Barbie, Bribie and Burn

Hi!

Well. That was a fast and short week. Hooray! Busy in a way. Quiet at work. For now. Still settling into the new gig, most of the teachers come back tomorrow and their little students appear sometime in the first week of Feb. I'm not sure. I just show up and do whatever anyone tells me from 8-4pm. Just in case anyone's wondering - yes, I am still pretty damn happy to be out of that previous job. That's the good thing about staying in touch with the gals there, I get to hear all the horrible things that the Stooges get up to. And thank my lucky stars.

So yeah, work is fine so far. My boss insists that the air-conditioning be set on "Arctic". And I feel like a giant dork rocking up to work in full trouser/jacket office gear when it's 90-some degrees and humid as all getout, but hey, it's all so I won't freeze during those 8 hours. She's amazing, she can spend the whole day in a tank-top asking us if we feel hot. Hang on, let me just take this hat and scarf off so I can hear you and reply appropriately.........

The scooter is excellent. As yet unnamed. Tho am pretty partial to Jake Jr., all my cars have been named Jake. Don't ask, goes back to high school and even then I can't remember why. Am still taking my time getting used to it. I feel a little more confident every time I take it out and about and I'm getting better at the corners. Yeaaa! But, anyone who's at all worried (awwwww), I'm paying off a $550 helmet. Top of the line Arai. Excellent helmet company who know what they're doing. Which is why it's so bloody expensive. But, I figure, you only get one crack at it - harharhar!!!!

The weekend was very good. Went to an Australia Day bbq on Friday at a guy's house that I used to work with. Was good. Just like any other bbq really. Only this one had an Australian flag. And lamb on the barbie. I didn't bring shrimps as they double the prices for these holidays. It was nice though. Caught up with some folks I used to work with. Met their families. Had a strange discussion with a gal (whom I've met before at various after-work functions) about how she can't figure out why she doesn't like Americans. I had to pick my jaw up so I could respond. And even then all I could say was, "Well, there're assholes everywhere". Weird because we've met each other and talked on a number of occasions. Guess I must've said something to cement her opinion. Let me see if I care.......................... Nah. Assholes everywhere, on every continent. Actually, this weekend was one for Australian patriotism, go figure. I had 3 people in as many days give me grief (in one way or another) for being American. Thursday night the waiter in this restaurant wasn't very pleased that he was wrong when he assumed I was Canadian. I set him straight and he wasn't too jovial after that. And Saturday, this gal, Greek living in London here on a visit, friend of Roger and Mav's, figured I wasn't from around here, asked where I was from, I told her and she looked at me for a second and then turned her head away! I laughed. I don't know. I guess with the big 3-day patriotic weekend, they can get a bit sensitive. I guess anyone would. Hmmmmmmm. But I'd like to see how they'd handle themselves at a big 4th of July bbq in the US!

Saturday was most excellent. Went to Bribie Island (about an hour or so north of Brisbane. Actually, strangely enough, you can drive to it. Hmm.) with Roger, Mav, Rena and that Greek girl. Went for a nice long swim in the sea. Got a scorching sunburn in exchange. And I put two layers of 30+ waterproof suncream on! Eeeek the sun is strong down here. Spent most of the day with Mav in the sea fighting the current and wind and trying to run from jellyfish. I got a little tiny nip from one and Mav had a bigger nip. Ouch they sting. And these weren't even the killers, the blue bottles or box jellyfish, these were just garden variety (I asked the lifeguards). But ooooooooh. It stings. But it goes away after a while, well, a few hours. Today my little bite or whatever you call it, is all gone. Lovely day out though. Absolutely beautiful day, warm water, lovely beach. Went to the surf club for lunch after. Not bad. All the surf clubs are primarily run and operated by volunteers. So you have to support the locals, the lifeguards and their surf clubs. Hey, if they can haul your tired, drowning butt out of the sea, you can eat one of their hamburgers.

And today I went with Natasha to find her some new clothes for her trip back to NZ to visit her friends and family (she's a Kiwi). Another Sunday, another mall. Well, two actually. Went to 2 new ones (for me anyways) - Mt. Gravatt and Stone's Corner (which is more a strip mall in a neighborhood than a mallmall). We were good though, again. She got only a couple of things that she needed and I bought aloe vera gel, vacuum bags and a new pair of shoes (to replace the ones I've worn until they've literally fallen apart). Was a very good day indeed. Tiring, but good. Always game to check out new neighborhoods and well, malls I guess. And I hate shopping. Ahhhhhh, it's all in the name of exploration!

So there. All in all an excellent weekend! Not dreading going to work as much as with the last job. Course, Mondays always suck when it's work. Well, work just sucks. It's not Mondays fault. I'd love Mondays if it meant not getting up to go to work and a deposit just magically going into my bank account. My trust fund or lottery winnings account. Sigh. Yeah. You can't win if you don't play. Yeah yeah yeah.........

So I hope you're all well up there!!!! And hey, with this new job, my own desk and stuff, I think I'll be able to catch up on emails now! Yippie! I just need to settle in a little more (and write when the 2 bosses aren't sitting at their desks behind me) and I'll be in touch again!

BYE!
Jennifer!!!

Alive and Trained!

Hi!

Well. A good week if I do say so myself. Hey, after a few rides on the little scooter, am still alive and in one piece!!!!!!!

Ahhhhhhh, the scooter is excellent!!! And no, I haven't come up with a name yet. But I will say its color, tee hee, is called, "Hi-Ho Silver" harharhar!!!!!! So perhaps will call it Tonto....! Must get better at physics though. Gravity, momentum, torque, that kinda stuff...... No it hasn't met asphalt yet, I'm just sayin'. I can't say I've taken it out a whole lot over the week, just a couple little runs around the neighborhood after work (accidentally got caught up in the end of rush-hour traffic! Eeeeek!), just to keep, well, the battery from dying! And to get a little better at it (with a little bit of traffic). Once I'm on it I'm fine. It's thinking about it that kinda makes me nervous. It sounds dumb but there it is. Kinda like scuba diving. I guess you know your limits and what could happen and that's what makes it kinda scary. Plus, those cars are big. You think small cars are small? Nah. Not next to a little scooter. Everything's tank-sized! Thank god they don't all drive Lincoln Navigators here.

Settling into the new job fairly well. It seems deceptively easy though......... In fact, after about Tuesday morning, I was pretty much done being trained. She ran out of stuff to show me! I suppose I could be suffering from a form of post-traumatic stress disorder... And I just keep expecting lots of work and the ton of bricks...... But I guess the brick delivery will be when all the teachers and little students come back from their holiday break (this xmas/new years break is kinda like our summer break where you get a big chunk of time off). All I gotta say is I've asked them a number of times if I'll ever have to deal with any scrubby little students and they look at me like I'm nuts and say, "No." Ooooooh! I think I ask them just to hear it now! Hooray! No cash, no scrubby students, no crazy management (well, at least the Stooges I worked with). Excellent. Oh, I know, it's not what I went to University for, or even being close to my dream job, but it's better than the last place. Well, I must say I miss all the cool people.... But, I am still in the system and on email, so I haven't gone to the moon! And Friday was Judy's (one of my non-crazy bosses) last day after 6 years of being there. She's leaving to go back to school to study Naturopathy. Neat. That was nice to see everyone and I think a good time was had by all.


Otherwise it was a fine and busy week with getting settled into the new gig and trying not to get killed on the little scooter. It's coooooooool.

This weekend has been pretty quiet. Hot. So all I've really had the energy to do is take naps. Next Friday is Australia Day (26th) and have been invited to a BBQ - am gonna bring shrimps and see if they get my bad joke. I think they just roll their eyes in that "Gee, I haven't heard that one since Paul Hogan" kinda way. Tee hee. And Mav and Roger and Rena and I may go over to Bribie Island for all day Saturday. That'll be neat. I haven't been to any of the little islands around here yet. Reminds me, I should get a rental car at some point and take myself outta town....! Speaking of taking myself places, I ran across this article in the Sydney Morning Herald this morning...... All about this trend of women going on their onesies around the world..... Coooool!

http://www.smh.com.au/news/travel/me-myself-and-i-travelling-solo/2007/01/11/1168105119529.html

And that's about it really. This coming week should be pretty interesting and busy as I fly solo in my new little gig - eeeeek! At least the teachers aren't back yet.... gives me more time to find files and stuff! And bonus - it'll be a short week - 4 days! Hooray for Australia Day! AussieAussieAussie! OiOiOi!!!!

BYE!
J!

P.S. I have no idea why the little blog said the date

is the 16th.... It's the 21st, 'round 5pm... Weird.....

Scootin' Away From The Stooges!!!

Hi!

Well. That was a busy but good week. Quit that job with the 3 Stooges! Hooray! And now getting myself ready for the new gig. Fingers crossed it's ok. It's a bit of a commute, so to help solve that little dilemma, not only did I get my Queensland Drivers License (didn't even have to take a test, they just transferred my NZ license, paid a fee and that was that! Excellent!) but I got the scooter!!!!!!! Yeeeaaaaaa! Finally! It's very exciting. But I do have to say, man, cars are sure big. And they move pretty fast. Fortunately you can't go too fast in traffic in the middle of town (where I'd ride it mainly). I love it. Am taking my time getting used to everything, like traffic and one-way roads that end at a freeway entrance, and how things all work. Won't be riding it to the new job this week, not until I figure out where it is and how to get there!!!!! So am going to be a big wuss and ride the bus until I get my bearings. But, hooray! Am pseudo-mobile!!!!!!!! And no, I can't take anyone for rides as it's built for one, une, uno, ME and I'm nervous enough as it is keeping myself on it, let alone 2 people. So there!




The apartment lease is up here in a couple of weeks.... Not sure if I'll renew it yet. Now that I have an additional leach to the bank account (but it's such a cool and useful leach!), I'd kinda like to move to a cheaper spot. Am looking. But again, these damn real estate agencies only have showings 9-5, M-F. So dumb. Tho, in saying that, managed to find a little house for rent in a nice neighbourhood for cheap-ish and they had a showing yesterday. So went with Cindy and had a look. Ahhhhhh, it was nice. Well, not nicenice, but nice. Big. Amazing view. Older house. 3 bedrooms, yard, garage, etc. Not a stick of furniture or even a fridge (the only thing you get here is a stove). So that would mean I'd actually have to start acquiring furniture........ Ahhh well, it's $30 bucks cheaper a week than where I'm at now, plus a yard for Kona to hunt things in. So for fun I put an application in to the rental agency. Am not holding my breath as there were a whole lotta people looking at it. Lots of lovely cosy couples. Eeeew. Plus, you have to move in on Wednesday or something silly like that and I just won't pay rent in 2 places. Call me cheap. So we'll see what the agency says, but my search will continue! Otherwise I'll renew the one here another 6 months, if I can. Now that I have the little scooter, I can get out and have a look at some neighbourhoods a bit further away. Well, not too far. It's only a little scooter. And what if I need to take a cab ever????

The weather has been pretty gross lately. Ahhhhh, it's the middle of summer. Being hot and gross is its job I guess. So far I'm doing ok compared to last year where I honestly thought I'd die because of the heat and humid combo. So far so good. But apparently it's been pretty cool so far, or so the locals all say. It's like they're waiting for the furnace to get turned up. Yeah, like this 90+ with 75% humidity isn't bad enough. Ugh. I could run the a/c and pay a fortune for the comfort, but am trying to be tough like the locals. Not everything is air-conditioned here, like houses, so you just have to be tough and take lots of cool showers.

And that's about it really. Pretty exciting quitting that job and getting the little scooter. I'll have to remember to bring my camera with me more often now................! And if anyone wants to come down for a visit, no you can't have a ride around the block on the little scooter. Well, maybe. Not unless you know what you're doing. Gloria can have a ride. She inspired me to get it. Thanks man! Hope you're all well up there!!!!!!

BYE!
J!

P.S. Yes. I know. I'll be careful!

Smoking Busses & New Sofas

Hi!

Well. That first week of the new year went by nice and fast - hooray for New Year's and a four-day week! But oh, this week is going to be with both barrels - all the 3 Stooges are back from their holiday break and it'll be all systems go, with a whole 5 days having to work. Am tired already. But, the bank tells me how happy it is that I have a job and who am I to argue?! Another sunny side, this will be my last week with the 3 Stooges and the scrubby students - HOORAY! On to greener, or at least different, pastures. Change - yippie!! Although, I was told my paperwork hadn't been turned in to my new department yet, which can affect my pay in that, well, I won't get any. But, I was told, don't panic, it'll come out of the old department's budget and I should be fine. Oh dear. I asked 'who do I talk to about the paperwork' and she kinda looked at me and asked "What is it you'll be doing over there?" I said, "HR, admin, some finance stuff" She kinda smiled and said "I imagine that'll be you sorting your own paperwork out". Oh dear. I'm rotten with HR paperwork. Especially this Gov't crap. Oh dear. But hey, if that's all I do, with no scrubby students to interrupt, I should be fiiiiine! Here's hoping!!!!?.

Otherwise the week was easy. Just sooooo happy the holidays have passed and life can go back to normal. I'm thinking of finding a cheaper apartment when the lease runs out on this one in 4 weeks. Not having a lot of luck and most of the apartment showings are right smack in the middle of the day. I can't figure it out - what, are these people who are looking for new apartments to rent all homeless and unemployed???? Must be nice to swan out of work for however long you want to run personal errands. I wish. If they count how many minutes I'm in the toilet, they're certain to notice when I don't come back for an hour and a half..... So there are a couple of apartments that look ok but I can't go look. Curse this work stuff!!!! What's wrong with Saturday showings like the rest of the world???! Will keep looking tho and if no luck, well, it won't kill me to stay here, which is what I'd really rather do, expensive or not. The thought of mooooving..... waaaaaah.... Although, today I went furniture shopping with Natasha (Kiwi gal I work with) and it's so cheap and easy, well, the 'buy now, no interest, pay next year' kinda stuff. There's some nice furniture I wouldn't mind having. Be nice to have a normal bed. I liked set one so much I took a picture. I asked my landlord if I could get rid of the furniture my apartment comes furnished with and he said no. Bummer. So yeah, it'd be nice to have a cheaper unfurnished apartment so I could put my own stuff in it........... So we'll see. I guess it all kinda comes down to this job stuff.......

Speaking of job stuff, I applied for this little loan with a bank that's not mine. Yes I know, notoriously hard to do at the best of times with all your little ducks in a row. So after allllll that paperwork and certified copies of this and sighting the original of that, and the painful waiting...... they said no. Because of my Government work status of 'casual'. Gotta love the gov't. They have 3 types of employment status - permanent (which is incredibly hard to attain), temporary (95% gov't employees are temp - means they're on a seemingly never-ending contract that gets renewed every year) and casual (the one where they could suddenly decide you don't need to come back tomorrow, ever); and your status is written on your payslips - the ones I had to turn in to the bank. Even tho I've been turned back into a temp, it still says casual on the little slips. Bank Guy still wasn't happy. So, long story short, I didn't get the loan for the little scooter with that bank. Shame I don't have the will or the way to save for it like normal people. Shame I can't get a dumb little personal loan like normal people. Still, I have a couple more options. Am determined this little scooter will be mine. Oh yes. It will be mine. So join us next week for our next episode of J's Scooter Saga with - "Did She Pass Her Queensland Drivers License Test??"

What else............... So yeah, today, went with Natasha to a new suburb I've never been - Carindale. Nice enough, but a bloody long bus ride. Nice mall though, if there is such a thing about indoor shopping malls. Not very crowded at all for a Sunday afternoon. Brought the camera this time and totally forgot to take pictures of it. It even had carpeting throughout the whole place. Weird. But nice. Made it seem not so loud and cavernous. Bummer to have to vacuum and clean it all the time I imagine. But same old shops that are everywhere. We were very good in that we didn't really buy anything. No money can have that effect on a trip to the mall. We were just there to buy her a new "lounge suite". Groovy little 2 2-seater, one with a little sofa bed in it that doesn't pull and pop out, it rolls out in sections. Very hard to explain but it was kinda cool and clever. Comfy too. And the footrest is one of those that you can stash stuff in. Cool. But heehee, on our way back into town, the bus we got on, well, it smelled like the driver had been chain-smoking in it for hours and hours, and it was warm, no a/c kinda warm and stuffy. So, oh well, ok, off we go. As we go a few stops we notice that the smoke smell is getting stronger and a bit tough to breathe. So Natasha and I decide to get off at this random stop and wait for the next bus. And a couple other people do too. We get out and look at the back of the bus and there's brown smoke billowing out. I wandered as far away as I could just in case and then the bus driver got out to have a look. Scratched his head and called it in to his depot. So Natasha and I and half a busload of folks are told to head up and around the corner to wait for the next bus that he'll call and tell to come get us. Geez. I bought Natasha and me some ice creams and we actually didn't have to wait very long. I tell you, almost every time I go on a little adventure it's never straightforward. But if I had a scooter...........

And that's about it. Just settling back into the post holiday routine again. Lots to worry about in the next week or two, so hopefully all goes smoothly.......!!!?

I hope you're all well and relaxed up there! And hey, I noticed Qantas is having a sale on airfares to places, say, down to Australia...... I'm just sayin'...........!

BYE!
J!