Back to Normal, with a Bed!

Hi!

Well. What a week. Short though. Stayed home Monday and Tuesday to recover from being sick and the wine weekend. Man. I hate being sick. Bank hates it even more!

So yeah, the week was short. Fairly busy at work, but with this project am just a little helper, so I'm not all that busy, which is good until I get back up to full steam. Otherwise, work is good! Still so happy to be employed in a nice gig with nice folks!

And the weekend, well, kinda the usual, only at a slightly slower speed - still trying to get past this tonsilitus/sinuitus/etc...... But Saturday was typical chores and relaxing.... Am reading Gregory Peck's biography - really interesting! He's from La Jolla (in San Diego)! I knew he had lots to do with the La Jolla Playhouse (theatre) but didn't realize he spent a good chunk of his life there in the 20's and 30's. Neat. Interesting life, rotten childhood, but then I guess they all kinda did. Then went to Cindy's for dinner with her two friends Emmy and Jeannette. Always a good and interesting evening. They left early because Emmy has rotten allergies, so Cindy and I stayed up and tried to solve the problems of the world - everything from how crap Ikea furniture really is, to vacation spots, to Circus shows on TV. Hmmm. And today was nice - I finally got a bed! Now I'm like a normal person!!!! Zoey and her husband Michael brought it around this morning. It's been raining a lot up their way so he was scared to bring the bed in in case it rained, the mattress would be ruined. But, they missed the rain, caught lovely nice weather and here it is! Hooray! Good thing too as the airbed had a slow leak. Excellent!!!!!!!! Am getting to be like a normal person slowly but surely!

What else.......................... Not a lot really. Just trying to settle into this new place I guess and recover from being hammered by viruses. Gotta start saving for stuff like little bits of furniture and to pay off the little scooter and to ultimately go on trips! Must win lotto!!!!

So there. Back to normal down here. Hope you're all well up there!

BYE!
J!

Weekly: One Good Thing About Little Apartment, #7:
Every window is frosted glass - weirdos can't look in!

Swinging from Vines!

Hi!

Well. That was a fun and nice weekend for a change! An adventure was had! Wine was drunk! Wildlife was spotted! Hooray!



So the week started off with work, as weeks do for us workin' folk. Then Tuesday I got hit by one nasty cold and a soresore throat. Made it through the entire week somehow until Friday when a gal I work with practically forced me into her car to take me to the doctor. Well, am glad I did because in the end it turns out I have tonsillitis. Fantastic. So Doc put me on penicillin (my absolute favorite next to Advil) and told me to rest. Not a chance with a weekend winery tour on the cards! I had to go, it was too late to duck out. I suppose in retrospect I should have, which is why I'm writing this on Monday and not Sunday - I had to stay home from work today as I just couldn't find strength to so much as get out of bed. Am considering taking tomorrow off too as after a day of watching movies on the little laptop (old tv doesn't like my modern gadgets, it throws a vertical hold tantrum), I still don't feel much different from this morning. Hmm. I hate being sick. And I was doing so well through this year's nasty flu season........ Well, I don't have the flu so I guess I still win! Coughcough.

Anyways, Saturday, Zoey (gal I work with) and I met the group "Wanderin' Winos" (a group organised by another gal I work with, consisting of her husband, her son and numerous friends) down at Roma Street Transit Centre (about 10 minutes from my house - it's one of the main train stations in town and a pretty trusty meeting spot for tour groups) and we were off down to Stanthorpe, which is about 3 hours south and east of Brisbane, in the "Granite Belt". It's apparently one of the top wine regions in Queensland. Anyways, potentially long and highly-detailed story short, tonsillitis, laryngitis, sinusitis and any other -itis aside, it was a fantastic weekend! I'd never been on a proper winery tour, especially one that covered two entire days and 7 wineries! I learned a lot and spent a fair bit (came home with 11 bottles of top shelf vino!!!). The diversity between some of the wineries was really interesting in their delivery and approach to tastings and tours and food and all of it. Some were a lot better at it than others. And it was neat to see how different wineries really can't do certain wines where others can. It was a lot to take in for a weekend (and I don't just mean the wine tastings!)


I think my favorite wineries were Ballandean - 4th generation Italian, excellent little tour, lots of info and history and a superb little lunch of meats, cheeses, olives, etc. It was excellent. And my other favorite was Bald Mountain - we had that wine tasting at 9am Sunday morning! It sounded terrible, especially for those that overdid it the day before, but it was surprising how easy it was to just sit back in those little plastic lawn chairs, in the warm sun, with a nice breeze and sip away. Mmmmm! It was just a lovely place with the coolest lady running it (husband was probably still hiding in bed). I tell you, out of those 7 wineries, this was the only one where people had to use hand carts to get all of their boxes of wine to the bus!!!! We practically cleaned the gal out! And I think the thing I liked the most was that you knew precisely where your money was going. I love to support the locals, and even more so when wine is involved!


Ahhhhhh, it was just an excellent weekend away. So nice to get out of town and breathe fresh air (even if I couldn't smell it) and see green hills. Even saw two wallabies (like smaller kangaroos) and a joey!!!!!


So yeah. It was most excellent. I have lots of photos. Will try to cram as many in as I can stand to wait for the phone line to download!

And that's pretty much that! Work is still good and busy, even if I have to take two days off (eek), I have got to kick whatever this alien virus is that's trying to kill me.


So, if anyone wants to come down, I have fancypants boutique wines to entertain you with! Hooray!

BYE!
J!









Weekly: One Nice Thing About Little Apartment, #6:
It's cooler for its plaster walls and bushy palms in front - bonus for when summer comes.

Cheap and Cheerful

Hi!

Well. Another week, another weekend. Man. All I gotta say is – I may live in a dump, but I have money to spend on food! This living like normal people is pretty good!

So yeah. The week was good. Busy. Getting to the end of the project am working on at work. Oh yeah! I got extended til December! Hooray! Employment for another 3 months! And even then I could probably go for longer as they keep thinking of training manuals they need my help on. Hooray! And I got a raise! Even more hooray! But "…only because we have to," said the gal at the temp agency. Apparently, because every few months or so the government gives their worker bees a minimal wage increment, the temp agencies have to keep up (if you happen to be contracted out to a gov’t gig for longer than 3 months, or some stuff like that). God forbid I get rewarded for doing a good job or anything. But hey, hooray, more dough for the bank!

And that brings the weekend. Eh, not much. Went to a new mall on Saturday with Natasha – Indooroopilly (say that fast three times). Hmmm. Same shops, different ‘hood. Big damn mall though. I only bought normal stuff – cat toys, shiny necklaces and earrings (am part magpie), a couple tank tops for summer, etc. But otherwise, good to get out and see how the other suburbs live. Eh, just like everyone else really. Wasn’t carpeted like the other mall tho, so not photo-worthy.

And, sadly, that’s really it. The weekend was basically errands and chores, and today (Sunday) saw another mini-sesh at the Plough Inn, over at Southbank, with Natasha, her brother and his roommates and friends. Was very short and sweet. They’re a good group those guys. A few from last weekend. They just make me laugh the whole time. But happy to come home at a respectable, school-the-next-day-hour!

And here we are. Sunday evening, watching "Runaway Jury"; I’m pretty sure I’ve seen this but couldn’t tell you what happens..... Hmmmm, must rent one day...... Or ask my friend, Catherine, the new lawyer!

So that’s that! Next weekend will hopefully be much more exciting – am supposed to be going with a couple gals from work on a winery tour! Will keep you posted, with photos!

Hope you’re all well up there!

BYE!
J!

P.S. Weekly - "One Nice Thing About Cheap Apartment":

Very close to the grocery store - 5 minute walk.

Saving Fireworks with Ukuleles

Hi!

Well. Apologies for not writing yesterday. I kinda lost track of the time (it takes a fair bit of time to upload all these photos, not to mention writing and editing, so one little entry can take up to 3 hours + to do.... Not that I'm complaining! I have the 'net and a phone at home now!) and by the time I thought about getting to it, I had a headache, which hung around all night and blossomed into full-blown pounding by this morning. So I've taken the day off work to dose myself up on Advil (hooray!) and chill out. And write this little blog!

So, yeah, the week went by fast. Was a good, productive week. Work is good. I worked a whole five days in a row! I haven't done that in weeks! Hooray says the bank! Actually got a bit of work done too. Tho I still feel a little bit behind on this project. Oh well. A few people are sick all around me (at work). Makes me nervous. One gal was out for a week. Apparently even did some time in the hospital. There's a bad flu making the rounds and I don't want it. And I'm usually the very last one to get these things. Have my fingers crossed. It even took out one guy and he's healthy as an ox! Hiked all over Nepal! So yeah. Am trying. I like to think vitamins and red wine will see me through. Otherwise, things are sailing along, still really like it, tho no hope yet that they'll put me on their books. I still wish they would so I could earn paid days off, sick time and vacation time like a normal person.... Oh well. Happy to have a job I like!!!!

And the weekend. Yep. Was busy. Could be one more reason why I was so shattered this morning with the headache. Friday was Natasha's birthday so a whole mess of people met her at the Normanby pub. Was a good night but Cindy and I left early. Natasha and her friends had been drinking for the better part of the day and were well on their way by the time evening rolled around. So we left around 8 something. Was a good evening while we were there! Got to catch up with a few folks I used to work with at the school. Ahhhhhhhhhh, still so happy not to be there anymore!!!!

And Saturday Cindy and I walked into Southbank to meet some friends of hers to watch the Riverfire fireworks show. Riverfire is this festival that they put on each year to celebrate the river and its relationship with the city and all that stuff. They finish it off with a massive fireworks show. I went last year. Anyways, she has a friend who's a member of the Maritime Museum and they were allowed to invite so many to watch the fireworks right there on the river. Well that was pretty cool. Only bummer to being right there was that the gun powder rained down on top of everyone. We were right next to the bridge tho, so we'd duck under that when things get really heavy. Pretty neat to be that close tho. Then we just hung around there for a little bit to drink our wine and watch the action on the river. Was really nice.

And Sunday I met Natasha and more of her friends for a post-birthday lunch up at the Paddo tavern, for all those folks that couldn't make Friday it night. Was a really good afternoon and met some nice folks. Her friends are all pretty cool.

And then here I am with a headache hangover (I didn't drink that much yesterday, honest!) playing hooky from work! Ahhh, see, I knew I wouldn't be able to work full weeks for long! Which is strange because I like my job. Ahhh well, I've had good reasons for taking days off these last few weeks. Will toughen up, buckle down and start saving!

So yeah. All's well down here. Kona the furry little criminal is fine. The apartment, is, well........ ok. Here's what I've decided to do - swap psychology and add a new little thing to the little blog that I like to call "26 Things I Like About My New Apartment", back-dating to the first weekend, the 12th of Aug....... One positive attribute about this place each week.

12th Aug - Cheap rent.
19th Aug - No ambulances racing past with sirens blaring.
26th Aug - No street/traffic noise - I can hear birds now.
2nd Sept - I don't have to be nearly as a big a clean freak (compared to the last place), as you can't tell one way or the other.

So there it is. One good thing mentioned each week, until the lease runs out. I can do this.

So, I hope you're all well up there! Come for a visit!!! I've found a groovy little cafe that makes a good breakfast! (I had the ricotta pancakes - interesting, but way yummy!)

BYE!
J!

P.S. Savings plan aside, did I mention I bought a ukulele? It was cheap. Looks like an avacado with glitter. Heh heh heh. Don Ho look out! Comes with a groovy instruction dvd and everything. I love it. Fingers hurt tho. Will keep you posted as to how the practicing goes. This week is learning chords and chord progressions and different strumming techniques. Excellent!

The Fun Just Doesn't Stop! (Aug 19th)

Hi!

Well. First off, I’d like to apologize for being off the radar. I have no home phone yet (there’s a line but no life), so I’ve had to make an appointment for some dude from the phone company to come out this coming Wednesday to do something to make it go. Hmm. Whatever. And I used to have access to the little blog from work, but the IT Nazi’s have ended that bit of fun. No fun allowed. And there’s no one around at my little apartment with a wireless connection that I can sneak into, they’re all password protected. Honestly, in this day and age. So yeah. I’ve written the last couple to post at once. Kinda geeky, but that’s that!

Anyways, this week went by fast. We had the Wednesday off for ‘Peoples’ Day’ at the Ekka, even though most people don’t go on Peoples’ Day because it’s so crowded with people, but it was a mid-week day off. Excellent! I did laundry!

So yeah, work is fine. Good, kinda busy. Well, busy as I want it to be. Still love it! Boy, not having a phone at home these last 2 weeks or so is kind of a pain. So I spend most of my mornings at work sorting out stuff – like getting addresses changed, having the phone company come out to hook up my phone, etc. But yeah, work is still good. Overall there’s a lot I could do for the next while or so, so hopefully they’ll keep me around to do it all!??

And the little apartment. Yeah. Spent this weekend cleaning like a crazy woman (hee hee, they have some cleaning product here, can’t remember its name, but the ad is some crazy person cleaning with it madly, and the tag line is "There’s squeaky clean, and there’s freaky clean". Cracks me up every time). Place smells a little better for it. The gal that lived here before me, well, I don’t think cleaning was on her list of things to do. She had the carpets steam cleaned (which, with all the rain lately, only made the place smell like wet dog for about 4 days) but she never once vacuumed or really scrubbed. I’ll spare you the gory details. I’ll just say now that it’s more livable, but keep your shoes on. After the last place….. well, it’s hard to believe some people never learned to swing a mop or vacuum. – shudder -.

So, the little apartment is coming along. I did, this week, have the opportunity to chose between two other apartments in this little block that had suddenly come up for rent. One is right above mine. So I had a look through them (met the owners of the whole place) and came close to taking the upstairs one but Cindy came around with her common sense & local knowledge of the summers and had a look and decided that mine was better and it’ll be cooler for during the summer – plaster walls, big fluffy palm right in front. So I’ve stayed put. But the reason why the apartments came up for rent is that the guys who’d lived in them, well, they died. Eeeek. In the hospital, not in the places. They apparently lived here for 30 plus years, were in their 80’s and, well, that was that. Sad. But I have to say, the owners do nothing to keep these places up. Not one cent is invested to keep it looking nice. You should see the state of the threadbare carpets and fittings in the bathroom. And have I mentioned I have no stove? Yeah. I have a microwave and 2 hotplates (Natasha, little gem, donated her toaster oven to the cause). Geez, for the neighborhood, I’d fix these suckers up ‘til they sparkled and I had lines down the road of kids wanting to rent them at $300 plus a week. Maaaaan. I just don’t get the mind of the "property investor". I suppose the owners (who’ve only owned the place for 4 years) are just going to hang onto it until the price of the land skyrockets and a multi-millionaire makes them a silly offer to knock the building down to put up a mansion. Oh, wait, I was thinking of what I’d do if I had the dough.

Anyways, the little apartment will do for now. It already has. I can take a day off of work and not worry that my bank account will cave in on itself. I just hope that work keeps me until Feb at least and I can really make a dent in the bills and go on at least one or two adventures. Will keep you posted!

What else…… Oh yeah, had to take the little scooter in for its 6 month/1,000k check-up. So I have to pick it up after work on Monday. And wouldn’t you know it, we’re due to have rain allllll week. Oh dear. I’ve never ever ridden the little scooter in the rain (never wanted to!). And at rush hour. Oh dear. But hey, at least the little scooter will be living up to its warranty obligations! Gosh, hope the shop doesn’t find stuff wrong with it, like they do. Hmmmm. And I hope the rain stops just long enough for me to get home alive. We’ll find out!!!!

And that’s about it! Hope you’re all well up there!

BYE!
J!

(P.S. I managed to pick up the little scooter just fine.
No surprises from the mechanic - got a clean bill of health!
And no rain! Hooray!)

Let the Fun Begin! (Aug 12th)

Hi!

Well. I woke up Monday morning knowing this week was going to be pretty bloody busy. And it was.

So yeah, the first part of this week was packing, cleaning, sorting….. though I realised that you can only pack and clean so much ahead of time before you’re constantly making trips to dig through boxes. That got old pretty quick. Took the Thursday and Friday off to move and stuff. Moving day was nuts, as they usually are. Tho I rented a car for the occasion (I don’t have nearly enough stuff to warrant renting a real "truck"), so just rented a Mitsubishi Outlander. Big. Nice to have a car for a change. Shame it was only for the day to move. Anyways, Natasha’s friend Veronica was kind enough to help me hoof boxes down 4 sets of stairs (and across town and into the 'new' place). She had the week off before starting her new job and thought one nice way to spend one of her days off was to help me move. Hmmm. But she was a big help. Not messin’ around at all! No farting around or rest breaks (I don’t have much, but up and down 4 flights of stairs can take it outta you). All in all we did most of it in 2 trips by about noon. Pretty good. And then she had to go meet a friend of hers for lunch. Short and sweet! Then I tidied up the old place, packed up the fridge stuff and had the manager do his exit inspection (or whatever the heck it’s called). He didn’t even look through the place, just glanced around and declared "Ahhhh, it looks fine!" Cool. So all I had to pay was $77 to get the carpets cleaned (standard here) and I got all of my massive deposit back! Hooray! Money! But boy oh boy, so sad to leave that place. Was I spoiled there or what. Broke as all get out, but pretty happy. Oh well. Onwards!

And then came to the new place and, well, yeah. The less said about it the better. I keep telling myself 6 months is all, pay off the bills, save some money, yeah. So yeah, by Thursday night I was beat. But this was really nice – Cindy and Natasha came around and we went out to dinner at this really good Italian place up and around the corner from me. Goooooood food!!!!!!!!! Hooray to live so close to really good Italian food! And then we came back here and they helped me set up my bed (airbed) and a couple chairs that I saved from the old place (as he was going to throw them out) and I thought, well, better than no chairs! So we quickly set all that up, Natasha had to hit the road and Cindy and I stayed up drinking champagne and talking until late.

Then first thing Friday morning I picked Cindy up, we dropped the rental car off, and wandered over to the Ekka (country fair). Oh my god. We had The Best Day!!!!!!!!! It was sooooooo much fun! No crowds! It was most excellent! Not too hot, lovely and sunny, little breeze – it was perfect! We did all the stuff you do at fairs, rode the Ferris wheel, they have those bucket chairs from one end of the place to the other, ate all the junk food we could stand, looked at more cows than I could think possible, goats, chickens, llamas, all kinds of stuff. It was excellent. Then at the end of the day we did what all the other farmers did and went and had a beer in the ‘Stockman’s Bar’. Well. I never saw so many cowboy hats in one place and yet not hear country music. There were actually all kinds of folks there but the majority was all the livestock show people from out of town. It was cool. Lots of cowboys. And for being around cows all day, they sure all scrubbed up really nice – nicer than city boys I decided! All of them had nice, ironed shirts, tucked into nice khaki pants (Wrangler, of course) with belts and jackets. And everyone was really friendly. Then we wandered over to the main arena for the official opening of the fair. Well, that dragged on and on and on and on, and we’d been there all day as it was, so we ended up giving up. The fireworks show was still a good 45 minutes away and we were so tired. So we called it a night. But man oh man, we had the best day. It was so fun!

And then, Saturday morning, it was all go at my new little place! First Zoey and her husband Michael turned up with Kona (they kittysat while I moved and got settled), a tv, tv stand and a set of dishes. Then Jade and her husband came with a highboy and a dresser. Then Julian and Linus turned up with all kinds of stuff Julian had living in his garage that he thought I could use, including an old-ish desk with a 3-shelf bookcase attached (probably my favorite piece of furniture I now own!), 3 comfy-ish old chairs (2 which I made into a sort of 2-seater couch), some more dishes (Mexican themed, hmmmm), a fan, a real set of knives, all kinds of stuff. Man, I was pretty touched. No one wanted any money or beer or anything. They were just being nice and getting rid of their stuff. I was pretty overwhelmed. It’s made moving into this little dumpy place that much easier to bear. And everyone, whether they were being nice or not, said the place is fine and I could do lots with it. Ehhh, 6 months, I ain’t gonna do much! But their opinions have made it feel, well, not as embarrassing to have people come around. Jade said it’s kinda like a beach pad – little old, basic, but bright and comfy (minus the groovy beach a block away). So yeah, I can live here for a little bit. The most important thing is to save some dough, pay off these damn bills (scooter & credit card) once and for all and go on trips. I can do this!

So! Whew! Was a busy busy busy week! Am beat! But here I am. I’d say come for a visit but there’s no room for anyone to sleep! Hahaha!!!! So hope you’re all well up there!

BYE!
J!

Movin' Right Along! (Aug 26th)

Hi!

Well! Here I am! Ahhhhhh the joys of moving. It took 2+ weeks for Optus to get my phone/internet hooked up. So yeah, that's why I've been off the radar. I hate moving. But, nevermind, here I am alive, safe and sound!

The new, little apartment is, well, it's not new (at least 40+ years old, with the original carpet), but it is little. When we get a nice, sunny day, I'll have to get some photos. But really, I'm afraid it's a massive step down from the last digs. I gotta say, I'm embarrassed to have people over. But hey, it's cheap and I can save and that's the whole point of this move. It's only for 6 months........ Yeah. Hmm.

Anyways, what I did do is write the little blog anways for the weeks I was out of radar contact, so I won't go into all the fun of the move and stuff here - I already did!

So yeah. Anyways, back to the routine now. My god I'll actually have to work a full week next week! I haven't done that in, well, weeks! Hooray (says the bank)! Otherwise, work is still good. I have to admit tho, over these last couple weeks, I haven't been able to really concentrate at work, so I've slacked on the project I'm working on. I feel kinda bad. I work next to a gal who moans and groans and complains and gossips all day, so I have to contend with that. And then I also work next to a lovely gal who's very 18 and she loves to talk. So I have that to contend with as well. I have earphones for the music on the computer, but they can only cut out so much without my being rude. So yeah. Gonna get busy!


And, well, aside from work and settling in, not a lot has been happening. Oh my, it's rained solid for the past two weeks. I know they desperately need it, but it's been feeling like living back in Auckland. And we know how much I loved the weather there!!!! But, today, so far, it's been beautiful. Bright happy sun, little chilly, and the neighbors are smoking and the smoke blows right through my place, but the air around that is clean! Ahhhh, if only it would stay this way for longer than an hour! Ahhh, spoke too soon, here come the clouds. Sigh.

And that's about that! Going to go meet Natasha for our Sunday Yum Cha down by her house, on Caxton Street. Must take that library book back and pay those overdue fines from it being forgotten packed in a box. James Bond book "Live and Let Die". It was really good. I highly recommend them almost over the movies. And that's the weekend!

So hope you're all well up there! All I have to do now is savesavesave and hopefully go on an adventure or two or three and maybe even save enough to come up there!

BYE!
J!

Moving Around Chickens and Goats...

Hi!

Well. First off, apologies for not checking in yesterday. I ran around all weekend and come Sunday afternoon I’d had it. So Natasha and her friend Veronica invited me to meet them at the pub (The Paddington Tavern, or "Paddo" as it’s known to the locals). And, well, it was a very good evening but by the time I got home I was dead tired and it was waaaaay to late to be making any sense. So here I am, coming to you live from Work! Oooooooh, rebel. Honestly, it’s more "work" than I’ll do all week, and, bonus, I look busy!

So yeah. The week was fast, amazing for not having anything to do. I just know there’ll be stuff for me to be doing…. Soon. But yeah, so far so good. We (our little section) went to the pub for lunch on Friday (it’s across the street from the office. Like right across the street. Excellent) – I love when we do that. And the food is pretty darn good too. We’re getting a new office manager, so we went out for the gal who’s leaving. The new guy seems nice enough……. so hopefully I’ll continue to stay under the radar.

And then packed and cleaned the little apartment during the week, not that I have stuff to pack or much to clean….. Sad to be leaving, especially now with the weather turning into ‘wine on the balcony after work to watch the sunset’ kinda weather…….. Sigh. Oh well. Onwards and, well, onwards anyways…..

So the weekend was full of cleaning and errands to get stuff for the "new" little apartment, because I made the sort of mistake of renting a really expensive, fully furnished apartment, therefore I didn’t need stuff or could afford to pick stuff up along the way (and nowhere to stash it). So here I am. Picked up a vacuum…. an airbed….. clothes drying rack…… yeah.
So. Taking this Thursday and Friday off from work to move and clean and get organized. Then I’m going with Cindy to the Ekka on Friday! I went last year (before I got modern with the digital camera. Oh, I took pictures, just haven’t had them developed yet…. A year later!). The Ekka is their "country comes to the city" fair kinda thing; http://www.ekka.com.au/home/default.asp – it’s a bigbig fair with horses, cows, pigs, etc, fruit from the farmers, sheep dog trials, a parade of all the prize animals, rides, junk food, wine, cheese, art, everything. In fact, every state in Australia has one and everyone (in said host city) gets the day off to go! Course, most locals don’t, but it’s a day off! I went last year on "Public" day and I had the best time (even if it was insanely crowded) and am so happy to be going with Cindy too (and not on "public" day – less crowds) as she’s an excellent guide – she’s from here and knows all kinds of local stories and history. Ahhh, I’m really looking forward to it! Most locals don’t go anymore, it’s the kinda thing they did when they were kids. But for me, the tourist, I love it. In fact, this morning when I got to Central Station (to catch the train to come to work), hee hee, they had a little pen chock full of sheep, goats, chickens, ducks, etc, with a guy inside to supervise. It was a pretty funny sight to see in the middle of the train station. And lots of people stopped to take pictures and chat to the guy. Good thing I brought my camera today! The pictures didn’t come out so good, so hopefully the guy and his little friends will be there tomorrow!

And that’s about it! Hope you’re all well up there!

BYE!
J!