ever has before! Normally he likes to strike such stern poses.

Random pandora discovery song of the week: Save This Penny - Medicine --I really like this style of music, I guess one would call it "folk" but I think if I told people I liked folk music they'd picture something hokey going on with banjos, so I find it hard to describe.

Comments

[thismaz.livejournal.com]

What a very handsome cat.

If you were coming down with a cold (especially a sore throat), sauerkraut is a good remedy, like kimchi - full of virophage bacteria.

[emo-snal.livejournal.com]

I wonder if my body knew sauerkraut was just what I needed and thats why it tasted so delicious to me?? I think one's body does work like that some times. I've been feeling proud of myself for having not eaten out much lately, but when preparing food for myself I don't think I consume enough vegetables so its a problem. :-/

[nemophilist.livejournal.com]

Cato is so cute!

That is so much alcohol to drink holy shit! I'm tipsy off two. :0

Hope you're feeling better!

[emo-snal.livejournal.com]

And Australia is a bit of a "nanny state" so I was like "how is letting people drink liters and liters of beer not a violation of the Responsible Serving of Alcohol (certification bartenders must go through), ??" and my friends were like "uhhhh yeah it probably is." AND meanwhile the barstaff insisted they couldn't sell us shots. I supppppose that's maybe wise not to combine shots with liters of beers but for people like me, I physically cannot drink more than probably a liter and a half of beer, (I don't know how people manage the throughput!) but I wanted to be at least close to as drunk as everyone else, and for me the only possible way to achieve that is shots!! Sadly, no luck!

[wpadmirer.livejournal.com]

Cato is gorgeous.

I agree you should increase the opacity of the three hives on the label. It's a nice logo, show it off!

The gif of your friend is funny.

[emo-snal.livejournal.com]

Thanks! (:

[feodora.livejournal.com]

K. always wanted a cat who likes to be carried arround on his shoulders, but none likes it. Our old cat Maria jumped off instantly, Schröder (the right on the userpic) can't even be picked up easily at all. Linus, the black one left , stays for some seconds and heavily using his claws to jump of after some seconds. OUCH

[emo-snal.livejournal.com]

Haha Cato is the best adventure cat! :-3

My parents' last cat I think I set a record when it permitted me to hold it for a whole 30 seconds!!

[rosegardenfae.livejournal.com]

Wow, that is one huge cat!

[emo-snal.livejournal.com]

Yeah! He used to hurt my neck at first but I've gotten used to it / he's successfully trained me. :-3

[wantedonvoyage.livejournal.com]

I rather like the way the Someday-Facebook logo is presented, including the sans font. If it were me, I would use that same look consistently on the containers, with the hives above it as shown there.

I have often though it must seem odd to have the weather getting warmer as Christmas approaches, vs. colder. I guess it's one thing if you came up there and were used to it, but for someone born this side of the equator.... I am weirded out enough by Christmastide in Florida, even though we visit in early December every year.

[emo-snal.livejournal.com]

Hmm with the actual "apostles" on the label?

I need to go back and get a photo of it side by side with the other honeys on the shelves. The mentioned competitor "the Apiary" has a very nice label but I think it's a bit too busy, and the one on the other side is the other end of the spectrum, with just the word "HONEY" printed on a plain white label. I like how mine the word "honey" stands out at a distance but it's got just enough going on to be a bit classier than the one that just says"honey."

Yeah people here are used to it and roundly express no sympathy for my objection to no holidays in winter and chirstmas in Summer. Yeah its convenient having a load of days off during the nicest part of the year... though personally and in my specific industry, I could really use that time to do work and would rather have more vacation in winter to get the fuck ooouuuuuut. Yeah the weather is nice in summer but I can always go find nice weather, I'd rather not be stuck here in the poor weather!!

[ryl.livejournal.com]

We joke here that our cat Tabitha was a falcon in a previous life because she likes to perch on shoulders and arms. She gets away with it because she's a tiny tabby. I can't imagine carrying around a big cat like Cato on my shoulders.

[emo-snal.livejournal.com]

Haha sometimes Cato crawls out on my arm -- he's able to trick me into putting my arm out because I feel like he's about to fall of and I need to balance him, next thing I know I have my arm out at a right angle with him on it exactly like he IS a god damn cat falcon!!!

[pondhopper.livejournal.com]

Cato is absolutely gorgeous and King of your realm by the looks of it. If you went off on projects elsewhere, where does he stay? (I have dogs so I know what providing for them means when we travel).

Yes, increasing the opacity of the three hive logo would be good. It gets lost on your label as it stands now.

I'm so Northern Hemisphere that just reading about the seasons in reverse for me set my head spinning...and I have Aussie friends!

A whole roast pig sounds pretty good to me! But all that alcohol...if they did half rations say at $30., maybe. LOL

[emo-snal.livejournal.com]

There's jet lag, which everyone knows about, and seasno-lag which most people don't even tihnk about but it can be really hard to get your head around!!

In re a lot of alcohol, since Australia is a bit of a "nanny state" I was like "how is letting people drink liters and liters of beer not a violation of the Responsible Serving of Alcohol (certification bartenders must go through), ??" and my friends were like "uhhhh yeah it probably is." AND meanwhile the barstaff insisted they couldn't sell us shots. I supppppose that's maybe wise not to combine shots with liters of beers but for people like me, I physically cannot drink more than probably a liter and a half of beer, (I don't know how people manage the throughput!) but I wanted to be at least close to as drunk as everyone else, and for me the only possible way to achieve that is shots!! Sadly, no luck!

And Cato actually lives on the farm I'm based at so when I'm gone he's fed with the other animals. But I miss him! And he's usually kind of pissed at me for a week after I come back (though last time I brought him a tune treat as soon as I saw him and earned instant forgiveness!) :-3

[belleweather.livejournal.com]

I think you've put the blame in the right place on that one, pretty much. If we don't have anyone at the top of our agencies to sign off on programming, then we don't have any programming. It's maddening.

[emo-snal.livejournal.com]

Argh! Its really irksome!! What am I gonna dooooo all winter??? ):

[adoptedwriter.livejournal.com]

Cato is beautiful!

[emo-snal.livejournal.com]

I agree!! :-3

[ravena-kade.livejournal.com]

That is a lovely photo of you and cato.

Our spring here in the states has not even come. Today we have freezing rain...yuck... and in some places it is snowing. We are too cold for the time of year.

[emo-snal.livejournal.com]

Yeah I've been seeing a lot of friends posting about poor weather. So at the present moment its cold and miserable throughout the world I think!

[amethyst-witch.livejournal.com]

What a handsome cat! So regal.

Rain for the next week here, too. Rain/snow/hail, bleh. It's movie week haha

[emo-snal.livejournal.com]

I was feeling a bit stir crazy after just a weekend stuck indoors!

[newwaytowrite.livejournal.com]

Some cats love that drape around the neck and ride the shoulders.
You gave your friend a good send off.
I wish it was October here and we could have another rainy season rather than the heat of summer and sadly likely our third year of drought inducing summer. Tourist season is late starting this year due to cool than normal Spring temperatures...fine by me.

[emo-snal.livejournal.com]

I remember last year I was thinking about how I spent all summer looking forward to winter travels and all winter looking forward to summer. It's a good way to be, always looking forward to things I think. I read somewhere a study had indicated people get more enjoyment from anticipating their vacations than actually being on it. But this autumn, I don't have much to look forward to this winter except for winter being finally over eventually ):

[pundigrion.livejournal.com]

Cato is looking very regal with his dapper human servant there!

[emo-snal.livejournal.com]

:-3
:-D

[vf-krome-pchyol.livejournal.com]

Are you this guy from the film?))))) With the cat?))))
You describing your life, like the fucking celebrity)))

[emo-snal.livejournal.com]

Haha what film??

[mexpatriot.livejournal.com]

Such a lovely cat, Cato!

Here is the label for the honey I buy at their honey store (I've mentioned this before.). They have their honey separated (different jars and labels) by what flowers the bees used to produce it.




The honey store:


Their site: http://www.apiariosabarca.com/ This is a pretty crappy site. There is no mention of their various products, especially the various types of flowers used. I'm surprised they even have a site. But the crappiness is in keeping with the Mexican internet.

I think their design and their products are really good. I would do more with your label design. I like the one that shows the sea/rocks and the bees. That one looks really good!

[emo-snal.livejournal.com]

Some times maybe its hard to separate what _I_ think looks good on a label vs what most people might. Personally I know I really really like simple. Like I've always liked the traditional port wine labels which are really straightforward compared to any other alcohol product. Or see also the somewhat minimalist design of my aid organization, which was made entirely by myself, not a web designer by any means, but I'm pretty happy with what it looks like. The labels on the bottles in the picture you posted look like they have way too much going on on them to me, which I justify to myself that the brain needs to instantly comprehend the important details at first glance and not be trying to sort out the important information on the bottle from the fluff, but I am also well aware that I am crochety and set in my ways and need to optimize the labels for what OTHER people are more apt to buy not me myself ;D

[the-leewit.livejournal.com]

The label is wonderful and so is the cat.

[emo-snal.livejournal.com]

Thanks! (:

[mexpatriot.livejournal.com]

I enjoy the GIF of your friend! He seems to really enjoy his roast pig! I would, too! Not much German food here. My all-time favorite Wurst is the Käsekrainerwurst. http://www.visitingvienna.com/eatingdrinking/food/kasekrainer/ I came to know this one when living in Vienna for a year.



Jesus! All-you-can-drink beer for $47US! That's a lot of money! I can make 20 liters of beer for $25US. I don't go out for drinks much. When in Rome...I would easily do three liters, depending on the ABV, I guess.

You're of German descent, right? Do you pronounce the E at the end of your name as "Uh"? FRICK-UH?

I was born in West Berlin. My mom's German and my dad Italian. I love beer. I really never drink liquor any more. I drink beer every day. I prefer my own homebrews to most commercial beers. There are a few Belgian, German, Austrian, and Czech beers that I will still pay dearly for.

The Bavarian Schneider Meine Hopfenweisse is one of those rare beers. It's a Bavarian Hefeweizen with tons of hops. A very unique creation.



In Austria, a liter of beer is a Maβ, a half-liter (the normal size) is a Krügerl, and 250 milliliter a Pfiff (for the Fräulein). A Maβ is too much at once. It’s likely to get warm before I finish it. So it’s Krügerl for me! :)

[emo-snal.livejournal.com]

Hmm wiki says said sausage is like kielbasa?

I primarily drink beer when out with friends at the pub just to have something in my hand I guess. If there's good craft and/or dark beer I will drink beer for genuine enjoyment but out here even the best beers are kind of unexciting for me. Rarely any more do I drink to feel the alcohol but if I'm at a party and trying to accellerate myself to a level of intoxication which will allow me to actually dance ;) I generally need help from something stronger than beer. I'm also quite fond of a glass of whiskey to "take the edge off" as they say while relaxing in the evening and watching a favorite show on netflix.

Oh and of course mead. I'm running into the weird problem where I need to taste it for legitimate quality control reasons, but even a small intake of alcohol during the workday makes me feel kind of weird and off.

Yeah we pronounce it frick-eee. I will also accept frick-eh which I think is the more correct German pronunciation. I don't know why telemarketers always ask for "Mr Frickle." If you job is to get someone on the line you'd think you'd learn not to insert letters that aren't there.

I always order a pint because "anything less is unamerican!" (I told you, I'm crochety), but I do find if I'm just haivng a beer with dinner the half pint (what they call here a "schooner" I believe) is usually more about what I'm after.

[lindahoyland.livejournal.com]

Just love Cato.

[emo-snal.livejournal.com]

Me tooooo :-3

[shygirl123.livejournal.com]

Cute pic of you and your kitty!

[emo-snal.livejournal.com]

Thanks (: (:

[the-leewit.livejournal.com]

I've never heard of eggnog being aged before! I am keen to try it.

[emo-snal.livejournal.com]

I'll have to review my notes. Last time I looked I think a lot of recipes didn't actually call for aging. But I could see it really benefitting!

[lab-jazz.livejournal.com]

That's one hell of a gorgeous cat♥

[emo-snal.livejournal.com]

I think so too! :-3

[halfshellvenus.livejournal.com]

He is such a handsome cat! What do his owners actually call him? I should put owners in quotation marks...

I'll admit, though, every time I see a picture of the two of you together, I start to stress out a little about what happens when you have to move to a new job or country, and are no longer part of his orbit! He will miss you terribly!

[emo-snal.livejournal.com]

He will! When Ii leave for a few weeks and come back he is usually mad at me. I feel so bad for him every time I leave!

The owners call him Kato. I didn't make the connection with the pink panther character who jumps on people. Much as I appreciate that reference and/or the statesman Cato I definitely wouldn't have gone for a name that sounds like I just added -o to cat if it had been up to me ;D

[meringues.livejournal.com]

Love the first pic!

[emo-snal.livejournal.com]

Cato the visionary gazes off into the distance! :-3

[calico-pye.livejournal.com]

Your cat is adorable :-)

[emo-snal.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I think so too! :-3