How many people came to this expecting it to be some sort of rant about something? C’mon now, be honest. A provocative title like this would normally forecast a venomous diatribe about something or someone. The reality is this is just an update blog for anyone who might want to read it, hence the title.

I’m just about to have 5 days off in a row for Easter. I’m lucky to be working in a system where I get one extra day off per month to take when I like. I chose to take it tomorrow and extend my Easter break by one day. We’re having a bit of a get-together on Friday evening with a few friends. Nothing big or fancy or for any particular reason. For the most part, our friends are agnostics so the day has very little religious significance for us. Any excuse for a party, though. Well, actually, thinking about it, the party is for a reason. Toni and I are about to do something we’ve talked about doing for ages but kept putting off. The party is an excuse for one last blast before we move onto a more healthy lifestyle model (damn, I sound like a fitness show host). We’re both getting to the age where we realise our health is more important. I guess it is also because we both realise we want to spend what is left of our lives together. So staying healthy is really important.

My job is really shitting me at the moment. My manager, who has never been really good with people, seems to be getting worse as days go by. I’ve never been one to slack off at work but I have to say her attitude doesn’t inspire productivity. There is a distinct lack of management skills there and I’m not getting any from anywhere else either. I’m pretty much left to my own devices. While a lot of you might think this is an ideal situation to be in, I personally can’t stand it. While I don’t like someone constantly looking over my shoulder or checking up on me, it is always good to have good management. I think there are some big changes afoot but being a mere pleb, I’m not privy to any inside information. So it is a case of wait and see for me.

The band, on the other hand, is doing very well. Since my last update, we’ve written a slew of great new songs. We’ve also finally found a great female vocalist who has fit right in with the rest of the band. Her name is Pilly and she is originally from South Africa. She has been living in Australia since she was a young teenager and is a lovely, warm lady with an incredible voice. Stylistically, we’re starting to define our sound more. I think when we first started out, we really had no idea of the direction we wanted our music to take. This is mainly due to the diversity of our tastes and influences. This has now become more apparent, with a lot of our new material taking on reggae, ska and dub elements and combining these with overtones from hip hop. I have to say I could play this type of music all day and not get tired. We’re progressing on getting material ready to record with August likely to be when we go into the studio. The list of songs to record keeps going and if we keep it up, we’ll be recording enough material for two albums. Better too much than not enough, I say.

I will be getting some more ink done this coming Saturday, with the final star of my design being added. Then we are going to start on the background for the sleeve. I’m so loving my new ink. I will put up photos again once it is done and looking good. I’ve started working on design ideas for my other arm as well. I want to incorporate the tattoo I have there (a tribal-esque gecko) with a jungle themed background. I want to incorporate a few more lizards, a couple of frogs and a few Phasmids (stick insects) as well.

I just finished reading J. Michael Straczynski’s wonderful ‘Rising Stars’ graphic novel series. This is similar in some respects to ‘Heroes’ but very different also. If you’re a fan of Straczynski though, you will treasure this series. He is such a inventive writer who layers many ideas into his stories. Now I’m looking for another good series. If anyone has any suggestions, I’d really appreciate them.

I hope you all have a wonderful Easter break and that the bunny brings you all lots of chocolatey goodness.