Weekends of Seeing Through Citizenship Applications and Chores.....!

Hi!

Well. Here we are on another lovely, breezy Sunday afternoon. The chores are all (mainly) done, the laundry is out there swinging in the breeze only this time I'm hoping that not only will the birds not poop on it, that the rain holds off for another hour or so at least.......! The kittehs are taking an afternoon nap in their respective beds, a break from a rough day of sleeping on the comfy chairs on the balcony. Got some fun and bouncy jazz tunes from the great standby RadioTunes (same type of music we dance to in mah swing dance class!), and to top it all off I have a nice, cool glass of the beer I made mahself - yes, life is good!

So, work. Yep. It's good. I'm busy, but then being such a small team I think we all are at the moment, which has been super good because the days have flown by. There're more Management moves and arm-wrestling matches going on but none of us really care as long as it doesn't affect us, and we're pretty sure it won't any time soon. If anything, our project will end when they retire their FA18s in a couple of years. But yes, so far all is well. Now that it's September (gasp - that was quick), people are starting to think about Xmas and all the time off they get to take. I'm always amazed at how folks here/at work

all go away for five weeks or so to go camping, usually to the same campgrounds that everyone else does. How is that "getting away from it all"???? Good grief, last thing I'd want to do, ever, is head out into the wilderness for some peace and quiet only to be surround by people from work! No offense work folks but you're the last folks I'd want to see for my five week break. Good lord it sounds like a nightmare. Or at the very least a murder mystery/thriller.......... Otherwise, all is well. I know I say this every single time, but after years and years and years of non-permanent jobs, including all those years at the theatre, having a stable, half-decent job to go to everyday just doesn't get old. Sure, actually having to work for a living does, because really, who wouldn't rather float around on yachts in the Mediterranean sipping fancee French champagne all day? But the paycheck keeps the bank happy, the kittehs in tuna, and me in a normal apartment - and who can really argue with that? So, hooray for gainful employment (until those winning lottery numbers come in....)!

And then there were a couple weekends in there........ Eh, the weekends have been pretty quiet lately...... Come to think of it, so have the weeks. Except for mah swing dance class Monday evenings, of course. Still haven't worked up the guts (or the end-of-the-week energy) to go to one of their bi-weekly social dances...... One night I will..... sometime. Maybe I have to be dying of the flu to have a lively social calendar? I know one thing I did after work one night (hardly exciting tho....) - went and got a prescription for real contact lenses! So, my

eyes aren't actually that bad, but I've been thinking about what life might be like if I didn't have to haul my reading glasses around all the time, and what if getting a proper prescription made seeing things an incredible new experience? So, the optometrist gal and I tried to narrow down what I could and couldn't see, tried two real ones and settled on the latter one. So, with mah new eyes, off I toddled into the world of rush hour. Eeeeesh. Wierd is what it was but made it home safely. Wore them to work all day the next day, and then spent the whole day with a low-grade headache wondering if by "getting used to them" she meant getting used to not actually seeing the things I could before? Basically, the suckers were super good for stuff within arm's length, anything beyond that it was doubled and kinda off, sort of 3D... I can't explain it but all I know is I couldn't see like I could without them. So, needless to say I haven't worn them since. And that's OK because you apparently get lots of visits until they get it right. And really, what this little exercise has taught me is that I don't actually need help seeing just yet (whew!). But man, I hate dragging these stupid glasses around........ Never mind, I'm just super happy to know my vision isn't nearly as bad as I thought!

And, really, sadly, that's about it. Oh, I know one other thing I did, forgot to mention last time, I submitted my application for Australian Citizenship on the 10th of August (I was eligible on the 7th of Aug)!!!! Still waiting to hear anything about when they want me to come in for an interview..... I did get an email from them saying they got my application, so that was good. When I called with some basic questions before I submitted it I asked the gal how long this whole process might take, and she was really good, broke it down into chunks of weeks, and basically, I hope to know in the next few months..... I like to hope I'll be able to get in on an Australia Day (26th of Jan) citizenship ceremony? Hopefully? Hard to know. You'd think they'd be over the moon that I had all the documents they required and that they were all clear, legible and in English! Will keep you posted.....!

And that really is about it. Quiet, but that's fine. Like I've said, the less I leave the house on weekends, the less likely I am to spend money, because I can always think of something I "need"! But hey, if any of you feel a "need" to get out and check out the great outdoors, why, c'mon down thisaway and do it! 'Course not in summer, unless you like Florida hot, or if you head into the Outback, Phoenix/Death Valley kinda hot........ But hey, there are nine other months that are safe to visit - pick one (or two or a few) and c'mon down!!!!

BYE!

J!