Well. Here we are on another rainy, late Sunday afternoon. Still, at least it's not hot and humid! Apologies for not checking in last weekend. We have a new express bus service, City Glider (Maroon), swinging through the 'hood and last weekend was the last time it would be free. So I thought I'd ride it from one end of its run to the other, just to see where all it goes and if it's any good. But more on that little adventure later. Suffice to say the evening ended a total waste and I should've stayed home and checked in on time! But never mind. Am here now, happy with a stand-by glass of red - 2011 Beaujolais-Villages - not bad, incredibly easy to drink (thank you France). Got some hip n' groovy swingin' jazz tunes (thank you SkyFM!), the day has been rainy, windy and generally miserable, but thankfully not hot - life is good!
So work. Yep. Is good........ But before I left Tuesday afternoon, my manager sent me a rather ominous meeting invite for Monday afternoon "to discuss my future with the team". Gulp. I asked if it was good news or bad news so I didn't ruin my Sydney Adventure Weekend worrying about it - he said "just go and have fun. We'll talk on Monday". Uhh, gotta love non-answers (would it
just kill them to give me a hint?). So I've tried not to worry about it because whatever they've decided is beyond my control. Nothing I could say would swing anything. I mean, sure it could go the other way and they just extend my contract for another year (only to go through this stress alllllll over again in a year's time - yay.), but then they (the company in general, not necessarily my group) have been letting folks go left right and center, and it's a heck of a lot easier to cut a contractor loose than a real person (no payout). So, hmmm, I guess tomorrow all will be made clear............... Fingers crossed it's good news because there sure ain't a lot else out there right now....! Otherwise work has been good, not as busy as I was all last year, but that's ok. Well, I hope it's ok!? Will keep you posted!
And then there were a few weekends in there. Last weekend was chores and then Sunday was the Maroon City Glider Adventure. It was ok. I think the only 
reason why they set it up is to get sports crazy folks from Suncorp Stadium here in Paddington (where I saw U2 a couple Decembers ago!) out to the big cricket stadium, creatively called the Gabba, which is in the 'hood of Woolloongabba (hence the 'Gabba bit......) - all on the one bus. Other than that I saw no real reason to use it, well, other than it's a third bus added to our line through the 'hood that goes to town. Hmmmm. It does go to a collection of really good grocery stores in the next 'hood over, Ashgrove, but otherwise, eh. So I rode that for a while and when I got back to Ashgrove I thought I'd check out the huge grocery store and pick up some things to make corn tortillas and refried beans from scratch. Well. Turned out everyone in a ten mile radius had the same idea on a Sunday afternoon and the place was packed. I hate going grocery shopping at the best of times and to go to a massive crowded one, good god I thought I'd freak out at the next kid or angry housewife to drive into me with their overloaded cart. So I quickly 
picked up a few things, and finally made it home, but by then it was waaaaay too late to check in. So I figured seeing as checking in wasn't going to happen, I could at least make some corn tortillas to make sure the day wasn't a complete write-off. Well. Turns out Corn Flour in Australia isn't actually corn flour, even though it says it is all over the box and the ingredients say Maize Corn Flour. No. Two boxes later and with an almost-graduated chef's assistance, it's actually corn starch.Why they added the word 'flour' to it is a mystery. What a mess. A $5.40 solid, starchy, muddy mess. Hrm. So the hunt continues for real corn flour. Good grief. I will escape the confines of Old El Paso if it kills me by costing a fortune!
reason why they set it up is to get sports crazy folks from Suncorp Stadium here in Paddington (where I saw U2 a couple Decembers ago!) out to the big cricket stadium, creatively called the Gabba, which is in the 'hood of Woolloongabba (hence the 'Gabba bit......) - all on the one bus. Other than that I saw no real reason to use it, well, other than it's a third bus added to our line through the 'hood that goes to town. Hmmmm. It does go to a collection of really good grocery stores in the next 'hood over, Ashgrove, but otherwise, eh. So I rode that for a while and when I got back to Ashgrove I thought I'd check out the huge grocery store and pick up some things to make corn tortillas and refried beans from scratch. Well. Turned out everyone in a ten mile radius had the same idea on a Sunday afternoon and the place was packed. I hate going grocery shopping at the best of times and to go to a massive crowded one, good god I thought I'd freak out at the next kid or angry housewife to drive into me with their overloaded cart. So I quickly 
picked up a few things, and finally made it home, but by then it was waaaaay too late to check in. So I figured seeing as checking in wasn't going to happen, I could at least make some corn tortillas to make sure the day wasn't a complete write-off. Well. Turns out Corn Flour in Australia isn't actually corn flour, even though it says it is all over the box and the ingredients say Maize Corn Flour. No. Two boxes later and with an almost-graduated chef's assistance, it's actually corn starch.Why they added the word 'flour' to it is a mystery. What a mess. A $5.40 solid, starchy, muddy mess. Hrm. So the hunt continues for real corn flour. Good grief. I will escape the confines of Old El Paso if it kills me by costing a fortune!
And then there was this weekend. Well, it started off pretty good, if not 
stupid early, Wednesday morning when I flew down to Sydney! Got into town, checked into my hotel, the Amora Hotel Jamison - one of those LastMinute.com "mystery" hotels and it was a score! I mean, it was still expensive, but where I stayed, in The Rocks, which is spitting distance to the Opera House, The Rocks historical
district and Circular Quay - it was cheaper than usual hotels in that 'hood. Put it this way, I tried to book a room at the Holiday Inn at the Rocks and I couldn't afford it. What kind of world is it a gal can't afford the Holiday Inn???! So I always have good luck with that LastMinute site....... Anyways, dumped my bag and headed off to see what to see. The day was really warm and muggy, contrary to all the weather reports I'd read the day before - so here was me stomping 
around Sydney harbor in jeans and a long-sleeved shirt wishing I was dead or at least had a pair of shorts and a tank top. Wandered around and took as many photos as I could before I decided to jump on the inner-city tourist hop on - hop off loop bus and get the lay of the land. Well. All I can recommend is if you ever 
get to Sydney, don't take the Sydney Explorer bus through the city. No no no. Waste of time (and monies). When you're not stuck in traffic you're waiting to pick people up. And really, afterwards, I walked to pretty much most of the places it stopped. But, to redeem itself, the Bondi & Bays Explorer tour was muuuuuuuuuuuuch much 
better. Can't recommend it enough. So I endured a hot sunny ride in traffic for two hours before rushing back to the hotel to get ready to go see Nick Cave at the Opera House! Oh it was SOoooo good! I know Nick Cave isn't for everyone, but man they were a
goooooood show. Awesome! And by the time that finished and I got back to the hotel, I was dead on my feet (cut me some slack, I was up at like 3.30 that morning).
stupid early, Wednesday morning when I flew down to Sydney! Got into town, checked into my hotel, the Amora Hotel Jamison - one of those LastMinute.com "mystery" hotels and it was a score! I mean, it was still expensive, but where I stayed, in The Rocks, which is spitting distance to the Opera House, The Rocks historical
district and Circular Quay - it was cheaper than usual hotels in that 'hood. Put it this way, I tried to book a room at the Holiday Inn at the Rocks and I couldn't afford it. What kind of world is it a gal can't afford the Holiday Inn???! So I always have good luck with that LastMinute site....... Anyways, dumped my bag and headed off to see what to see. The day was really warm and muggy, contrary to all the weather reports I'd read the day before - so here was me stomping 
around Sydney harbor in jeans and a long-sleeved shirt wishing I was dead or at least had a pair of shorts and a tank top. Wandered around and took as many photos as I could before I decided to jump on the inner-city tourist hop on - hop off loop bus and get the lay of the land. Well. All I can recommend is if you ever 
get to Sydney, don't take the Sydney Explorer bus through the city. No no no. Waste of time (and monies). When you're not stuck in traffic you're waiting to pick people up. And really, afterwards, I walked to pretty much most of the places it stopped. But, to redeem itself, the Bondi & Bays Explorer tour was muuuuuuuuuuuuch much 
better. Can't recommend it enough. So I endured a hot sunny ride in traffic for two hours before rushing back to the hotel to get ready to go see Nick Cave at the Opera House! Oh it was SOoooo good! I know Nick Cave isn't for everyone, but man they were a
goooooood show. Awesome! And by the time that finished and I got back to the hotel, I was dead on my feet (cut me some slack, I was up at like 3.30 that morning).
Next day dawned overcast and chilly - such a contrast from the day before! But I steamed out anyways to Bondi on the tourist Explorer bus. Well. Halfway there it started to rain, even raining sideways as the chilly wind 
kicked up. So as soon as we got to Bondi (the main stop, tho the bus stops at lots of the lovely little bays and coves before and after it gets to Bondi, which are, if anything, lots nicer than ol' hippy backpacker-riddled Bondi), I dove into the first surf shop I found and bought a 
wind/rain-proof jacket (similar to the one in the link but not as cool, much plainer). At first I was a little horrified by the price (curse you O'Neill!), but after being my new best friend in the wind and the rain for the last three days, it's since earned its price tag. So I did the 
tourist thing and walked from one end of the bay to the other, not sure if any of the photos I was taking were any good (couldn't really see with the wind and the sea mist). Stopped in at Ravesi's (second floor, with a bit of a view of the sea) for a really pretty good lunch that one of the guys in the surf shop recommended. Not a bad spot at all and not a hippy backpacker in sight - 
bonus! Then caught the bus back to town, which, by then, after battling the rain, the sand and the chill, man, I was ready for a super hot bath (my apartment is way too tiny for a tub, so when I go away and there's a tub, I have to have a bath - 
excellent!!!). Along the way I picked up some Lavender bath stuff a bottle of red and that was the evening. Ahhhhhhh vacation!
The next day was just as wet and miserable as the previous so I picked up a ticket to the Sydney Sea Life Aquarium at Darling Harbour. Well. I wasn't the only one with that rainy day backup plan - turned out everyone tourist that end of town (and perhaps beyond) came to the Aquarium that day. Well, thankfully it's big enough and interesting
enough that everyone had room to move. Ultimately, it's a pretty good Aquarium (tho nothing can compare to Monterey Bay Aquarium, this one is a pretty good runner-up)! It has a few really cool glass-encased tunnels where the critters float around and above you - always cool! It's definitely worth a visit! 
new James Bond, Skyfall (yes, again) at the 7-story tall Imax theatre (how cool would it be to see a James Bond movie on a seven story screen??!?!). So I legged it all across the
Harbour only to discover it was closed while they install new projection and sound gear! Gaaaaah! So I wandered back up to the string of restaurants near the aquarium and stopped at 'Baia the Italian' that had a really good lunch special. Half a pizza and two glasses of red later, I'd decided to wander back over to the Rocks and check out the Rocks Discovery Museum. A neat little free museum that documents the history of the Rocks area. I thought it was really pretty cool. Lots of info, really well presented, really interesting. Then I 
had to meet a friend for a glass of wine at the Fortune of War pub (oldest pub in Sydney - 1828!), just a couple blocks from the museum. It's a cozy little place and apparently quite hip n' groovy according to the mixed yet polished after-work crowd that packed in. Then, at the reasonable hour of 6.30pm, I headed back to the hotel, watched an episode of Grand Designs (I quite like that show for some reason), started to watch a documentary about the Dust Bowl in the late 1920's and promptly fell asleep. Being a tourist, even in the rain, is hard work.Next day was up at a respectable hour to get mahself back together to check out and meet Kim and her friend Tanya (flight attendant with United
in town on a layover) for breakfast at a little place called Rob's Cafe, not far from their hotel that tons of air crew go to (according to Tanya). It was fine. Diner-style food that Americans would love. Me, I found it a bit meh, but they seemed to quite like it. Nice, nice guy, Rob, the owner. Talked to us for a long time. Not a bad spot for diner food and good service! Then time came I had to leave them to catch the train back to the airport and my plane back to And that was the rained-out Sydney Adventure! I had planned to do all kinds
of stuff - outdoors, and didn't stop to think of rainy day backup plans. Lesson learned. It was still a really good time, the hotel was bitchin' and it was fun to catch up with Kim and her friend even just for a couple hours. I got to know my way around town a little better and have a list in my head of things still to be done over the next visit.........?! Hooray for little Adventures!And then today, Sunday was pretty much back to the usual dullness - went to
the grocery store, picked Kona up from the Red Hill Cattery, did the laundry..... Oh, I attempted to make refried beans from scratch. I should've trusted my nose instead of some stoopid recipe from Emeril (a tablespoon of chili powder?? Really!?!). I can't stand the guy at the best of times but his recipe sounded good. In the end, no, not really. Should've stuck to my first idea which was to just pretty much leave them beans alone, as nature intended. Oh well. I mean, it's not baaaad, but I know how they should taste and this wasn't quite it........... Another batch!And that's pretty much that! Whew! Otherwise all is well.
Have my meeting tomorrow to discuss my fate at work - hopefully all will be revealed.......... Besides that, things here are fine if not completely rain-sodden. Odd weather for this time of year, normally we get this never-ending rain in December-January..... Hmmmm. Hopefully it'll go away soon and the good, beginning of Autumn weather moves in! But as far as visiting goes, feel free to c'mon down anytime! The weather's going to be lovely until November or so!BYE!
J!
No comments:
Post a Comment