Work It, Work It!

Hi!

Well. What. A. Week. Crazy, man. It was a very good week, but crazy.

So work. Yeah. I GOT THE JOB! Well, the job at my work but in another dept (still with the Fire & Rescue Service). I had to apply like everyone else (just submitting only my resume) and I got it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Am now gainfully employed, hell, even more gainfully with the pay raise(!!!!)! At least until June, "with the possibility of extension", with promises that I’ll be extended. Cooool man! So. I start that tomorrow. So far I have no desk, chair, computer, phone, etc. Which is fine. I have to go in at 9am tomorrow instead of my usual 7.45am (it’s the time the decent buses run), but, tomorrow is meant to be absolutely beautiful weather – so that means SCOOOOOOTER! So will of course be on time, if not early……!

But yeah, the week was fantastic otherwise. Half days for most of the week, doing not a whole hell of a lot of actual work. I have to leave the returning gal something to do! And then pub lunch on Friday, which wasn’t as big a deal as first scheduled because it turned out I wasn’t technically, even leaving the building. So it was really just a pub lunch like any other. Which suited me just fine! And then next thing I know I was emptying out my little desk! Sigh. It was great to be there, but I gotta say, I’m so not gonna miss Miss Misery or her partner in misery, MMII. I am totally looking forward to learning new things and meeting new people, one person I know, but the people I’ll work with I don’t. And the job is doing, well, I guess I’ll be doing pretty much what I was before, editing, proofreading, etc, only more (hence the extra cash) and over a broader perspective, and for urban firefighters instead of just rurals. Coooool man! HOORAY!

And then there was the weekend. Saturday started bright and early as Natasha and I were off to Springwood (about half an hour south of Brisbane, on the way to the Gold Coast… remember my entry a couple weeks ago where I took the 3 hour tour (haha, minus Gilligan) of Logan, yeah, that’s where we went, minus the 3 hour Ikea run) to get our hair cut. Natasha’s favorite hair lady in the whole world lives out that way and, well, yeah. So while Natasha was getting hers colored I had mine cut. Man, it’s a lot shorter than I intended, but I like it! And really, at this point it can’t get much shorter or I’d be bald! After that we went to Stone’s Corner, a little teeny ‘hood with a few outlet shops, looking for work clothes for wintertime. Eh, not a lot of luck, yet, but will keep looking!

And then today I was up with the sparrows again. Cleaned like a gal possessed and hooray! had all my chores done before 10am! Then Cindy and Jeannette came around and we headed up and around the corner for lunch. Then it was back home to head into the city to meet Natasha and Veronica and to look for more work clothes (one shirt, a pair of work socks and one thing of hair wax). And then it was home! Sheesh! By then it was after 5.30pm! Where did my nice, quiet, restful weekend before starting my, technically, new job go???! But, I got lots done and that’s excellent!

So there it is. Busybusybusy but good. Ooooooh, first day jitters! But, really, hooray for even having a first day to go to! Yeeeaaa! So will certainly keep you posted how the new gig is going! Fingers crossed!

And that’s that! So yeah, anyone considering coming down for a visit, c’mon down! The weather is turning absolutely gorgeous! Nice and dry too – 27% humidity… yeah. Niiiiice! Hooray for autumn! So c’mon down! I’ll leave the light on for ya!

BYE!
J!

Walks, Horses & Champagne

Hi!

Well. That was a fast, yet slow week. But thankfully last week was short, this week was short and next week will be short! Hooray for days off and Easter! Hooray for being in a country that gives you Good Friday and Easter Monday off!

So work. Yeah, it’s good. Busy in a way but not busy in most ways. Just tying up loose ends and making lists of stuff for the next gal to get busy doing, even though she’s only working 2 days a week (must be nice). I’m gonna try to sneak in a couple of squirrelly projects for her too if I can… Heh heh heh…… But otherwise, work is good. Very sorry to see it end. Even sorrier in that I still don’t have anything to go to on the 31st!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Eeeeeeeeek! But I have a few applications out there, so for now it’s waiting to hear back from them, sooner rather than later, hopefully!? Will keep you posted!

And then there’s the weekend! Hooray! Friday…. What did I do Friday…… Not much because allllllll the shops, minus 7-11’s, were closed. Which was really fine according to my bank. So I took myself on a biiiiiig walk from my little apartment alllll the way to the river-end of New Farm park. And then from there I took the ferry from one end of the river to the other (takes about 2 hours round-trip) and then I walked into town to catch the bus home. All up it took up a good chunk of the day and 7.44 kilometers (which is I don’t know how much in miles, maybe 5 or so). Hooray! Fresh air! Exercise! Sunburned nose!

Saturday I was invited at the last minute by Natasha and her friend Veronica to go with them and about 10 of their friends to the Doomben races. Which meant we had to dress up and look nice and girly. It was fun because all the boys were spiffed up as well. We drank an awful lot of champagne, as you do at horse races I guess. It was fun. I don’t gamble at the best of times and one of the guys we were with lost about $300. That was kinda sad because it was his birthday too. So really all that did was to solidify my resolve to not bother gambling. But it was a really good day. Shame I forgot my camera!

And today has been sit on all my different bits of furniture and read books day. My god it’s already after 3.30pm! Hooray for having choices of furniture to sit on! But yes, very quiet, easy day. Maybe tomorrow I’ll do chores……….

So that’s really about that! Nothing toooo exciting I must admit. But with unemployment looming, the lower the profile the better! So, I hope you’re all well up there! The weather is getting nicer and I hear the price of plane tickets has gone down, so c’mon down!!!

BYE!
J!

A Day Off with A&W and a Breeze!

Hi!

Well. Here again we find me on a cloudy but breezy Sunday afternoon. Ahhhhhh. See, I don't mind Sundays because I quite like my job, which is kinda rare for me and office gigs. And I had Friday off from work, and then I ran around on Saturday, and today I've just relaxed. Had a piece of pizza. Got my A&W, life is pretty good!

So yeah. Work is good. Still busy but not as nuts as the last couple of weeks. Now comes time to list the stuff I'm working on to hand over to part-time gal. Wow, to think I do this full-time and I'm busybusybusy most of the time. I can't begin to think how this gal is gonna do my job only two days a week. Guess stuff just won't get done! Oh well! So for now, as far as I've been told by Boss #1 - I really am outta there at the end of this month. And I should see Boss #2 (he with the "Cunning Plan") tomorrow sometime and see what's cookin' there, if anything. But, am in the process of applying for two editing gigs in the cold hard world, so we'll see what shakes down from them! It's about all I can do for now! Any ideas or suggestions (or a job here in Brisbane doing editing), let me know!

So had Friday off from work. Cos I'm now on the Government's books, I earn like 15 minutes a day towards a day off. And with the 2 I worked last weekend, it's all added up to 25+ hours that I have to take off before I leave, because they don't pay you out for these kind of days off! So I had Friday to sleep in and clean the little apartment really good. And it was just nice to have a short week. I was really tired and needed a break. I might take one day off during this week if I can. Hey, now that I think about it, this week's a short week anyways! Hooray! We get Friday off, because of Jesus and the following Monday, because of Jesus! Hooray for Easter! Hooray for being on the Government's books and being paid for the time off!!!!!!!!!!!!$ Heeeeey, maybe I'll take Thursday off and make a right break out of it.... Hmmmm.

And then Saturday, Natasha and I ran errands and spent money (shampoo and all that kinda crap). Man, when we put our heads to it, we can sure cover a lot of ground running around! And then we met at the Paddo pub in the evening for a couple glasses of wine. Was a nice day!

And today, ahhhh, nothing. Called my Grandma in Indiana. Am bad Grandaughter, haven't called in aaaaaaages. Love talking to her tho so I must do it more often. She doesn't have a computer so she has no email and can't see my little blog; so there's no reason not to call and keep her posted the old fashioned way!

And that's about it really. Love sitting on my couch and chaise and chair and putting my feet up on the footstool. Man, this comfortable furniture thing just will never get old! Hooray!

So there it is. I hope you're all well up there. Drop a line and tell me what's shakin' up there in the Northern Hemisphere!!!!!!

BYE!
J!

Work It, Work It!

Hi!

Well. That was a busy week. They seem to be getting busier for some strange reason. Hmm. There was a weekend in there somewhere but I wouldn't have known it because I worked! Gasp! Shock! Horror! Breaking Cardinal Work Rule #3!

So yeah. Work. Is really good, but bloody busy. No time for anything except, well, work! And even then it's 'which bit of this project should I concentrate on today'? Sooooo busy. I like it, but man! And then I offered to help Young Christine over this weekend to supervise a film shoot for a training DVD the rural fire service (us) is putting together for volunteers to help them realize how great the training can be, etc etc etc. So that was Saturday in Boonah (just outside of Ipswich by about 1/2 an hour, west of Brisbane) and today was a half-day at Maleny (about an hour+ north of Brissy). Basically all we did was stand around and watch the 3 person film crew film volunteers being trained and do a few interviews with said volunteers. It sounds yawn, but it was REALLY interesting. If I could, I'd join a local fire brigade as a volunteer. It's damn interesting and really useful. So yeah, even tho I was "working" it was really interesting and, well, you know how I love an adventure that involves anywhere outside of my block!

And yeah. That's really about it. I just put my head down and worked all week (and weekend). I think I get two days off as compensation for this weekend, but we'll find out. Hope so cos am tired and the little apartment needs a run over with the vacuum! Oh, and speaking of the little apartment - I am now the proud owner of Contents Insurance! It's exciting for me because I've never really had anything worth insuring. But now with $1,500 worth of furniture (and stuff), plus the little laptop and camera etc, yeah. I'd be crushed if it went up in flames or out the window into some dude's trunk. So now am covered! Whew! AND, I bought and rigged up galvanised wire bird mesh to keep Kona in the house. He's become a pro at escaping and thus annoying me. So I rigged up two windows so far and man, that cat ain't going anywhere! It sounds kinda mean or extreme but I don't want him to be an outdoor cat. I only have 5 more months to go here and then hopefully the next place will have a nice breezy balcony that murderers can't get on but that Kona can chill out on at will (and not escape). Yeah.

So that's that! Am beat. Am tired. And can't believe the weekend is over already! But hey, at least a couple of mini-adventures were had! Hooray! Note to self - must get out more, it's a very pretty state I live in............. So c'mon down! The weather is only getting better!

BYE!
J!

I Am Now Modern & Art!

Hi!

Well. Sorry for the delay. Busy weekend. No time to write. Busybusybusy spending money! But yes, I've been saving up my hours at work to be able to take a day off - today - so I could get some, well, sleep, running around, and to go see the Andy Warhol exhibit at the Gallery of Modern Art. And now here I am! Whew!

So yeah. The week. It was good. It seems that the closer I get to the end of my contract at work (end of this month, so that's like, what, 4 weeks? Egads), the busier I am and the more stuff they think of to give me! Don't get me wrong tho, I still really dig it! See, I still haven't forgotten the last gig I had before this one - and with that thought constant in my mind, I will always love this gig no matter how hard the office politics try to drag me into it's vortex or how much work they heap on me - it's been one of the best office gigs I think I've had in years. I mean c'mon, I got my degree in Film & TV Production with a theatre & tv production employment background - what the hell was I supposed to do in Officeland? Well, short of something to do with Film, TV or Theatre production I suppose, but, rent must be paid until that perfect production-office gig appears! Yes, note to self - the end is neigh, must look for work and even harder for a production-office gig, if they exist...........?!

And then The Weekend. HOORAY - I have furniture! Real furniture! AND I have choices of which bit of real furniture to sit on! GASP! SHOCK! SURPRISE! Yes! I'm modern and now semi-furnished! YA-HOOOOOO! So I shanghaied Julian (used to work with him at Southbank, helped me move to this little place and donated a large part of his garage to help me furnish said little place) into taking me to Ikea first thing Saturday morning to buy a couch, chaise and chair with footstool. And bless him, he even helped me to put it all together (being Ikea, it came flat-packed and in pieces). I can't tell you why I'm so over the moon about having a coupla sticks of furniture. Maybe it's because they're, technically, the very first pieces of real matching furniture I've ever purchased on my own. Maybe it's because I'm getting old, I don't know. All I know is I love them. They're very simple, very basic and very white. Not sure if I've done the right thing by buying white furniture, but thank god I don't have kids nor know anyone that does! Otherwise we'd all have to sit outside. It's bad enough that the cat has fur. Must by cover-blankets. Mmmmmmm and with winter coming (today is the second day of Autumn), I get to huddle on my couch with blankets - novelty! Ahhhhh, I guess I'm just really happy to have them because they look cool, they're comfy (or will be once I sit on them a while), they don't have anyone else's cooties on them but mine, and the covers are all washable. Hooray!!!!!!

And yesterday, Sunday, I met Natasha and we covered almost every square inch of the [good end] of The Valley (where A&W Rootbeer and drug addicts come from - the good end is where Ferrari's and high-end leather furniture comes from), looking for furniture. She ended up buying, for a screaming deal, a solid wood coffee table. I bought nothing, now that I have moths in my bank account until 8 days from now. But I got all kinds of ideas - mainly that of how to acquire more money to buy said nice things. Sigh. Oh well. In time I'll be furnished. I know this is one of the downsides to not staying in one place, especially if that one place involves another continent! But gee, now that I think I'll have to get contents insurance, guess I'll be staying a while! So c'mon down! So anyways, by the time I got home from our running around, had a shower, something to eat, glass of wine, it was almost 8pm! But I knew I'd have time today, Monday, to catch up, so here I am!

So yeah. Went to run a couple more errands this morning and then went to go check out the Andy Warhol exhibit at the Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA). I've been wanting to go since it arrived in Dec. I really liked it. For one ironic thing, you weren't allowed to take photographs of any kind in the gallery. Ironic because the guy made a name for himself after taking his ideas/art from commercial/existing people/pop culture. Hmmmmmm anyways, couldn't take photos, which was kind of a shame but no problem (I mean, for cryin out loud, this is the age of the internet, you can find any and all minute pieces of his art online). I even signed up for a guided tour. It was very interesting. I mean, I remember growing up with his art in the 80's, and I was pretty pop culture aware (to a point, I'll admit) so he was everywhere. If I remember right, he was more of an icon than his actual art! But speaking to Cindy, briefly this afternoon, she pointed out that they didn't hear much about him down here even in his heyday. So it was interesting. I always really like going to these retrospective collections, especially if they're of artists I never either really liked or knew much about. Gotta learn something new everyday!

And that's about that! Busy! Productive! Hooray! So I hope you're all well up there!? Drop a line and c'mon down - I have furniture that you can sit and sleep on! Hooray!

BYE!
J!