Weak of Challenges

Hi!

Well. What a week that turned out to be. I knew it was going to be a "challenge" and boy was it. Put it this way, by Wednesday I was ready to hand in my 2-week notice. As it is, I didn't, but looks like I will be tomorrow first thing. And no, again, flying by the seat of my pants, I don't have another job to go to. Am putting my fate in the hands of the temp agencies. We'll see what happens. I've been down this road so many times I should set up rest stops and diners! So yeah. Tomorrow, two-week notice, then it'll be to get through the next 2 weeks. Ugh. Not looking forward to that at all. But who knows, maybe she'll be in a good mood because she's succeeded in driving yet another good person out of her bizarre little realm. Everyone else who's had my job (and there have been maaaaany over the last year or two) have left because of her, what's one more? Another bummer will be having to hire the new me, going through that process AGAIN, for the 3rd time in as many weeks. I say, the fun just doesn't stop with this job! Sheesh!

Otherwise, well, sadly, that's all I've been able to worry about. Pretty sad when work sneaks into the house and hangs around on the weekends. Two more weeks.......

So what else..... Was a quiet week and kinda quiet weekend. Natasha invited me to meet her and some friends down at the pub last night for St. Patrick's day drinking. I just went for a couple and then came home. Drunk people are funny only for so long. But it was a fun little night. The place wasn't nearly as packed as I expected it to be, but there were enough people to keep it interesting. And every now and then there was a little group of pipers and drummers (kilts and all) who would wander through, play a couple songs and wander back out. I guess that's what they do is hit a few pubs all night. Was neat. Nice touch. One guy, must've been the little band's manager, kept coming around all of the tables pushing cd's. A guy at our table got so tired of him that he bought a cd to make sure he went away and wouldn't come back. It worked! But last I saw before I left was the cd sitting all by itself on the empty table, no owner in sight. Ahhh well. The pub'll be pleased!

And really, that was about it. Weather was nice and sunny, but thankfully not as blisteringly hot and humid as last weekend. Still hot though. But, 3 weeks into autumn, it's bound to cool off at some point! The sky is getting darker earlier and taking longer to come up in the morning, so cooler air can't be far behind! And once this hot and gross business goes away, it'll be absolutely beautiful for the next 9 months or so. Yeeeaaaa! So c'mon down!

So yeah, I hope you're all well up there! Keep your eyes peeled for flight specials!

BYE!
J!

P.S. Hey, am sorry for ranting on and on about work. I know it's a bummer and boring to hear. Just bear with me over the next couple of weeks and things are certain to improve!

Hot Cross Bunnies!

Hi!

Well. That's another weekend gone. Shame. Was good.

So, yeah, the week was ok and then it rapidly descended into crap. I think I had one or two days with no headache. It turned out that after all of last week's hard work trying to sort out recruitment paperwork for the only gal we interviewed to take the place of a gal who's going away to have a baby, well, because it's the government and things move slower than snail's pace, by the time I called the gal's agency to tell her the job had her name all over it (hell, the gal had the job before she even came in for the interview), wouldn't you know it, because it took so long, she got another job. Hmm. So what does that mean for our fair hero? That's right, I get to go through the whole painful process again. Once wasn't enough fun, let's do it again! I about bust into tears when they told me. Good thing it happened Friday afternoon. So it looks like "hell" will be this week's theme. Oh. I feel my headache coming back.

But on another sort of connected note, talking with the 4 big temp agencies (trying to get more bodies to interview, again), they told me their folks are getting more job offers than they can shake a stick at. Which put the wheels of change spinning in my little head about just walking in tomorrow and handing in my 2 week notice. But, I've bought into that "we have sooooooooo many jobs" line of bull from those agencies where I've been 3 weeks out of work, no job in sight. Soooooooooo, tempting as it is, I'll suffer where I'm at. For now. We'll see how much fun the week is and then decide if Burger King (or, Hungry Jack's as it's known here) will be my next career move.

Other than that, the best way to kick off the weekend was that I met the gals (that I used to work with at my former gig with the scrubby little students) for dinner Friday night. Ahhhh, so good to talk to normal, friendly, cheery people in my same boat. We had an excellent laugh and catch-up session over a lovely dinner. Went by too fast though! Will need to plan for the next one I think. It's a good way for us to swap gossip, have a laugh over said gossip, and de-stress. A very good night.

Then first thing Saturday I took myself to Chinatown to stock up on A&W, when lo! I get there around 8.45am, and the shop is shut up tight! What?! I thought it'd be up and running full steam ahead at first light! They must be working to local time. So to kill time until they opened I had a wander through the little markets that are right nearby. Well. I've never been impressed with Fortitude Valley at the best of times and the markets do nothing to improve things. They're weird little markets in that they sell, well, crap. Iron-on badges, Grandma's old jewellery, scarves from the 80's (probably Grandma's), Grateful Dead posters, pirate flags (not that there's anything wrong with that, when I was 13), faded hard-cover books, also from the 80's, and so on. But look in any travel guide about Brisbane and they mention how great the Fortitude Valley markets are. I guess you have to wear patchouli to see the greatness of it (shudder).

And then today, I woke up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and rarin' to get out and go for an adventure walk like I used to when I first arrived. Where I'd just walk and walk and walk and see new neighborhoods and figure out where things are. Well. Did I pick the hottest, most humid day of the summer or what (even though we're almost 2 weeks into autumn). And I know it wasn't just me being out of adventure-walk shape. Lots of people had that stunned/stewed rabbit look to them. Man it was GROSS today. But, I was good, I powered on through town, past the Art Gallery, the brand spankin' new State Library, and the even more spankin' new Gallery of Modern Art (where I was asked to check my bottle of water, hmm, so I left, not a huge fan of modern art anyways), and discovered the way west end of West End (the 'hood), covering a total of 8.32 kilometers (according to my little pedometer. I have no idea what that is in miles. Probably one.) And then, having decided I'd punished myself enough, I rode the ferry from one end to the other... which actually didn't really help the temperature factor, it was worse because I had to sit inside as I'd already given myself 2nd degree burns from walking. I'll just say, 30+ factor sunscreen does nothing in this country. I think they must use 80+ at least. I'll look in the drugstore next time. But, regardless, I love that ferry ride. So relaxing. And it's always neat to see what new, fancy-pants, high-tech condo complex or mansion has appeared right alongside the river. All that money just to have a house made of glass. Hmmm. I wouldn't throw the keys back if they gave them to me.

And that was that! Whew! And here I am, after having had a freezing cold shower and a root beer float, all is right in the world. The wind has picked up and the clouds have taken over in true monsoon fashion. Actually, in a weird kinda way, the clouds look like snow clouds. Hmmm. Maybe no storm, just cooler and still disgustingly humid. Ahhhhhhhhh, I wish I was the guy that invented air-conditioning.

So there you go. A very small, mini-adventure. Just like the old days! So I hope you're all well up there! Drop a line or a comment (about how yawn my little blog is) or, just to say hi!


BYE!
J!

P.S. Was just listening to the news' weather report, wish I hadn't heard that..... Turns out it was 38c - 100.5f degrees today with a minimum of 75% humidity. See? I knew it wasn't just me.

Lazy Romans

Hi!

Well. Weekends come and weekends go. Shame. Damn Romans. It's their fault weekends are only two days. They were good at lazing around, you'd've thought they'd come up with 3 or 4 days to the weekend. Ahhh well. But, this one was pretty nice. Weather was the same - hot, muggy, etc, but ahhhhhh, the reason why I pay so much rent is to not only live so close to town, but to have a pool. Ahhhhh. And, bonus, all the hoons were out of town this weekend! So I could actually get in there during normal daylight hours, spend some time and lay in the sun for a little bit - all undisturbed! No silly teenagers doing dive bombs! Excellent! I tell you, it's the little things that can make a weekend just that much nicer. That, and A&W. Mmmmmmmmm!


So the week went by. Busy. Learninglearninglearning all the time. Get this - I actually had to be a member on an interview panel (there were 3 of us). What a gig that is. What a switch from alllll those times sitting on the other side of the table. I wanted so badly to tell the gal to 'pleasepleaseplease don't be nervous, you have the job by a mile just by showing up, walking and talking!' And the fact she was the only one we interviewed! What a rotten thing they are - panel interviews. Horrible idea for a simple monkey job. A CEO in charge of billions of funds and thousands of people, ok, but a little office monkey? C'mon. What a waste of perfectly good nerves.

It was Pam's birthday Friday. Gal I work with. She's reallyreally cool. Helps me keep my sanity in one place at work. So I took her to the movies today over at Carindale mall, the one with the amazing wall-to-wall carpeting (again, no camera. How slack am I getting). Went and saw "Music and Lyrics". Yeah, I know. But it was her birthday and that's what she wanted to see. So, check your brain at the door and go on in. And you know, it was cute. I quite like Drew Barrymore and Hugh Grant, well, he's just himself and can deliver a great line. It was ok. You could see it all coming a mile away, but it was still cute. Definitely a dvd rainy day kinda film.

And that was it! Did the usual, cleaned, shopped, read, swam, but, amazingly enough - no nap this weekend! Am not such a Grandma after all! Maybe it was those motorcycle gloves I bought that gave me energy, made me cooooool! I went into the Yamaha dealership Thursday to find out where the hell my $600 helmet is, as it hasn't come in yet. Apparently it's due to arrive (from where? the moon?!) in a few more weeks. But standing around with the sales guy, well, you just have to tell me one or two scooter near-death stories and that'll be me kitted up with leathers to go maybe 40 miles an hour, tops. So I thought little gloves were a good way to start my collection.

So there you are. Oh, just one little note, I've actually written a couple of nice, long informative emails and managed to hit the wrong button and seen them vanish. I hate Hotmail. Katie knows what I'm talking about. So yes, I am trying. Must use different email provider....... So just so you know, am trying to write. Am sorry for being such a neglectful friend. It doesn't mean I don't wonder how everyone is!!!! And again, that's one main reason for this little blog. Because I have 2 managers breathing down my neck, and one of those managers giving me all the work she can't be bothered to do, I have very little time to myself. 'Work shouldn't be like this' (she screams, shaking her fist at the sky)!!!!!! Either way, I hope you're all well up there! And yes, as of this month, I will be staying for a little while longer yet. Even though at Pam's birthday drinks on Friday I got to talking to 2 gals who'd just visited Mexico in November and all we talked about was the fooooood, I'll still stay here a wee while longer. So c'mon down! The weather's only going to get nicer! Hey, March 1st was the first day of Autumn!

BYE!
J!

Cactus Floats

Hi!

Well. Another week, another weekend. This time I knew I would be in no mood whatsoever to face work so early as Monday, so I took the day off ahead of time. Properly, like a normal person, instead of coming up with an illness. I marched into the boss' office first thing Friday morning, said 'I need to take Monday off, is that ok?' And it was! Cool. Trick is, the other boss, who wasn't in on Friday, the one who thinks I'm her slave "Jennifer, answer my phone! Jennifer, go get my printing from the printer! Jennifer, peel my grapes!" etcetcetc.... won't like it one bit. Who'll answer her phone?! Gasp! God forbid I take a day to myself! I need the day to re-write my resume for the 900th time and find a new job! Duh!!!! So yeah. That's my splurge day off. Get this, it'll be PAID! One benefit to having a "real" job. Whatever. It's not worth the poo I have to swim through just to get stuff done in that job. Jobs. I actually do 3 jobs, but who's counting. I'd like just one, thank you. Or, 3 that pay lots. Hmmm.

So anyways. Quiet weekend. Hot. Muggy. Hard to do much. It's their monsoon season down here, so the sky is full of puffy and sometimes scary clouds that don't do anything. Ahh, sometimes it'll sprinkle, but nothing much. Kinda like the monsoon season in Tucson, only minus the awesome storms and lightning and torrential rain for 1/2 an hour. I think it does that here in the spring actually...... Will pay attention when that season rolls around again. Either way, they reallyreally need the rain. They're in the middle of a very bad drought. Yet everyone wants lush, green lawns and gardens full of flowers.......... Cactus for everyone I say!

So yeah, quiet here, again. Hey, I read a few of those travel brochures I'd picked up last weekend at the Travel Expo..... Yeah. I've now learned that they don't put the prices in for a reason - because if they put the prices in, you would leave the brochure with the travel agent and your money safe in your wallet. I looked at one really cool 16 day trip to the Kimberly's (northern Western Australia) and including everything minus the flight from Brissy to Darwin (a few hundred on its own), the trip cost (have a seat) $4,500. Yeah. So Plan B for trip planning I believe! No wonder Australians all go overseas for a trip.

So the week went by fast, stressful and busy. Eeeeew, this work stuff........ And then the weekend was here and I didn't do half of what I'd hoped. I always have grand plans to do stuff, like rent a car and get outta town, write the screenplay I keep thinking about, write emails to everyone I've neglected, make jewellery, paint a painting to liven the place up a little, ride over to Chinatown and pick up more A&W Rootbeer....... Nah. Though I did manage to watch "The Poseidon Adventure". Excellent, excellent film.

And today I did the usual stuff, after having rested all day Saturday. What an old lady I am anymore. I blame the humidity. But anyways, today I met Natasha and her brother and his girlfriend at the pub, the Paddo (or, for the tourists, The Paddington Tavern) in, well, Paddington (cat food central). Today, being Sunday, they do a $4.95 Sunday Roast. It's a big British thing these Sunday Roasts. It's basically a slab of roast beef, potatoes, veggies and a roll. $4.95. And pubs, if they don't make money any other day of the week, they make it Sunday afternoons with this. I went once with Roger and Mave to a pub for their Sunday Roast and it cost $25 and it was one of those artsy kinda servings with not a lot of food. It was a joke and Roger was less than impressed. I must remember to tell him about the Paddo..... Anyways, it was pretty good! Course, you spend the money you save on booze, but that's beside the point! It's the meal that lasts all day! For me anyways. And then I had a ride around the neighborhood on the little scooter, then to the store, then home for a nap. Whew! What a day! What a grandma! Ahhhhhhh! It's too hot and humid to be able to do much!

And that's about it. Resume revamp tomorrow. I bet the high-maintenance boss will call me by.... 10am and maybe again in the day around........ 3........ Hopefully she won't, but I wouldn't put it past her. Did any of you see "The Devil Wears Prada"? Almost, but not quite. This is Australia after all, and a little trade college, not Vanity Fair. But the sentiment is the same. Yep. Only 2 people won the 1st division in the lottery this weekend. They got 2 mil each. Yeahyeahyeah, you can't win if you don't play........ Well, I think I'm gonna. Because this work stuff sucks!

Hope you're all well up there! And if anyone wants to come down for a visit, well, it's hot and humid. But if you do, bring Mexican food - 3 rolled tacos with guacamole and 3 hot sauces, a quesadilla with a side of guacamole and a medium coke from Nico's on Ft. Lowell and Campbell! Mmmmmmm!

BYE!
J!

Weekend of Yawns

Hi!

Well. That week went by fast. Which is good, but kinda bad in that it just makes the weekend go by fast too. Saturday I did nothing. I had absolutely no energy. If they were giving away bags of money and trips around the world, and all I'd had to do was walk down to the middle of Queen Street to collect my prize, I couldn't have done it. It was all I could do to move from the couch to the kitchen to get more water or tea. I don't know what it was, but all I had the energy to do was watch TV. And I never do that on the weekends, especially during the day. All day I watched movies or travel shows. Travel shows are very dangerous I've realised. They give me ideas I could never hope to afford.

Ironically, there was a Travel Expo on at the Convention Centre all this weekend. So I hauled myself down there today (having rested up all of yesterday!). Well. All that was was a bunch of airlines and travel agencies handing out glossy brochures. Which, incidentally, had no prices in them. I guess if you had to ask you couldn't afford it. But I did manage to walk out with some info about trips out to the Outback and some little reusable bags (like for groceries or whatever). Cool. Entered a contest for a trip to the Outback for a week. Cool. But when I went to turned in my little coupon, the box was stuffed full. Hmmmm. Oh well. You can't win if you don't play!

And that was it. Nada. Nothing. Had no energy. I think it was because it was a really stressful week at work (am doing the jobs of 3 people after all) and the A/C is out again at work, with no cross-breeze to speak of and a pregnant gal who needs the fan more than me. Maybe I'll take a day off this week......

So unfortunately, no adventures were had. I don't really count going to the Convention Centre to collect hundreds of travel brochures an adventure, even tho it had the potential for adventure. If I had bought a trip or a cruise, now, that would've been an adventure.

And the weather has been rainy, in that annoying off and on kinda way, so I haven't been out to ride the little scooter much. Which is a shame. But an even bigger shame would be me splattered along a rain-drenched road because I'm not that good at riding it yet. Hopefully this week the clouds will go back to New Zealand where they belong!

And that's that! Short and sweet and dull. Ahhhh well, I'll have a look through these Outback brochures and start coming up with some ideas......! Well, I hope you're all well up there!

BYE!
J!

Funeral For a Friend & a Pub

Hi!

Well. Am sorry for not writing last week. My little heart wasn't in it. Found out that Friday that a good friend of mine, JP, died suddenly in Tombstone of a heart attack (http://www.legacy.com/tucson/Obituaries.asp?Page=LifeStory&PersonID=86291021).

Top that off with the fact Patrick and Liz closed the Pub that Saturday and you have a recipe for, well, a few glasses of wine and sad parties! Well, sad parties anyways. Ok, maybe one or two memorial drinks. It's what JP would have wanted. So yeah. No heart or energy to write. But, JP's funeral has come and gone, the pub is locked up tight, the lights are off and the taps are dry, and here I am!
Will try to backtrack through any little semi-exciting things I might have gotten up to........

I know, one day lastlast week I played hooky from work; just couldn't haul my tired butt out of bed. It's been really warm and humid at night which makes it tough to sleep even with a fan on "hi" the whole night! So woke up that morning and just couldn't move. But, as how it usually happens, by 10am I had the energy of a thousand oxen (hmmm)! So I took myself out to run errands and buy things like bungee cords and a Brisbane map book. Now I can tie stuff to the little scooter and know where I'm going with it!

And then, after the bungee cord bonanza, on the spur of the moment, I took myself to the MacArthur Museum. It's this neat little museum here in the middle of town. When he was running the war in the South Pacific, he based himself out of the 8th floor of the AMP building (now I think it's called MacArthur Towers) for 2 years. It's full of stuff you'd expect - maps, steering columns from fallen Japanese planes, Naval stuff, gas masks, flags, matchbooks, and then there's all this neat stuff from Brisbane's perspective. Basically, when they noticed things were getting out of hand down here, they asked for a little help from the US, and did they arrive. Brisbane went from roughly 350,000 people to something like 450,000 - 500,000, and that was just in town! Ahhh, I could go on because it was so neat, but you can scope out their website.... http://www.macarthurmuseumbrisbane.org/

I really liked it, spent ages in there looking at everything. I was mainly interested in it all from the Aussies point of view and the fact that my Grandad came through here very briefly on his way to New Guinea. It was very informative and the staff were really nice and helpful.

So what else..... last weekend, on the 3rd, was one year to the day that I arrived here in Australia! So Mave and I went to lunch at the little restaurant where I took myself to lunch the day I arrived. Called the Plaza Bistro or something like that. Lovely spot right on the river. That was all I really felt like doing. I had big plans to do something very touristy like go on the bridge walk over the Story Bridge, or go rock climbing on the Kangaroo Point cliffs, or even just float up and down the river on the City Cat ferry, but no. No energy, too hot and too sad. And yeah, that night they had last drinks at the pub. I ended up leaving around 9pm I was so pooped. What a Grandma I am anymore. And then the next day, Sunday, Mave and Roger had a BBQ. That was nice, met some more new people. Mave is constantly finding new people to invite to her and Roger's for a BBQ. This time it was a gal she works with and her husband. They're from France and both named Fred. Very French. Really nice. They've been here about 6 years or so. Personally, I'd take Southwest France, but then again, I know how it is to want a change of scenery!

And then it was back to work for a fairly long and busy week. JP's funeral was that Monday, and I looked into flying over, but after the flight and a week off of work with no pay, well, it came to around $3,500. I think JP would've understood. So the week took a while to get through. I was just looking forward to this weekend where I had no BBQ's to go to and no pubs to spend money in. So this weekend I rented 4 whole movies, cleaned, went for a very lovely swim, and now am getting ready to make my mean spaghetti. It's been pretty hot and humid still (but not too hot for mean spaghetti!). But I think I'm acclimating better than when I first arrived! I honestly thought I'd die. But I'm learning if you need to do stuff like clean you gotta do it early. And then move as little as possible for the rest of the day. Needless to say, because of the heat and humidity, my adventure walks have vanished. When it cools off I'll take myself and my flabby legs back out there! Only now, with the little scooter (and the map book!), I can shake it up a little and check out new, far flung places! Must start a little list.....

And that's about it! So yeah, sorry for not writing last week. I started to a couple times but couldn't write more than "Well.". But anyways, here I am! All's well! Kona is fine, if not a little fatter because it's just too hot for him to chase ping pong balls off the edge of the balcony. And the scooter is going good, getting a little better every time I take it out. It's so cool. I love it.

So there! I hope you're all well up there! I ended up renewing my apartment lease for another 6 months, so come on down!!!!!!

BYE!

J!

P.S. It's done that weird thing with the date again. It's Sunday the 11th Feb, 'round 5:07pm. Sheesh.

Barbie, Bribie and Burn

Hi!

Well. That was a fast and short week. Hooray! Busy in a way. Quiet at work. For now. Still settling into the new gig, most of the teachers come back tomorrow and their little students appear sometime in the first week of Feb. I'm not sure. I just show up and do whatever anyone tells me from 8-4pm. Just in case anyone's wondering - yes, I am still pretty damn happy to be out of that previous job. That's the good thing about staying in touch with the gals there, I get to hear all the horrible things that the Stooges get up to. And thank my lucky stars.

So yeah, work is fine so far. My boss insists that the air-conditioning be set on "Arctic". And I feel like a giant dork rocking up to work in full trouser/jacket office gear when it's 90-some degrees and humid as all getout, but hey, it's all so I won't freeze during those 8 hours. She's amazing, she can spend the whole day in a tank-top asking us if we feel hot. Hang on, let me just take this hat and scarf off so I can hear you and reply appropriately.........

The scooter is excellent. As yet unnamed. Tho am pretty partial to Jake Jr., all my cars have been named Jake. Don't ask, goes back to high school and even then I can't remember why. Am still taking my time getting used to it. I feel a little more confident every time I take it out and about and I'm getting better at the corners. Yeaaa! But, anyone who's at all worried (awwwww), I'm paying off a $550 helmet. Top of the line Arai. Excellent helmet company who know what they're doing. Which is why it's so bloody expensive. But, I figure, you only get one crack at it - harharhar!!!!

The weekend was very good. Went to an Australia Day bbq on Friday at a guy's house that I used to work with. Was good. Just like any other bbq really. Only this one had an Australian flag. And lamb on the barbie. I didn't bring shrimps as they double the prices for these holidays. It was nice though. Caught up with some folks I used to work with. Met their families. Had a strange discussion with a gal (whom I've met before at various after-work functions) about how she can't figure out why she doesn't like Americans. I had to pick my jaw up so I could respond. And even then all I could say was, "Well, there're assholes everywhere". Weird because we've met each other and talked on a number of occasions. Guess I must've said something to cement her opinion. Let me see if I care.......................... Nah. Assholes everywhere, on every continent. Actually, this weekend was one for Australian patriotism, go figure. I had 3 people in as many days give me grief (in one way or another) for being American. Thursday night the waiter in this restaurant wasn't very pleased that he was wrong when he assumed I was Canadian. I set him straight and he wasn't too jovial after that. And Saturday, this gal, Greek living in London here on a visit, friend of Roger and Mav's, figured I wasn't from around here, asked where I was from, I told her and she looked at me for a second and then turned her head away! I laughed. I don't know. I guess with the big 3-day patriotic weekend, they can get a bit sensitive. I guess anyone would. Hmmmmmmm. But I'd like to see how they'd handle themselves at a big 4th of July bbq in the US!

Saturday was most excellent. Went to Bribie Island (about an hour or so north of Brisbane. Actually, strangely enough, you can drive to it. Hmm.) with Roger, Mav, Rena and that Greek girl. Went for a nice long swim in the sea. Got a scorching sunburn in exchange. And I put two layers of 30+ waterproof suncream on! Eeeek the sun is strong down here. Spent most of the day with Mav in the sea fighting the current and wind and trying to run from jellyfish. I got a little tiny nip from one and Mav had a bigger nip. Ouch they sting. And these weren't even the killers, the blue bottles or box jellyfish, these were just garden variety (I asked the lifeguards). But ooooooooh. It stings. But it goes away after a while, well, a few hours. Today my little bite or whatever you call it, is all gone. Lovely day out though. Absolutely beautiful day, warm water, lovely beach. Went to the surf club for lunch after. Not bad. All the surf clubs are primarily run and operated by volunteers. So you have to support the locals, the lifeguards and their surf clubs. Hey, if they can haul your tired, drowning butt out of the sea, you can eat one of their hamburgers.

And today I went with Natasha to find her some new clothes for her trip back to NZ to visit her friends and family (she's a Kiwi). Another Sunday, another mall. Well, two actually. Went to 2 new ones (for me anyways) - Mt. Gravatt and Stone's Corner (which is more a strip mall in a neighborhood than a mallmall). We were good though, again. She got only a couple of things that she needed and I bought aloe vera gel, vacuum bags and a new pair of shoes (to replace the ones I've worn until they've literally fallen apart). Was a very good day indeed. Tiring, but good. Always game to check out new neighborhoods and well, malls I guess. And I hate shopping. Ahhhhhh, it's all in the name of exploration!

So there. All in all an excellent weekend! Not dreading going to work as much as with the last job. Course, Mondays always suck when it's work. Well, work just sucks. It's not Mondays fault. I'd love Mondays if it meant not getting up to go to work and a deposit just magically going into my bank account. My trust fund or lottery winnings account. Sigh. Yeah. You can't win if you don't play. Yeah yeah yeah.........

So I hope you're all well up there!!!! And hey, with this new job, my own desk and stuff, I think I'll be able to catch up on emails now! Yippie! I just need to settle in a little more (and write when the 2 bosses aren't sitting at their desks behind me) and I'll be in touch again!

BYE!
Jennifer!!!

Alive and Trained!

Hi!

Well. A good week if I do say so myself. Hey, after a few rides on the little scooter, am still alive and in one piece!!!!!!!

Ahhhhhhh, the scooter is excellent!!! And no, I haven't come up with a name yet. But I will say its color, tee hee, is called, "Hi-Ho Silver" harharhar!!!!!! So perhaps will call it Tonto....! Must get better at physics though. Gravity, momentum, torque, that kinda stuff...... No it hasn't met asphalt yet, I'm just sayin'. I can't say I've taken it out a whole lot over the week, just a couple little runs around the neighborhood after work (accidentally got caught up in the end of rush-hour traffic! Eeeeek!), just to keep, well, the battery from dying! And to get a little better at it (with a little bit of traffic). Once I'm on it I'm fine. It's thinking about it that kinda makes me nervous. It sounds dumb but there it is. Kinda like scuba diving. I guess you know your limits and what could happen and that's what makes it kinda scary. Plus, those cars are big. You think small cars are small? Nah. Not next to a little scooter. Everything's tank-sized! Thank god they don't all drive Lincoln Navigators here.

Settling into the new job fairly well. It seems deceptively easy though......... In fact, after about Tuesday morning, I was pretty much done being trained. She ran out of stuff to show me! I suppose I could be suffering from a form of post-traumatic stress disorder... And I just keep expecting lots of work and the ton of bricks...... But I guess the brick delivery will be when all the teachers and little students come back from their holiday break (this xmas/new years break is kinda like our summer break where you get a big chunk of time off). All I gotta say is I've asked them a number of times if I'll ever have to deal with any scrubby little students and they look at me like I'm nuts and say, "No." Ooooooh! I think I ask them just to hear it now! Hooray! No cash, no scrubby students, no crazy management (well, at least the Stooges I worked with). Excellent. Oh, I know, it's not what I went to University for, or even being close to my dream job, but it's better than the last place. Well, I must say I miss all the cool people.... But, I am still in the system and on email, so I haven't gone to the moon! And Friday was Judy's (one of my non-crazy bosses) last day after 6 years of being there. She's leaving to go back to school to study Naturopathy. Neat. That was nice to see everyone and I think a good time was had by all.


Otherwise it was a fine and busy week with getting settled into the new gig and trying not to get killed on the little scooter. It's coooooooool.

This weekend has been pretty quiet. Hot. So all I've really had the energy to do is take naps. Next Friday is Australia Day (26th) and have been invited to a BBQ - am gonna bring shrimps and see if they get my bad joke. I think they just roll their eyes in that "Gee, I haven't heard that one since Paul Hogan" kinda way. Tee hee. And Mav and Roger and Rena and I may go over to Bribie Island for all day Saturday. That'll be neat. I haven't been to any of the little islands around here yet. Reminds me, I should get a rental car at some point and take myself outta town....! Speaking of taking myself places, I ran across this article in the Sydney Morning Herald this morning...... All about this trend of women going on their onesies around the world..... Coooool!

http://www.smh.com.au/news/travel/me-myself-and-i-travelling-solo/2007/01/11/1168105119529.html

And that's about it really. This coming week should be pretty interesting and busy as I fly solo in my new little gig - eeeeek! At least the teachers aren't back yet.... gives me more time to find files and stuff! And bonus - it'll be a short week - 4 days! Hooray for Australia Day! AussieAussieAussie! OiOiOi!!!!

BYE!
J!

P.S. I have no idea why the little blog said the date

is the 16th.... It's the 21st, 'round 5pm... Weird.....

Scootin' Away From The Stooges!!!

Hi!

Well. That was a busy but good week. Quit that job with the 3 Stooges! Hooray! And now getting myself ready for the new gig. Fingers crossed it's ok. It's a bit of a commute, so to help solve that little dilemma, not only did I get my Queensland Drivers License (didn't even have to take a test, they just transferred my NZ license, paid a fee and that was that! Excellent!) but I got the scooter!!!!!!! Yeeeaaaaaa! Finally! It's very exciting. But I do have to say, man, cars are sure big. And they move pretty fast. Fortunately you can't go too fast in traffic in the middle of town (where I'd ride it mainly). I love it. Am taking my time getting used to everything, like traffic and one-way roads that end at a freeway entrance, and how things all work. Won't be riding it to the new job this week, not until I figure out where it is and how to get there!!!!! So am going to be a big wuss and ride the bus until I get my bearings. But, hooray! Am pseudo-mobile!!!!!!!! And no, I can't take anyone for rides as it's built for one, une, uno, ME and I'm nervous enough as it is keeping myself on it, let alone 2 people. So there!




The apartment lease is up here in a couple of weeks.... Not sure if I'll renew it yet. Now that I have an additional leach to the bank account (but it's such a cool and useful leach!), I'd kinda like to move to a cheaper spot. Am looking. But again, these damn real estate agencies only have showings 9-5, M-F. So dumb. Tho, in saying that, managed to find a little house for rent in a nice neighbourhood for cheap-ish and they had a showing yesterday. So went with Cindy and had a look. Ahhhhhh, it was nice. Well, not nicenice, but nice. Big. Amazing view. Older house. 3 bedrooms, yard, garage, etc. Not a stick of furniture or even a fridge (the only thing you get here is a stove). So that would mean I'd actually have to start acquiring furniture........ Ahhh well, it's $30 bucks cheaper a week than where I'm at now, plus a yard for Kona to hunt things in. So for fun I put an application in to the rental agency. Am not holding my breath as there were a whole lotta people looking at it. Lots of lovely cosy couples. Eeeew. Plus, you have to move in on Wednesday or something silly like that and I just won't pay rent in 2 places. Call me cheap. So we'll see what the agency says, but my search will continue! Otherwise I'll renew the one here another 6 months, if I can. Now that I have the little scooter, I can get out and have a look at some neighbourhoods a bit further away. Well, not too far. It's only a little scooter. And what if I need to take a cab ever????

The weather has been pretty gross lately. Ahhhhh, it's the middle of summer. Being hot and gross is its job I guess. So far I'm doing ok compared to last year where I honestly thought I'd die because of the heat and humid combo. So far so good. But apparently it's been pretty cool so far, or so the locals all say. It's like they're waiting for the furnace to get turned up. Yeah, like this 90+ with 75% humidity isn't bad enough. Ugh. I could run the a/c and pay a fortune for the comfort, but am trying to be tough like the locals. Not everything is air-conditioned here, like houses, so you just have to be tough and take lots of cool showers.

And that's about it really. Pretty exciting quitting that job and getting the little scooter. I'll have to remember to bring my camera with me more often now................! And if anyone wants to come down for a visit, no you can't have a ride around the block on the little scooter. Well, maybe. Not unless you know what you're doing. Gloria can have a ride. She inspired me to get it. Thanks man! Hope you're all well up there!!!!!!

BYE!
J!

P.S. Yes. I know. I'll be careful!

Smoking Busses & New Sofas

Hi!

Well. That first week of the new year went by nice and fast - hooray for New Year's and a four-day week! But oh, this week is going to be with both barrels - all the 3 Stooges are back from their holiday break and it'll be all systems go, with a whole 5 days having to work. Am tired already. But, the bank tells me how happy it is that I have a job and who am I to argue?! Another sunny side, this will be my last week with the 3 Stooges and the scrubby students - HOORAY! On to greener, or at least different, pastures. Change - yippie!! Although, I was told my paperwork hadn't been turned in to my new department yet, which can affect my pay in that, well, I won't get any. But, I was told, don't panic, it'll come out of the old department's budget and I should be fine. Oh dear. I asked 'who do I talk to about the paperwork' and she kinda looked at me and asked "What is it you'll be doing over there?" I said, "HR, admin, some finance stuff" She kinda smiled and said "I imagine that'll be you sorting your own paperwork out". Oh dear. I'm rotten with HR paperwork. Especially this Gov't crap. Oh dear. But hey, if that's all I do, with no scrubby students to interrupt, I should be fiiiiine! Here's hoping!!!!?.

Otherwise the week was easy. Just sooooo happy the holidays have passed and life can go back to normal. I'm thinking of finding a cheaper apartment when the lease runs out on this one in 4 weeks. Not having a lot of luck and most of the apartment showings are right smack in the middle of the day. I can't figure it out - what, are these people who are looking for new apartments to rent all homeless and unemployed???? Must be nice to swan out of work for however long you want to run personal errands. I wish. If they count how many minutes I'm in the toilet, they're certain to notice when I don't come back for an hour and a half..... So there are a couple of apartments that look ok but I can't go look. Curse this work stuff!!!! What's wrong with Saturday showings like the rest of the world???! Will keep looking tho and if no luck, well, it won't kill me to stay here, which is what I'd really rather do, expensive or not. The thought of mooooving..... waaaaaah.... Although, today I went furniture shopping with Natasha (Kiwi gal I work with) and it's so cheap and easy, well, the 'buy now, no interest, pay next year' kinda stuff. There's some nice furniture I wouldn't mind having. Be nice to have a normal bed. I liked set one so much I took a picture. I asked my landlord if I could get rid of the furniture my apartment comes furnished with and he said no. Bummer. So yeah, it'd be nice to have a cheaper unfurnished apartment so I could put my own stuff in it........... So we'll see. I guess it all kinda comes down to this job stuff.......

Speaking of job stuff, I applied for this little loan with a bank that's not mine. Yes I know, notoriously hard to do at the best of times with all your little ducks in a row. So after allllll that paperwork and certified copies of this and sighting the original of that, and the painful waiting...... they said no. Because of my Government work status of 'casual'. Gotta love the gov't. They have 3 types of employment status - permanent (which is incredibly hard to attain), temporary (95% gov't employees are temp - means they're on a seemingly never-ending contract that gets renewed every year) and casual (the one where they could suddenly decide you don't need to come back tomorrow, ever); and your status is written on your payslips - the ones I had to turn in to the bank. Even tho I've been turned back into a temp, it still says casual on the little slips. Bank Guy still wasn't happy. So, long story short, I didn't get the loan for the little scooter with that bank. Shame I don't have the will or the way to save for it like normal people. Shame I can't get a dumb little personal loan like normal people. Still, I have a couple more options. Am determined this little scooter will be mine. Oh yes. It will be mine. So join us next week for our next episode of J's Scooter Saga with - "Did She Pass Her Queensland Drivers License Test??"

What else............... So yeah, today, went with Natasha to a new suburb I've never been - Carindale. Nice enough, but a bloody long bus ride. Nice mall though, if there is such a thing about indoor shopping malls. Not very crowded at all for a Sunday afternoon. Brought the camera this time and totally forgot to take pictures of it. It even had carpeting throughout the whole place. Weird. But nice. Made it seem not so loud and cavernous. Bummer to have to vacuum and clean it all the time I imagine. But same old shops that are everywhere. We were very good in that we didn't really buy anything. No money can have that effect on a trip to the mall. We were just there to buy her a new "lounge suite". Groovy little 2 2-seater, one with a little sofa bed in it that doesn't pull and pop out, it rolls out in sections. Very hard to explain but it was kinda cool and clever. Comfy too. And the footrest is one of those that you can stash stuff in. Cool. But heehee, on our way back into town, the bus we got on, well, it smelled like the driver had been chain-smoking in it for hours and hours, and it was warm, no a/c kinda warm and stuffy. So, oh well, ok, off we go. As we go a few stops we notice that the smoke smell is getting stronger and a bit tough to breathe. So Natasha and I decide to get off at this random stop and wait for the next bus. And a couple other people do too. We get out and look at the back of the bus and there's brown smoke billowing out. I wandered as far away as I could just in case and then the bus driver got out to have a look. Scratched his head and called it in to his depot. So Natasha and I and half a busload of folks are told to head up and around the corner to wait for the next bus that he'll call and tell to come get us. Geez. I bought Natasha and me some ice creams and we actually didn't have to wait very long. I tell you, almost every time I go on a little adventure it's never straightforward. But if I had a scooter...........

And that's about it. Just settling back into the post holiday routine again. Lots to worry about in the next week or two, so hopefully all goes smoothly.......!!!?

I hope you're all well and relaxed up there! And hey, I noticed Qantas is having a sale on airfares to places, say, down to Australia...... I'm just sayin'...........!

BYE!
J!