The Life and Times of Peter Green
Archive: 4 January - 16 January 2000
Jan 4th 2000
It's kind of nice being at home, the weather is till overcast, which I like- normally it's frying this time of year.Spend the day looking for some "illumination Mandalas"-- stained glass decals for the two new windows Mark has put on the barn. The glass is so clear that you don't realise they are windows, so we thought we;d better add some Mandalas so all the wild parrots who fly in the barn to visit don't smash into them.
Deal with the management company on my wage- $600 tax (after only a week) and then the rate of exchange (there goes another $600)..... it will probably cost us money to play NZ (GRIN). Thank the gods for per diems!
Jan 5th
Well we take Nicole for a drive to "Beenami"... Michael gives us the silver hire car again, with the great sounding c.d. player. Nicole's big adventure into the hinterland.Call into Kmart and buy a new battery for the Tractor and straw hats and all those "little country-ish things you need on the farm". Kmart is so huge.....you could live in the store itself. Mark says they have a crappy dvd selection- so I guess we won't live their.
The cake shop is closed till mid-Jan. so that sucks, eat in the weird Himalayian cafe..... heaps of yodelling music and the waitress slaps her legs all the time!
The recent rains have kept it all pretty lush and the huge grass area is slightly overgrown with Australian wildflowers. The house is starting to feel like it's ours. Lara the tractor gets a clean and we install the new battery and I hop all- all bluff......inside thinking "how the hell do I start her". (I try sweet-talking but it doesn't work). Finally after 10 attempts I get it together and off she goes crashing out of the Barn like a runaway bull. I even remember the rules for the slasher and spend the next hour "cutting the grass". Mark who still has no license, mounts Lara and takes control.....he's enjoying himself and thankfully all the buildings are left standing when we are finally done. We plant our Xmas trees in an area called Xmas corner, all the Xmas trees end up there. Nicole looks rather horny in her thigh high gumboots and sexy jungle shorts and porcelain leg flesh. We have to build a riot fence to control the local woodsmen from lusting after her! She shows cops out on taking control of Lara- and we bait her with "Squid would do it'. She retrieves her brownie points by hiking to the creek, through the mud, ripping leeches in half with her bare teeth.... this forest thing is getting to her. She is a good sport. All the ferns are so lush and the air is just the best....
take a few photos and Deb is adding them to the "images" area of the F/16 site. How Green is Greens Forest...check it out! [editor's note: all but one pic got lost in the e-post, so we only have one up. sorry!]
No Kangeroos today but they leave the odd thankyou card (aka -RooPoo). We head back to the city and I decide to make a quick call to the much talked about ADA tree. lets face it Nicole probably won't ever have the chance to see what was the worlds tallest tree ever again and we haven't made the effort to head to it. It's about a 20 km drive down roads that slide and twist....instead of driving you tend to slide......I impress all by hitting every water puddle and spinning out. Redneck PG!
At one stage I almost throw up- the whole side of the hill has been stripped by logging, it's what a nuclear attack would look like.....I am somewhere between crying and being incredibly angry. It just makes me sick.... logging forests is fucked....like really fucked. The only good thing about the Ash wednesday fires is the amount of sawmills that the fires burn't down.
The sun is heading towards dusk and we eventually arrive at the Ada tree.......well. It's a sign, telling us we have to HIKE 2kms to the Ada tree. I decide that I'm going to do it but offer Mark and Nicole that they can stay in the car if they wish. We all go. Mark steams off like there is a prize, I drag behind (no not Guy Pearce sort of drag ...it's not Rainforest Priscilla) keeping an eye on Nicole and the other ahead on Mark. Mark tells me later he wanted to keep us moving as he didn't want to try and get back through the forest tracks in the dark.... which is a good point. I notice I'm the only person who brought along some water. We eventually get to the tree...and find out that it's only half a tree as the top was zapped by lightening and fell off years ago, bumping off Ada's crown as biggest tree in the world!!!!!!!!!!!
Rippoff Mark screams. Just as Nicole emerges from the hiking track. I turn to take a photo and she gives me the ultimate line of "Don't take a fucking picture of me Green". So naturally I DO. Sorry Nic. it was just too tempting. Plus now when I'm taking snaps everyone quotes Nicole!!!! We catch our breath, take some tree snaps and head back...we use up all the water. The next problem is that the tracks that we drove on are not marked and they go everywhere and yes we get lost. Eventually we arrive at a small town. I head to the pub/general store/amway disposal centre..... buy 2 cherryripes, chips and directions home. The cat and dog asleep on the bar top do not even wake up. "Hey mate I think your dogs dead"!!!
We get home and order in..... a fun long day- we all sleep the sleep of the dead.
Jan 6th
My Mum calls and asks if I remembered to get some tree bark for the bunnys teeth- I forgot.Nicole goes out and we are expecting Squid any moment. In the middle of "The making of the planet of the Apes" she arrives. Her taxi driver was drunk- hey welcome to Australia.
It's nice to have her here and the girls help us unpack the Enz New years Eve costumes as they need some airing. Noel has a collection of very cute bow-ties in the bag too. Find Cosmo curled up in the pocket of a cossie.....I was horrified that it was going to eat it's way through these Enz treasures.
Get a few emails from Finn fans asking about Neil's second solo release, at this stage I still think it will be in the 2nd half of 2000. A long way off.
Jan 7th
Head into the city and take the girls in to meet Vali. We all do some serious drinking, toasting in the new year. Had to use my vicious bitch tongue on some guy who tried invading the hen house. Was an interesting experience.Vali was on tv on New Years Eve, having a dance in front of our wonderful new premier Steve Bracks. She said "he's pretty sexy:"...... I told her to check him out in his wetsuit!
Watch "Easy rider" on DVD....I haven't watched it for years.... still kind of cool. The making of doco was great. Very funny. Those guys smoked an amazing amount of Pot while filming it. Jack Nicholson was very funny. Nick Seymour calls and he is back in Feb. for his parents 50th wedding anniversary. Can't wait to hang out.
Stay up till 3.00 chatting with the girls.
Jan 8th
Was going to have brekky very early with "Y" but no call because of the lateness of work......hey I'm always awake. So I get to sleep in which is ok. Still there are only a few people I would get up that early for, and not look like shit.Play with the rabbit all day, and answer emails. A lot from the Mark Lizotte website.
We do some baking in the afternoon, and the last of the pot goes into the cookies. Tania has purchased a great cookie mix. Fran, Lara (the girl not the tractor) and Super Sonia and others all drop in. I've been making Marquerita's and even Midori ones for Nicole. She is so spoilt isn't she readers (: Fran brings her many photo-albums...nice to see everyone. Mark is being very quiet. Miss July loves her cookies. We are all freaked by that. Good move Miss July. Break that mould. No peer pressure here. I think everyone went to bed?
Lara denies having "bangs" ...and we all try to find Lara hairstyle photos.
Jan 9th
Climb out of bed early and throw on a huge Kimono......say goodbye to Squid and Nicole. Fran (god bless her) drives them to the airport and Nick Cave stares at them eating their Egg McMuffins. he's on the same flight to Sydney.Head off with Marky Mark for some lunch at Bibida....the food is getting better at this place, thank god they sacked the last cook.
We decide to watch "From Russia with love" on yes you guessed it DVD. The household is obsessed with them.
Jan 10th
Hear from Jj today which was nice and we catch up for coffee. Needs a holiday by the sound of it, isn't at Revolver as much so that's not a bad thing. Just find it really sad, give me the excitement and the look at places like World. Revolver to me is just cheap trashy and a place where old pissheads go to drink. Then again the odd good artist comes through, a Canadian singer was there last week and we are passing her cd onto Neil. Just something ugly about it ...urghhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Please god let Jj get a record deal in 2000 so he can do what he does best.Hear from Mushroom and I talk to PC about a reissue of the Hooks Living in the Seventies and Enz True Colours cds....for a special "Platinum Collection".........hopefully new colour covers for True Colours and slip cases and maybe some cd-rom material....am working on it. PC is good, one of my favourite record company people.
Mark Lizotte calls, his album is almost gold here. website is located at http://www.mlizotte.com
Jan11th
Well Recurring Dream is back in the Top 50.....and Afterglow is dropping in the charts. The Crowdies Best Of must be around 8 platinum here......guess that makes it in the top 5 biggest selling Australian cds. Afterglow is just short of platinum, but we'll do it soon. The fans have really gotten behind this one.So still deciding on what I want to do.....think I'll take most of Feb. off and some of March...just to recharge. Received some incredible emails and Richard and Marilyn sent the worlds biggest batch of flowers.....they filled up three rooms!!!! So I'm still here....
We found Hairball and Cosmo having a cuddle in the corner today.
Jan 12th
Another hot day outside, finally move the fan into the room....sleep well. EMI calls as they need some prizes for the webchat, and we have nothing...suggest one of the Neil talks about Afterglow cds that we have. The fans will love those. The webchat is on Sunday, hope all the guys can make it.Leave a message for Eddie Rayner as it looks like we might have Spellbound being released in Japan......... so much Enz activity.
Jan 13th
Ben calls and he is working for Nick Cave and asks if we want to go...the shows are sold out- Nick and his piano, how great is that. Go to the "G" section of my wardrobe.....find several perfect items of clothing to wear- "G" is for Goth and Nick is still the king. Just love "The ship song" and "Into my arms"........he told this great story about Kylie (MInogue ) and Sir Les Patterson doing a version of "Where the wild roses grow" (from Nicks Murder ballads cd) and Sir Les pulls his fake penis out and keeps hitting Kylie with it! Probably wanted her to inspect his ceilings!Send Ben an email on why "I" am Satan not him (Ben). He still won't believe me.
Jan 14th
Work work work...it's Friday, and I didn't even know it. pay the bills, bills, bills.Live on the phone, a few friends call by.....read, sleep, decide that I want most of the day off, so we just close up the office.
Remind Paul about the webchat.
Cosmo just cuddles up on my lap when we are watching tv. Watch out poor bunny, Easter is coming up and I have plans for you!
Jan 15th
Midsumma festival is on and Commercial Rd just goes trashy and draggy. Spend most of it at home and the Xchange Hotel has had a fire so the rooftop show won't happen . The big babble boy almost gets best Frock and almost wrecks his eyes when his gold eye glitters starts dropping into his eye!Decide that Paul Rudd the actor is just brilliant...he has "the look".
Because of Midsumma "The object of my affection " is on tv. A fave movie. We open all the balcony windows and watch Greville Streets passing parade. I find ostrich feathers (fakes) in our garden and someone has spent a fortune on glitter.....it's everywhere.
Watch some australian movie that just went nowhere.....so bad I can't remember it's name.
Take a melatonin and sleep.
Jan 16th
Yes it's raining, well a little bit.....drizzle but it's cooler. A few of us head for breakfast, Sunday brekky is back on again, we all missed it. We get a prize table at Babble and the clients all look the worse for wear due to partying.Nick Seymour calls me at brekky as he is at another computer and is worried about missing the werbchat, so hopefully I have fixed that up. Was really nice to talk to him and he wanted to know what I was wearing!!!!
Tania is Jake-less her son is off for a weekend stay with daddy. Rosemaree drives me to a huge couch place at Nunawading and we get the couch for the Forest House. Looks great, thankyou American Express.
We have an icecream and head to Dixons 2nd hand records, cds. Notice they have the NZ Frenzy and I'm unsure if we need it........so I leave it their. She buys the Partridge Family Best Of..... and this retro girl- says- wow VERY cool! She meant it.
Back home and work for the rest of the day.
So that's it for now...the year 2000 kind of feels the same. No disasters yet.
Love
PG