Aerating a Muggy Weekend....

Hi!

Well. Here we are, another slightly breezy, warm and very humid late afternoon. The birds have been out there twittering happily away over the last week as we've had that much rain I bet the grass looks like an over-flowing grocery store of worms and bugs = happy birds! I'm actively avoiding the strange show tunes radio show as I heard the gal say they were going to play music from all the Oscar-nominated films this year. Not sure why I'd avoid the music really, it's the Oscars I think I'm avoiding. But never mind, with my jazzy new flashy pants internet, have decided to stream radio from the SkyFM interwebs radio.... cooooolllll..... Otherwise, have the lovely cool glass of stand-by white wine. Hey, speaking of, I got the coolest thing ever to help a glass of wine...... OK, so I don't know what's it's brand name is, but it's an aerator - you hold it over the glass as you pour the wine through it and through the magic of physics and a couple of well-placed holes it sort of slurps the wine as it goes into the glass. I swear it makes such a difference. Tho the little pamphlet that came with it said it's mainly for red wine (and boy does it make a difference there), I've been trying it on white as well and I like to think it helps, tho I don't think as much. It's most excellent! The one I bought is a knock-off of the $70+ Vinturi version (which could explain why mine doesn't have a brand name)..... hey, it was $24 bucks and it does exactly the same thing and is made of glass and designed the same way (but according to the Vinturi website, they do have a separate one for white wine, different dimensions and all that... hmm). But mine is the same and it was only $24 - HA! So there you go, a fantabulous wine drinking addition!

Otherwise, apologies for not checking in last weekend. I was cranky. Super cranky. Had a cape, a mask and everything. Thought I'd spare you. Woke up cranky and stayed that way until the chores were finished. And seeing as I was still pretty cranky, I decided margaritas were needed, and by then I was well into watching season one of Mad Men (my new favorite show and coincidentally another AMC production...... same as Breaking Bad - have you watched that yet? My god you're missing out!) and lost all track of time. Cranky because my neighbors, pretty much all of them, got on my last nerves one way or another all through the weekend. Which lead to me down the fateful spiral of "do I rent and endure this shit forever, or do I buy, commute a thousand miles and be broke forever"? By the end of the weekend I had no definitive answer and considerably less tequila. But this weekend has been much better - I remembered to dust off the trusty ol' earplugs and managed to get some really good sleep (all roads lead to Rome and sleep is my Rome. If I get lost on my way there, I end up on the road to Crankyland). Tho the question still stands unanswered if I should stay here or move and go broke........ But, noisy neighbors and sleep issues aside, after 6 years, I'm still happy to be in Australia - life is good!

So work. Yep. The one job is quite good (my foster department) and the other job is not so good (biological department). And in between, no one can decide what to do with me. Tho they ever so kindly threw their yearly bonus at me to keep me placated (basically it amounted to two weeks' of pay - not complainin'). The bonus will work until I have to start drawing on it if they don't sort themselves out by the 27th of April (my expiration date with the whole company). There have been plenty of assurances from both departments but no paperwork has yet graced my desk begging for my signature. So I wait. And cautiously apply for other jobs, of which there are few. Fingers crossed the foster department can sort something out and soon. Otherwise, ultimately, am always happy to have a good job - I just wish I knew it was going to last beyond April!

And then there were the weekends. Well, you know all about last weekend and the crankiness that was successfully treated with margaritas and TV. This weekend was happily crank-free and equally productive. After having had lots of sleep, got all the chores done, caught up with friends (pizza and games!), took the car for a spin about town (Manly and Wynnum), and nearly finished season one of Mad Men. It's been a good weekend. Plus, we're nearing the end of February (gasp) and the light at the end of the hot and muggy weather tunnel is starting to shine. All is well!

And that's about that. I hope you're all well up there. I hear rumblings that my friend Gloria and her family are thinking of moving back down to this hemisphere around July sometime...... And already a good friend has settled in to Melbourne and is teaching at Monash....... Hooray! It's almost like having family being down thisaway! Now only if family really would come and visit...... eh-hem....... Anyways, drop me a line and tell me your news. Now that it's closer to cooling off, it's an even better time to book that flight down here........! Helpful links to airlines are in the side bar off to the right..... am just sayin'!

BYE!
J!
P.S. Hooray! The computer was feeling muuuuuuch better today - whew! I know the photos aren't all that exciting, but I just can't sleep knowing there're no photos to go with the little blog. So hooray for a happier and hopefully healthier computer. Now time to back up all those files................