I can’t tell you enough how hard this has been for me. I’m not there yet, by any means, but believe me, I will get there. I really believe that. I’ve worked so hard. And I didn’t go through any of the so-called “proper channels”. I did it on my own...  [more]  

I don’t have time to write. Tonight I’m going out dancing.
I’ve just worked a sixty hour week. The last think I want to do on my night off is sit down and write. YOU write something...  [more]  

You watched the light change in the room for twenty-four hours.
Well, that's not entirely true. Sometimes, you weren't really watching at all...  [more]  

The Suez canal, that mighty stream
A man-made water-way! – the dream
of emperors and tsars and kings
and mighty sheiks (and underlings)
was not a simple digging job...  [more]  

We sourced the big tubs on "Freecycle" - it's an e-list which is all about giving stuff away. Money's not allowed to change hands, and you can't swap, nor trade. It has to be (and sure, it’s a tautology) a "free gift"...  [more]  

Ice has gathered itself into paisley patterns on the surface of the window. There’s a gap - a kind of air-lock - between the two glass panes. Outside, it’s probably minus twelve. Inside, the thermostat reads 23 degrees...  [more]  

In the afternoon, I hit the Petersham opportunity shops. Although I've lived in the 'sham for almost two years, I've never visited them. This is clearly an oversight on my part. I used to be addicted to op shops...  [more]  

Here’s how it works. You begin by levelling off the surface. This is done with a huge home-made rasp – a block of plywood with a dense grid of pan-head screws drilled through it, and two handles on the back. We call this ‘the cheese grater’...  [more]