Gem + Beach + Storm = My Week

Hi!

Well. What a crazy week that was. It went amazingly fast. And I got not a lot done, or so it seemed; except for Thursday and Friday. And then there was the briefest glimpse of a weekend in there too. Man. Time really does fly, even when you seem to be standing perfectly still.

So work. Yep. Is good. I actually sat down and made a spreadsheet of alllll the stuff I’ve done (ok, well, most of it anyways. I have a terrible memory – go the fish oil vitamins!) pretty much since I’ve started, but really detailing the stuff I’ve done over the last 5 weeks that my boss has been away on vacation. Because he really will sit me down tomorrow first thing and demand to know what I’ve been up to. And by looking at my 3 page spreadsheet, I guess I could say I’ve been pretty busy. I just knew it! But I hope he understands it all…… I feel like I’ll be singing for my supper this week as I’m waiting to know if I’ll be extended past December. Fingers crossed.

And the week had a gem hidden away in there……………… Thursday dawned like any other day…. By 10am I’d test driven a used car, by Friday 4pm, I was the proud owner of a 1998 Mitsubishi Magna (I think it’s a Diamante up there) sedan. And $5,750 of brand spanking new debt. But I have wheels! 2 more than what I had before and a cover! Waaaahhhooooo! FREEDOM!!!! ‘Course, didn’t take it anywhere all weekend. But, there’s no rush, ‘cos I own it! Pics to come soon (it’s bucketing cats and dogs at the moment, actually, it has been for the better part of half the day, but that’s another story too).

And then the weekend. Saturday was the minimum amount of chores as it was hot enough to melt the new paint I’ve painted in the kitchen. So, in light of having to sing for my supper at work, I worked on my spreadsheet of accomplishments. Next thing it’s time for a shower (heat and humidity unbearable at this stage) and then a glass of wine and a Humphrey Bogart movie. By 8.15pm I was comatose on the couch. What an exciting life it is living here in the land down under. Crikey!

And today dawned bright and blue, and me and the kids from work were off to the Sunshine Coast for a day at the beach. We’ve been planning this for weeks and yet all week long the weather reports threatened a wicked storm for allllll day Sunday. Not to be put off, we headed up anyways. It was perfect where we were – Dickeys Beach just outside of Caloundra, about an hour and a half north of the City. And it was a dog beach, and there’s nothing more fun than to watch pups run amuck in the sea. It was excellent. What an absolutely beautiful day we had. And the water was perfect and the waves gave us all a good workout. We had the best day. Dom brought his boogie board and everyone had a go. It was so fun. I haven’t been on a boogie board since I was a kid. It was the best. And I have a new set of sunburn patterns to prove it! Buuuuut, on the way back home, not only did we hit the Sunday afternoon traffic, we hit the terrible storm the weather folks had been threatening all week. Holy cow. I haven’t been caught in a storm like that in years, if ever. Lauren did an absolute textbook job of getting us through it without having to pull over (more dangerous than continuing on). It was scary but we got through it. Casting my Swiss cheese memory back, I can’t recall ever being caught in such torrential rain and wind and lightning than what we went through this evening. But here I am, safe, sunburned and happy. What a fantastic day. Funny, there’ll be 5 of us in our work department with sunburns and smiles. Ahhhhh! And, bonus – the weather seems to think it’s going to rain all week. But that’s ok, ‘cos I can drive to work! Before I used to watch the weather for clear, sunny, scooter ridin’ days – now I hope for rain! Well, kinda. You know how I mean. Hooray!

And that’s pretty much that! So now no more spending. No more sprees to Ikea. No more fancy dinners out. Must save for bills and an Adventure to the US. Have I mentioned that the kids from personal, guided tour across the US. But, it all depends on a couple things – if I have a job and if our bosses will let the 3 of us go (me and Lauren in the same room, plus Dom in our same department) for 4 weeks. We’ll see. It’s not official yet. We should know, well, if I have a job, in the next couple of weeks. And we should know if we can go, hopefully by January (if I have a job). So yes, fingers crossed for all kinds of good luck! Will keep you posted! In the meantime – c’mon down! Hurry before the heat and humidity really kick in!

BYE!

J!