Scootin' Around Easter

Hi!

Well. That was another nice, relaxing week. Short week because of Easter, so that made it easy to bear the current temp gig. Nice weather, still trying to cool off tho not as gross as it's been. Took the little scooter out exploring, took some photos. I wish, if I have to work, we could just do 4 days a week. Mmmm. Get so much done!!!!!

So yeah, started the little temp gig last week. Ehh. Executive Assistant to some big Director of blahblahblah. They also call it PA (personal assistant) here. Either way it's doing stuff no one else can be bothered doing. Like printing out their own documents, telling him when his meetings are, making coffee for big meetings, ordering and setting up the catering, doing dishes, etc, I get to do all of that. And I've learned I don't like it. So am hoping the next gig isn't in the slave/waitress trade. Ahhh the curse of having an Arts degree!!!!!!

And then we had Friday off and tomorrow (Monday). Niiiiiice. So took myself out on Friday and discovered Newstead, which is the little suburb above Tenneriffe, right on the river. Not a bad little patch but reminded me so much of San Diego. Ehhh. But got to take the little scooter out and about and didn't have to worry so much about being killed as it was a holiday, no one was out (because everything was closed). It was nice to ride around places that are normally crowded with cars and buses going every which way.

Am suddenly a bit distracted because someone in the 'hood has just started violin practice. And they're not very good. Oh dear.

So drove around Newstead for a while, went on a little walk along the river, there's a lot of history tucked away in that little 'hood. There's the Newstead House, where the first Police Commissioner lived (nice place). And quite a few memorials to the soldiers of WWII, including stuff about the American troops coming and going from there and one plaque & obelisk to US-Australian peace/friendship. Interesting stuff that I had no idea was there. Then it was back on the scooter and rode around downtown and around my 'hood, and just drove aimlessly because it was so nice without traffic.

Yesterday met Natasha and ran errands (shops were open). Got a haircut/trim. Went to Kmart. Gee, stuff at Kmart here is more expensive than the Kmart's there! Then the grocery store and man, by the time we did all that, riding the buses and trains around, it was around 4! So got home, cleaned the house, watched Top Gear (British car review show - I love it) and that was that! That's why we need to have 4 day weeks because the weekends go so fast and it's not nearly enough time to get everything done!!!!!!

Today, well, the house is spotless (minus the leg and piece of wing from one Kona's overnight bug-killing episodes), the laundry is all done and almost put away (a few more hours of fresh air can't hurt it), so I might have a little Grandma nap and then am supposed to meet Natasha and a group of her friends at a pub down the road (The Normanby, very popular tho I've never been) for a late lunch and to kind of celebrate no work tomorrow!!!! I don't get paid, but you can't argue with a day off! Anything to make the week shorter! Hooray!

And that's really about it. Last week of work until another gig comes along, hopefully. So we'll see what the week brings there. Am trying to write my little business plan. Have yet to start any of those screenplays that are dancing around in my head begging to get out and make me millions from selling-out to Hollywood. Work just gets in the way!!!!!!

So there! Hope you're all well up there!!!

BYE!
J!

Spare Change?

Hi!

Well. That was a fine week if I do say so myself. And a nice, relaxing weekend too. Weather was nice, not so unbearably hot and gross; I think we could be getting past this whole summer thing. I had two, count 'em, two in a row, mid-week paid days off - had to use 'em or lose 'em, ahhhhh the Queensland government, so I used 'em! Was busy tho, signing up with two more temp agencies (sigh, that brings our grand total to five). And basically the weekend was just lovely and chilled-out. Just right really!

So the week was pretty good, as far as last week's at steady employment go. Was sorry to leave everyone, aside from the little devil in heels. Such nicenice folks. Oh well. If only they were in charge! And yeah, took Wednesday and Thursday off because, well, I could, so I signed up with two more agencies. And amazingly enough, by Friday afternoon, I had a gig for Monday. Through one of the new agencies (those gals were pretty nice and normal). So it's only for 2 weeks, diary management and general monkey stuff, so what? It's more than the other four could cough up! And that was with my harassing them all week! So yeah, start that tomorrow. Ooooh! Change! I hope it goes ok. Don't get me wrong, I love change, but work-change? Short-term? Eeeehhhh. You have to be nice all the time, no one gets your jokes, you don't know where the toilets are, some offices are mazes so the hazard of getting lost is always a stark reality............... Otherwise, change is good! Ahhhhhh, am looking forward to a change of venue. Whatever. Keeps the money coming in and the bank happy!!!!! So here's hoping it's a decent gig and that they're nice people!

And yeah, so Saturday was spent sneezing all day, hmmmm. Allergic to something I guess. I'm not allergic to anything....... yet. And yes my house is clean! Funny, every time I sneezed Kona meowed. Tee hee. So couldn't really do much more than, well, blow my nose and surf the 'net for gainful employment. Can't believe how much kleenex I went through..... Must write letter of praise to Sudafed.........

And today was really nice. Got up early, cleaned the house (that's not that dirty!) and went into town to meet Natasha for breakfast. MMmmmmm. Went to this place I've been dying to try since I got here.... y'know, wouldn't you know it, I've totally forgotten the name of the restaurant... (might be Pancake House, maybe?)! Dur. Anyways, their claim to fame is apparently, pancakes! So we gave them a try. Not bad! It wasn't IHOP or Denny's by any stretch, but it has potential. Hmmmmmmmmmm, another business idea.... J's Diner! Mmmmmm. Frito pie for everyone! Garden cinema first, then the diner!

And really, that was about it. Gave the little scooter a bath. Well, water restrictions the way they are here (bad drought and all), I didn't need water. Heh. For little bikes like mine they make this spray stuff. So you just spray it on and buff it off. And now man! It's shiny and sparkly!!!! Like new! Not that it was that dirty anyways, but it had a far bit of dust, dirt and bug guts. Ahhh, the groovy thing about leaving the last gig is no more dicey rides to work!!!! Geez, now I'll be lucky to take the little scooter out once a week.... Hmmm. It was the dicey ride that gave me confidence, now that I think of it.... Hmmmm. Will have to go out on weekends and discover new places then (bring back the adventures!). Keep the little battery from dying! Ahhhhh, the little scooter is pretty cool. But I have to say, when I was at the Yamaha dealer last picking up my $$$$ helmet, I was checking out the bigger motorcycles. Pret-ty cool. So I don't have $12,000, a girl can dream!? I've decided I quite like "cruisers". Not big, spread out handle bars, or lying down over the thing, but just chilled-out, normal, sit up straight stuff. Yeah. Well, in time. Gotta master the little 50cc before conquering the 1,200 or whatever it is!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And that's it! So yeah, here's to change!!!!!!! Hope you're all well up there!!!!! And if you guys need a change, I'm sure there're deals for flights down here, you just have to look!

Bye!
J!

Via con Helmet!

Hi!

Well. That was a fine week if I do say so myself. Solved the little work problem. Took a mid-week day off to test drive my brand-spanking new $600+ helmet that's finally arrived from Japan http://www.araiamericas.com/helmet_details.asp?model=VECTOR(oooooooh it's soooooo COOOOL!). Got to surf the 'net for jobs -at work. And generally came to accept the fact that I have thrown myself off another job cliff yet again.

So the week started out with a little (lie, a lot) of dread about going to work, but managed to get to the big boss to hand in my notice first thing Monday morning. Such a shame, but there it is. So that was done, now to get through the next 2 weeks with the little devil-in-heels. Well. What should happen come that same Monday afternoon? Awwww, the poor thing-in-heels got sent home on two-weeks' "stress leave". Awwwwww. And then, like magic, my work-load plummeted along with my stress levels! And bonus, the big boss was out of the office most of the week at meetings!!!!!!! So to add to my good mood, not only could I actually hear the music coming out of my little computer for once, I took one of my two remaining sick days to ride around in my groovy, new, and grossly expensive helmet. And hey, I discovered a new neighborhood - Tenneriffe. Niiiiiice. Like a cleaned-up and totally yuppified Brooklyn. It was niiiiice. I wanna live there too! Must get job, then can move.

And then the weekend was rather quiet. In a good way. Saturday I spent proof-reading and lightly editing my Grandad's autobiography. What an interesting life. I now chalk up to hereditary my inability to stay in one place. It started with my Grandad (and Grandma, even if it was more or less against her will), then to my parents (for leaving Indiana and driving one-way across the country to San Diego when I was all of 8 weeks old), and today, well, I'm only doing what's in our bloodline. As much as I complain about, well, lots, about setting up shop in a new place, be it in the US or outside of, I love it. I love seeing new places and settling in like a local. No matter how tough it can be at times. It's great. It's liberating. It's free (well, spiritually. The credit cards say otherwise). Sometimes I feel like a spy, only without the danger or wild glamor. Or some guy named James.

And today was spent cleaning the house like a crazy person. I have no idea what came over me. And it was hot and really gross out today (nothing a rootbeer float couldn't fix). I even did the windows, tho only had enough paper-towels for the inside. AND, I moved the furniture around the living-room. Kona's not so sure, and I'm not either..... But I think I like it. Just because the builders only put one power point in the entire living-room, next to the only internal antenna, does not mean the TV has to live in that same spot for all of eternity. So what if now I have to drape the antenna cable over stuff just to make out the picture, I have a new view from the couch! And the neighbors can't watch me sitting there watching TV. Excellent!

And that was it. It rained by the end of the day, that was nice. Means it was humid for a reason. Cooled everything off. Bit of a breeze too. Nice.

And that's that! So yeah, here's to my last week of work! Eeeeek! Ahhhh well, it was for the best. Onwards and upwards!!!!!!!!!!!!! Via con dios! as my Grandad liked to say!

BYE!
J!

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.