A Neglected Racer and a Hung-Up Call (Part 5) – Mad Chaos: April 26, 1999
Fresh pay brings new plans, from getting online to rebuilding a racing bike. The month ends with a call to Lyssa that goes badly wrong.
Eavesdropping on Keith and Tamsen (Part 4) – Mad Chaos: April 26, 1999
Keith and Shawn turn up unannounced, and an hour-long phone fight with Tamsen follows. A Subway visit and a Commodore race wind up a long Sunday night.
Shut Up and Just Drive (Part 3) – Mad Chaos: April 26, 1999
Ralf bans bopping in the back seat, and the ride home blows up into a shouting match. Nobody speaks when the car finally stops outside Shawn’s house.
Stage One and a Leaf in the Keyhole (Part 2) – Mad Chaos: April 26, 1999
Four mates head to a tiny pub nightclub, and the night quickly falls flat. Dancing, a lovely blonde and a stubborn Ralf lead to a leaf in a boot lock and a cold wait.
Trading Insults With Ralf by Phone (Part 1) – Mad Chaos: April 26, 1999
The month is nearly over and the diarist ponders fortune and misfortune. Then a bored Saturday morning turns into a string of phone calls and a plan to hit a nightclub.
Lying to Lyssa About Payday – Mad Chaos: April 24, 1999
After a long sleep, Lyssa rings at an odd hour and asks if the diarist has been paid. A white lie ends the call, and a tired look back at April follows.
Chasing Lyssa Through an Olympic Dream (Part 2) – Mad Chaos: April 23, 1999
Tired eyes and a broken sleep routine lead into last night’s dream. A train ride, a stranger on Lyssa’s shoulder and a frantic run through the carriages follow.
A Leather Jacket and an Unpaid Loan (Part 1) – Mad Chaos: April 23, 1999
With a week left in April, an overnight data marathon is interrupted by Lyssa ringing about money again and again. Her new leather jacket is the problem.
Three Years of Diary and a Dodgy Birthday – Mad Chaos: April 22, 1999
Spell-checking the early diary entries shows how much the writing has changed in three years. Then comes a birthday mix-up and a heavy look at the news.
Explaining My Sonnet About a Deceiving View (Part 2) – Mad Chaos: April 21, 1999
The long deferred sonnet annotation finally arrives. A landscape stands in for a person, and every step closer shows another flaw.
Cola, Cards and Blocking the Toilet Door (Part 1) – Mad Chaos: April 21, 1999
A blank mind and a sleeping problem give way to a late visit from Keith and Shawn. A long card game ends with pot plants, gas containers and a flying cup of cola.
A Laptop Dream and a Forgotten Anniversary (Part 2) – Mad Chaos: April 20, 1999
Another very late wake-up leads to money plans, a laptop wish and a phone call with a job tip. Tomorrow should have been an anniversary, but nobody is planning one.
Sneaking Into The Matrix With Keith and Shawn (Part 1) – Mad Chaos: April 20, 1999
Woken at two in the afternoon by a knock at the door, a night of sleep turns into a cinema mission. The ticket collectors are standing guard, and the boys have a plan.
Planning a Graph of My Whole Diary (Part 3) – Mad Chaos: April 18, 1999
After a good sleep, a few loose bits of news and a new project begin to take shape. Every month of the diary is about to be turned into data.
Keeping Lyssa Awake on the Phone (Part 2) – Mad Chaos: April 18, 1999
A quiet Saturday night turns to cards at Subway and a sour mood. Then the phone rings in the early hours with someone who says she only wants to talk.
An All-Nighter of Madden With Shawn (Part 1) – Mad Chaos: April 18, 1999
A brain in meltdown, an awkward call about a lost job and a night of Madden that turns into a long, giggly all-nighter. Even the eye colour changes.
Styrofoam Beads and Misfortune’s Pond – Mad Chaos: April 17, 1999
Back to poetry after a chaotic week, the diarist explains the month’s title, charts the stages of his diary and ends a rainy night teasing Keith.
Words on a Stick in the Fig Tree (Part 3) – Mad Chaos: April 15, 1999
Having walked out on the job, the diarist quits by phone, hunts for a pen, leaves a message on a stick in the old fig tree and rides home with Lyssa.
Windows 3.1 and a Brain-Draining Day (Part 2) – Mad Chaos: April 15, 1999
With bus money raided from his dad’s car, the diarist finally starts his first job in years, struggles with old software and walks back across the bridge at lunch.
Staring Women and a Broken Chain (Part 1) – Mad Chaos: April 15, 1999
Out of work again, the diarist builds theories about jobs that feel like hobbies, why women stare, a broken chain as fate, and the laptop he wants to buy.
Calamari Rings and a Cold Goodbye (Part 2) – Mad Chaos: April 13, 1999
After a squatter takes over the fig tree, lunch with Lyssa turns awkward, a calamari ring goes down the wrong way, and a loan call confirms the distance between them.
Lost in Pyrmont With Murphy’s Law (Part 1) – Mad Chaos: April 13, 1999
A good night’s sleep promises a smooth start to a temping job, until one wrong turn sends the day into a long, sweaty hunt for an address and a working phone.
A Haircut and a Yellow Monitor (Part 2) – Mad Chaos: April 12, 1999
A day of small errands in Campbelltown ends with sit-ups, a chatty hairdresser and a monitor that has had enough.
A Smoke Detector and a Useless Certificate (Part 1) – Mad Chaos: April 12, 1999
Trying to sleep early goes badly, a chirping noise turns out to be a smoke detector, and Keith delivers a certificate nobody could trust.
Waiting Hours for Itha (Part 3) – Mad Chaos: April 11, 1999
The group waits for a 3:30 a.m. show that never lives up to its billing, then drives home through the early morning.
Unbuttoning My Shirt for a Bum (Part 2) – Mad Chaos: April 11, 1999
Jett’s birthday night drags through a letdown at Eros Theatre, a nightclub door and a parking spot defended by a line of grinning mates.
Boiled Eggs and a Fading Romance (Part 1) – Mad Chaos: April 11, 1999
A sleepless night ends in a late waking, coloured boiled eggs for breakfast and some blunt thoughts about Lyssa.
Olive Oil and Overpriced Burgers (Part 2) – Mad Chaos: April 10, 1999
A train trip to the City for a birthday dinner ends with expensive burgers, milk at three dollars a cup and a very dramatic Ralf.
A Broken Chain and a Dream Girl (Part 1) – Mad Chaos: April 10, 1999
A link in the golden chain breaks, a dream about two girls plays out, and a temping agency rings with a job offer.
Five Hours on a Sonnet About a View (Part 3) – Mad Chaos: April 8, 1999
The varlets, the gallows and the crumbling walls get explained, then a new sonnet about a beautiful and deceiving view takes shape.
Meeting Clifton and His Baseball Bat (Part 2) – Mad Chaos: April 8, 1999
A car chase over headlights, a man with a bat and a call from Lyssa that leaves no feelings at all.
A Mystery Call and Pretending to Be Rupert (Part 1) – Mad Chaos: April 8, 1999
A call from two girls ends with a fake voice and a lot of shouting, before a quiet night of cards and ice-cream.
Explaining a Sonnet and Writing Another (Part 2) – Mad Chaos: April 7, 1999
The author explains his latest sonnet quatrain by quatrain, then rushes a new one onto the page before sleep.
A Quiet Visit From Simon Mid-Sonnet (Part 1) – Mad Chaos: April 7, 1999
A slow Wednesday of puns, bills and a half-finished sonnet, interrupted by a whispered hello at the door.
Phoenix Jokes and Armpit Headlocks (Part 2) – Mad Chaos: April 6, 1999
Keith throws a tantrum, Simon throws the cards, and the night ends in headlocks and gossip on the drive home.
Tatton Storms Off Over Black Bitch (Part 1) – Mad Chaos: April 6, 1999
A Monday that starts at 3:00 p.m. ends up at Subway with cards, a missing entry box and a very loud exit.
Explaining a Sonnet About Sheep and Lions (Part 3) – Mad Chaos: April 5, 1999
Puns on wine and whining, lions among sheep and a Lord who laughs at his attacker, followed by the next sonnet.
Mum Killed in Kosovo, Apparently (Part 2) – Mad Chaos: April 5, 1999
A beer table in the basement leads to a chatty stranger, a tall tale about a war and a late night at Subway.
Dressed Up With Nowhere to Go (Part 1) – Mad Chaos: April 5, 1999
Ralf rings twice, the plan changes in five minutes, and a dressed-up night out turns into pokies, railings and feeling out of place.
Credit Card Trouble and Lyssa’s Silence (Part 3) – Mad Chaos: April 4, 1999
A sleepless dawn, a credit card that is short by a few dollars and a week without a call from Lyssa.
Two Wheels Round a Roundabout (Part 2) – Mad Chaos: April 4, 1999
Keith finds a way to skim a few more coins, Simon takes a roundabout on two wheels, and the cards at Subway run until dawn.
Beaten by a Football Turnstile (Part 1) – Mad Chaos: April 4, 1999
My first ever football game started with a ticket I could not feed through the turnstile and ended with me cheering alone for Brisbane among Bulldogs fans.
Writing a Sonnet Through to Morning – Mad Chaos: April 3, 1999
After a Broncos game and a fixed chain, sleep refuses to come, so a sonnet gets written from dawn to late morning before Ralf rings about a night out.
Fainting in the Bank Queue (Part 2) – Mad Chaos: April 1, 1999
A necklace repair run through Campbelltown turns into a bank queue drama, an awkward roadside chat with Imad and a full gym routine.
Lyssa, a Pond and Five Silent Nights (Part 1) – Mad Chaos: April 1, 1999
A new month brings hope like fresh tire tread, a snapped chain and a stubborn silence with Lyssa, while the Kosovo bombings dominate the news.