Flooded Ol' City...... Again

Hi!

Well. Sunday evening is here. That seems pretty quick. Warm too, tho thankfully not as horrible as it usually is, thank you La Nina! Am a bit early even for the bizarre show tunes radio program and even mah glass of wine. There are a few twittering birds out there, although I think the lorikeets have followed the food elsewhere because they're not out there hollering away non-stop! Still, it's turning into a lovely evening, preceded by lovely sunny day, for the most part. Hey, it least it didn't rain, like usual. Life is good!

So work. Well, it's good....... The only thing is we haven't been able to go back since Tuesday afternoon when we got booted out because of the rain and impending floods. So there was a huge mass exodus from the city at around 1pm. It was one of the stranger things I've seen. And from then it was just wait and see. And see we did. Wednesday morning my neighbor and I went for a good long walk around the Brisbane Riverside-ish to scope out what was happening and to get an idea of what was gonna get worse. (That photo on the left is Southbank, right in front of the theatres... a couple hours after we were there it was completely flooded, right to the side doors of the theatres). All I can say is we were amazed, neither of us having been through anything like this before besides earthquakes and lively storms. A flood is different and scary. And this is the third big one on record for poor Brisbane - 1893 and again in 1974..... Thankfully we here in our part of Paddington (that photo on the right of palace with the rusted roof thankfully hiding behind the abundant palms, is our place) weren't affected. But others didn't fare so well, as I'm sure you've seen on TV. The two neighborhoods closest to me, Milton and Rosalie, were badly flooded. Even Suncorp Stadium, where I just saw the U2 concert a mere month ago, flooded. Which is a little surreal because they're all within a 5-15 minute walk from me (down a really steep hill I might add). But Paddington is built mainly on big hills, so we were always going to be fine. So yes, that meant no work for the rest of the week. Which was good and bad. Bad because all you could really do was sit and watch TV as the flood crept up and in. Most of the roads were closed. The city center was for the most part a ghost town - no power meant nothing could open and businesses closest to the river flooded. It was crazy. But of course not being able to go anywhere was kinda good in that we didn't, couldn't go to work all week! Waahhoooo! But the building escaped any harm so we're back in tomorrow. It had to happen eventually.

And then there was the weekend. It was a good and somewhat productive in that most of the shops in my 'hood reopened so I was able to stock up on eggs and lettuce, tho no milk, the panicked locusts cleaned that right out. Got the chores done. Read. Friday evening was nice, went over to Jason and Clare's with the usual 2 other suspects for pizza and games. Everyone was thankfully well clear of any flood business. It was just nice to be able to get out of the house and spend an evening not thinking about flood stuff. It's always a good evening with those folks!

And, well, that's actually about it. No work, no errands, no roads, no shops, etc meant things stayed pretty quiet, with the exception of our mini-Adventure on Wednesday. I must say, nice as it was to be away from work for a bit of time, I never want to be away from work, or anything for that matter, under those circumstances ever again. Too scary, too creepy and way too stressful. And I didn't get flooded, imagine the poor folks that did, or died. Sad. Bloody Mother Nature..... don't piss her off!

So there you are. Sorry for the short and bit of a downer check-in, but that's the news from here in pretty much a nutshell! Hopefully life will get back to normal over the coming week. I would extend a hearty invitation to come on down and visit but they say cyclone season is kicking off about now, so you might want to hold off until we're well clear of all this weather business. Say around, March, April and then through to October should be good! So hope you're all well up there! Feel free to drop a line!

BYE!
J!

Cabin-Fever in the Rain........

Hi!

Well. Here we are, Sunday evening, rain rain rain. A few die-hard birds are muttering away out there with soaked feathers trying to get the best of whatever food hasn't been turned into soup...... gee, can birds even eat soup, I wonder..... Anyways, I digress. At least the evening, rather the last 4+ months, has been cool if not really, really damp. Got the bizarre show-tunes radio show on - tonight includes music from Bernard Herrmann (he of Hitchcock films' music), the Sound of Music and the Godfather soundtracks.... Hmmmmmmmm. Got the glass of cool red wine (can't drink the stuff at room temperature here in Brisbane no matter how cool the evening appears to be - the wine is always way too warm to actually drink, so, law against it all - it's ice cubes). But never mind, here we are!

So work. Yep, it's good. Although last week, the first week back for some of us, was dead quiet. I've seen more action in graveyards. But, I'm not complaining. I have an idea of what's coming my way so have treasured every quiet hour. I mean, nice as it is to have the odd quiet time, it is nice to have something with which to pass the 8 hours....... So, am gearing up for the busy time, whenever that may come. Am scared it's going to come out of the blue (no pun intended).... Oh well, as long as I've got something constructive to do - bring it!

And then there was the weekend. Yawn yawn yawn. Was Dullsville, Queensland. Got some chores done Saturday. Got some editing done today (job for a friend). Gave mahself a manicure. And that's about it. Oh, watched "Hot Tub Time Machine" with John Cusack. I have to say I didn't expect much at all. It was hilarious. I laughed 3/4 of the way through it, and that's really saying something. That, or it's been that long since I've seen a good comedy....... I mean, it wasn't a deep and meaningful film, but it was pretty funny. C'mon, be brave, give it a watch! And this evening's entertainment is going to be the new "Sherlock Holmes"..... I have high-ish hopes.

And so, sadly, that's about it. I honestly can't think of anything more exciting (or not) to add. Oh, well, not so much exciting as news worthy, in case any of you have seen stories on the news about the floods here in Queensland, we here in Brisbane (in South East Queensland) are fine and not much affected. Only when we get lots and lots and lots of rain in one go are low-lying streets and folks living near big creeks affected. Otherwise, the worst of it all has been up a few hours north of us, and that's because the land and rivers up that way have been inundated with rain further upstream, swelling the rivers downstream. It's terrible and really sad as lots of those folks have been cut off from everything for weeks now, going back to Xmas. The military has had to airlift supplies to them. And the rivers that have peaked aren't expected to recede for another week or so because, again, the land is saturated and the water has nowhere to go. Pretty sad too for all their livestock and fruit and veggie crops, which will affect all of Australia in the coming months. Bummer dude. But otherwise, we here in Brisbane are fine thus far. Brisbane had a really bad flood in 1974, but since then dam engineering and river management (?) has improved, hopefully protecting us from another flood like that. But, you never know, we can only hope!

So there you have it. A bit dull I'm afraid but that's the way it is at the moment. Really just waiting for this rain to go away. The weather gurus seem to think we might have a sunny day maybe next Saturday. But thankfully I'm not the only one with cabin-fever, almost everyone I know (and don't know for that matter) are bruised and battered from walking into walls with boredom. We really quite like to play outside here, and to not have been able to for months and months is starting to make everyone stir crazy. Hopefully soon we'll get a break. Even Kona has resigned himself to infrequent patrols of the parameter. Good thing I ordered that toilet-training kit, guess it'll come into good practice once it arrives, cos am sick of litter!

Otherwise, hope you're all well up there. I heard about the shooting in Tucson of the congresswoman........... Arizona, you're embarrassing me in front of all these Australians! Now can we please have gun control??! It was bad enough having the Terminator running California, now this! You know you're most welcome to come down here and have a break from all that political nonsense any time!

BYE!
J!
P.S. Was unable to include interesting hyperlinks as per usual, because, with the rain, the internet is acting up something fierce. Crikey. Will update tomorrow...........

New Year with Pups, Sand & A Little Sun!

Hi!

Well. Am a day late. I think the photo on the left kind of explains why I couldn't be bothered - yesterday it was just too bloody hot, too late in the day for my brain to work. But am here now! Got mah cool glass of red wine this evening...... Jazz tunes are streaming from the interweb....... There haven't been too many lorikeets out there lately... I think the seeds they were eating off the palm trees have all been eaten and they've had to invade other palms in other people's yards... Which is fine by me, they'd wake me up around 4 in the morning, every morning! But never mind, here we are!

So work. Yep, go back tomorrow. Holidays officially over. But apparently a few folks are still going to be on vacation so it'll be fairly quiet until probably around the end of the month. Lucky ducks! Ahhh well, I really don't mind as am just soooooo happy to A) Have had a paid break off and B) Have a job! HOORAY!

And then there was the weekend. Friday was New Year's and went over to Jason & Clare's for pizza and games..... Now, I know I'm getting old when to me that is a perfect NYE. We old farts even made it until 1.30am! Of course, that's pretty amazing for them as they have 3 very small children. If it were me I'd probably be face-planted in the pizza come 10pm or so, at best. They are my new small children-raising heroes! And then I came home to find my neighbor and two of his friends passed out in the driveway. Huh. Tho I must say, the next day he was awfully quiet aside from the vomiting spells. Sigh.... I have dreams where I live in a modern, bright, solid, QUIET place...... I don't care if it's an apartment or a house, just as long as I can't hear, see or smell my neighbors. Hmmmm, someday........ Although in saying that I just renewed the lease on this shit-box for another 6 months. And for the first time since I've ever lived in this heap, they haven't raised the rent. Amazing how not charging me $5-10 bucks more per week will motivate me to stay on for 6 more months. Now if only the neighbors downstairs would move out and a lovely quiet Japanese Med Student would move in instead. Sigh........

And then Saturday was quiet, some chores, some TV...... I'm trying to get through that "True Blood" HBO series...... ehhhhh, I really quite like the premise, but otherwise.... Hmmmm.... have finished the 1st season, might give season 2 a chance and if it doesn't swing me, will find a new show. I hear "Dexter" is quite good....... But trotted down to my oft-neglected way awesome video store, Network Video (is as awesome as Casa Video in Tucson, and that's the Most Awesome Video Store on the Planet), and picked up the first couple episodes of "Rome", another HBO series filled with amazing sets, costumes, stories, boobies and violence. Seems to be the formula for a decent HBO series. Hmmm. So we'll see how that goes. All I know is, if I haven't mentioned it already, this new TV and this fancy pants modern Blu-ray stuff is the BEST! Shame there isn't better stuff on TV.... but that's what the Blu-Ray player is for! Hooray!

And Sunday was more chores. But boy it was hot from early morning until late at night. Stupid summer. In the end it melted my brain and all it was good for was sitting in front of the fan watching TV. Sad. But today made up for it - I went out to Red Beach (pup friendly!) over on Bribie Island with a gal from work, her partner and their two way totally cute Jack Russell Terriers Jackie and Georgie. It was an awesome day! Tho sitting here, I must say, the bits not covered by sunscreen (which I forgot) are on some serious fire. Bloody Australian sun. Wooooweeeee! Time for the aloe and peppermint oil! My poor feets! But it was quite interesting to see the damage/changes to the coastline after all the storms we've had. Photos don't quite do it justice. Still tho, the day was perfect, and as you well know we haven't had many of those at all for the last few months!

So there you have it. The end of the holidays. Thank god. Every year after the holidays wrap up (no pun intended), I always vow to go rent a beach house on some remote island and sit the whole couple of weeks out. One of these days I really will and it'll be the best set of holidays ever! But for now, I can't think of a better place to spend them than in Australia - no snow!!!!!!!!! So any time you feel the urge to escape, you're more than welcome Down Under!

BYE!
J!

Xmas of Blue Ray'd Couch Potatoes!

Hi!

Well. Here we are. A day late but happily have survived the whole Xmas thing. Whew! Actually, this time I don't have a very good excuse for being late. In fact, I spent all day yesterday catching up on my DVD rentals (trying to get through the HBO series "True Blood". Hmm.) and being absolutely mesmerized by my brand-spankin' new, ver-ee fancy-pants Blu-Ray discs. So yes, yesterday was a day in front of the TV, something I never do, so it was actually kinda nice. But here we are! Those bloody lorikeets start up at around 4.30am and finish their shift around 7pm..... But I can't blame them, it's been raining pretty much non-stop, so they can vent their little birdy frustrations all they want. Got some jazz tunes streaming from the 'net (I just wish they had a 24/7 jazz radio station on the regular radio here....)..... Got a very nice, cool glass of Rosemount Estate Semillion SavBlanc..... The weather is, well, wet, and warm. SavBlanc weather really. It's like being inside a bowl of soup. Bloody tropics. But yes, I know and am grateful - I could still be in NYC. Hooray!

So work. Yep. I don't have to go back to work until the 4th of January! Coooool. And bonus - my break is paid! I know I mention the fact all the time, but honestly, after last year, it's just nice. And I'm apparently going to be very busy in the coming months, so I need to enjoy the quiet time while I can, blahblahblah. Well, ok. It's what I get out of bed for anyways, might as well spend the day doing more than surfing the 'net and staring into space.....! Otherwise, work is pretty good. But April and my contract end-date will be fast approaching, so we'll see what happens then...... Fingers crossed. My Boss says he's happy because other people who've I've done stuff for are happy. So that has to help. Will keep you posted!

And then there was the weekend. Xmas Saturday. It was very nice. Went to my Adoptive Family's house for Xmas, as I've done these last 4 years. It's always a nice, relaxing, food-filled day. And it's good to catch up with the little bit of news and gossip from my old gig at the Fire Service. He'll be retiring in June tho, so we'll have to start making up some gossip because heaven knows I really don't speak to many people from there very often. Hmm. But yes, the day was quite nice, the food is always fantastic and the seafood is fresh and just so good. Shame I only have a little tummy and can only get so much into it. And, as always, we watched a movie, this year it was the new "Robin Hood". I've seen it 3 times now I think and I still rather like it. I may have to pick it up on fancy-pants Blu-Ray!

And speaking of beaming Blu-Rays, that brings us to yesterday's couch potato binge. So I got this big, modern fancy TV, as you know, and with the deal came a "free" Panasonic Blu-Ray player, and a pretty decent one at that. Well. I finally caved and bought a few BR discs last week (and Santa stuffed a couple under my little tree too) and I watched a couple over the weekend, "Casino Royale" and "Amadeus". All I can say is get thee a Blu-Ray player! It's awesome! Holy cow, this modern technology is fantastic!!!!!!! Thankfully am not a huge video buyer at the best of times because, really, aside from like Magnum PI and James Bond, how many times can you watch the same movie? Why own so many? So thankfully I hadn't invested a ton of cash into DVD's. And I know I won't invest in tons BR's, but boy oh boy, if you have to choose between the two, well, there is no choice! So yes, although am not a huge TV watcher, when I do now, it's gonna be goooood! Hooray for modern technology!

And that's about that really. No chores as I did quite the cleaning blitz on the little place last week. No Adventures because the weather has been crap; tho hanging around here in the dumpy little apt is gonna get pretty old when the cabin fever starts to set in by about tomorrow I imagine......... I need to get myself up to the Botanical Gardens at some point to take some photos. The place ought to be exploding with life after all this rain! Yeah, will think of a couple foul-weather Adventures... Maybe the Gallery of Modern Art..... a movie......? Hmmmm.

So there you are. Hope you're all well up there, whatever side of the weather you're sitting though, be it rain or snow. You know you're more than welcome to come on down and visit us Down Under anytime (except from maybe about now until March, unless you like tropical heat and humidity)!

BYE!
J!
P.S. Holy heck. I just heard an ad on the radio for ideas of what to do for Valentine's Day. Let the Xmas corpse get cold already! Sheesh.

English Visits in the Rain

Hi!

Well. Am a little late. I have a good excuse tho (don’t I always?), I had a friend and her small daughter come to visit/stay with me for a few days, from England. They left yesterday morning at 4am for Sydney, so I cleaned all day. I mean all day. And it rained all day too. It was just a long, busy day. But here I am (writing from work at the moment)! After yesterday’s rain, it’s been amazingly nice and dry all day. Not that I was out in it much, being at work and all. Hrumph. But, (home now) the lorikeets are certainly out there squawking and chattering away like little multi-colored lunatics, arguing who gets to eat which seeds from the palms first. The evening is temp is perfect, there's a very lovely, cool and dry breeze. Got mah very nice glass of cool Semillon-Sav Blanc from Preveli (from the Margaret River region, love the label). The house is clean. Life is good!

So work. Yep. Is good. Everyone is gearing down for the holiday break. Sounds like it’s been a tough year and everyone needs a good break. Yeah, I can’t talk, I’m just happy to have the work and happy that I got my break before I started! Otherwise, work is good. Have had a few more little things to do, but nothing major – yet. I hear a big proposal/bid is coming early next year. Fingers crossed my contract gets extended past April?! Because the one big thing about hiring me was they thought I’d get Citizenship in 6 months. Well, I’ve always known that wasn’t going to happen, but I had to apply regardless to make them happy. Well, I didn’t get it of course, am not eligible as I need to have Permanent Residency for a few years first, which I never got or needed being a NZ citizen here we don’t need special stuff (I know, it’s way confusing). Sooooooo am just waiting for The Declined Letter from Citizenship so I can give that to HR in the new year. Sigh. I wish I didn’t have to but I don’t have a choice. So we’ll see what happens? As always, will keep you posted!

And then there was the weekend. Started off a bit early on Thursday with the arrival of Caroline and her daughter Savannah, visiting from Bristol, England. Haven’t seen her in yeeeeeeears and this is the first time I’ve met Savannah, her 4 year old daughter. Wow, Savannah’s certainly a handful of stubbornness. But we managed to get out and see a few things and have some nice meals out. It went by soooo fast tho. Was sad we didn’t get to catch up more, but I guess a toddler has that effect on things. They were off first thing Sunday morning (at 4.30am!) to meet up with Savannah’s father and spend a few days in Sydney before heading home. A very short but sweet visit!

And then the other weekend….. Chores. Hadn’t done them in a couple weeks. So rain or no rain, got all the laundry done, floors mopped…. Those chores took forever as we only have one dryer and I had all my sheets and towels, etc. Put it this way – I was still doing laundry at 7pm last night, which is why am checking in today! Gah! But, all I know is the little dumpy apt is clean and happy, and I now know for certain that I would hate to be a hotel maid! Oh, and I managed to pick Kona up from the cattery a day earlier (cos they left so early), because no way was he going to hang around with a rambunctious toddler chasing him. I’d never see him again. He’s happy to be home and probably even happier he has no idea what he missed out on.

And that’s about that. The whole city is quietening down for the holiday break. It makes walking into work nicer – less traffic on the sidewalks getting in mah way! But that also means I’ll have lots of spare – PAID – time on mah hands……… nice change from how things were last year, that’s for sure! I know I need to save every dime from this point forward, and I’m not thinking of doing anything crazy, but I would like to knock a thing or two off my Australian Adventure List, just little local day or two-day tours….. Pretend I’m a tourist for once….! Hmmmm… will have a look around, or stick my head into the Tourist Info Office!

Well, so there you have it. Hope you’re all well up there and surviving the winter. I may whine about this constant rain, but at least it’s not a hot and humid furnace (yet) or snowing! So if you need a break, c’mon down! The weather is fine!

BYE!

J!

Clawing through the Week with Friends!

Hi!

Well. Here we are. A very rainy, yet warm, Sunday evening. But still, the lorikeets are out there shouting it out with the crows, as per usual, with the odd kookaburra throwing in their two cents. Rain or no rain they're out there chattering away. 'Course, they're birds, so for the most part they don't have anywhere else to go when it rains... Not like into garages, under stuff, etc...... Man, it would kind of suck to be a bird when it rains this much, non-stop..... I'd hate to be a bird in Seattle. I wonder how they fly with such wet wings all the time? But I digress in the worst way.......... So yes, Sunday early evening, checking in a little early just for a change... Got a very cool Carlsberg beer, also just for a change, and on the radio, the very strange show tunes show that precedes the way groovy cool jazz show ("Jazz Track", on ABC radio, look it up, it's bitchin'!). Life is good!

So work. Yep. Actually had a little more to do this past week, which was good. Kinda. I don't like editing under the gun. I guess that's what they like to do sometimes, hand you a fairly large document/proposal and give you a mere few hours to edit it. Hmmm. That's ok I guess. Always wish for more time, but in this environment I guess you have to take what you can. Is all interesting tho. Finished a messy formatting job for a big document, gave it to the guy, he was happy. My boss is happy, I'm happy, happys all around! So yes, all seems to be going according to plan! Tho my co-workers are dying for the Xmas break. I can't say anything, I just had my totally awesome vacation so my sanity is pretty intact in that respect. But I understand. I guess that'll be me this time next year... If I can keep the gig that is. I'll be turning in my Citizenship Application this week. Work wrote a letter on my behalf begging Immigration to give me CShip. I don't like my chances but I have no choice except to try. Thing is, the gig is up in April if I don't get CShip..... Sooooo, I dunno what'll happen if I don't. All I can do is apply, keep doing a good job and see what happens when I don't get CShip! Fingers crossed they figure out a Plan B!? Otherwise, all is well. One and a half more weeks to go until we get 11 days off for good ol' Xmas! Hooray for work and hooray for a break!

And then there was the weekend. Well, it kinda started off early Tuesday evening when I met my friend Glen and his new fiancee Alison for dinner at Wagamama (Japanese fast food, is pretty good). They were only in town for 2 days for a conference. Haven't seen Glen in aaaaaages and had never met his gal before, so it was a fantastic but quick evening! Heading up to Cairns to visit them is going to be my next Adventure!

And then there was more early weekend fun Thursday evening when another friend of mine and Glen's from Cairns, Dave, came down to go see U2 with me! It was awesome! And we had such bitchin' seats (not to mention the stadium being walking distance from my house!)! I'd last seen U2 waaaaay back in '87 for their 'Joshua Tree' tour, and that was pretty bitchin' too. But this time they've since perfected the whole stage set theatrics thing. And this set, a 360 degree "Claw", was amazing. It'd be really neat to be a crew member working with it. Man, these sorts of fantastic stage concert sets and roller coasters - I wish I was clever enough to have been an engineer! Aside from the stage set, the show was way awesome. They still got it after all this time. I hate to sound so old, but I swear, bands today could take a page out of their book. Total professionals and just good at what they do. Which is why they're still here and thousands of other bands aren't. And why they can charge such stupid money for tickets and get it. Man. If you're into them, it's well worth it. A very good show!

And now the weekend. Very quiet compared to the mid-week fun. But boy I needed the sleep. Can't party on a school night like I used to! And with the rain, and the fact that it's getting closer to Xmas and people are starting to totally lose their minds, I'm just not in the mood to do anything or go anywhere. And that's fine because I need to save mah money! But I did manage to get two loads of laundry and the ironing done, so I wasn't a complete couch-potato (hooray for the new, not yet dead, tv!)!

So there you have it. A bit of an Adventure was had. Was such a good concert, so happy I went. And happy to have had a quiet weekend, even if that makes me the Queen of Dull. I don't mind, and I know my dull royalty status makes the bank happy! But wooowweeee I wish this rain'd let up. Should be annnny week now. So by the time you book your tickets and come on down, the weather should be much better (if you don't mind the heat)! C'mon down!

BYE!
J!