Phoenix, The Little Laptop Reborn

Hi!

Well. Here I am! Long story short – my computer d i e d a very painful, yet quick death. So I had to get a new hard drive and it's been fun and games ever since, finding files, not finding files, replacing files from a bazillion places if I'd backed them up to begin with.... You get the picture. Once I had it coughing along, I learned all my programs were no longer valid – Word, Excel, Adobe, etc. So I go to the 'net to acquire OpenOffice. Ok, installed, all going fine. Then my Internet gave up. Sigh. Wasted a week and a half making phone calls and trips to the Optus shop (tho they could just be called Useless instead) with my little broadband usb stick. Which brings us to today..... So far so good.......!? Dare I hope.......? So that is the sad reason for the radio silence. Not everything is back to it's sprightly self, but at least the big important bits are working again, more or less. Hooray!

So work. Yeah. No. Still nothing new on that front. Have lost count of the applications submitted and doors knocked on. Tho I must confess have had 3 or 4 interviews so far – not bad considering the country is about to go into Xmas lock-down until like the 2nd week of January. Sigh. Stupid Xmas getting in the way of my finding gainful employment (shakes protest fist in air)! Maybe Santa can stuff a job contract into my stocking (note to self – must hang up stocking)! But, am pleased that there are even jobs out there worthy of applying for, there've been lots and I've applied lots. Just today I put in for 4 different gigs! Fingers perpetually crossed!

Otherwise, have been passing the time, well, putting my little computer back together, and when the Internet works, doing online training for graphicy designy stuff, doing research for, well, jobs and my little biz. Have also done a lot of random baking and making things from scratch. Hmmm. Whether it's being broke or bored or hungry for stuff I can't get here, I don't know, but the fact that I'm baking in 90 degree heat with 60% humidity, I dunno what's wrong with me. But man I make a mean batch of Mexican Wedding Cookies! And then there're the mid-day naps that have to be taken when the temperature and humidity in this little hot box of an apartment gets to be unbearable and my brain slowly turns to mush, there's nothing for it but to lay on the couch in front of the fan with the spray bottle. Then after about 3pm when the worst is passed, I can get back to it. Ahhhhhh, summer in Queensland! Hey, am not complaining – would rather be here than NYC!!!!

As for adventures, or even any kind of excitement, well, due to the bank account being a no-go zone for anything other than rent or food, have had to miss out on some pretty cool concerts (Elvis Costello, The Church....) and I don't want to know what else, I do my best to not go looking for it. Tho I have been out a couple times with just one or two of the old work folks (the ones I liked the best), have even manged to take in a couple new movies, like in the theatre and everything! How exciting! Saw the Coen brothers film “A Serious Man” - excellent and kind of back to the style of films they used to do and what they're best at; and saw the Paul Giamatti movie “Cold Souls” - very interesting and funny, even if the audience I saw it with didn't get it. It's funny to me that the general public needs their humor handed to them in simple terms. Heh. They even kind of struggled with "A Serious Man". Ahhh well, it inspires me to get busy with some of my movie ideas now that I've got a spare bit of time.....!

And that's been pretty much that. All's the same and fine aside from the poor little laptop. But we're up and running, even if there's not much to shout about at the moment. That's ok. I'm sure things will change soon and before long will be back to bleating about work! Hahahaha! Ahhhh well, I hope you're all well and warm up there - I sure am down here! If you get tired of the cold and feel like you really need a dose of hot and humid - c'mon down! Otherwise, drop a line! And oh yeah, have a good Xmas (if you're into it) and will most definitely check in next week! Hooray!

BYE!
J!

Agents Against Dullness...

Hi!

Well. Am way late, but on time. Sorry for not checking in last week..... I just couldn’t bring myself to write the little blog, because nothing happened that was any different from the week before and the week before that....... Even though this week wasn’t any livelier, if anything it was less lively! But never mind, here we are, there’s a lovely breeze cooling down the furnace that the days have become, it’s even too hot for many of the birds to bother with the chatter. There’re a couple of them out there but it sounds very half-hearted. Maybe they’ve all melted like me........!

So work. Yep. Slowly but surely will get one..... Checked in with one of my employment agencies, the one that got me the way good gig with the Fire Service in the first place, allllll those years ago. So here’s hoping they can get me another cool gig in the extremely near future. Thing with these agencies, that I blissfully forgot, is that you have to harass them to no end to remind them that you still exist and that yes, you’re still needing a job; Memories of fleas, these agents. And tomorrow I have to go back to the good agency (they get jobs for desktop publishers, designers, etc) and take their InDesign assessment test. The same test I failed spectacularly a couple weeks back on my first interview with them. Failed just so embarrassingly badly....... But only because the stuff they tested on, I’ve never actually had to do and had long forgotten since the class. So have been studying my little brain off (when it isn’t melting from the heat in this non-insulated, tin-roofed, hot-box of an apartment) and am due tomorrow morning to give the thing another crack – I won’t be beaten by a lousy agency assessment test (shaking protest fist in air)! So fingers crossed I at least do better than my first attempt. Sheesh. Otherwise, have been applying for real jobs too...... I probably won’t know what to do if one of them actually calls to see me for an interview! I swear my hands are cramping from all this wishing myself good luck.

And then the weekend(s). Sigh. Quiet. Last weekend was nice because Kim and I went on a marathon walk along the city-end of the riverside boardwalk, alllllllllll the way to the ‘hood of New Farm (hip and groovy restaurants, art galleries, gay-oriented which means expensive, yet still kinda run-down as they refurbish their cute little cottages and bungalows), where we stopped for hamburgers before continuing on into the city (Queen St. Mall) where we stopped again for a few well-deserved glasses of wine! Was our best and longest walk yet! It’s so fun to explore these places and get in shape at the same time – bonus!

But this week did have one bright spot – I scored 2 free passes to go to the preview screening of the new Cohen Brothers movie “A Serious Man”. It was excellent, and not just because it was free, heck I’d’ve paid to go see it! If you like the Cohen Brothers (No Country for Old Men, Raising Arizona, O Brother Where Are Thou, Fargo, etc), then you’ll love their new one. They have this thing where they’ll do a semi-mainstream film and then go off and do one that’s just way left of center. Hard to explain but I just loved it. And then after the film Dom and I had wine and solved the problems of the world, as the movie sort of made you want to do. It was a fantastic night! Hooray for a good free film!

Otherwise, the week and weekends have been quiet. Amazing the control that the bank and the weather can have on a gal. Sure, there’s free stuff to be done, but that means being out in this horrible humid heat, so it’s just easier to stay home and sweat in front of the fan. Besides, I’ve been ploughing through John Steinbeck’s stuff – finished “Grapes of Wrath” pretty quickly (tho reading it made me want fried dough, biscuits and bacon all the time........) and am just over half-way with “East of Eden”, pretty good so far, even if it is a bit morose at times. So my time isn’t spent in total boring idleness. I spend the day studying and looking/applying for work, then read for a break. Yeah, I try to polish it up but it is still pretty boring, I’ll admit. Things will get more exciting soon, I can just feel it!

So there you are. Sorry for The Dull, but it won’t be forever (I can hear the collective “thank sheesh for that!”). But I have to admit, aside from The Dull and no dough, it hasn’t been all bad – I’ve started to set up my own little business, am getting madder skillZ in these computer programs, am reading some fantastic literature, am out walking, am napping, am eating way much better (healthy-wise), am just overall happier for having the big break! I highly recommend it to everyone! Otherwise, I hope you’re all well up there. Maybe drop a line sometime and tell me what’s been happening up there?! I’d say c’mon down, but no, the weather, gah, summer’s come about 2 months early – yay, that means we have this stinking hot and humid until March, so feel free to come down after then! Unless you’re into it. I like to think of it as free detox and weight-loss. Have to put a positive spin on it otherwise will spend every waking moment in the freezer section of the grocery store, and how hard is that to explain even after just 15 minutes? You can only hover so long before attracting suspicion..... So yep, hope you’re all well – drop a line!

BYE!
J!

Fates, Romans, Countrymen, Lend Me Your Jobs!

Hi!

Well. Sorry am late. I kinda have a good excuse.... Went up to the 'hood of Redcliffe yesterday to sightsee with Kim, and by the time I got the train, got home, had dinner, had a shower, had glass of wine, sat down, my god it was like 9pm! And I was beat. So that's my excuse. But here we are, a cloudy, sort of rainy Monday afternoon.........!

So work. Yep. Nope. Not yet. Plenty of jobs that don't want me but so far none that do. That's ok, I like to think that's FATE saving me from an ultimately crappy gig working with crazy people. The hunt continues, as does the training and building up the little business....... These things take time, what can I say?!

And then there was the weekend. Started off most excellent with pizza and boardgames at a friend's house. Man, those evenings are always such a good time. And the time goes so fast and so late! It's also really nice because now that I don't work with 2 of those folks anymore, it's extra nice to see them and catch up. Not sure how much longer we'll be able to have these evenings as their 3rd baby is due in like 3 weeks! Eeeeek! Ahhhh, we'll get the fun in while we can!

And then Saturday. Kim came over after her half-day of work and we went on a marathon walk along the river to 'hood of Toowong. Since we've walked there in a previous episode, we considered it more of a short marathon walk. We had some lunch then headed back to go up to her house in the 'hood of Strathpine to watch movies and pig out on junk food. Hooray! Which was excellent timing as my neighbors downstairs from me were planning to have a huge party (to be nice, I even got up early to bake Mexican Wedding Cookies for them, for their party (cos I'm nice) and kind of as an apology that I wouldn't be able to go to their party like I said I was gonna before Kim let me stay at her house.........) So, yeah, no thank you, their day-to-day noise is plenty for me. So once at Kim's we had the wine open, the movies fired up and chocolate stacked high between us! An excellent, late, evening was had by all!

And then Sunday. We ran some errands in 'hoods I've never been, North Lakes and a couple others, then we headed up to Redcliffe, which is on the sea, and had another really good long walk with ice cream as our finishing prize! Hooray! So yeah, by the time I got home and settled from the weekend, I was absolutely beat. 2 long walks (in the sun mainly) in as many days, had me thinking of mah Big Trip back home and alllllllll the walking I did! But I must say, I sure miss all that walking I did while I was there, cos I sure came back a couple pounds lighter! Must keep up the walks!

And today..... Was up earlyish and busted the chores out like I was having family come to stay. 4 loads of laundry (I think that was everything in the little apartment), vacuumed, mopped, bathroom scrubbed, cat food bought, mailed deposited with the post office (who, incidentally, need a part-time mail sorter.........................hhmmmmmmmmm..............), my god I was a cleaning woman possessed, only the bed is still to be made....... Just had a late lunch and now here I am! Ultimately it's all kinda dull, I'll admit. But that's that for now.............. Am only doing what the bank is telling me to do.........! If you want more exciting stories - money can be deposited to my account at annnnnnnnny Bank of America branch! Hey, now there's a business-blogging idea - people pay the blogger to go on little local trips and then write with cool photos! Think I'll have to set that up.................... Someone send money and I'll go somewhere local and interesting like Longreach, in outback/rural Queensland - it's where Qantas got its start! It would all cost me the low-end of a few hundred $$$ mainly because of flights, but accommodation and food would be cheap.......! What an EXcellent idea! Send money and I can get started today! Will work for adventure (that's what I could call the little business-blog)! Hooray!

Otherwise, hope you're all well up there! Send money, operators are now standing by!

BYE!
J!

The Journey Continues with No Work Involved...

Hi!

Sorry am late. Have a good excuse tho – I was caught up in “studying” InDesign last night and by the time I looked at the clock, my god it was way past time for a glass of wine or starting the little blog..... plus all the brain power had been well used up by then. So here I am – brain on at least 50% power (only did a little bit of studying today as was expecting interruptions from landlord, real estate agent & handyman. Sigh). But here we are! And my toilet is fixed! Hooray for useful interruptions!

So work. Yeeeeeeaahh, I vaguely remember that.... It was something you got up really early to go to, you had to sit in an office all day and do stuff for other people.....? Yeah, think I remember doing that at one time or another....... I sure haven’t seen much of that around here lately...... Tho not for lack of trying, I’ll have you know! I did interview with an agency and it all went incredibly well until the testing phase. Yeah, I have a bit of remembering to do. Sigh. Failed on stuff I’d never done before (as can sometimes happen). So have been busy studying up on the stuff I’ve never done before. Whew! Is neat, sorry I never got to learn it or put it to any real use! Ahhh, but there it is and I’ll be a wiz in no time! But yes, slowly but surely dusting off and shining up those neglected skillZ, applying for jobs, and building up more of my little business..... It all takes an incredible amount of time, but I love it! Learning sooooo much! Slowly but surely! World domination takes time!

And then there was the weekend. Hmmmmm. Quiet but nice in a, well, quiet kinda way. Friday was meant to meet the young folks from old work but came down with a horrible sinus headache. Since spending more time in this whoknowswhat-ridden apartment, have been sneezing and sniffling all the day long. Then again, seeing as its spring, it could just be some dumb tree or bush in bloom. Great. So missed drinks with the kids. Maybe this Friday.......... I’m sure I’ll see them again at some point in life.......

And then Saturday. Yeah. Was nice. Kim came around and we went for an excellent marathon walk along the river near the ‘hood of West End. Little hot, I’ve done that walk before and still managed to forget that there isn’t much shade along there. Nevertheless we powered on and made it to the West End Ferry when we turned and headed into West End and along the main drag. Very quirky, hip and groovy part of town. Lots of hippies tho, and I don’t deal well with patchouli or dreadlocks, but we managed to find a quaint little cafe to have a spot of lunch away from the dreadlocked patchouli-ridden hippies. Lovely!

And then there was Sunday. Very quiet if I do say so myself; did a lot of studying, as you now know. My friend Hasse brought over, as a loaner to help with mah little business, his very modern and high tech little laptop complete with all the latest wiz-bang programs like most of the Adobe Creative Suite (bitchin’!!!) and includes this new fangled Windows 2010 – golly is it modern and really cooool and useful! Usually I get cranky when Microsoft re-does everything just when you’ve figured all the old stuff out. But this, even tho it’s all so different, it is sooooo much more useful and intuitive! And I’ve only been bashing away at it a little bit over the week (been too busy remembering my InDesign stuff!). In fact this little blog is the first thing I’ve done in the new Word. I reallyreally like it, and that’s saying a lot! Hooray for modern technology! Plus he’s also loaned me his very flashy fancy pants 20inch LCD monitor. So is that what stuff really looks like?????!!! Fantastic! So I must say it’s been an absolute pleasure doing all this studying and practicing with this fancy software! Just try to stop me now! The sky’s the limit!

And that, is pretty much that. Halloween passed by virtually unnoticed. They don’t really do it here, it’s an “American thing”. Well, they just don’t know what they’re missing I say. And because they don’t do it here, I kinda forget about it. No Halloween displays in stores or scary movies (or “The Great Pumpkin”!) on TV to remind me, so it just slips past. Sad. I’ll try harder next year, throw a costume party or something. Right now things can be pretty dull stuff at the best of times. But never mind, to keep it all somewhat look-worthy, I’ll include photos from The Big Trip there on the bottom. Hope you like?! Hope you’re all well up there? Drop a line sometime and tell me what’s happening up there, all the carrier pigeon’s tire out over the Pacific before they make it to these shores.

BYE!

J!

The Big Trip: The Journey Continues in Photos....

One Adventure Ends, Another Small Business Begins!

Hi!

Well. Another sunny Sunday evening. Am a bit early for the birds to twitter the sun down, but they're still out there, hanging onto the trees in the lovely breeze that's crept up to cool a pretty warm day. Ahhhhhh. Summer's not here quite yet, but you can tell, the same way you can tell when winter's coming, there's that breath behind a breeze telling you what's about to come, and my god I'm afraid this is going to be a nasty hot summer. Hmmm.

So work. Yep. Well, work in the traditional sense is still in a bit of a holding pattern. In fact, that plane is still in the hangar. I have applied for a few gigs, but nothing has come through yet. Which is fine because it's left me with much more time to focus my thoughts and energies onto my little biz, which is taking a more tangible shape everyday. Cool! Am getting there slowly but surely. Bit of work in creating work! Am this close to having a basic website, will keep you posted. Otherwise, still narrowing down and finalizing things like rates and contracts - all very detailed and kinda boring for anyone not playing along at home. Plus I still have to fatten up my business plan - don't leave home without it!

So the week was good, quietly productive. Did take a break Thursday to meet my friend Dom who'd just returned from 2 weeks in Japan. We had lunch, wiggled our toes in his parents pool and headed into town for errands and a few drinks and more gossip. Was a most excellent day/evening and good to catch up. Now I want to visit Japan!

And then the weekend. Started off with a lovely Friday evening - I cooked dinner (Mexican of course) for friends at their house and we played board games until way past bedtimes. Ahhhh, almost becoming a most excellent Friday tradition!

And then Saturday started off with quick, basic chores in order to be fairly presentable for Kim when she came around, then we headed out for a good loooong walk along the river and for a spot of lunch in the 'hood of Toowong. Then we walked back home in time to just beat a pseudo-cloud burst, which was really nothing more than a cloud-spit. It was a fantastic walk and we're hopefully planning to do them for the next few Saturdays - gotta get fresh air sometimes and company just makes it more fun!

And then today. Laundry. Busy with the little biz and researching pricing and contracts and writing bits for the website (like "Services", "Rates", "About", etc), stuff I've thought about but haven't put on paper until now. It's all not as intimidating when you get the basics on paper in front of you. Cool! Getting there!

And that's been basically that! Kinda dull, but no pay equals kinda dull. That's ok tho. Get biz up and running, get a little tolerable part-time gig, and life will be good. And speaking of a good life, onto the last installment of The Big Trip! We left our heroes on their way to New York City..........!

Week #4 - Sept. 21st - 28th

21st - We were awake at a fairly reasonable hour to catch a shuttle-bus from Washington DC to New York City (it was only $21 bucks one-way - so cheap!) and took about 4 hours to drive there. Excellent. Once in NYC we wandered to our hotel, checked in, dumped bags and headed back out to explore. I have to say, I thought the last time I left NYC was the last time I'd want to see the place, but being back just a few hours I was pretty excited to be there again. Love the city. So much to do and see. And see stuff we did! This evening we wandered up to Times Square to buy ice cream and stare at all the neon. Then we wandered over to Rockefeller Center where we rode an elevator to the "Top of the Rock", the roof-top observation deck, and had a good look out over the city. I'd never been up there before and the view at night was stunning. Highly recommend it!

22nd - Today we wandered down to City Hall, where we stood for a while and watched the tv folks film an episode of"Law and Order - SVU". Pretty cool. Then it was down into Chinatown along Canal Street (we we went in circles for a fair while. Curse twisty streets!) until we made our way out again into Little Italy for a spot of lunch and a much-needed glass of wine (after wandering in Chinatown, you'd need it too). The we ambled our way back to the hotel for a much-needed rest before heading back out our own directions to explore. One of my very favorite things to do in NYC was to just wander and look at stuff. A term I just read in a Steinbeck book describes this wandering up and down streets with nowhere in particular to go, in Spanish, is called "vacilando", which means 'a wanderer' - yep.

23rd - Today we were up and out to pay a visit to the Statue of Liberty. Once we managed to clear the 3 security check points, which took at least an hour, we were in! We were able to go as far up as the top of the foundation stone that she stands on but no further (those tickets get snapped up months in advance), but oh what an amazing view both of the city and of the Statue. Always amazing up close and with the museum to support it all. Such history. Impressive. Makes me proud! Then we were headed back into the Staten Island Ferry Terminal to catch the Staten Island Ferry simply because it's free and provides a fantastic view of the Statue of Liberty, lower Manhattan, Brooklyn, the harbor, just all of it - and free and a chance to sit for a spell. Excellent. Then we headed through lower Manhattan to pay a visit to the World Trade Center site and memorial gallery. Very heartbreaking to see it all in person, especially since the last time I was there everything was, well, still there. I have to say, the memorial they have settled on is lovely and fitting. I mean, no memorial can fulfill everyone's expectations, but this is lovely and respectful without being too ostentatious. It'll be neat to see when it's all finished.

24th - Brooklyn was the name of today's adventure! With the subway as our chariot we headed into lower Manhattan to the footpath across the Brooklyn Bridge, stopping for a bagel and coffee, as you do, then over the bridge we went. Ahhhhhhhhh my absolute favorite thing in NYC has to be the Brooklyn Bridge, and favorite time is to cross from Brooklyn to NYC at dusk - the skyline never looks more beautiful. But today it was morning, the sun was struggling through the clouds and we wandered across and into my old 'hood. Ahhhhhhhhh. We wandered through Brooklyn Heights along the Promenade and into Carroll Gardens where we split and headed on our own adventures. I wandered into my other other old section called Red Hook, which was pretty run-down when I was there and since then they've built an Ikea and are still trying to clean the place up. Well, having an Ikea like 2 blocks from my old apartment was a little bizarre, but nice in a kind of miragey kinda way, just wierd to see it there. As could be expected, I couldn't resist a wander through and a cheap lunch. Yep. One Ikea in Brisbane is much like one Ikea in Brooklyn. Cool. Then it was time to meet the girls and head back into the city for a look around the Empire State Building! My second favorite thing in the city! Always stunning and way cool. Highly recommended especially at sunset and really late evening when the air cools and you can hear the cabs and cars below fighting for lane space. I love it.

25th - Today was a day to be vacilando, aimless wandering. After a healthy breakfast of bacon, egg and cheese on a toasted roll (my favorite city junk food next to pretzels with mustard - YUM!) I took myself up through mid-town to Grand Central Terminal - always imposing and slightly intimidating for those new to the city. What can I say, it's just grand! Then I wandered over to the United Nations, hoping to go in and tour the place. But alas, it was in some serious lock-down due to the General Debate. Every head of every nation on the planet was in town to, well, solve the problems of the world. Complete with huge dump-trucks filled with fine sand barricading every street in a ten-block radius and snipers on rooftops. No potatoes in getting in to tour the place this time around. Bummer. Thus disappointed, I continued uptown along 5th Avenue, stopping at H&M for a spot of shopping, a visit to St. Patrick's Cathedral, then up through Tiffany's (how could I resist) and along Central Park, for a peaceful wander through the Frick Collection, one of my favorite galleries. Happily cultured, I thought I'd wander over to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, but as I stood in line at the bag-check, I scanned the crowd and thought it was a visit better suited to more time and more energy. So, calling it a productive day, I took my tired little legs back to Chelsea and a spot of early dinner.

26th - Today, being my last day in NYC, I vowed to conquer The Met. And boy did I. Both floors,. One of the best museums on the planet. Can't recommend it enough. A visit to NYC just wouldn't be complete. And to think I wasn't going to go because "I've been there a hundred times before". Tisk tisk. So happy I changed my mind and went and took my time. And I still didn't see everything! But I saw 98% of it and that's pretty good. Then, because I magically had energy and some time to spare, I took myself along to The Whitney (a modern-ish American gallery). After a most excellent lunch I headed for a look at the new Georgia O'Keefe Abstracts exhibit and a look around the other floors. Usually a lot of Edward Hopper works live there (I quite like him), but not this time around. Bummer. But pretty cool nonetheless. Like I said, there's just so much to do in NYC. Suitably cultured, and a little sad to be leaving, I headed back to Chelsea and a last fantastic dinner!

27th - Today we were up really early to catch our flight back to San Diego, where we intended to relax a little and get in any last minute shopping, which we actually managed to do! Once back in SD we dumped our bags and headed over to Horton Plaza for said last minute shopping and a quick wander around downtown. Well, I have to say it's changed LOTS since I lived there. Well done San Diego! It's livable! It's someplace you'd actually want to go! Shops and restaurants and bars, stuff - cool! The it was back to homebase for a lovely dinner with family and Dad's famous cocktail - YUM!

28th - Today we head back to Australia! We took our time getting sorted and packed. I discovered I'd forgotten to pick up a couple things for Kim, so headed off to CostCo, then as a last-minute treat, was off to get a pedicure. Next thing, we were waiting at the train station for the train to LA, then we were on the shuttle bus from the train to the airport, then we were waiting in the terminal, and next thing we knew we were on the plane and then next thing we knew we'd arrived at Brisbane International Airport to the waiting arms and cars of friends and family! W H E W !

What an excellent trip. It was just absolutely fantastic, and on one hand seemed to go by in slow little bits, but on the other it simply shot by. We did so much in those few weeks it boggles me to even think back on it all. Like I mentioned before, I'm sorry for not being able to stay for long and catch up, but I'll be back, either that or I'll see you here first! Hope you're all well up there and that you enjoyed the Summary of The Big Trip as much as I enjoyed (yet struggled to keep it short and sweet yet cover everything) writing about it!!

BYE!
J!