Halloween in Dullsville!

Hi!

Well. Sunday evening, actually early evening-ish, thought I'd get a head-start on the chittering-chattering lorikeets...... But I do have my glass of cool white wine, a lovely breeze, some "interesting" semi-jazz/semi-classical tunes on the radio, must be the show that's on before the hip n' groovy jazz tunes, the little apartment is clean, life is good!

So work. Yep. So this'll be my last week with Health. Always with last weeks they're gonna try to cram in as much as they think they can get away with. I don't mind, am happy to help. Sigh. Has been good, might even kinda miss some of them. The work has been interesting, and hopefully for a good cause later on down the road (for Health that is, not necessarily me). Then it's off, kinda, figuratively speaking at least, into the wild blue yonder that will be Boeing. No idea what type of place it'll be to work in, aside from high security..... Will keep you posted, well, within security regulations that is! Am quite looking forward to the new environment. Hopefully this one will be a keeper! Fingers crossed - more to come I'm sure!

And then the weekend. Started off quite nicely Friday evening with after-work farewell wines at a bar called The Exchange in the City here, about a block from work, for Talava, a very nice, lovely gal/coworker who's pulling up stakes with her fiance, they're off and moving to Melbourne! And the evening didn't go very late, which made my wallet and head happy. Cos getting into summer here, it makes it really tough to drink red wine around this place because most bars don't keep it in a wine fridge, so you get room temperature red wine - pretty hard to get down when the room is around 80+ degrees..... Guess I need to find a white that I really like to drink, they at least serve that cold and won't look at you funny if you ask for a couple ice cubes on the side (a crime, yes I know, but this is Queensland in the summer and I can't drink any wine that quickly, ice or no ice!).

And then there was Saturday. Dullsville. Chores, reading and a good long nap. I tell you, this last year has absolutely taken it outta me. Guess I'm de-stressing and needing to catch up on mah rest (and savings, come to think of it). Am getting there, dull as it may be for those playing along at home. Trust me, with the new gig and the hopeful predictability it will bring, I can start knocking off some of those Adventures on mah List! As it is, I have a 3 & 1/2 day Adventure planned to go to Melbourne during the Thanksgiving weekend to see Jeff and Emily (sorta kinda like family.... I was there when Emily was born and now she's gonna be 16 while I see them in Melb!); so I have that really cool Adventure to look forward to. Have been to Melbourne before, years ago, for a day, but I had spectacularly horrible tour guides, so I always kinda wrote that visit off - now to make up for it! Hope I like Melbourne better this time around cos first impressions weren't that impressive....!

And then there was today. Ooooooooh Halloween! Pretty tough to get into tho it when A) It's warm and sunny, B) Am not a kid and C) They don't really do it here - it's an American Thing. Hmmm. But it's there at the back of my mind........ oh dear I hope I don't get any trick or treaters...... some of them do do it here.............! Otherwise the day was given over to chores and another round of tossing stuff, although this time I've actually compiled a list of stuff to sell, instead of just abandoning it on the curb like usual. This way I hope to make a coupla bucks so I can get new stuff that I actually like and want instead of hand-me-downs that I needed at the time. Now just have to draw up the ad.......

And that's about that! Apologies for the dullness. Just wait a couple months or so and then hopefully things will improve..... I even looked at other apartments around the place but I still have such a screamin' deal here, dumpy as it is...... No rush, it's cheap and Kona's happy. Otherwise will focus on paying back the parental debt and saving for a rainy day, and maybe a new bed-frame.......

So, hope you're all well up there! I know the exchange rate with the Dollar doesn't really do you guys any favors, but hopefully it makes flights to here kinda cheap? Either way, hurry up and get down here, cos when summer really kicks in, unless you like stinky hot and humid, this place will be unbearable from Dec until about April.....! Ahhh heck, c'mon down anyways, it'll be fun!

BYE!
J!

A Job of Beach-Side Fish with Kettles

Hi!

Well. Here we are, slightly late but only by a few hours, technically. Lovely Monday evening as the sun sets……. The same lorikeets are out there merrily chirping and chattering frantically away…. No crows to hear of, thankfully. They’re just big bullies anyways – tho not to the Kookaburras, they know who’s boss out there. I got mah nice cool after-work glass o’ white wine, no jazz tunes tho, but that’s my punishment I guess for being late. But never mind – here we are!

So. Work. Yeah. Am starting my last 2 weeks with Health…. They begged me to stay on one more week (awwww, isn’t that nice – warm fuzzies), and Boeing said that would be fine……. Yes – H O O R A Y for me I won the Boeing gig after all! Oh. My. God. I still can’t believe something good has happened on the job-front. Finally! Of course, there’s always a bit of a speed bump – they’re only going to take me on for 6 months while they wait for me to get Permanent Residency and then Citizenship. Hmmm. Is gonna take a lot longer than 6 months tho. So all I can really do is start the paperwork and hope that’s enough evidence of “a commitment to my future in Australia with Boeing……..” Hmmm. Yeah. HOORAY tho – I have someplace to be until next year at least!!!!!!!!!!! And another good thing(s), it’s based here in the City, so no awful commute to the Airport, and it’s basically on the same money I’m on – HOORAY! So of course what did I do to reward myself – I went out and bought the most fancy pants phone I’ve ever seen, because (well, Katie has one!), I’ve reasoned to myself, I probably won’t have access to any real Internet at the new job and I don’t want to be busted for checking email or the news……. ! And, when I finally get back to up there, the phone’ll work with US systems – hooray! So yes – HOORAYs all around!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHEW!

And then there was the weekend. Started off nicely Friday evening with a couple drinks after work with a couple of folks. But was a good girl, went home way early, so the wallet was pretty happy. ‘Course, after buying the phone on Sunday, wallet wasn’t as happy…… But never mind!

Saturday was pretty quiet. Laundry, nice weather, nap… After all the stress of the interviews and the utterly painful waiting to hear back about the job, I was really pretty tired………

And Sunday was really nice – my friend Dom (of the new license and the new/used car) and I decided to go up to Sandgate to have some lunch at the Full Moon Hotel (pub) (really niiiice food, really crappy service) and then we had a wander along the beach! Sandgate is just north of the city by about 1/2 an hour or less... right on Moreton Bay, so the view is really very pretty with Moreton Island waaaaay out across the way. Was lovely weather again (only because they've been threatening rain and storms like every day for the last week and it hasn't sprinkled once - yet!) and the water wasn’t too chilly! It was just really nice to get out of the house, get some fresh sea air, some sun and a good lunch! Hooray! But we didn’t get in until later than I thought and by the time I had a shower, got settled, my brain had turned to Sunday evening mush and I knew I wouldn’t make sense if I tried to check in then… Hence being a wee bit late!

So there it is. Sorry for checking in late, but I at least bring good news! So while there’s relief on one front, it opens another kettle of fish with the PR fun. I remember the fun that I had applying for PR in New Zealand… Sigh. Hopefully it’ll be more straightforward than NZ and the immigration people here know more about, well, immigration! Will keep you posted on that front. But until then – HOORAY! And because of the job thing, it looks like I could be here a wee while longer, so come on down! I’ll be here to give you the guided tour!

BYE!

J!

Waffles and Wine!

Hi!

Well. A little bit late but that’s ok…. Here now! You know how Sundays can wind down so much that sometimes it’s all you can do to go make dinner, with not much brain energy for much else? Yeah, well, that’s how yesterday was. Weird because it started out fulla beans…. Anyways. Here we are, Monday evening, same birds twittering along out there, glass of wine, sun is setting – life is good!

So work. Yep. Still have my short-term bit of fun until the end of the month. Have yet another interview with Boeing tomorrow afternoon… Although they’ve already called all 3 of my references over a week ago……….. Sigh. I just can’t help thinking about the moment when that poor overworked someone first realized they needed help, until the moment a butt was finally in a chair… my god it can take months. I miss the days (or perhaps it was the types of jobs – theatres, record stores….) where I could rock up wearing whatever (probably jeans), tell them what I can do and how wonderful I am and get hired pretty much then and there. None of this waffling around for months at a time, wringing hands like we’re all getting married. My god it’s easier to date than it is to interview for a job these days! Not that I’ve done much of that either – too busy wringing my hands trying to get a job! So yes, again, will keep you posted who wins the Boeing Job Lottery……?!

Otherwise, I pretty much got another job offer when this short-term one finishes, doing web editing for Qld Health (payroll project), in the same building in fact, and one floor up from where I sit now! It was a gig I’d interviewed for a few months ago but didn’t win because the other person had more something-whatever skills. So I put it out of my head. Well, turns out that person is hitting the bricks and they want me to take it now! Cool. Tho it pays a bit less than what I’m on, and is only going until January (probably get extended they have that much work), but hey – it’ll beat nothing! So I asked the gal if she could wait for me to decide after I hear who wins the Boeing gig, and she was cool with that. So hopefully by the end of this week we’ll all know who’s gonna work where!?

And then there was the weekend. Started off quite nicely Friday evening with drinks with a friend at a new fancy pants place here in town called Cicada. We showed up right at prime after work drinking time so the place was packed. But somehow we managed to get a corner table with the most excellent wait service! It was pretty nice. And then next thing we knew they were stacking up tables and chairs and staring us down waiting for us to pay our bill and leave already! Cool! Finally the City gets some nicer places to have a civilized glass of wine and some cheese, as opposed to the usual standing amongst the crowd, swilling beer and mixed drinks (or warm red wine – gag), get pushed and shoved around, drinks spilled all over you because the gal can no longer walk upright in those $300 stiletto’s…. Yeah. So it was quite a nice change!

And then Saturday. Boring chores day. But most excellent because it was the first weekend that it hasn’t rained pretty much since I got back from my visit to the US! The sun was bright and shining, there was a good breeze, the humidity had dropped – perfect laundry weather! So got all that done, complete with nap. It was a dull but good day.

And then yesterday, Sunday, was up and out early to go and scope out the Multi-Cultural Festival in the Roma Street Parklands. Ahhh it was really good! So much foooooood from so many countries! Problem with those Festivals is that I always forget to starve myself a few days before and to load up with pocketfuls of cash. But I did manage to stuff in a Danish and a coffee from the Denmark tent. Am just sorry I didn’t starve ahead because everything looked so good in most of the tents – Hungary, Ethiopia, Russia, and there was even a Mexican tent (the guy was here from Cancun!) way too many to be able to eat at all of them! And then there was all the music and dancing, costumes and crafts. It was pretty neat. I like that kind of stuff. Shame it was only for one day and a bit scattered around the place. Place, pshaw, the Parklands are actually quite lovely, especially after we’ve had all this rain. So I’ve made a metal note to go check the place out properly this coming weekend (or very soon) and take some more pictures, minus the tents and crowds. It’s so nice to see the place in bloom. And that reminds me I should make a trip up to the Botanical Gardens at Mt. Coot-tha to take some photos after all this rain…. It’ll be bloomin’ lovely (har har har…..)!

And that’s about that. Enjoying my last 2 weeks of a good paying gig……. Enjoying the perfect weather….. You should think about coming down for a visit – the dollar is equal which means stuff will be cheap-ish, flights should be pretty cheap anyways! Plus the weather is fabulous, but it won’t last long, so hurry up! C’mon down!

BYE!

J!

Pendulum Between Wet Weather and Work

Hi!

Well. Sunday evening. Missed the last one due to there not being enough hours in the day/weekend to do everything before Monday 6am..... But here we are, got the way cool jazz tunes, glass of cold white wine (Jacob's Creek Chardonnay), not too many twittering birds, although I've been hearing more kookaburras than crows this evening - crows are just wussies, kookaburras are tough, cos it's been raining pretty much since I arrived back from the US....... which is good for the plants and the dams, and besides, we know what's just around the corner! Pretty soon the weather talk will be all about how hot and humid and horrible Sunday evenings are! So will enjoy while it, uh, continues to last!

So work. Yep. 2 more weeks to go and then......... Dunno. Been applying for a few, been on an interview, which is what took up most of my Sunday last week - getting mah Interview Ducks in order, doing my research, ironing, etc. Interview was noon that Monday, with a full morning of work so all I had was Sunday evening to prepare. Interview seemed to go well and they called all 3 of my references by the end of the week. So will hopefully hear tomorrow who they picked.....? I've decided to really not get my hopes up about this one no matter how cool it would be. Hell, any permanent job would be cool! Oh yeah, gig would be with Boeing as an Editor/Brand Manager in their Communications Dept. So yeah, pretty cool...... Hmmm. So tomorrow I hope to find out. Will post a short note letting you know which way that ol' pendulum swings! Otherwise, temp gig is going great - so busy with these big, dense planning documents - I love it! Shame they can't keep me, but that's the story of my time in Australia. Will keep looking and will keep you posted!

And then the weekends. Oh yeah, new mattress is The Best!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Love it. Hooray for Ikea! Best $600 bucks I've spent, next to my plane ticket to come out and see everyone a few weeks ago. I highly recommend a new mattress. And I'm happy to report that while yes, it's very comfy, I can actually get out of bed and feel really good - no aches and kinks - hooray! So this is how normal people sleep - excellent! But as far as the weekends go, well, last weekend I think I was pretty pooped from the week - getting into the swing of work again (the downside of having had a vacation) and all that, because work has been so busy, which is really good, tho the week flies. So last weekend I think I hung around and read... napped.... tried to shop for a new suit for mah Interview, but yeah, no, not when silly little cool, hip n' groovy suits are around the $500+ dollar mark - on sale, no suit for me! Otherwise the weekend was the usual totally boring stuff, with $500 more safe in mah bank account!

Then there was this weekend. Started off on Friday with Pizza & Games with friends. That was excellent, as I hadn't seen them in a couple of months. Always such a good evening which goes too fast. Then Saturday was up early to bust out the chores in time to meet a friend from work (who's married to an American gal in San Francisco - she's arriving soon) for dinner and drinks at my favorite wine/cocktail bar in the world, The Lark. We had the kangaroo steaks. Sooooo good. Tho mine came out first and we had to wait for his because "It's resting and still bleeding out." Never in my life have I heard a meal delayed for that reason. And I've eaten in some of the swankiest places going (in NYC at least). That was a first! Needless to say I had a good giggle when the gal walked away. But mmmmmmmm kangaroo, so good. Crocodile is better, but man it's a good bit of meat when it's done right! And they did it right! I'm telling you, you come down here for a visit, we're so going there!

And then today was a really awesome day in that I went with Dom and Alan to go pick up Dom's very first car (he just got his driver's license this past Wednesday)! It's just a cheap ($2,000) 1993 Nissan Pulsar. It's in pretty good shape for the age and the price. So we 3 took the train to just near Ipswich and walked a few blocks to the guy's house to pick up the car. Dom drove us all over Ipswich, where he's from originally from, showing us the sights along his memory lane, and then back into town. And I have to say, for a new driver, in a strange new/used car, he did most excellent. I had to laugh when I told him I've been driving as long as he's been alive! Ahhhhhh memories. I kinda miss my 1978 Pinto. White with red racing stripes and way totally cool red interior. Went everywhere in that tough little car. Sigh. Makes me want to go out and pick up a cheap little car just to shoot around in...... Must get job!

And that's about that! Glad to have the work for another 2 weeks, glad it's busy, but boy I'm pooped by the time the weekend comes! Ahhhhhhhh, getting older. So yes, will keep you posted how the job hunt marches on. Hope you're all well up there! I'd say come on down but A) The weather is poo unless you like the incessant rain and chill damp (gee, just like NZ....) and B) The US dollar is almost equal with the Aussie dollar - good for Aussies, bad for US. But hell, c'mon down anyways before summer comes!

BYE!
J!