Plant sale

I got up super early in anticipation of a 'rare plants' sale at a nursery in Fitzroy.

I caught the tram from my apartment  and arrived at the nursery 6 minutes after the 8.30am opening, only to discover that the shop was already packed...mostly with hipsters.

A nursery worker was handing out numbered tickets because they were trying to control the mad rush (which was very wise) and were allowing only 20 people up to the 'rare plants' section at any one time.

I have to say that the thought of having to wait was tempered by the sight of so many plant enthusiasts. For most of my life, growing house plants was definitely not cool. How times have changed. I guess I should be grateful to the hipsters.

An hour later, I was heading up the stairs. A lot of the plants had already been sold but I managed to pick up a giant chandelier plant (Medinilla), which hails from the mountainous rainforests of the Phillipines. It was the last one left (phew).

I then had to drag the monster of a plant (it is over a meter tall) back to my apartment by tram in the rain.

Dedication (or maybe I'm slightly mad).

My vase

Andrew wanted to see a picture of the vase I bought several weeks ago. I tried to take a picture but it is impossible to do so without weird reflections and colour distortion. I've decided it is not very photogenic and looks far better in real life. Here is an image I found on the website of the shop I bought it from.

MCG and the tooth fish incident

I attended a conference last week that culminated in a fancy dinner at the MCG.

I've been to the MCG previously for a footy match and the venue is, indeed, impressive when filled to capacity with a passionate crowd of footy fans. It is far superior to Etihad stadium (or whatever it's now called following change in sponsorship).

I've never been to the MCG for dinner before. The room we were in overlooked the stadium. Many of the interstate guests were in awe. For me, staring into the sea of empty seats, it was kind of 'meh'.

The dinner menu was terrific. Main course included Patagonian toothfish. I had never had it before and, honest to God, it was one of the best fish I've ever eaten. The serving of toothfish was not without controversy though. A few of the biologists refused to eat it until the host assured everyone it had been sustainably caught.

Toilet

This is a painting by Pierre Bonnard. It is a voyeuristic piece  titled "Toilette ou Femme Penchèe" (Toilet or Woman Bending Over).

On Friday, I had my very own toilette ou femme penchèe experience.

I was at a cafe that has one of those large unisex toilets suitable also for disabled people. I opened the door and there was a woman sitting on the loo peeing/pooing and texting. She said something that was mostly indecipherable (I did hear the words "Oh God") with her head down as if to hide her embarrassment. She simultaneously reaching out with one hand towards me. Not sure if she was trying to reach for the door (which was pointless, since the door was some distance from where she was sitting) or trying to block my view. Lucky there was nothing to see.

To all people using public toilets: lock the door.