Happy New Year!

Hi!

Well, what can I say, it was a fantastic week - with NO work! Ooooooh I do so envy trust fund kids (well, with the exception of maybe Paris Hilton, shudder)! Either way, it was a fun and busy week. Ran errands, made some jewellery, took naps, read my books, watched movies, even threw a party! And now here it is, my week of fun is at an end and it's New Year's Eve. This year I've decided to stay in. I know, how sad and old lady of me. It's no way to spend a first New Year in a new country but am not in the mood this year whatsoever, as exciting a prospect it may be. So I have my movies and wine and that'll be that. Next year I'll go out and paint the town red or go to a party (or host my own), but this year, nahhhh. So to anyone going out to partypartyparty this year - have one for me!!!!!!

Oh yeeeeeaaahh, a sparkle in my nice little week of fun - went and test-drove a scooter - first time ever to ride one on my own. Very exciting. Loved it. Want one. Have put big deposit down on one, now just need to sort out the rest of it. Bank, here I come! It's a little, brand new, "retro" Yamaha, 50cc, so not so fast I'll hurt myself toooooo badly. We'll see though, still have to get over the banks hurdles. Ooooooh, but I can see myself now, running errands all over town in half the time it takes to simply wait for the bus to arrive! And bus fare?! Heck, that becomes gas money for the week alone!!!!! Hills? HA! Oooooooooh. So fingers crossed the bank sees things my way! Will keep you posted!!!

So yeah, in last week's episode I suppose I mentioned I have a new job with the school? Different department and campus (hence scooter idea) and no scrubby students or 3 Stooges. So yeah, as far as I know I still start that on the 15th. But gee, knowing how these people operate, who knows? So I guess I'll double-check Tuesday when we go back to work (sigh). In addition, will keep looking, you just just never know. What's the Lotto motto? 'You can't win if you don't play'? Something like that. Will definitely keep the resume out there. And hey, side note, we went into a Lotto pool at work because I guess on the 30th of Dec every year Queensland (or maybe all of Australia, not sure) has a massive lotto draw, so we all threw $4 bucks into it. All I gotta say is I'm gonna quit throwing my spare change away.

Otherwise, all's well down here! Weather has been absolutely lovely. Just a couple more months of really scary heat and humidity to get past before it's back to more perfect weather. I was told the gross stuff should be happening now, but it hasn't. YET. Ugh, I dread it when it does come tho. Sounds like March or April when it settles back down. But so far so good. Whew!

Oh yeah, and bonus to movie nights now - hee hee, am such a dork about this stuff, always figuring it out later than everyone else, but I just bought an adaptor for the little laptop to be able to watch movies on tv - so, essentially, for $9.50 the little laptop becomes a dvd player. EXcellent! Why it took me so long to figure out which part I needed, I'm not sure. Wrong info from minimum-wage register jockeys in shops I guess. Am getting more modern everyday!!!!

So again, I hope you all are well up there! Sorry for the lack of emails, but that doesn't mean I don't often wonder how everyone is. I hope everyone had a nice Xmas, or Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa or nothing! And I hope you all have a groovy and lively New Year, no matter what you do or don't do!!!!! And good luck with those resolutions! Hey, I know one for you - come here and visit!

BYE!
J!

Holiday Cheers!

Hi!

Well, how about that, the week absolutely flew by! Hooray! With the added bonus of a half-day Friday!!!!!!!!!!! Even if I don't really "do" Xmas, hooray for it causing half-days!!!!!! ANNNNNNDDD - a week off of work! HOOOOO-RAY! HOORAY! HOORAY! HOORAY! A week with no work!!!!!!!!!! Mainly paid days off (minus those funny couple of days towards the end of the week, but hey, I can deal with a coupla days with no pay if it means a coupla days to play!!!!!!!)! It all adds up to one very happy and relaxed gal down here.

The weather is beautiful, though I hear tomorrow (Xmas itself) is due to top out around 90 degrees, with hopefully low humidity. Shudder. Ahhh well, can't have a barbeque without a lovely warm day! Am due to be Patricia's Xmas Orphan tomorrow and fish is her preferred dish of the season. Yum. They do hams and turkeys and stuff like that, but my god, when it's 90 degrees out, I can't even think about buying eggnog, let alone sit down and eat a massive turkey dinner with all the trimmings!!!!!!! So fish on the bbq sounds excellent to me. Really, what they mainly do for their Xmas dinner is, don't laugh, shrimp on the bbq. They were running ads in early November for you to get your shrimp now before the prices go up. And $$$ they did. But geez, it's the flipside of what the weather is up there, 90 degrees-plus, so really, could you consider sitting down to a massive meaty feast???? Ugh. And hey, no offense to little ol' NZ, but the weather here far exceeds all the Xmas' I spent there. I'm not saying cold and wet is bad, it's quite apt for Xmas, but hey, when in Rome..... or Brisbane, middle of summer, bright sunny beach weather suits me fine for Xmas!

Ok, enough rambling about the weather. Moving on!

Hey, guess what???!!! For those of you following along at home - I've just got a new job!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hooo-RAY!!!!!!! Well, it's still working for the school, but my god not helping scrubby little students and working with the 3 Stooges anymore. And get this - I cinched it the other day when I'd stayed home with an upset stomach (though I felt fine enough to take myself for a little swim in the pool). I got this gig just over the phone, lounging around in my swimsuit having a rootbeer float!!!!! How groovy is that? It'll be working at a different campus (Morningside), which means a little bit of a commute and no more lovely stroll through the Southbank Parklands, but hey, if it means not dealing with the 3 Stooges anymore, I'd work almost anywhere!!!! It's working in the printing and graphic arts faculty, I think. I'm apparently going to just be a bit of an admin/HR/finance helper. That's ok, something new to learn, new people to play with, a new space to be in (that I hear is actually kinda nice, lots of trees). Eh, same pay, but again, no Stooges. Well, there're Stooges everywhere you look, I know, but not the same ones who've been making my working life a fun-house. So there you go - when I get back nextnext week (2nd Jan) it'll be 2 weeks left there and then it's off to new pastures!!!!! Hooray!!!!!

Otherwise, it's the same ol stuff and routine. Cleaned the house, played with the cat, slept, the usual. Oh yeah, I'll be hosting a little board games party in my little apartment on Thursday, for some of the (really cool) people I work with, which should be kinda neat and fun. Some of these guys have board games that they love playing, we wanted to break up the week and do something social and fun, and well, I'll be the hostess with the space! I want to put on a few Mexican nibbles, but most Australians are scared of Mexican food. They think it's either hothothot or really bad for you. Hmmm. Ok, so most of the stuff on the Albertos or Los Betos menu would fall into that category, but not how I make it. Either way, I hear someone is bringing fruit........ So it shoud be fun and interesting!!!

And that's about it! I hope everyone up there has a nice Xmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, or nothing at all, and a very lively New Years!!!!!!!!!

BYE!

J!

Kickstart to Xmas

Hi!

Well. That was a busy week. Kick-started by finding out I didn't get my own job. Again. Apparently I "...interviewed extremely well, but then, so did a lot of other people". Uhhhh, ok. "But, we would like to keep you on to help train the 4 new people and help us through the peak enrollment time, so we'd like you to stay until the end of February". Uhhhh, ok. I'm not good enough to get my own job, that I've been doing nearly a year, but I'm good enough to keep to help train the newbies and work the busy peak enrollment time. Uhhhhh, ok. Dur. So yeah. Actually, when she told me, I was relieved. It's the kick in the backside that I needed to get out once and for all.

Then Paul and Catherine (good friends from NZ) made a brief visit. They were staying down at the Gold Coast and popped up here for a few hours. Ahhhhh, was excellent to see them! And it was so brief and fun-filled that I totally forgot my camera. Oops. But it was a great visit, so nice to see them. Catherine's just finished law school so they were here to unwind. Congrats Catherine!!!!! Now I must get myself over there, see their cats Fud and Sam and check out what Auckland's been up to.

Jan (Kona's fairy godmother, the deliverer of logs and hay bales) left work permanently. They didn't renew her contract because she's part-time. Gee, maybe it was because she did a better job than they could ever dream of. Ahhhhh, but I digress. Simply said - another one bites the dust. A guy at work (safely ensconced in another department, the lucky devil) calls the Client Service Centre (where I'm doing my time) the Departure Lounge. And for obvious reasons. Annnnnnyways, so to celebrate Jan's leaving, The Girls (Patricia, Cindy (brown shirt), me and Jan (black shirt)) all went out to dinner at this reallyreally cool Nepalese restaurant. Excellent food. I ate goat! Yum! I'll just say they love their cilantro/coriander. And goat. Mmmmmm.

And then the week thankfully came to an end. But I have to say, the few xmas card and bits are going to be a little late getting in the post. I was all prepared to get stuff out at the middle of November, but I'm just now getting the time to actually do anything. And tomorrow is the 18th. Oh dear. Hey, better late than never!

So this weekend was spent cleaning the house, ordering pizza (because I couldn't drag myself the few blocks to the grocery store and back. I say, some weekends I just can't bear the thought of going to the store. I don't know why, I just hate it sometimes) and making a few bits of jewellry. Again, I know I have a few little xmas things to pick up, but c'mon, could you bear the crowds in the Queen Street mall this last weekend before xmas? NO way Jose. You couldn't have paid me to go down there and try to shop this weekend.

And that's about it. One more week of work and then we have the whole week off. Excellent. I've got lots I want to do, well, including finding a new job! Jewellry to make, things to ship, sleep to catch up on, a screenplay to start writing, ahhhhhh, lots to do. I can't wait! Hooray!

So there it is. I hope you're all well up there! HAPPY BIRTHDAY Uncle Bret!!!!

Bye!
J!

Dingoes & Crocs & Koalas - Oh Crikey!

Hi!

Well. What a nice, fun weekend that was! Not only did I have a lovely 3-day weekend (if only I could always work 4-day weeks yet get paid for 5. Sigh.....), but Sheldon and Scarlett came down for those three days (just left to fly back to Tucson today). They were here in Australia for their delayed honeymoon. Even though it was a short visit, we had a very busy and nice time. Friday we went to Australia Zoo (crikey!). We lucked out in that the weather was overcast and rainy at times, perfect for a day out at the zoo, especially as it's summer down here and I can not imagine covering the zoo like we did (we hit every single thing on that map) in 95 degree heat with 95% humidity. So it was great. He's (Steve Irwin) done a reallyreally nice job with the place. You get the idea where he wanted it to grow and expand. And the strange thing I noticed was, the place didn't smell, well, like a zoo. Only over at the elephants. Otherwise, well, I guess crocodile poo doesn't stink up an entire zoo! It was really good. Took loads and loads of pictures. Walked a lot. They have a little tram like at the San Diego Wild Animal Park, but we couldn't be bothered. How else do you exercise???? But we covered every inch of the place. Something like 75 acres..... I really liked it. So if anyone comes down this way for a visit, we're soooo going there!

Then on Saturday we just ran typical last-day-in-the-country tourist errands. Boomerangs and magnets were purchased (not to mention a very beautiful opal ring for Scarlett), as well as all the other little last-minute touristy things. Had a late lunch in a pub in the Southbank parklands. Was pretty nice except for the cover band butchering Bob Dylan and Otis Redding and others who have no business being covered by a coupla rag-tag cover-twits. Bad cover bands who butcher great classics should get an electric shock for every chord they ruin. Or chewed up by a crocodile.

And today they're on their way home! So it was a very busy but lovely visit. And get this - they didn't mind the sofa bed! The one big complaint was that the sun comes up at 4am. Yeah, I noticed that too when I first arrived here. You get used to it though. I hope they had a good time. Next!

Soooo what else..... Oh yeah. Well, Monday I had my interview for my job, again. I'm not even going to think about speculating how I did. If I thought I did well the first time and I didn't get it, who knows which way the wind will blow with this current effort. I find out sometime towards the end of this week. The bank certainly has its fingers crossed for me to get it.

Otherwise, that's about it. Was busy at work. Busy at home getting the place ready for visitors. Poor Kona. For the first 2 days Sheldon and Scarlett were here he hid under my bed and didn't come out at all. Which worked out well for Sheldon's allergies. He finally came out and socialized last night. I guess he figured these strange people weren't there to take him back to the pound.

And that's that! So there you go. Hope you're all well up there. And hey, a successful visit was had by all! Now for the next visitor - c'mon down!!!!!

BYE!

J!

Spotless Boomerangs

Hi!

Well, that's another week gone. Whew! This coming week will be busy though. Interesting and fun. For starters I have my interview for my job - again - tomorrow first thing (that's work there, that 2nd photo). I think I've mentioned it once or twice or three or four times, but if I don't get my job (so hard to get my head around such a goofy rule), I'll be unemployed come the 22nd of this month. Sigh. I know it's not my career or even close to looking like a dream job, but the bank likes it when the money comes in. My stomach too. Soooooo, fingers crossed! But once that bit of fun is out of the way, Thursday night Sheldon and Scarlett arrive for a couple of days. So that'll be nice to see friendly faces and run around. Not sure what we'll do... Australia Zoo could be in the plans. Hmmmmm.....!?

Sooooo... the weekend was quiet. Was tired. Busy week at work. Stressful. What else is new there. So cleaned all weekend. Now don't get me wrong, I keep a darn spotless house, but you know how it is when you have people coming to stay, magically everything in the house looks dirty and out-of-place (ok, at least that's how it seems to me). And to think, I'm not quite finished! There are still the grubby cat-paw-prints on the windows to wipe off, balconies to sweep, a sofa bed to open up and make sure there're no 2, 4, 6 or 8-legged surprises living in there... Oh all kinds of stuff I could tidy up still.

What else...... Rained today. Very monsoon-like. Hot and very muggy all day and then come sunset the sky just opened up. Cooled it all down a bit though. Lovely. Smells nice. You know what I noticed early in the mornings? Even though I'm stuck right in the city, early in the morning it kind of smells, well, nice and fresh, but with a little bit of eucalyptus. It's kind of neat. Sure smells better than Brooklyn!

So, am sorry. Very dull this weekend. Was almost not worth writing about, but now it's become such a habit that I just know I'd go to bed knowing there was something I forgot to do this weekend! So even though it was dull as mud, well, just thought I'd keep you posted!

Oh yeah, and if anyone has any suggestions for Xmas prezzies that they'd like from the Aussie Santa, get your orders in asap!!!! Boomerangs, Aboriginal art, stuff....????

So there it is. Hope you're all well up there!!!!!!!!

BYE!
J!

Rootbeer Floats on Brush Fires

Hi!

Well, it's Sunday afternoon..... House is clean.... Groceries are in the fridge (I found A&W Rootbeer in, of all places, Chinatown - bought some vanilla ice cream - life is very good)... Messed around on the computer and got myself wired up with Skype - (thanks Glen!) and it's great - free to download the program, dirt cheap phone calls just using an internet connection and free if you talk to people who have Skype on their computers too. So played with that for a while. Excellent. Shame after all this travelling I've only just discovered it now. http://www.skype.com/helloagain.html

Hothothot today, so best thing to do is, well, not much. Ran around yesterday, so today I can hang around and do nothing. Have even splurged and put the air-conditioning on. Bad brush fires (or "bush" fires as the locals call it. Makes sense.) out west, or south, or both, of Brisbane, so the sky is a funny hazy blur and not much of a breeze. But with a rootbeer float and a/c, the world is an even happier place. I can think to write now!

The week was fine. Busy. Went by fast though and no dramas. At work it feels kinda like the quiet before the storm. Either that or I just keep expecting something to happen. We had our "xmas party" dinner Friday night. Cost $25 bucks. At work no less, because they were too cheap and unimaginative to spring for a decent venue. At the training restaurant the hospitality/restaurant the kids train and study at. What a stinker that turned out to be. Not many people and the food was pretty average. I mean, I know the kids are learning, but c'mon, they're due to graduate in like 2 weeks, let loose on the public. I'd say a little further education wouldn't go amiss. But who am I. So yeah, work. I applied for my job, again. Am waiting to hear back. Did I mention that if I don't get it I'll be unemployed Dec. 22nd? Nice. I've been looking and applying for other jobs but nothing's come through yet. Geez, am even considering becoming a flight attendant. Considering. Jan, the gal who brings Kona his bales of hay and logs, she was a flight attendant for 20+ years. So she puts ideas in my head. 5-star hotels, perks galore, those kind of ideas. So we'll see.

What else.... The first major series of cricket is going on here in town between the English and the Aussies. The Ashes series (I guess it would be kind of like the baseball world series, only, well, not. Very hard to explain and I still don't understand any of it). It's a bigbig deal. The Brits won it last year so the Aussies are keen to kick their butts. And last I heard today, the Aussies were sweeping the floor with them (if anyone can make sense of this, well, here you go - England require another 544 runs with 7 wickets remaining. Australia 602/9d and 202/1d; England 157 and 104/3). Which is kind of a shame because a good, close game is always more fun, especially for allllll the Brits who've flown here for it. Oh well.

And they've dressed up the Queen Street mall and surrounds a bit for Xmas. It's kind of interesting not having Thanksgiving, because there's no barrage of SALE tv ads and crap in my mailbox going on about the day after Thanksgiving sales. As soon as Oct. 31st hit, that's when it all started here; only, like NZ, it's not nearly as in-your-face and crammed down your throat. Oh, they're excited about spending money for Xmas, they're just not going to get up at 4 in the morning for any sale. Hell, you'd be hard-pressed to find people to jockey a register in a shop that early! They'd tell you to "get stuffed" (a personal favorite of their expressions). So yeah, Xmas here is bearable thus far. I really missed Thanksgiving, but a good one was had last year, so I'll be ok for a couple years yet. Job-stability willing, I'm hoping to swing around up there this time next year, maybe a little earlier, around Aug. or Sept. But we'll see what happens on the job-front. Same old story, isn't it?

Oh yeah, here's a mini movie review... Last night I rented "Must Love Dogs" - rom-com with John Cusack (reason #1 why I rented it), Diane Lane, Christopher Plummer, Stockard Channing, Elizabeth Perkins and the threat of a "sparkling and witty script". Well. It sucked (I knew it would, type of movie it is, but I didn’t count on it being that bad). That was 2 hours of my life I'll never get back. Who knew with a cast like that? It's a wonder how the producers shanghaied those actors. I call it a "car payment" movie for those actors. One of those movies they have to make to either honor contractual obligations and/or they simply have car payments to make. Ohhhh, it was terrible. So there. That's my two-cent movie review. Just in case anyone asked. If any of you saw it and liked it, well, ok. What can I say, I majored in film & tv at University.

So there it is! Oh, and a quick note to Sheldon and Scarlett - have a safe trip and don't forget the earplugs! They're jetting their way down here for a couple of weeks for their delayed honeymoon. They'll be staying with me their last two days before heading home. See? Someone's coming to visit! So c'mon down!!!!

BYE!
J!

Wireless Schoolies

Hi!

Well, I'll start right off and say no. Nothing was done this weekend. Nothing at all. Well, ok, I did little things, like repaired my wireless internet connection (hooray for unsecured connections!!!!), repaired my DVD burning program, took some naps, went to the grocery store (I tell ya, bleach, Ajax, dish soap, bar soap, toothpaste, hand soap, it all weighs a bloody ton carrying it up a mean hill, then 3 flights of stairs, after which, of course, I needed a nap)... Yeah. It was a veryvery dull, yet quietly productive, weekend. Lovely weather. Although, at one point last week it got a bit gross - mid-90's with what felt like 100% humidity. Eeewww. Hint of what's to come in summer...... And then the next day it was cool and dry. Ahhhhh, spring. The day it was murderously hot and gross here, they had snow down in Tasmania. And the day after, they apparently had snow in the southwest of Queensland; it's a massive state. So that's like saying it was hot and gross in Tucson with snow up in Flagstaff. But otherwise the weather's been perfect here. So nice that the pool's been packed out. I haven't been back in it yet this season, but lots of other folks have. Gotta get in early or late I've noticed. Pretty busy during the weekends. Lots of folks doing dive bombs. It's pretty funny to hear, actually.

Otherwise, work is fine. Amazingly enough, we actually did not lose anyone this past week (though I stayed home with a rotten tension headache Thursday and considered not going back, but the bank told me I kinda had to if I wanted to stay in my apartment and not a bridge underpass). But, the people who've left have yet to be replaced, so we're still insanely over-worked and understaffed. Status quo. Yet, the call centre has so many new people they can't find enough seats for them..... Hmm. But then, all they do in the call centre is talk to people about what classes they can do. They don’t need to be trained up in all the things we do. Sigh. That’s less than 12 hours away….. I’ve actually spent a tiny part of my weekend brushing the dust off my previous application for the same job I’m doing now… Long story short – if I want a shot at staying past Dec. 31st. (when my little "contract" expires) I have to apply for my job, again, so I can stay until June – if I get it. Good chance I may not, and will be unemployed come Jan 1st. Sigh. Government.

So yes, sadly, another very dull little blog entry. Am sorry. I really did consider renting a car and taking myself out of town on an adventure. I even had my credit card out to book the car (online). But two things stopped me – 1) it’s "schoolies week". Which means all the kids who’ve just graduated 12th grade/high school all go down to the Gold Coast and get rip roarin’ drunk for the entire week, starting this past Friday (drinking age here is 18). And get this – the parents actually buy their kids all the booze and whatnot that they need; they pack bags of food and coolers of beer for these kids to take with them to go party down at the Gold Coast. Their parents actually help. So it’s like Ft. Lauderdale only crawling with drunken 18 year-olds. I can’t think of a worse place to be, well, next to Ft. Lauderdale. So heading south was definitely out of the question. So then I thought of Rockhampton, the "Beef Capital of Queensland". It’s where my Grandad was based out of WWII and I just wanted to go have a look. And to try the steaks too, I suppose, when in Rome. So I had a look at the map and it really only looks about 4 hours north of Brisbane. Well. Reason #2) why I didn’t leave town – It takes 7-8 hours on a two-lane road (one coming, one going). Eeek. So that was duly ruled out. And then I ran out of ideas and time. I’ll figure it all out. Promise.

And that’s about it. Time for bed. Hope you’re all well up there!

BYE!
J!

BlogGone Minute.....

Hi!

Well, nothing like having my little blog vanish to start the day! It turns out this little blogger system is being upgraded to a 'newer, faster, better system' and if you wanted to keep posting you have to go with the flow. So I hit the button that said upgrade or whatever, and for about, oh 5 hours, it was gone. I mean, it was there, but I couldn't get to it. Oh this modern technology will kill me. So I went to the help area and that didn't do much good. Ha. First thing they suggested in the 'help, my blog is gone' section was not to panic. But after nearly 2 hours of following their instructions, panic I certainly did. I mean, really, it's not the end of the world. I'm not curing cancer here. But I have put a lot of work and effort into this little thing, and to have it vanish with a click of a dumb button, well, I guess that's just a little technological warning that even little blogs are impermanent. So to help with the mini-panic, I went to dinner with Mave and after a glass of wine, I'm back to try it again, and you know what? Here it is. What they should say in the help section is 'yes, we know it's gone, but go to dinner, have a glass of wine, and it'll be back online by the time you get home.' Maybe I'll write to them and tell them just that.

So, new system to carry the little blog further into the 21st century. I never even came close to figuring out half of what the last system could do. Now I have more stuff to figure out. Oh dear. So, while I figure this out, please bear with me!!!!!

So..... Well, busy week at work. Again. Lost another 2 folks. Mmmmmmm, the work just piles up like dog poo in the yard. I wonder who's walking the plank this week? Tune in for our next episode......

Tuesday was the Melbourne Cup (like the Kentucky Derby). It really did stop everything for the 3 minutes the big race was on. I threw a buck into the pool at work to bet on whatever horse, even tho that morning I heard on the news the names of the horses favored to win. I was particularly partial to the horse named Pop Rock, simply for its name. And I was honestly all set to put $20 on him/her, but the betting offices didn't open until after I was at work. Oh well. So I thought I'd try the pool at work. Only, in this pool, your horse is picked for you. Well, that's kind of ok, I guess. I mean, how bad can these horses be? They have to be good to get in the race to begin with, right? And I am only throwing in a buck, how rich do I think I'll get off my (few) co-workers? And of course I get the horse named Ice Pick or Ice Cube or something like that. I just knew it'd come in last. So the race is on and they're off! Long story short - the work-pool horse picked for me came in 2nd to last and Pop Rock came in 2nd to first. A guy I work with was smart and put his money in the day before on Pop Rock and he came out with something like $550. Now, don't get me wrong, I don't do any gambling because this is a perfect example of my luck (which is why I don't in the first place). But, when it's all that easy with people telling you who's going to win..... Well. I'm just saying. So that was a bit of mid-week excitement in the office.

And, well, sadly, no adventures were had. Not even a whisper of an adventure. But, I have discovered a Thrifty Car Rental at the bottom of the hill, right across the street from the grocery store. How I never noticed it before is a small mystery (could be the massive tree that blocks it from view). But it's there and I had a look online and it's pretty cheap, with cars that look like they'll make it there and back, safely. So the bee is in the bonnet and the maps are open.....!!!!

But it's past my bedtime on a school night. Thanks to the blogger machine, this is running a bit later than I intended. Which will explain the lack of creativity and photos. Am sorry. But it's supposed to make things better!!! If only it could get me a newer, better job....!?

So there it is. I hope you're all well up there!

BYE!
J!

Vegemite & Cheesegraters

Hello!

Well, another weekend sets with the sun...... Ahhhhh, was a nice weekend, overall. Rained cats and dogs (must look up what that really means. Probably something sinister from the Dark Ages) all day Saturday, but I braved it to hunt down cat food. Actually ran quite a few errands in the rain. Am well-trained after New Zealand. Umbrellas help.

And today, was really lovely, warm and beautiful outside. So everyone's happy - from the drought-stricken farmers to, well, me. So, today, ran around a little bit spending money I should be spending on others (thinking of Xmas... hint hint). Bought much-needed speakers for the little laptop (Mozart's Requiem sounds really good through them, much to the neighbors chagrin I'm sure. Ahhhh, I see your loud tv and I raise you!!!!!!), plus it's provided hours of entertainment for the cat - just like kids, they have more fun with the box (and bag) it came in. Excellent.

The week was fine. Fast. Soooo busy at work. Status quo, really. Everyday the management does something new to make our jaws drop. For example, they introduced a new phone system that has it's own button for "bathroom break", and if you're away longer than the time allocated (2.5 minutes or something highly scientific like that), a flashing red button appears on the supervisors' computer screens telling them you've been in the toilet too long, and they come running to wait for you to ask you what took so long. Yeah. It's all part of the comedy it's become. Hey, at least it's funny. For now. My job contract comes to an end at the end of December (like I said, rocket scientists for management; 'merry xmas - you're unemployed!' Ho ho ho!), but in saying that, they've advertised my job, again, which, if I get it, will last until June next year (clever scientists again. It takes them 2 months to train a newbie, 4 months to get any miles out of them and by June, it'll be getting into peak enrollment time, just in time to let the new staff go!). So I have to put together, well, basically the same application I did for it last time, if I want to extend the fun. Only this time I need to be "coached" on my governmental interviewing skills. Apparently private sector and government sector interviews are as different as night and day. Uh, ok. So, yeah. Work. Can't say it's dull! But on the brighter side, I have 3 applications out there for jobs in my degree/interest field that I hope to hear back from, well, hopefully before this gig ends. They take a long time to do anything here I've learned. So fingers are crossed for at least one of these.

Hey, here's a little fact for you - did you know that Vegemite is now banned (apparently) from being sold in the US (much to the horror of expat Aussies)? http://www.snopes.com/food/warnings/vegemite.asp It's got folate in it, which is apparently a bad thing. I thought we needed folate, but then, I don't work for the FDA, I got my degree in film production. http://www.vegemite.com.au/index.cfm?fuseaction=FolateForMums.welcome
I heard that last week and everyone gave me a hard time. Kraft makes it. Gee, they don't make things that are bad for you.

And, sadly, that's as exciting as it got this weekend. No adventures had, other than learning the nuances of the bus system and how to creatively get from point a to b. Oh yeah, for fun, I took some photos today of this new building that's finally finished, here in town. It's ugly as all get-out. Everyone, except maybe the architects, hates it. We all thought the colored blocks were just some sort of weather stripping/cladding that they'd cover when they finished. Nope. Them's the colors and they're here to blemish the skyline forever. Apparently those ugly colors are the theme colors of the architecture firm that built the monstrosity. Eeessshh. And I won't mention the giant silver soccer balls covered in cheese graters.

Maybe the management at my work is doing some consulting work on the side..... Well, it's just a bit of a shame as it's across the street from the beautiful Treasury building (which now houses the casino - fitting, I suppose).

So, well, there you have it. I know, I keep messing with the little blog settings, and I still haven't figured out how to display certain selected links where I'm supposed to, in addition to other things; will send the Blog Gods an email and ask for help. So in the meantime, have a look at what I've been meaning for you all to have a look at. Not that I'm hinting or anything, but it's an Aussie travel site/tv series with lots of good ideas about travel down here and further afield..... Bee, meet bonnet!!!! http://getaway.ninemsn.com.au/

Hope you're all well!

Bye!

J!

Dracula Near The Sea

Hi!

Well, have survived yet another busybusy week - whew! Was pretty tired Saturday (went out for work-drinks after work on Friday until way past my bedtime) so didn't do much more than the usual chores. Well, didn't have any energy to do much at all actually, was pretty hot out, nearly 90 degrees, which made doing anything pretty hard. Ugh. Not humid, which was great, but hot.

But today, you all will be pleased to know - I took myself on a little adventure. A couple of friends from New Zealand (Rebecca and Pete and Bex's Mom) are here vacationing for the week down on the Gold Coast (just a quick summary of the Gold Coast - it's about 45mins south of Brisbane on a very pretty stretch of ocean. It's where all the theme parks are, including Warner Brothers Studios (like Universial studios in L.A.), and Sea World, and lots of cabaret-type dinner shows like Dracula's and Outback Spectacular, etc; it's also the place where big sporting events happen, like their Grand Prix motor racing, numerous surfing competitions (the Surf Lifesavers are a pretty proud group in Australia and for good reason, in fact, their surf clubs often have little restaurants (basic diner-type food with beer) and all the money you spend there goes to support them, because the Government sure doesn't), and triathlons; and it's also the home of more apartment buildings and hotels in one small space than I've ever seen outside of Aneheim. It's a busy, fun-oriented place). So I took myself down there to meet them, for the day, on the train. Pretty easy when the train goes direct, I imagine. I picked this weekend when Queensland Rail decided to do track maintenance on about 1/3 of that particular line between here and the Gold Coast. So, it's usually supposed to take just under an hour to get there from here, but with the track fun, it took an hour & 45. It also involved buses. But in saying how much of a pain it seemed, all in all, for a Sunday, it went reallyreally smoothly. The buses were there when we showed up, we didn't sit around, we left right away and when we got to the next train station (about half an hour away), we didn't wait more than 5-10 minutes for the train to appear. So, pain as it was, it was pretty efficient for a Sunday. So that in itself was it's own little adventure.

And once there, well, it was like we'd seen each other last week, not almost 2 years ago. It was really nice. The weather was a little overcast and cool, but lovely compared to Saturday here in Brissy. We had a wander through this little market (Sunday is usually market day for most towns), then some lunch, went for a windy walk along the beach, walked to this massive mall, walked back to their rental car and drove back to their little apartment (nice view of the sea and surrounding apartment buildings, which makes up most of the ocean-front Gold Coast) and had a glass of wine, chatted and basically spaced-out in front of the tv for a little bit while we recharged our batteries. They only arrived Saturday and are still on NZ time (3 hours ahead). Then, it was time for me to start my 2 hour trip home.... Went so quick! But was so great to see them. Now I have to really plan to go visit NZ at some point in the new year.....

And that was that! Am home now, obviously, just in time for the ARIA Awards - the Aussie version of the Grammy's. It's interesting because these bands are huge in many parts of the world, and I hear these songs on the radio all the time here, and here's this nice ceremony for it, that's not nearly as garish as the Grammy's. It's a bigbig deal here. I tell ya, Australia is happily doing their own thing down here and every now and then they pop up on the radar in the US, but really, it's pretty cool what they're up to and they seem pretty content, more or less, to keep it here, they don't seem to care if the rest of the world takes notice or not. But they sure like it when the world does notice!

Ok, now I'm rambling. Means I'm tired. So off I go to space out and watch the ARIA's, and man, compared to the Grammy's, it moves pretty fast - no long-winded, fake speeches, no hosts who think they're stand-up comedians, no goofy performance/dance/video interludes, or cheesy historical moments or silly interviews. It hits the ground running and doesn't mess around along the way. And the best part of it is - I don't know any of these bands (they have rap!)! Am learning new things!!!! Hooray! Right, rambling again.

Hope you all have a good week and here's to more adventures!!!?

BYE!
J!