Triple Positive Days and a Heavy Bench (Part 3) – Mad Chaos: February 26, 1999
After seeing Lyssa home, the diarist realises he may know a mutual acquaintance from years back. At the gym, everything finally clicks.
A Telly Hunt Tests My Patience (Part 2) – Mad Chaos: February 26, 1999
Lyssa wants a television for her Nintendo, so the pair trawl through shops from Macarthur Square to Cash Converters. Patience wears thin along the way.
Who Really Loved Who More (Part 1) – Mad Chaos: February 26, 1999
The diarist weighs his own part in a broken relationship and worries about losing his friends again. A day of shopping brings an unexpected moment.
A Lighter That Almost Catches (Part 3) – Mad Chaos: February 25, 1999
A prank on the drive home gives way to poetry, body image worries and the end of a long mood study. The result is a lighter that sparks but never lights.
The Greatest Madden Game Ever Lost (Part 2) – Mad Chaos: February 25, 1999
Shawn and the diarist trade blows in a Madden game that ends in heartbreak. A card game at Subway rounds off a wet night.
Madden, a Celica and One Awkward Visit (Part 1) – Mad Chaos: February 25, 1999
A lazy Madden session with Keith and Shawn leads to a stiff visit to see a new car. Later, a phone call with Lyssa raises the same old question.
Easy Money the Hard Way (Part 3) – Mad Chaos: February 24, 1999
A long phone call ends as the crew arrives for another round of Madden. Keith’s dubious get rich quick scheme steals the conversation.
A Television Dies of Old Age (Part 2) – Mad Chaos: February 24, 1999
A friendly workout with a new gym buddy leads to a phone call with an odd muffled sound. The story ends with a dying television proving Lyssa right.
Tatton Loses a Fight With Newspapers (Part 1) – Mad Chaos: February 24, 1999
A forgotten moment from Saturday night finally makes the page, and Tatton’s clumsy run with a bundle of newspapers steals the show. Tuesday brings bank queues and big plans.
A Gearbox With Three Working Gears (Part 5) – Mad Chaos: February 22, 1999
A sleepy evening ends with a joke about aliens, a borrowed Playstation and a film that needs close attention. Monday brings chatter about a car with a blown gearbox.
A Six Minute Radio Show for Two (Part 4) – Mad Chaos: February 22, 1999
Honest and sometimes awkward thoughts about closeness fill a long afternoon. It ends with a driving game and a six minute recording on the computer.
A Nintendo Surprise After Bus Bickering (Part 3) – Mad Chaos: February 22, 1999
A late Saturday run through the dirt gives way to a Sunday of waiting at the station and bickering on the bus. The Nintendo surprise finally lands at home.
Grieving Jewell Then Losing at Madden (Part 2) – Mad Chaos: February 22, 1999
Memories of Jewell sting while an old CD plays. The story then rewinds to a Saturday of Madden, a stuck car and a tournament with a name change.
Aliens Made Us Their Guinea Pigs (Part 1) – Mad Chaos: February 22, 1999
The diarist longs for solitude, weighs up his odd arrangement with Lyssa and recalls a strange dream. Then he lays out a theory that humans began as an alien experiment.
Super Mario Is Too Cute for Me (Part 3) – Mad Chaos: February 21, 1999
After a night of rally bragging, the diarist tries Super Mario and finds it too cute. A teasing phone call and a rushed workout fill the rest of the day.
A Freight Train and a Lead Foot (Part 2) – Mad Chaos: February 21, 1999
A stalled car on a railway crossing is only the start of a wild night. Everyone takes a turn on a dark dirt track, and the driver with the heaviest foot gets his say.
Remembering Old Kisses Between Dirt Tracks (Part 1) – Mad Chaos: February 21, 1999
Early morning thoughts drift back to old dates and old loves before the story turns to a tense moment with the police and a night of off road mischief.
A Ten Word Language at the Petrol Pumps (Part 2) – Mad Chaos: February 20, 1999
A stash gets hidden, the crew kills time at the petrol pumps and a wild idea for a ten word language gets tested. The night closes with a bad feeling at Macarthur Square.
Forty Five Pages on Blue Paper (Part 2) – Mad Chaos: February 16, 1999
Tony and Ralf spend Saturday afternoon at the shops, then at Shawn’s, where the poems finally leave the screen. The evening plans hinge on one reluctant driver.
Bananas and a Peach From Kuper (Part 1) – Mad Chaos: February 16, 1999
A Saturday that starts with a suit fitting ends with a gym reunion and a stubborn no to Lyssa. A hint of Rochelle’s Valentine scheme hangs over it all.
Braveheart Made Me a Bard (Part 3) – Mad Chaos: February 14, 1999
A battle-cry sonnet pours out after a Braveheart night, followed by a short poem about being told he cannot be a bard. Then Shawn tries to correct his Shakespearean spelling.
Three Goodbyes and a Spelling Question (Part 2) – Mad Chaos: February 14, 1999
A friend’s house is found unlocked and empty, and Tony fills his sleepless afternoon with ridiculous phone calls. Lyssa and Ralf are the lucky audience.
Chance Meetings Always Come in Twos (Part 1) – Mad Chaos: February 14, 1999
A Valentine’s Day letter and a trail of red crepe paper hint at a strange day to come. Before that, Tony rewinds to a sleepless trip into town and his theory that chance meetings come in pairs.
Awake All Night to Hand In a Form (Part 3) – Mad Chaos: February 12, 1999
With the sonnet contrasts done, Tony forces himself to stay up so he can hand in a form in town. By evening he is a sleepless wreck with a new mystery call to ponder.
Long Bitter Love Down the Phone (Part 2) – Mad Chaos: February 12, 1999
The explanation of Tony’s new sonnet continues, from the vines of early romance to the late-night calls that kept it alive far too long. He ends by comparing it with an older poem.
A Love Greater Than Love (Part 1) – Mad Chaos: February 12, 1999
Tony stays up until dawn finishing a new sonnet for his Lost Years series. He then asks, line by line, whether the feeling behind it was love or something louder.
Hiring a Nintendo for Lyssa (Part 2) – Mad Chaos: February 11, 1999
A console rental becomes Tony’s pet plan to cheer Lyssa up. Later he turns to the glimpses of his neighbor and a sonnet inspired by them.
Three Thousand Pages Want to Be Books (Part 1) – Mad Chaos: February 11, 1999
Tony decides his diary deserves to become real books and starts counting the cost. Between phone calls with Lyssa and Ralf he admits some uncomfortable truths about his younger self.
Bench Press Proves I Am Back (Part 5) – Mad Chaos: February 10, 1999
Tony learns that gossip travels fast, mistakes Wednesday for Friday, and finds his chest strong again at the gym. Back home he tallies his sonnets and tweaks an old couplet.
A Poem for the Girl Across the Road (Part 4) – Mad Chaos: February 10, 1999
Tony writes a not quite sonnet for a girl across the road, explains its balance and catches up on gossip about a Valentine picnic.
Valhalla Gets a Sonnet at Dawn (Part 3) – Mad Chaos: February 10, 1999
Tony wraps up one sonnet, stays up to write a Norse one about Valhalla, and ends the day smitten with a neighbour glimpsed from afar.
My Finest Sonnet Arrives Unannounced (Part 2) – Mad Chaos: February 10, 1999
After rereading old pages, Tony writes a sonnet about the lost years and spends the rest of the entry explaining its meaning.
The Shower Is My Real Office (Part 1) – Mad Chaos: February 10, 1999
Tony explains why his best ideas arrive under the shower, grumbles about interruptions and takes stock of his poetry so far.
A Candle Explains the Dance Floor (Part 1) – Mad Chaos: February 9, 1999
Inspired by a girl on a crowded dance floor, Tony finally finishes a sonnet about a candle and then walks the reader through every line.
A Phone Call Opens Old Wounds (Part 4) – Mad Chaos: February 8, 1999
A lazy Sunday ends with a long phone call that unearths family hurts, a budding romance between friends and a Valentine plan nobody wants.
The Glow Stick That Leaked Everywhere (Part 3) – Mad Chaos: February 8, 1999
Tony leaves the club with glowing fingers, grabs late food with his mates and ends the entry fretting over his own odd little flaws.
Knights Peasants and a Slow Gym Day (Part 1) – Mad Chaos: February 4, 1999
Tony oversleeps three times, drags himself to the gym for a back and triceps session and bumps into a few familiar faces.
Explaining My Own Gloomy Sonnet – Mad Chaos: February 3, 1999
A new sonnet about a forbidden love and a graveside farewell, followed by a long line by line explanation of what every phrase means.
Typing Lessons for a Loud Kid (Part 3) – Mad Chaos: February 2, 1999
The library has no decent fonts, but it does have a very loud boy who cannot type. Tony helps, in his own way.
A Puffy Face on a Plastic Card (Part 2) – Mad Chaos: February 2, 1999
A short gym finish gives way to a surprise visit and a day of errands. The new identification card photo was not a keeper.
Sonnets Beat a Nine to Five (Part 1) – Mad Chaos: February 2, 1999
Tony weighs a life of poetry against a desk job, praises the night and flips through old photo albums before a flat day at the gym.
Missing Half the Super Bowl (Part 5) – Mad Chaos: February 1, 1999
A night of compromises ends with Lyssa sleeping over and a Monday that starts far too late. The big game was already in its second quarter.
Burnt Pasta and a Taxi Fare (Part 4) – Mad Chaos: February 1, 1999
Lyssa rings with the gossip from a messy weekend out, then turns up by taxi for a movie night. The pasta did not go to plan.
Rooftops and a Modern Romeo (Part 3) – Mad Chaos: February 1, 1999
Daring climbs, a cheeky comment to a passer-by and a late bakery stop fill the end of the Wollongong trip. Back home, a new poem arrives in the small hours.
A Very Big Spider Ambush (Part 2) – Mad Chaos: February 1, 1999
A big spider, a well parked car and a very surprised friend start the night. A tense drive and some hotel and beach mischief in Wollongong follow.
Closing January With Sonnets and Spite (Part 1) – Mad Chaos: February 1, 1999
The diarist looks back on a month of sonnets and sets new goals. Then the story turns to Saturday night, when two cars of friends head for Wollongong.