104 HotFM

Hi!

Well. Here we are again. A warm Sunday afternoon. Thankfully there's a breeze. There wasn't one yesterday. It was 104 with roughly, thankfully, only 63% humidity. Summer's last hurrah. Man. It was h o t. It hasn't been that hot all summer, gross a few times, but not unbearably hot. It was yesterday. In the local lingo it was 40c - which is hot in their language. Today, muuuuch better. But, it's Sunday nonetheless...... Sigh. At least it's not 104 with 90% humidity!

So yeah. The week was good. Work is good, busy, but actually getting stuff done. All I know is, if there's a line-up of people waiting to kick Bill Gates, I so want a place in it. I could kill him (by kicking him - one for each Word headache I've ever had) for approving some of the ridiculous quirks in MS Word. At one point I was set back a week in my work with Bill Gates and his dorky bright ideas. But thank god I'm never the only one - get on Google, type your error message and about 200+ sites come up with folks who've had the same grief - plus ways to fix said grief. Is MS Word help as helpful? Oh, heavens no. That's one more big steel-toed kick for Bill. Anyways, I digress to rant. Work is good, tho I'm getting the feeling that they really are out of tricks to extending my contract. Five or so more weeks to go, so they could pull a rabbit out of a hat before my expiration date, but hmmmm. I live in hope but I'm even about out of legit ideas. My boss said the only other idea is that I could work for free. My, didn't we have a right good chuckle over that one?

And then the weekend. Ahhhhh. Monster Boy upstairs made sure I didn't sleep in and waste the day, making sure to stomp around at 5-6am - 'don't waste daylight!' the stomping seemed to say. And of course, as soon as I'm up grumbling about, he goes to sleep. Once I get a couple sticks of furniture I'm saving to break my lease.

Anyways, met Natasha and we had an adventure. Well, I did. We headed out to Springwood/Logan ('burbs about 25 minutes south of Brisbane) so she could get her hair cut and so I could make a banzai trip to Ikea to check out buying my couch etc. Well. Banzai was the wrong word for it. Who knew it would take 5 bus rides and about 3 hours there and back (to Springwood to meet Natasha)? Pain in the ass doesn't even begin to describe my adventure. I now know Logan like the back of my hand. Go on, ask me anything about Logan and it's suburbs, I can probably tell you. On some bus rides we went down the same street at least 3 times. I think most of my 3 hour adventure hinged on the fact that bus driver #3 didn't speak English, therefore he had no clue what I was asking him - "Do you go to Springwood?" Nod, then shake. "Logan Hyperdome?" Nod, then shake, "Kmart". "Kmart at Logan Hyperdome?". Nod. I got dropped off in one of the roughest parts of Logan, but there was a Kmart! Too bad it wasn't where I needed to be. And there's me at this bus stop, surrounded by drunk, tattooed men (and women) hauling my big, bright blue IKEA bag full of getting-heavier-by-the-minute stuff and a big one-piece chair cushion. If I had known how big a pain in the ass it was gonna be...... Still, in saying that, I had an adventure, it was air-conditioned (bonus, as it was 104 out), I saw places I'd never get a chance, or want to, see, and now I know. And in saying that, I could consider doing it again with hindsight and perhaps a little more research and planning. Maybe even get a cab for some of the leg of the trip. But my god, how desperate am I, really, to get to Ikea???? Ok. Not that desperate. But, I did acquire my couch and chaise covers (this being Ikea, everything comes in pieces. And as I was to find out, even my couch comes flat-packed, which I will hopefully buy next Saturday, if it's in stock). And I'm getting a chair but I couldn't carry the flat-pack frame, so I bought the cushion. The day ultimately resulted in reinforcing my will to go $25,000 into debt to buy a car.

And today, being so dragged out from my adventure yesterday, I'm doing nothing. Surfing the 'net (looking for work), reading Bill Bryson's autobiography "The Thunderbolt Kid" (very funny), keeping the cat entertained (even tho he's just dragged in another skink to torture), having root beer floats and then maybe I'll watch a movie or have a nap. Gasp, just looked at the clock and for doing nothing all day, the hours sure have flown - it's nearly 3.30pm!!!!! I better get busy with the other mindless tasks I have yet to do!

So there you are. Hope you're all well up there. Drop a line and send some pictures!

BYE!
J!

Yawns-R-Us

Hi!

Well. That week started off painfully slow but picked up speed. Thankfully. Still tho, here we are again, Sunday afternoon is winding down……. Man. Why couldn’t I have been a trust fund baby? I’m not saying I want to be a lazy moron who drives a Porsche from party to party, I just want the freedom and the dough so I never have to work again. Hmm.

So. Work. I don’t mean to moan about not wanting to work, cos I really like my job, if I have to work that is. But man it’d be nice to have some time off to do stuff I want to do and not have to worry about the bills being paid. Yeeeeeeeeah. Oh well. So work is good. Busy. But am finally getting on top of all the little projects I’ve had thrown at me. Except when I finish one, another one or two appear! But am not complainin’! I love this job and am gonna enjoy it until the day they show me the exit!

And the weekend. Started Friday evening at the pub with meeting a few folks from my last job, the remaining few that are still left. All I can say is, even with the head Dragon gone, I’m still so happy I don’t work there anymore. And apparently so do a few people who no longer come to the drinks sessions! But it’s always nice to catch up with the remaining few and to meet new ones. Of course with that Dragon gone, it does sound like things have improved, but still, I’d never go back there. Happy to have met the people I have and had the experiences I did, but that’s it. Moving onwards and upwards!

And Saturday, well, Sunday too, very quiet. Savings Lockdown, you see. Honestly, my bank account is safest if I don’t leave the house. It’s boring, sure, but it doesn’t really cost me much to stay in and clean, do laundry and play video games or watch DVD’s and nap. So yes, it was a quietly productive, yet restful weekend. Hey, the house is clean and I spent no dough. Gotta save to buy a couch and a couple things, like a chair. So all of this homebody stuff’ll be worth it. Honest. At least that’s what I keep telling myself. We were planning to hit Ikea this weekend but common sense won out and dictated that we save a bit more $$$ and go on the 1st of March – that way I can buy my couch outright and a couple other things, instead of poor Christine making 500 trips. But man that girl is good at getting stuff off of Ebay. I should give her a list for me……

So yeah. That was the week and the weekend. B O R I N G. Sorry. Means to an end. Yeah, my rear-end on a couch! Oh, and last week’s thoughts about investing in a car? Yeah, no. Not gonna happen now. At work I was brought onto the Government payroll, taken away from my (useless) temp agency. And, well, to sum it up, I took a $100 buck a week pay cut. Oh sure, as a result I now earn vacation time and sick days and that kinda stuff, but only until the end of March when they’re planning to let me go, and even by then I'll maybe have been on the books long enough to earn a day or two off and perhaps one sick day. Hmmmmmm. So that would’ve gone to a car payment. Bye bye car dream. Will look at renting a car now and then. Gotta shift the planning a little. In the end I guess it makes sense not buying a car (I hear my bank account and credit balances sigh in agreeance),I have no business getting $25,000 in debt. But man. A CAR. Sigh.

So there it is. I hope you’re all well up there. Starting to defrost a bit yet? Here, summer appears to be getting into the homestretch. Thankfully, much thankfully, it hasn’t been as hot and humid as they threatened it would be this year. It ain’t over yet, but it hasn’t got long to go until Autumn. In the meantime we’ve had some pretty drenching storms, mainly way up north tho. We’ve had a fair few, but nothing like what they’ve got up there. Hell, they’re having flooding, the poor people. Ahhh, La Nina. So yeah, I hope you’re all defrosting and considering a trip Down Under to help get rid of those winter blues! C’mon down! I’ll have a comfy couch soon! And a chair! Yeah!

BYE!
J!

Dreaming of Cars to Ikea...

Hi!

Well. That week went by kinda slow, but thankfully the weekend was slow too. But here it is again, Sunday afternoon, watching a sub-par John Cusack movie ("Serendipity" blech. Boy has he done some stinkers. I’d get a new agent if I were him. Tho I do seem to remember him saying once that he does the stinkers so he can afford to do his own stuff. Fair enough.). Ahhh well. Nice relaxing weekend. And certainly happy to have a job to go back to tomorrow!

So work. Yep. Good. Busy. Lots of little projects to do. Just gotta keep plugging away with my head down, impress them, and see what happens about my permanence. I live in hope.

And then there was the weekend. Very quiet and lazy. Yesterday was way too hot to do much anyways, except sit and read. I’ve been doing my research on what car I want to buy. Yes, I too want to go into debt like normal people. ‘Cos the money I still owe on my credit card and scooter just isn’t enough. I want to hit the solid 5 digits. I’ve got my eye on a white 2005 Honda CRV. So we’ll see. Gotta find someone that’ll loan me the dough first. But my god, to have a car again. Yes I know it’s expensive and the price of gas is silly, yeah yeah yeah. But I could get out of town, go on road trips whenever I want…. Drive to work in 20 minutes instead of 2 hours on public transport (on rainy days, dry days it’s an hour)…. Yeah. But, we’ll see!?

But yesterday I did manage get out of the house, once it cooled down enough to move, and met up with a friend, Dave. He lives up in Cairns with Glen, a friend/roommate from Auckland days. He was passing through Brisbane on his way to Sydney. So we met at the pub for a couple glasses of wine and to swap roommate stories about Glen. That was good, because now I know for a fact that it’s not just me. So that was a good time. Dave was one of the first people I met when I got here, through Glen when he and Alleson stayed with me off and on for a few months when I first arrived. Nice guy. Drives a stinking huge and fast Ducati motorcycle. Drove it into a car once or twice. Eh, he’s a guy. I guess that’s what they do on stinking fast motorcycles. He wants to join the NZ Air Force to be a firefighter.... Hmmmm, well, ok. Hadn’t seen him for about a year and a half, so it was nice to see him and catch up.

And today was just as lazy. Thought about doing some laundry then kinda forgot about it. Tomorrow….. But did manage to meet Natasha for breakfast. She’s just returned from a week in NZ, visiting her Dad who’s not doing so well (lung cancer). She was glad she went but even happier to come home (here). But now she’s messed up with the time difference (3 hours) and from being up most of the night drinking with family and friends. Ahhhhh, that stuff just has to be done tho! And then I wandered home, had a nap and now here I am. Sad really. But am saving for this coming weekend – pilgrimage to Ikea with Christine and Alan. Got furniture to buy! I can’t wait to have a real chair to sit on. Awesome. It’s the little things like chairs that make me happy.

And that’s about it. Quiet, I know maybe even boring (that I definitely know). But am slowly working on it. Man, if I could get this car….. Oh the adventures I could have!!!! Am working on it! Will keep you posted!

BYE!
J!









P.S. Do you know, last week when I wrote, on Feb 3rd, it was 2 years to the day that I’d been here? And I totally spaced it. Can you believe that? And I didn’t realize I’d forgotten my own little Australian Birthday until like 2 days later. Duh. So late Happy Australia Birthday to me! 2 years! Just goes to show I’m having a good time and not counting the days!



P.P.S. Wednesday the 6th marked the beginning of another 6 months in this little apartment. So instead of a weekly list of ‘good things’ about this place (‘cos, let’s face it, am outta good things ideas), think I may start a list of things I’ve bought for the little apartment/me… Hmmm…. Will work on it.

Druids, Toilet Training & Ikea

Hi!

Well. Short weeks rock. I think the French were on to something when they had a strike (of course) years ago to have a four-day working week. And I think that's admirable. But the only flaw with that is, nice as it would be to only have to work four days, after a few years (or probably months) of that, you'd want to strike for a three-day week, etc, etc, etc. So best not to even torture yourself and just continue to suffer and be happy to have two days of freedom. It's the Romans, or maybe it was the Druids, who are to blame for five-day working weeks. Damn over-achievers.

So the week was good. Fast. Made even faster by my being pretty busy at work. I have a feeling they're trying to get as much as possible out of me before they have to let me go. I don't mind tho. It's more for my resume and keeps me busy, thus making the days leading up to unemployment race by. Tho I must say, one of my bosses has threatened that he "has a cunning plan" to try to keep me around. We'll just wait and see. Meanwhile, I've managed to apply for one "Editor" gig with another, totally diffrent Govt dept. These things take time, so be interesting to see if/what I hear back from them. Definately not holding my breath on that one - I've been told you could get a call like 6, 8 months after the fact. Worth trying tho!

And then there was the weekend. Niiiice. Saturday, went with Christine and Alan (both from work) for another pilgramage to Ikea. She's trying to get all her stuff before she moves out of her parent's house. Smart girl. And I think Alan came along just for the hot dogs and to lift Christine's heavy boxes. He's a nice boy. I was good and didn't (couldn't) buy a thing. No dough. But we have another trip planned for two weeks from now. Yippie! Am gonna buy a chair and perhaps put the couch I want on layaway. We'll see. But there's a couple things I can get besides. I like Ikea. And honest, not all of their stuff is crap particle-board, just most of it. You get what you pay for that's for sure.

And then today was cleaning day. I think I washed just about everything in my place that you can shove into a washing machine. I'm living in fear that I'm due for my four-monthly apartment inspection. Nosey bastards. So I like to keep the joint clean until they spring it on me, then that'll be less worry for me when they do spring it. Not that the place gets all that dirty, it's just the evidence of the illegal roommate, you see. Speaking of, have I mentioned I'm trying to toilet train him (Kona, the cat)? Yeah. It seems to be going well so far, tho we've just moved on to the bucket in the toilet phase so he can get used to perching. I have a feeling this could be the messy phase. But, if this works, like a lot of strange websites say it does, man. I'll be saving loads of dough from not having to buy kitty litter anymore. Not to mention years off my life for not having to empty and clean litter boxes anymore. Yeeeeah! Will keep you posted!

And, really, that's about it. Same ol stuff really. No adventures on the cards right at the moment. Not unless you count a trip to Ikea in two weeks' time. That's a fun place and kind of an adventure. But, will not go nuts at Ikea, am still trying to save at the same time for an adventure. The weather has been crap (still) for these last three months tho. Usually on the weekends, but I will admit not every weekend. And last I heard rental cars come with windows and windshield wipers.... Hmmmm. Will work on organizing something........

So there you are. Yawn, I know, but that's that for the time being. But, ultimately, am still quite happy to be here (well, not here in this apartment per se, but in Australia....). So c'mon down! Am acquiring real furniture!

BYE!
J!

Weekly: One Good Thing About Little Apartment #25: Because the windows are frosted glass, I don't have to clean them or worry about streaks and shine! Hooray!