Playing in the park

The waratah, floral emblem for the state of New South Wales

Interesting week: saw a number of plays and there was a lot of general flitting about.

Tuesday, Quack: An odd mix of period drama, set in a small Australian mining town in the late 1800s, doctor rivalry and zombie piece. Quite a lot of gooey bits go splat. I like all of it except the ending, which was lazy and cliche.

Had dinner with two people from the theatre Meetup group, Heather and Wilfred. Heather spent most of the time talking about how she couldn't find a decent meal for a decent price anywhere in Sydney. Hmm.

Wednesday, A Czar is born: Stoppard-esque farce about mistaken identity, warring publishers and a book that everyone's reading. Madcap fun.

Food for Thought: Food fight involving barely clad ladies, stilt-walking, and aerial choreography. Amusing and occasionally amazing.

Thursday, Burlesque Assassin: Misrepresented as a narrative with song and dance; twas actually song and physical performance with the barest hint of narrative. I quite enjoyed it, but I think Boff was nonplussed.

We ate sizzling emu at a Vietnamese restaurant. Next time we'll try the crocodile. I know Marrickville is an 'eat' suburb but I couldn't find much more than three types of Asian: Chinese, Thai and Vietnamese. Will hunt around next time in some other streets.

Friday, Sexy Tales of Paleontology: Not just one for the nerds, this play had ridiculous accents, a barechested paleontologist and a killer fembot to keep the wit afloat.

I'd only planned to be at work until 3pm but somehow found myself still there at 5pm. Had to go home to fetch a jacket and get rid of my laptop and then trek out to Marrickville. By some twist of fate I managed to get there with five whole minutes to spare but Boff, who'd been on the train before me, accidentally missed the stop and had to jog back to the theatre, which made us late.

Afterwards we ate at a Pakstani place and Boff came over to my place.

On Saturday I exchanged him for my sister who came up from Canberra before I headed to ARIA. It was Ness' friend Tamar's 40th birthday and since Russ doesn't appreciate fancy food, I was drafted in as Ness' plus one. (But $260, what was I thinking? I did give up going to Rufus Wainwright for the meal...).

It was a late night, though, and the wine did me no favours as I lurched home on the train, microsleeping between stops and plodding home.

Right: Grevillea buxifolia, or as I liked to call it, the Medusa flower

Woke at what felt like an abominably early hour to drive Boff and Assie to Muogamarra Reserve. It's only open to the public on six weekends a year, which gives you an idea of how protected it is. The rest of the time, like for us, there are private and educational tours.

We'd joined a wildlife group of the Australian Museum so the macro function on our cameras got a bit of a workout. I can't possibly tell you all the names of the flora we saw (even with the help of my Australian Wildflowers book) but it was a good day out; not too hot and it didn't rain.

Afterwards, Boff and I took a tour of Assie's new place when I dropped her off. It's very spacious and I'm a bit jealous about that! Then I dropped Boff at his place in Croydon, which was the first time I'd seen it. His place is also quite spacious except for the great big piles of mess that get in the way of the space. Has so much potential...

I didn't have time to drop off the car at Artarmon before seeing Stories from the 428, a collection of short plays about riding the bus to Marrickville. The play was excellent, the best combination of good writing and good performances and my pick of The Sydney Fringe thus far.

I'd inadvertently left my fruit in Assie's bag so was forced to satisfy my hunger with crispy chow mein from the local Chinese takeaway place.

I was so proud that I didn't once get lost on the way from Croydon to Marrickville. I didn't even have to look at the map along the way AND I got a park right in front of the theatre complex. Didn't get lost on the way home, either.

Today I ticked a number of things off my to-do list, felt better about it, and barely left the house. Work has become manageable. Should cruise for the next couple of weeks — am looking forward to it.