11 Nov 2010 at 21:29
A Free Man
Adelaide, Hip-Hop, work
19 Comments
Well, it has been a little while, hasn’t it? I sort of had a spell of blog fatigue there coupled with a spurt of seasonal affective social networking withdrawal, but really I’ve just been too busy. Yeah, yeah, everyone’s busy but for those few loyal readers/family members here’s a litany of excuses:
I have a new [...]

DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air" [2:57m]:
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I’ve been informed that Not Max is six months old today and that I need to write a post commemorating this because I did so for Boy Z. So, well done Not Max. Well done for keeping a smile on your face despite dealing with the negligent parenting that is the lot of the second child. [...]

R.E.M. "The Lifting" [4:39m]:
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09 Oct 2009 at 22:55
A Free Man
Australia, teaching, work
29 Comments
And exhale.
Thursday morning, my Head of School knocked on the door of my office as I was taking off my coat. I invited him in to have a seat and the solemn look on his face nearly made me wilt. I’ve been living on annual contracts with the university since I got here and October [...]

The White Stripes "The Nurse" (Live at Glastonbury, June 2005):
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12 Aug 2009 at 16:21
A Free Man
teaching, work
38 Comments
We’re well into the Spring Semester here in South Australia. Or the second semester. Or ‘Study Period 5′ as it’s prosaically termed by university officials. It is the semester in which I earn my keep – coordinating the large lecture course I was hired to teach. But I’ve also taken on a number of other [...]

Leonard Cohen "Teachers":
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15 May 2009 at 21:37
A Free Man
work
31 Comments
Just when I thought I was out…
Why can’t life be straightforward? Why can’t it be what I perceive it to be – a gently upward sloping line?
I swear that this isn’t turning into a blog about my jobs. But I feel as if I’ve dragged a lot of you along with me on this melodramatic [...]
12 May 2009 at 23:41
A Free Man
Chris, Grunge, work
38 Comments
I wasn’t going to write this post. I said to myself, ‘Self, you’ve written enough about this work thing. Everything isn’t all about you. People are sick of you moaning about work. Move on.”
But then I realized that one of my selves was a moron, because what is my blog about if not me? For [...]

Nirvana "Scentless Apprentice" [3:48m]:
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This one may not go down well, considering the demographics of my readership.
As a general rule, I try to avoid getting sucked into comment stream dramas – mostly because I have better things to do with life. In most cases, I don’t even go back to a post after I’ve left a comment, just in [...]
Jud asks, appropriately, “what happened to the cheery Chris?”
Well, Jud, I’ve got a job that I hate but can’t quit. In my second job, I’m spending my weekends busting my ass to get lectures done that my undergraduates yawn through. I’ve got a sick kid and sick partner and have been cleaning up far too [...]

Kicksville "Old Man John" [1:13m]:
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01 May 2009 at 20:34
A Free Man
jazz, work
32 Comments
I decided not to quit.
Yet.
I’m writing this at work (screw ‘em), and there are still a couple of hours before I leave for the day, so things could change yet. Basically if the upper management leave me alone today – let me listen to Coltrane and get on with my work - I’ll make it [...]

John Coltrane "Countdown (Alternate Take)":
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30 Apr 2009 at 10:34
A Free Man
Chris, work
50 Comments
Since we’re all friends around here – unless you’ve been culled, in which case go away – I’m going to ask you, my gentle readers, for some advice.
Many of you know that I work two jobs. Nearly a year ago, a couple of months after our arrival in Australia, I took a part time job [...]

Me And The Horse I Rode In On - "Dirt" [4:18m]:
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