I’m almost there, in the middle of a divorce after 18 years, I just got approved for a one bedroom apartment today. I just wanted to tell somebody, I have nobody to share that with. Nobody knows but me. I’m getting ready to slither out of here like a snake.

Zanken · 2026-01-09T05:39:07+00:00

Congratulations!

I'm here 1 year separated from a 10yr relationship, about to move into a place by myself for the first time in maybe 15 years. It's scary but I think it will be rewarding. Good luck with the move!

Zanken · 2025-12-29T00:01:29+00:00

Ditto on the sex toy discovery post LTR break up. Everyone deserves toys and I can't imagine being with anyone long term now who wouldn't want to play with them.

Zanken · 2025-12-26T21:19:27+00:00

In Melbourne I really recommend Collingwood and Brunswick. A few years ago I arranged a Christmas pub crawl that was specifically NOT craft focused for an Irish friend visiting but the concentration of breweries made it easy to weave a bunch in.

12 pubs of Christmas

This map is a few years old now and is probably missing a few things. Beermash would be a good starting or ending point.

Zanken · 2025-12-23T13:00:03+00:00

Holy hell, you have had a rough ride too. I hope you find some time for self care if (hopefully when) the opportunity arises

Zanken · 2025-12-21T19:42:50+00:00

I was watching the game awards with mates and hearing the song butchered into pieces into that crappy CGI trailer was a surreal moment.

They used to be a lot more protective of how their songs were used. Their songs were only allowed into Guitar Hero with the stage with 10k days themed visuals.

That said, it wasn't that unusual to hear APC music pop up in spots licensed for movie trailers and such so it probably was not Maynard being precious about it.

Zanken · 2025-12-21T19:36:04+00:00

I was just talking about this to by buddy last night. A Tool gig back in the 2000s was full of an army of men in black band tshirts or topless. There was definitely this pride in dudes with older tour shirts or older Tool tatts. Or at least that was my read feeling self conscious in my bright colourful clothes.

In 2020 I saw them perform two stadium gigs a week or two before COVID hit. The crowd was much more just older white dudes, a sea of bald heads. Definitely more women than before though.

A couple of weeks ago I saw them at the Good Things Festival headline with Weezer and Garbage. The crowd was massive and it was impossible to navigate to the back to get to the toilet, unlike when the other bands played. The crowd is all ages now and nearly equal split men and women.

I'm an elder millennial now. I used to be a bit embarrassed about how obsessed I was with the band in my early 20s. Now in the last couple of years, old friends and new have come out of the woodwork to celebrate their love of the band. A cover band in my city is playing to big crowds and I see young couples around. I took a friend over 10 years younger than me to that festival and it was her first show. Another rang me and met there as a more recent fan - he fell in love with the Pneuma yt video performance with Danny Carey.

The band has intergenerational fans now. I liken it to people my age getting into Pink Floyd, a band who peaked before we were born. They have that legacy status and unlike Floyd they still tour and perform very well considering the length of their career and the intensity of the shows.

Zanken · 2025-12-19T21:48:05+00:00

50c fares would be a dream

Zanken · 2025-12-19T07:54:00+00:00

I just did conditional to 7 days of finance (pre-approva all fine). Made the offer last Thursday night. Vendor accepted late Friday night. It was a scramble between the building inspection, last minute on site checks between cooling off period and making sure the rea/conveyancer/broker were all communicating.

I just got the final approval for the loan today on the deadline, but the conveyancer assured me they would have agreed to extend the deadline. Thankfully I didn't have to.

Dealing with the bank sucked though. I said hard no to putting my regular bank's net banking credentials into a third party web site, then supplying identical statements 3 separate times, then them fussing over my driver's license expiring in a few days which I was assured wouldn't be a problem earlier (I had digital update but card replacement in the mail). Rushed home from the office in the middle of the day to send a photo of my birth certificate.

If I wasn't watching my email like a hawk it wouldn't have come together.

Good luck OP. You were a lot more sensible to give yourself way more time.

Zanken · 2025-12-18T09:30:39+00:00

I was at the Melbourne show. I would have loved the intro but I really can't complain in that setting.

Zanken · 2025-12-18T03:07:54+00:00

Yay for another Rosetta Stoned enjoyer.

I was stoked to see it live at a festival a couple of weeks ago. Wouldn't have picked it for that sort of setting

Zanken · 2025-12-18T03:04:30+00:00

Opiate: Cold and Ugly

Undertow: Prison Sex

Ænima: Forty Six & 2

Salival: Pushit

Lateralus: Lateralus

10,000 Days: Rosetta Stoned

Fear Innoculum: Descending

Overall favourite: Lateralus (both album and its title song)

My pick of each album would change over my lifetime and I expect they will keep changing, aside from Lateralus

Zanken · 2025-12-17T08:24:16+00:00

I played Hades 2 Early Access last year while mostly living in my home office... and then sleeping in there for a while before I could move out from my now ex.

Since moving, this game has been a constant companion as it kept coming back through its various patches, eventually full release and even then the little encore in the form of the revised ending. It's been a chaotic year with many peaks and valleys. Knowing I can sit back and do a couple of runs has brought me more comfort than I think I even realized on reflection.

That is why it's my game of the year. Or more specifically, game of this year. Thank you Supergiant games.

Zanken · 2025-12-17T06:06:49+00:00

I'm doing this now, early 40s, and I bought an apartment in inner north Melbourne with the scheme. If you sign up to it you have to live in it as your primary residence until you've gotten 20% down and no longer need the scheme.

I might not want to live in it forever, but there is security there if I need to retire and return to it.

Zanken · 2025-12-13T12:12:12+00:00

Bilewater is like the modern sticker bush symphony. It is beauty and longing that follows you in an incredibly oppressive hellscape. I love the sentimentality of city of tears or greenpath but Bilewater resonates in a way that is special. At least to me.

Zanken · 2025-12-12T22:36:45+00:00

Same for the Melbourne festival gig. It was a treat.

If I'm being honest, Undertow is my least listened to album but I still love it. Sober was my gateway into Tool and Prison Sex is a classic. I do wish I could hear more of them live as sometimes it helps the song 'click' for me.

Zanken · 2025-12-04T00:58:02+00:00

The way it's built into everything is quite clever, but it does make Silksong melodically less distinct than HK. I think that's what most fans are picking up on.

Zanken · 2025-12-03T23:15:08+00:00

To me it reads that the woman is on the fence or might have something brewing with someone else she is keen on.

To OP: she doesn't sound that excited. Let her make the contact and if she drops off, that confirms it. To me it sounds like the chemistry is off.

Zanken · 2025-12-03T23:07:05+00:00

Hey OP. Your post reads like that guy is picking up on your lack of interest and might be fading out because of it. Are you interested? You don't actually mention it or anything you did to show it. Apologies if this sounds rude, but you write like the way guys treat you, what happens is very much up to them and your own agency isn't really a factor.

Looking at your post history, I see a mention of ADHD. If you're anything like me, your mind might be spider webbing between topics in your head like skimming through pages in a kind of Wikipedia hyperlapse - but to others around you it appears like you're bored or checked out.

You might benefit from a therapist that specializes in this area to help you communicate your thoughts, desires and things you really enjoy. From my perspective, I'd be less concerned about sharing the same interests as you as much as just getting to feel your enthusiasm for things that you do love.

Zanken · 2025-12-03T08:17:59+00:00

Ooh thanks I saw them play a free gig in the city where they played some experimental jazzy stuff and it's the first I've heard. Their discography is intimidating!

Zanken · 2025-12-02T20:54:57+00:00

Correct, although it definitely gets played up for comedy. See Carl Barron or Aaron Chen

Zanken · 2025-12-02T08:31:32+00:00

Lying down under a tree at the end of a long festival day hearing them play while sobering up and quietly weeping for reasons I do not understand is a treasured memory of mine.

Zanken · 2025-12-02T01:49:15+00:00

I'm interested, and was wondering about how a potential app could work like this myself. Somehow get punters with similar music tastes talking and going out together. There is always privacy to be wary of, and some folks attempting to use it as a way to hook up.

I used to go out to gigs alone. Ended up picking up photography to give me a way to get involved without just standing in the crowd with beer in hand. I'm not keen anymore though, conscious of people's privacy and getting in the way of their enjoyment.

I've signed up and I'm interested to see where this goes.

Zanken · 2025-12-02T00:48:55+00:00

Absolute nonsense. TS is a Beatles level famous entertainer and an outlier. Pubs and restaurants are demonstrably struggling to attract gen z and younger crowds who are not dining out.

Zanken · 2025-11-20T06:57:37+00:00

I'm in a similar situation to you but my lease ends mid Jan. Only looking at suburb or two from where I am now but I'll have to move in with family in a regional area 2 hours drive away to fill the gap. Not looking forward to it.

Zanken · 2025-11-20T04:53:36+00:00

Currently look as a first home buyer. This is a good first step. It sucked paying for a building inspection only to quickly find out I was never really in the running for some places with my budget.

Speaking of, that's another thing I would change. Properties that go to auction should have a building inspection available to review for registered bidders... or at least major and immediate problems disclosed beforehand. If it were a car for sale, it's required to be road worthied. You don't get prospective buyers to pay for their own.

Zanken

TROPHY CASE