3 Days for Veterans, Hair and Fashion

Hi!

Well. Pretty speedy week. Course, it helped to have Friday off for Anzac Day (like Veteran's Day). It's kind of neat to have a holiday on a Friday. And apparently, we get this coming Monday off for Labor Day! Hooray! Tho I have to say, they sure bundle up their holidays. I think we went like 3 months maybe between holidays? Hmmm. Really, if those Romans were thinking, instead of drinking wine and eating grapes in the bathtub, they'd have come up with more holidays. At least one a month.

So work. Yeah. It's good. Wishing for more stuff to do, but am not complaining. I have a feeling a gig like this takes time to grow. It's going really well tho. It has much potential! Just wish that potential would hustle!

And yeah, the 3 day weekend! Did the chores on Friday. Maaaaan, the weather has broken and has finally turned to good, warm, breezy, bright and sunny days, with lovely cool nights. No more rain and overcast! Ahhhh bliss! Hooray for the little scooter! I can actually start racking up the kilometers/miles! So yeah, chores were pretty easy with the weather co-operating. Saturday, went with Natasha for a haircut. Man, having short hair now means having to visit the hair shop more often. That's ok tho. It keeps it different. And man she's cheap! She's quite a hike, at least a half-hour bus ride to Springwood, but for $30 bucks versus $85 here in town? I'll take the bus for 4 hours if I have to! And she does a fantastic job too. Bonus!

And today, I must confess, I shopped for clothes. I never shop. But I did today like I'd won the lottery. Honestly, you shoulda seen the state of my closet. A gal can only get so many miles out of one suitcase full of clothes over two + years. Plus, I have no "winter" clothes. Tee hee. Winter here means it gets down to 50 at night. Ooooh. Burrrrr. And they're so funny, they sell hats and scarves and gloves almost like they're expecting polar bears to rock across their front lawns. Ahhhhh, nothing will ever be cold after living in NYC! Nothing! So yes, I now have new clothes. It's nice. And some shoes. Hooray! Won't have to do that again for a while now!

And that's it. Slightly dull, but I have new clothes, so I don't care how dull you think things are down here! Nothing's dull when you have a closet full of new clothes and a coupla pairs of squeaky new shoes! And if you're that bothered by the constant and utter dullness, get your butt down here and let's go on some adventures! Heck, my Mommy is the first one out of the gate! So, c'mon down! I'll keep the light on for ya!

BYE!
J!

Deals, Birds & Breezes

Hi!

Well. Another week…. Another weekend…. Same ol stuff really. Tho I’m pretty sure we get this coming Friday off for Anzac Day (Veterans Day)…. Hope it’s this Friday. Could do with an extra day off.

So yeah. Work. Is good. Slowly, very slowly, but surely, figuring out what I actually do. Had a really long meeting Friday afternoon that was reallyreally good. But as far as actual real work……. Ehhh, nothing yet. There are a couple things I’m keeping my eye on, but not much I can do at the moment. But hey, I really dig it, it’s a gig that I can make my own, so we’ll wait and see how it pans out. Cool!

And the weekend. Yaaaaaaaaawwwwwwnnnn. I’ve done absolutely not much at all. Am scared to leave the house because it costs money. And I’ve got a few library books I can read…….. So I did that all day yesterday. Man, it was nice. I’ve been really tired all week for some reason, so to sit and read and listen to the breeze and the birds (when the neighbors stop yelling and stomping around, then you can hear birds), it was nice.

And today, chores. But I've had to do a really thorough job this time, another "inspection" from the real estate agency on Tuesday. Man, I’ve only been living here 8 months and this’ll be the second "inspection". Intrusion rather. So I have to go to work later in the morning so I can let Monkey Boy poke around my apartment with a clipboard. What a pain. As a result of said intrusion, I’ve decided I’m not going to buy a car, that come the end of my lease in August (if not before), I’m moving. I had a couple deals with myself: one, that I can buy a car but I’d have to renew my lease here for another 6 months; or no buy car and move. It was actually a really tough choice. But, seeing as work seems to be going really well and the chances of having my contract extended beyond June look absolutely positively in the bag, and seeing as the real estate agency is far too nosey for my liking, not to mention my paranoia of first-floor living, I’ve decided am outta here! Plus, the cost of insurance, price of gas, the road congestion, etc…. Am just going to find an apartment somewhere between here and work. So there. That’s my plan. Now could be a good time to look into getting that PO Box I think…………………… So yeah, have done my chores, read my books, had naps, what an old lady I am. Ahhh, but Grasshopper, exciting times are coming, just have to put my head down and $saaaaave!

Otherwise, all’s well. Kona is good, he’s two now. I let him out on the weekends to patrol the perimeter of the apartment complex (it’s not big at all) and occasionally he brings me a skink (lizard). The weather is lovely, nothing like fall in NYC! Hooray! The guy across the street is well and truly insane, as demonstrated this morning by his weekly tantrum/nuclear meltdown, this time because a cab driver mistakenly (very mistakenly I’d say) threw a piece of trash into his yard… Well, let’s just say the police had to come and help calm him down....… Ahhhhh, yes, all is right with the world!

So there it is. Dull but true. Hope you’re all well up there! C’mon down!

BYE!
J!

Screening Orchids for Work

Hi!

Well. That was a fairly speedy week. And the weekend, well, much like last weekend - far too speedy.

So work. Yep. Is good. Finally had a couple little things to do. Thing is, I get so excited to have something real to do (even if it is just sending out an email to set up a meeting with 2 other people to talk about the final touches to an update of a manual), that I bust it out in two minutes and then have another 7 hours and 28 minutes with which to try to keep myself entertained. And I've asked the other two gals in my office if they have anything I can help with. Thing is, at the moment, I don't think any of us has much to do........ Hmmmm, hope it's not a 'quiet before the storm' kinda thing, I hate surprises like that. Hmmm, perhaps this is still settling-in time. Ok. But man I wish I had stuff to do. I wish I knew the systems well enough to create myself some stuff to do! Gosh, am half tempted to pick up some of the new gal's slack from my last job downstairs..... She only works part time...... Oooohhh weeee, until my new boss finds out am moonlighting! Then NO job! Sigh. Boredom it is............

And then the weekend. Saturday - chores and reading. Am trying to get through "Uncle Tom's Cabin" because I've never read it and always thought I should. Hmmm. Might have to let this one go back to the library half-finished. It's good, but like "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee", it's pretty sad and tough going sometimes. Y'know how on the weekends, or when there's nothing on tv, you just want something to read that, well, at the very least doesn't make you feel sad? Hmmm. Maybe I'll go back to the James Bond series. Those are really good little books, minus all the silly special effects.

And today, Sunday, was errand day. My goodness. I've been on a mission all week to create a screen for the top of my desk at work. They put me at the reception desk and while it's rare that people wander past looking for someone and ask me where they are, it's still pretty distracting to have people walking into and out of their offices and going to the coffee pot. Especially when they make their cups of coffee on my desk. So, I went first to Bunnings Warehouse (exactly like Home Depot, only much smaller) a couple suburbs away (because people who live in the city have no business making or fixing stuff, so they put useful stuff in the 'burbs) thinking I'd make myself a 3- or 4-part mini Japanese folding screen divider. After seeing how much work that was gonna be, and me with no tools other than a hammer and screwdriver (which, granted, you can do most things with), I decided that was gonna be far too much work for a Sunday afternoon - cos I want this thing for tomorrow! So I bought some hinges and took myself to the mini-mall near my work, to the dollar shops, and picked up two longish canvases, 2 boring little vases and 2 silk orchids. Brought it all home, screwed the hinges in to the canvases, set up the flowers and bam - I have a bit of privacy. It's kinda hokey, just until I can figure what to paint or attach to the canvases. But for now, it'll happily do. Man, I wish I had a house, a workshop and some tools. I'd make all kinds of cool stuff then.

And that's about it! I feel like I'm in perpetually in Savings Lockdown mode (the canvas screen went to the "home improvements" part of my budget) - always saving for something. This time, besides saving for more Ikea stuff, am saving for Mom's visit. It's awesome to have 8 days PAID off of work (you wanna talk about novelty there), but stuff to do costs dough. So am saving for that too. Always trying to save.

So there you are. Little dull, but there it is. Hope you're all well up there! Book a flight and c'mon down, cos I looked at flights for me to come up there around Xmas and ain't no way am I spending $3,500!!!!!!!!!!!! So you guys have to get your butts down here! Besides, I've been there - none of you have been here!!!!!!!!!!!! HA!

BYE!
J!

Yawns are Free in Dullsville!

Hi!

Well. That was an interesting week. Pretty fast though. Good week!

So work. Yeah. New job is good.... not sure what I'm supposed to be doing exactly, neither does anyone else, but the people I've met, that I'm meant to be working with, seem pretty excited to have me there to help once they figure out what I can actually help with! It took a little while to settle in; I didn't get a desk and a chair until Tuesday, and a computer and a phone until Thursday. So, now that I've got stuff, I just need stuff to do! I imagine this week we'll get to it...... I sure get bored trying to look busy. I've even asked the two gals I work with to give me stuff to help them with! But otherwise, the plans they have for my job sound pretty interesting and helpful. Something about helping to liaise between "content experts" (people who know stuff from doing it) and the editing gals for the bigbigbig 'Operations Doctrine' which is The Manual for urban firefighters that tells them how to do their job. That's my basic understanding of what my job might be. Either way, I'll work with a lot of new and interesting people, and I really look forward to that. And I'll learn a lot too! Hooray!

Otherwise, that's about it. Quiet weekend. Very quiet. Ran around a bit Friday night with Young Christine, she was on a mission to buy a Mac laptop and I was after a couple sets of towels. We walked away with what we came for! Hooray! And then Saturday was pretty quiet - laundry, reading, etc. The seasons are changing and cooling off, and with starting the new job and all that, I was pretty damn tired this week. Really tired. So just wanted to relax this weekend. So far so good!

And today has been really quiet, course it's been raining off and on most of the day. But did manage to get off the couch for a bit to meet Natasha at the pub so she could have her roast lunch (I just stayed with wine). Then she headed home and I went to the grocery store. See? It's bloody painfully boring trying to save money! But, in all fairness to me, I needed a couch and a chair, now am saving for, well, numerous things, but a lamp or two and a rug are definitely on the list. All I can say is saving sucks. Especially now that I'm seriously thinking of going into real debt to buy a car. We'll see. Have to save 3 pay stubs to show that I actually earn something. So when I get those together (with the new pay rate $$$!), I'm going to go through a broker to get my butt a car. They know better what they're doing than me. Young Christine went through one to get her car and she said it was really good and dead easy. So now want to save for that! Sheesh! Must win the lottery! Gosh, maybe I would if I bought a ticket now and then!

So yes. It's been Dullsville this weekend. Sorry. I'm sure there's something exciting around the corner soon! Will plan on it! So yes, I hope you're all well up there! And hey, apparently Virgin Blue now has cheap flights from LA to Sydney - go get one and c'mon down!

BYE!
J!