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....