It's A Long Way
Uh yeah, g'day. So, as it may or may not have become apparent by now, I've been spending the past week losing touch with reality chiefly due to rocking out on my newly imported copy of Rock Band 2 way too much - too much as in just under 7 hours a day. Which is a lot when you spend most of the day at the office.
But, I have been hanging out for RB2 for what would be over 2 years now. RB1 on the Wii is far too cut down, EA to this day still haven't released the game here in Australia, and the Guitar Hero games don't quite have the same soul to them. Or the same kind of ability to sexify your customised characters.
Speaking of which, I was going to hook my Wii up to the TV capture card on my computer and get a few photos to get a couple of screenshots, but I found something even better.
Click for full size
You got to hand it to Harmonix, they sure know how to promote their games. Basically you can generate customised wallpapers from their website of your in game characters if you enter in your game code and some such. So that's one I made of my band which I've named The Way Your Mother Likes It. Mostly because "Just the way your mother likes it, Trebeck" was too long and wouldn't fit. (THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID.)
No prizes for guessing which one I usually play as, though. And yes, I totally made sure that the drummer in my band wears pants. Because somebody has to be on pants duty, 'course.
I picked up microphone stand a day or so after I got the game, too. Partly so that I could send a new personal record on the douche-o-meter, and partly so I could finally guitar and sing at the same time. I know that probably sounds a little sad but it's actually really quite fun, and not to mention a great way to unwind after getting home every day. So far I'm confined to only doing both at once on easier songs that I know the lyrics to, since it's very hard to pay attention to 2 areas on the screen at once. Or maybe because I just suck. Either way.
And I gotta say, if nothing else the mic stand has finally made me become a bit more aware of just how excessively tall I really am.
I hear there's supposed to be a Rock Band 3 coming out towards the end of this year, and that EA won't be the ones distributing it this time around either. Hopefully whoever is doing that won't forget about us here down under this time around. I mean, it's not all just kangaroos and outback in this country. There are a lot of people who don't mind a good video game here, too.
And now for something completely different. The other day after work, one of my colleagues who I work with was going to a property inspection since he's currently looking for a rental property. His route took him near Malvern train station which is a station 2 stops away from where I normally disembark, so if figured I'd accompany him down in that general direction via a tram that conveniently stops in front of the office, and in front of Malvern station. I'd been meaning to try out different routes getting from the office to see which is the quickest.
Malvern station is a funny place to catch a train at rush hour because there are a lot of limited express trains that run through there. Some of them didn't stop there so I couldn't get on, and some of them didn't stop at my stop and would instead take me 5 stops further down which was not something I particularly wanted to experience.
So the first train to arrive took about 5 minutes, but it unfortunately was an express that didn't stop at Malvern, so all I could do was sit and wait. A few minutes later came another train - this one stopped there but wouldn't stop where I wanted to get off, so I all could do was watch the other passengers come and go. The third train that was due would be the one I was going to get on. It would stop where I wanted to get on from, and it would stop where I wanted to get off at.
A few minutes past before that one showed up. It came, and it went. Without stopping. ...Whoops, somebody in the control box fucked up. Most unfortunately, the next train that would arrive was going to be in another half an hour, and it wouldn't stop where I wanted to get off. So, I figured "Bugger that, I may as well walk." So I did.
And I also figured that since I was in for a bit of a trek, I'd at least have a little fun along the way. Tried the GPS that was allegedly built in to my phone for the first time, see if was any good. That turned out to be a little easier to figure out how to use than I'd feared. And on top of that, I decided to take a few photos along the way home and maybe use them for a little show and tell. Y'know, just for kicks.
Firstly, just before I go any further, this is the view from my office window. Since I'm not working in the CBD any more, there aren't very many buildings around us that are more than 2 stories tall. Well, except for those new developments happening in the background there. I am a bit surprised to see so many large construction projects happening in such close proximity together, at least in this city. You'd think Melbourne was a bit more prosperous than it really was or something.
And just for the record, those buildings there to the left of frame don't actually constitute as being part of the CBD. To get there, you need to take the train about 5 stops going towards the right.
This is the first photo I took after I decided to leave and walk. It was only around 6:30pm or so and it was already getting dark. It gets dark pretty quick after 6 around these parts after daylight saving ends. Also there was a pretty light show happening in the thunderclouds brewing above that night. Despite my sincerest efforts, I was unable to catch any of the flashes on film.
I decided to follow the freeway to get home, since I didn't quite trust the GPS at this stage. I had actually wanted to get a shot of the traffic and frankly didn't notice the huge Tooronga Rd sign in the dead centre of frame until I looked at these photos again after getting home. I guess sometimes you really can be just a little bit zoned out.
The walk home took me past a gym - fancy gym at that. I'm not sure if Fitness First has operations in other cities or countries, but I know that it's something of a franchise here in Melbourne. I never bothered going to them myself. Always thought that a good walk to go somewhere made more sense than to jog on the spot and go nowhere. That and I could never see myself regularly making time to go to a gym.
I'm not sure how well you can see it, but that's a train that's crossing the rail bridge to the right of frame there. My guess is that that was the express train over taking me, so I suppose that means at that stage I'd have been walking for 30 minutes. Or it could be a different train and I'd been walking for longer, since y'know, the trains on that day really liked to mess with me.
Passed some store fronts on the way home, too. It made me wonder just how much business they actually get. I mean sure, they're located on the side of a freeway so there's sure to be a lot of people who see them every day. But I'm willing to bet that most people are more interested in watching the road than they are in looking at a denture clinic.
Plus it's not like these store fronts are particularly fancy or anything. Though I'll bet they could improve that if they just converted them all into gyms.
A bit further down I noticed a tram stop that seemed to be going along the route that my GPS was pointing me. If that was the case, then it would be quite likely to be heading to the terminus that is right down the street from my home. So I decided that I would risk it and see where this tram of mystery would take me. If it turns out that it did send me up the garden path, at least my GPS, which I'd started to trust at this point, would be able to point me home.
And here comes the ding ding tram! Which looks almost a little ominous in that photo, now that I look at it again. Maybe it's because of the lack of traffic, as if the tram ate it all or something.
Naw, I kid - there's only people inside it. At least it was fairly empty because of the late hour. Although, I'd imagine the that tram from that stop will always be fairly empty since it's headed away from the city and is already quite near the terminus.
And a few stops down, we'd reached more boring shop fronts. As well as the end of the line, which is my stop. At least it's hard to miss. Which is actually kind of neat, since I sometimes walk past that terminus on my way to or from the train station, and I always wondered if that tram actually went anywhere, or if it went like 2 stops around the corner, and then just came back again. Y'know, since I wouldn't be too surprised if the trams liked to mess with me too.
A short walk later, I was home.
I gotta say, once I did get home, it strangely didn't quite feel like home but in a good way. Because there was nothing routine about the way I got home, and because everything I saw along the way was so completely different, it felt like I hadn't quite reached my own home but rather that of somebody else.
But the feeling could probably be best described as reaching your hotel room somewhere far away on the first day of your holiday, and reflecting on the journey to get there as well as looking forward to the brand new day ahead. So, although the walk and subsequent tram ride from Malvern station took me a good 40 minutes to get home, and I got home almost 2 hours after I left the office, I arrived with a sense of feeling refreshed more than any feeling of tiredness or annoyance. And I totally managed to get inside just before it started raining, too.
All in all it was a nice change of pace, so to speak, and I'd contemplate doing it again except it takes bloody forever to get back.
But, I have been hanging out for RB2 for what would be over 2 years now. RB1 on the Wii is far too cut down, EA to this day still haven't released the game here in Australia, and the Guitar Hero games don't quite have the same soul to them. Or the same kind of ability to sexify your customised characters.
Speaking of which, I was going to hook my Wii up to the TV capture card on my computer and get a few photos to get a couple of screenshots, but I found something even better.
Click for full size
You got to hand it to Harmonix, they sure know how to promote their games. Basically you can generate customised wallpapers from their website of your in game characters if you enter in your game code and some such. So that's one I made of my band which I've named The Way Your Mother Likes It. Mostly because "Just the way your mother likes it, Trebeck" was too long and wouldn't fit. (THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID.)
No prizes for guessing which one I usually play as, though. And yes, I totally made sure that the drummer in my band wears pants. Because somebody has to be on pants duty, 'course.
I picked up microphone stand a day or so after I got the game, too. Partly so that I could send a new personal record on the douche-o-meter, and partly so I could finally guitar and sing at the same time. I know that probably sounds a little sad but it's actually really quite fun, and not to mention a great way to unwind after getting home every day. So far I'm confined to only doing both at once on easier songs that I know the lyrics to, since it's very hard to pay attention to 2 areas on the screen at once. Or maybe because I just suck. Either way.
And I gotta say, if nothing else the mic stand has finally made me become a bit more aware of just how excessively tall I really am.
I hear there's supposed to be a Rock Band 3 coming out towards the end of this year, and that EA won't be the ones distributing it this time around either. Hopefully whoever is doing that won't forget about us here down under this time around. I mean, it's not all just kangaroos and outback in this country. There are a lot of people who don't mind a good video game here, too.
And now for something completely different. The other day after work, one of my colleagues who I work with was going to a property inspection since he's currently looking for a rental property. His route took him near Malvern train station which is a station 2 stops away from where I normally disembark, so if figured I'd accompany him down in that general direction via a tram that conveniently stops in front of the office, and in front of Malvern station. I'd been meaning to try out different routes getting from the office to see which is the quickest.
Malvern station is a funny place to catch a train at rush hour because there are a lot of limited express trains that run through there. Some of them didn't stop there so I couldn't get on, and some of them didn't stop at my stop and would instead take me 5 stops further down which was not something I particularly wanted to experience.
So the first train to arrive took about 5 minutes, but it unfortunately was an express that didn't stop at Malvern, so all I could do was sit and wait. A few minutes later came another train - this one stopped there but wouldn't stop where I wanted to get off, so I all could do was watch the other passengers come and go. The third train that was due would be the one I was going to get on. It would stop where I wanted to get on from, and it would stop where I wanted to get off at.
A few minutes past before that one showed up. It came, and it went. Without stopping. ...Whoops, somebody in the control box fucked up. Most unfortunately, the next train that would arrive was going to be in another half an hour, and it wouldn't stop where I wanted to get off. So, I figured "Bugger that, I may as well walk." So I did.
And I also figured that since I was in for a bit of a trek, I'd at least have a little fun along the way. Tried the GPS that was allegedly built in to my phone for the first time, see if was any good. That turned out to be a little easier to figure out how to use than I'd feared. And on top of that, I decided to take a few photos along the way home and maybe use them for a little show and tell. Y'know, just for kicks.
Firstly, just before I go any further, this is the view from my office window. Since I'm not working in the CBD any more, there aren't very many buildings around us that are more than 2 stories tall. Well, except for those new developments happening in the background there. I am a bit surprised to see so many large construction projects happening in such close proximity together, at least in this city. You'd think Melbourne was a bit more prosperous than it really was or something.
And just for the record, those buildings there to the left of frame don't actually constitute as being part of the CBD. To get there, you need to take the train about 5 stops going towards the right.
This is the first photo I took after I decided to leave and walk. It was only around 6:30pm or so and it was already getting dark. It gets dark pretty quick after 6 around these parts after daylight saving ends. Also there was a pretty light show happening in the thunderclouds brewing above that night. Despite my sincerest efforts, I was unable to catch any of the flashes on film.
I decided to follow the freeway to get home, since I didn't quite trust the GPS at this stage. I had actually wanted to get a shot of the traffic and frankly didn't notice the huge Tooronga Rd sign in the dead centre of frame until I looked at these photos again after getting home. I guess sometimes you really can be just a little bit zoned out.
The walk home took me past a gym - fancy gym at that. I'm not sure if Fitness First has operations in other cities or countries, but I know that it's something of a franchise here in Melbourne. I never bothered going to them myself. Always thought that a good walk to go somewhere made more sense than to jog on the spot and go nowhere. That and I could never see myself regularly making time to go to a gym.
I'm not sure how well you can see it, but that's a train that's crossing the rail bridge to the right of frame there. My guess is that that was the express train over taking me, so I suppose that means at that stage I'd have been walking for 30 minutes. Or it could be a different train and I'd been walking for longer, since y'know, the trains on that day really liked to mess with me.
Passed some store fronts on the way home, too. It made me wonder just how much business they actually get. I mean sure, they're located on the side of a freeway so there's sure to be a lot of people who see them every day. But I'm willing to bet that most people are more interested in watching the road than they are in looking at a denture clinic.
Plus it's not like these store fronts are particularly fancy or anything. Though I'll bet they could improve that if they just converted them all into gyms.
A bit further down I noticed a tram stop that seemed to be going along the route that my GPS was pointing me. If that was the case, then it would be quite likely to be heading to the terminus that is right down the street from my home. So I decided that I would risk it and see where this tram of mystery would take me. If it turns out that it did send me up the garden path, at least my GPS, which I'd started to trust at this point, would be able to point me home.
And here comes the ding ding tram! Which looks almost a little ominous in that photo, now that I look at it again. Maybe it's because of the lack of traffic, as if the tram ate it all or something.
Naw, I kid - there's only people inside it. At least it was fairly empty because of the late hour. Although, I'd imagine the that tram from that stop will always be fairly empty since it's headed away from the city and is already quite near the terminus.
And a few stops down, we'd reached more boring shop fronts. As well as the end of the line, which is my stop. At least it's hard to miss. Which is actually kind of neat, since I sometimes walk past that terminus on my way to or from the train station, and I always wondered if that tram actually went anywhere, or if it went like 2 stops around the corner, and then just came back again. Y'know, since I wouldn't be too surprised if the trams liked to mess with me too.
A short walk later, I was home.
I gotta say, once I did get home, it strangely didn't quite feel like home but in a good way. Because there was nothing routine about the way I got home, and because everything I saw along the way was so completely different, it felt like I hadn't quite reached my own home but rather that of somebody else.
But the feeling could probably be best described as reaching your hotel room somewhere far away on the first day of your holiday, and reflecting on the journey to get there as well as looking forward to the brand new day ahead. So, although the walk and subsequent tram ride from Malvern station took me a good 40 minutes to get home, and I got home almost 2 hours after I left the office, I arrived with a sense of feeling refreshed more than any feeling of tiredness or annoyance. And I totally managed to get inside just before it started raining, too.
All in all it was a nice change of pace, so to speak, and I'd contemplate doing it again except it takes bloody forever to get back.