Napping in a Wedge with a Tail...

Hi!

Well. Sunday evening, much like many previous Sunday evenings, the birds are out there chattering away, although they're kind of quiet at the moment when they're usually really gabby.... They've been quite rambunctious most of the day, so perhaps they're talked-out. Either way, it's a lovely, cool, overcast evening, the very strange and nosy owner of our sad little crumbling apartment block is dragging palm fronds around and flinging them over the fence into the neighboring apartment block's yard (and that's just the tip of his strangeness), got mah glass of wine (same as last week, it's taken that long to get through it), and the way groovy jazz tunes have just fired up - ahhhh, lovely Sunday!

So work. Yep. Is going happily well. I've had slightly more to do this week, which is always nice in helping the time pass. But until the new year springs into action, I have a feeling things could stay pretty quiet.... Which is kinda good, I guess, gives me time to study up on all the new acronyms and the slightly confusing, multi-layered business structure. Hmmm.

Oh, and I foolishly forgot to mention last week in summing up the previous week (a.k.a. My First Week at the New Job), that Thursday I got to go to Amberley Air Force Base (or as it's meant to be known: the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Base Amberley") to go look around the base (well, some parts of it). It's pretty big, kinda run down, old small buildings. You'd think with the gazillions of dollars that these places get off the Government you'd expect the place to look like Star Trek. But no. Guess they spend all the dough on toys. We showed up just as they'd finished their Veteran's Day salute business with fighter planes and rifles. We wandered around A Lot, escorted at every turn, of course. Got to see a new ("green") Wedgetail being converted from just a standard 737 and fitted out with its new spy gear (tho the spy gear was classified from me, being a "Foreign National")......, I even got to stand around and crouch in a brand-new Kiowa helicopter's cockpit after it'd been freshly painted with its designed-to-order camouflage. But boy by the time we got back to the office we were beat. It's a fair way outta town and the drive was kinda long. But it was all really pretty neat. Oh and the whole place (my building that is) is absolutely crawling with Americans. I giggle a little whenever I hear the accent. After what, 9 years living down here it's the first time I've ever shared a building with them. It's kinda weird, but kinda nice. They all seem to be here purely for projects, so they're on contracts for like a year or two. Hmmm. Definitely interesting!!!! So yes, work is good. Hooray!

And then the weekend. Pretty darn quiet. Chores, naps, books, the usual. Although yesterday was nice in that my neighbors downstairs had me over for dinner and good gossip. That was really nice. I'm a big believer in being friendly (to a point) with your neighbors as you never know when you may need them. Well, it helps anyways when you live alone. Otherwise it was a very nice, quiet, very restful (maybe too much so, hope I'm not awake until 2 in the morning) weekend!

So there you go! Hope you're all well up there. I've done the math and I'm pretty sure I won't be able to come up there for another visit for..... well, it won't be next year, I don't think I'll have the vacation time saved up..... Maybe spring that next year......? So that gives you a huuuuge window of visiting opportunity - you know I'll be here! And you know you want to!!!

BYE!
J!

Surfin' for Adventures

Hi!

Well. Here I am, little late and I have no good excuse other than the truth – I was surfin’ the net and lost track of time. I know that sounds lame, but it’s hard to surf the net at work (as you can imagine) and I don’t have the brain space when I get home. So there. But here I am! I must say those lorikeets were out there chittering away last evening like they were never gonna get another chance to say what they wanted. Nice sunset (bit warm – summer’s lurking around the corner), and a very average glass of Sauvignon Blanc (that’s my lesson learned for buying it purely based on the label, something I’ve never really done and won’t do again). So yes, yesterday evening was quite nice, and I expect tonight will be much the same (am writing this from work, just to get a head start!).

So work. Yep. Is pretty good. First week went by like a shot, as they do. Everyone seems really nice and friendly, they know their stuff, and it seems like they’ve all been here a minimum of 5 years – a good sign. The trick will be for me to get my head around all the systems and process – it’s all really multi-layered and pretty complicated-looking from the outside. Definite learning curve. They tell me the acronyms are the toughest to get, probably not so much for me after Fire and Health, for me it’ll be remembering the file paths and intranet sites and where stuff is all filed and stored! So yes, it all seems to be going well so far! HOORAY!

And then the weekend. Saturday was kinda quiet. I met a friend I haven’t seen in ages for breakfast at one of my favourite little places here in town called “Venice”. And oddly enough the place was dead quiet which I thought was kinda weird because it’s usually packed, especially on a Saturday morning. But the view is still excellent and the food is good. And then came home and read, napped, the usual. Saturday seems to be my chill-out day where I don’t do anything at all. It’s nice. Boring, but nice. Just wait until I get my savings back up to scratch and then it’ll be “let the Adventures begin!”!

And then Sunday. Busy. Chores all day. Weather turned hot and humid too, which could be why when I sat down at the computer to write my brain wasn’t really into it – it was tired and just wanted to surf and not think. Hmmm. Happens. But wait until next week, that’ll be an Adventure – I’m off to see Emily and Jeff in Melbourne from Wednesday until Saturday! HOORAY! And work is cool with it and everything. Excellent. So am starting to get excited about going. And bonus, I get paid this Thursday, so I’ll have money (always kind of a scary thing when you first start a job – when do you get your first pay?)!

So there you have it. Kinda dull, but like I said, just wait and I’ll plan more Adventures (vacation time willing)! So I hope you’re all well up there! Drop a line and say Hi sometime, or hey, even submit an idea of something you want me to gasbag about!?

BYE!

J!

Washer-woman with wine and cheese!

Hi!

Well. Sunday evening, got mah groovy jazz tunes on the radio, got mah cool glass of wine (an unwooded chardonnay of some sort, meh, it's just ok), not very many twittering birds out there this evening for some reason... Not sure why, the weather is lovely and warm, there's a very pretty sunset, teeny little breeze, gee, if I were a bird this would be perfect chattering weather! Never mind, I'm sure they're out there doing quiet pre-evening bird things......... propping up the branch, fluffing the straw........ But here we are!

So work. Yep. First day tomorrow. Pretty exciting, sort of..... I mean, it's still work, not like I'll wake up tomorrow at dawn and am off to Disneyland. But still excited nonetheless. Always have mixed ideas about starting new gigs. This one is different I guess because so much is riding on it (plus it's like totally bitchin', like, fer sure cool) and it's technically permanent, the kinda gig I haven't had in years and years and years...... So, I have nearly everything I own washed and ironed, got my clothes picked out for tomorrow, got my work bag nearly packed, gonna buy lunch in town until I figure out the lunch break shift and which fridge will be safe to stash my lunch......... Yep, all ready - bring it on, new gig! Waaahhooooooooo! Will keep you posted how it all goes!!!!!!!!

Otherwise, my last week/day at Health was fine. Wound down nicely, leaving me absolutely nothing to do all day Friday. Plus, there was hardly anyone there, they all had the day off. It was excellent. Oh, and Tuesday was Melbourne Cup day, "the race that stops the nation", and it stopped work from about 12.30-4pm, that was also pretty excellent, and bonus - I won $4 bucks! See, one thing I've learned living down here in the Southern Hemisphere all these years is that you don't have to be remotely sporty to feign interest in the big sporting events at work, all you have to do is channel your inner Helen Mirren (performing on Broadway), look enthusiastic (or if you're into method acting, you could buy a raft of different sports' team jerseys to wear on the appropriate day - free day to wear jeans if you wear a team jersey on game day!), smile and say "Go -insert sporting team name here-!" and you're in! Like, I remember when the America's Cup yacht race was on while I was in New Zealand. To me, I couldn't give a rat's furry pink backside, but as long as I pretended to, I got to fluff around all day at work eating snacks and drinking wine - now what's not excellent about that?! Just have to play along and not only do you get to skive on work, you get to eat and drink on work time, and everyone thinks you're the Ultimate Team Player!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So yes, my last week at work was pretty good, wine and cheese and all. "I'd like to thank the Academy, my parents..............."

And then there was the weekend. Started off really pretty cool Friday evening with, surprise, drinks with a few folks after work to celebrate my last day of work with them! That was nice and we could actually hear each other over the din (we sat downstairs away from the riff raff and the blaring speakers this time). Tho we didn't stay long as one guy had to boogie off for his Salsa dancing event in town and I had to rush off to meet Dom and a couple of his friends to go see Robin Williams! We got tickets last minute as they'd finally dropped the price nearly a hundred bucks. So off we went (tho we sat at the back of the arena.......)! The Umbilical Brothers opened for him - they were totally awesome. If they ever tour up there in the US I highly recommend going to see them. Or next best, look for some of their acts on YouTube. So creative, talented and funnyfunnyfunny. Then ol' Mork came on and didn't stop for a good 2 hours. He was funny, yes, that's a given, but he wasn't breathless funny like he is on David Letterman, or in his shows up there..... It could've been the jet lag (Brisbane were his first couple of gigs), it could've been the cultural and political references that were kind of lost on the locals, I don't know, but he was sure crude, I guess maybe someone told him Australians like that sort of humor..... It would've been misguided advice, yes, but there it was. Ultimately, it was still a way cool show, glad I went, but if I ever get the chance to see him again in the US, I'm going!

And then there was the real weekend. I swear I felt like a washer-woman all day Saturday (and today come to think of it). Washing, ironing... I don't even have that many clothes! Small washer. Many loads. Much ironing. But come evening, I was invited to Jason and Clare's for cards and Mexican food (tee hee)! Usually it's pizza and Carcassonne, but they shook it all up this time and it was so much fun. We always have such a good laugh when we get together (hope we didn't wake the kids this time, tho I didn't hear any crying......).

And then today, more hand-washing, more ironing, tidied up my sorry little weak fingernails, and read my book. Must be nervous energy for tomorrow. No nap at all this weekend either. Weird. But yes, a good and very productive weekend was had! Hooray!

So there you have it. Will keep you posted how the new gig goes. Fingers crossed it's a keeper (and for that matter, that I'm a keeper!)! I see that the Aussie dollar is kicking the US dollar's backside, so I suppose I won't recommend you come down here for a visit any time soon..... Even if the weather is gorgeous and perfect, but don't worry, summer will be here in no time, so you won't be missing anything! Maybe by next June you can come visit........? Anyways, hope you're all well up there! Drop a line sometime and just say Hi!

BYE!
J!