US Adventures Had with No Work to be Done!

Hi!

Well. First off, I have to apologize for checking in late – this was totally not my fault – turns out Optus, who I have my supposed high-tech fancy-pants wireless Internet with, they have been having MAJOR network problems over the last few days, to the point where I spent about 2+ hours last night trying to connect but every time it did it instantly disconnected. So hopefully it’ll work today now that it’s had a rest…. Modern technology. Harumph.

So anyways, back to my Sunday evening. A more relaxed weekend hasn’t been had in, well, months. Lovely. Enjoying the last days of spring before the muggy furnace of summer fires up. It even attempted to rain, something that hasn’t happened here in a few months. Cool, quiet, relaxing, and magically no naps were had – perfect!

So work, or the lack of (for better or worse)……. Interesting spot to be in for two reasons – 1) A couple of times I nearly lost track of the days and 2) No need to wake up early for work tomorrow, or ever (tho I still do out of sheer habit – curses)! I try to see the positives in a Sunday evening with no work to go to tomorrow – Don’t have to put on work clothes, commute by crowded public transport, eat lunch in a terrible cafeteria as punishment for neglecting to make my lunch, endure moronic conversations, commute home on crowded public transport, in painfully slow rush hour, in work clothes – huzzah for unemployment! But yes, there is an unpleasant flipside which the bank and anyone tied to it (including me) doesn’t abide. Am working on the work thing and these things take time it’s seems. I live in hope – so much so that I have two complete outfits ready to go at a moment’s notice if someone demands I come in for an interview!

So, in light of bank account lock-down, I’m left with not much to report on really….. Tho surprisingly, I did leave the house Friday evening for pizza and a very interesting board game with a couple of folks I used to work with (one who is also now in my unemployment boat – welcome sailor!). Was a fantastic evening – his homemade pizza is the best! Note to self when become gainfully employed: must buy pizza oven/maker.

And Saturday. Met Kim to go out to lunch in Roma Street Parklands (very lovely park, right in town) and to thank her for watching my little apartment while I was away. And then we went on a biiiiig walk around town, just to exercise and get some air. Was excellent. We agreed that the more we do these walks we’ll A) get fitter and B) explore more bits of town neither of us has discovered yet! It’s amazing the miles we can cover and the time w

e can pass just by walking and solving the problems of the world – excellent!

And Sunday. An extremely quiet yet very productive day (when the Internet worked). In amongst researching what other computer programs I need to learn in order to have more Mad Skillz, I managed to apply for 4 jobs – fingers crossed, and fingers crossed that the number of jobs that are worthy of applying for keep popping up, and any other fingers not crossed cross them that I get one of these jobs! The way I see it is, you throw enough cooked pasta at the wall, eventually one strand has to stick! Or so goes my theory………

Which brings me to my next installment

of The Big Trip…...!

Week #2 Sept7th – 13^th

7^th – So there we were in San Diego, a little ahead of schedule with a rental car at our disposal. Did a bit of random sightseeing (memory lane kinda stuff) when Katie invited us over to her house for a big family Labor Day BBQ – excellent! I haven’t caught up with her whole family since, I don’t know when, probably when we were in High School. So it was fantastic to catch up and hear her Mom’s tales of her numerous traveling adventures. G

ossip happily

caught up on, we headed back to Dad’s for more BBQ fun!

8^th – Today we conquered the San Diego Zoo! Every time I go there, which is every few years, they’ve changed it, added stuff, made stuff smaller (to fit more stuff in) and more modern, and it’s just cool and massive. I know there were things I didn’t even walk near because the place is so big. Though I was really very

happy to see that the Reptile House is exactly the same as it’s always been, my favorite. I somehow managed to get lost in their “Lost Forest” for a good 45 minutes or so; I kept walking past the same damn monkeys, much to their amusement, trying to find my way back to Katie and The Girls. By the time I escape

d, The Girls had gone sightseeing and poor Katie was sitting on a bench with an empty slushy cup waiting patiently for me to return. I hated that “Lost Forest”. After the Zoo Adventure, we headed back to Dad’s for dinner and a really bitchin’ evening trip to the beach for a bonfire and s’mores! I haven’t don

e that since I was a kid. A good time was had I must say!

9^th – Today we headed out bright and early for Road Trip #2 – bound for Tucson! Much like Highway 5, it’s brown, flat and really really boring, and just a pain in the butt to drive, so much so that I got a little excited with the gas pedal and netted myself a speeding ticket! GASP! Only the 2nd time I've been caught, haven’t done that in yeeeears! Against my smarter side, I decided to argue with the cop as to how fas

t I thought I was going – apparently he clocked me at 86 and I laughed and said I don’t think so, more like 75…. Long story short, I got the ticket but it was only for 75 (in a 70 zone), still tho, that’s $200 some bucks I won’t see again…………. Stupid empty desert with hidden cops! But happily the rest of the trip was ticket-free and we arrived safe, happy and dusty!

10^th – Today we took in the sights around Tucson. Starting off with a tour of my old theatre and a quick catch-up with some of my old work folks. I love that theatre, Centennial Hall. Then we continued

on to 4^th Avenue for a stroll around the shops (always quirky) and some lunch at Bison Witches – my favorite sandwich shop.

Then we continued the tour to Downtown, that was quick, and had a last stop into Hotel Congress for iced coffee and cheesecake. Sigh, I love how some things just don’t change and Hotel Congress is one place that will always be cool and hip and groovy.

11^th – Today’s adventure was the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum! We managed to time it just right and got to join a little guided tour, which was quite good considering

the number of times I’ve been to the Desert Museum and never did a

tour – fantastic because you actually learn stuff! Cool. But it actually wasn’t so cool and 97% of the animals were buried under shade where the sun or we couldn’t see them. Either way, is always a lovely day spent in such a beautiful area of desert.

12^th – Today we had big plans to tour Tombstone and perhaps take in a bit of target practice at the local gun range (for the tourists to experience, you see), but alas, plans were put on hold while one of The Girls had to go visit a doctor for not feeling too well. So whi

le waiting, we caught up on laundry, emails, packing and rest. Finally, suitably diagnosed, we headed off with my friend David to go tour the San Xavier Mission, the “White Dove of the Desert”. Lovely. I was sorry to see the quirky little cafeteria had closed (where to buy Authentic Indian Fry Bread now??) but thankfully the locals set up little tables in the shade just near the Mission parking lot, where you can not only buy Fry Bread in numerous flavours (plain, butter, honey, powdered sugar, etc) but you can also get some pretty good Mexican/Indian food and the money goes right to the person who cooked it for you. Mmmmm. I can’t go there withou

t getting Fry Bread tho. Mmmmmmm honey! Then we headed over to my

Uncle’s house for a real Chinese dinner – his wife and her daughter cooked up a massive spread, well over 6 different dishes, so much food it didn’t even all fit on the table! Ahhhhh but man it goooooood!

13^th – Today was a very relaxed day. Ran some errands and even stopped by the local fire station (Northwest Fire District) to say hi on behalf of the QFRS and to trade t-shirts and patches (something fire people do the world over). We intended to st

op by, shake hands, swap and leave them to it – oh no, we were there over an hour while the guys talked to us about everything, including the new truck, which they just had to fire up (no pun intended) and get out of the garage so The Girls could sit and

have photos in. Ahhhh the guys were pretty nice and easy-going, I think they quite liked the break in the monotony. Was nice to stop in and say hi and to learn how fire departments work in other cities. Once home tho it was straight to work to get the house and food ready for a big BBQ! Ahhhhh so many people to catch up with, so little time. The evening was so good and went by so fast I never even had a chance to get my camera out. Was such a good night. Was a fantastic way to end ou

r visit in Tucson as the next day we were to head out bright and early to conquer the Grand Canyon! Watch this space for next week’s installment of The Big Trip – Week #3!!!!

So there you have it. Adventures were had, sights

were seen, much good food eaten, families and friends caught up with, just an excellent trip so far!

Hope you’re all well up there. I think I’ve fixed the ‘comments’ section to where you can post comments easily and not have to sign up and commit to anyth

ing, so if anyone is keen to try, let me know if it works or not, and if it does, feel free to drop a line!!!!!!

BYE!

J!

Adventures in the USA - Week #1!

Hi!

Well. Long time no gossip! Just got back on Wednesday from my month-long US tour! WHEW! It’s not the jet lag that’s kicking mah butt, it’s the whole big trip. We went to so many different places in such a seemingly short amount of time, I now have an idea of how bands must feel when they tour, and they have to entertain! Man. Course, they get paid millions for it and have staff to do everything from schlepping luggage to checking them in and paying for the hotels. Now that’s the way to go – just show up and have fun! All in all I think the trip was a success. I had a good time and I’m pretty sure the girls did too. Good to be back in mah own bed and get clothes out of a dresser and closet instead of a suitcase! Weeeee!

So work. Yep. Well, that finally, officially, finished on the Friday before we left to no fanfare, which was good. I vaguely remember being busy all day and even think I stayed late. But. There it was. Over and done with. Sigh. I put a lot of work into that gig. Maybe next time it’ll pay off. So the hunt begins anew! Sigh.

So The Trip! Was good. Not sure how to sum it up, perhaps will try week by week….. Ha! The trick is gonna be to remember everything!!! Cos it was four weeks and like 2 new cities a week with much fun had along the way…….! So will start with:

Week #1 Aug30th – Sept6th

30^th – We landed in LA where we picked up our rental car (Mazda 6, eh, it was ok, pretty speedy I must admit) and had a good drive alllllll over town, even got up to the Hollywood hills to have a good view of the Hollywood sign. I got to have my first Mexican take out meal in years of 3 rolled tacos with hot sauce, guacamole and a quesadilla with hot sauce and guacamole on the side – heaven. Makes my mouth water just thinking back and writing about it. Mmmmm. Then we aimed for Anaheim to find a hotel near Disneyland, which we ended up in a Holiday Inn like around the corner from The Happiest Place on Earth. Cooool. I have to say, we stayed mainly in Holiday Inns and they’ve really improved over the years, pretty nice for the cheap money. Points to Holiday Inn!

31^st – Was Disneyland where it was like 110 degrees. Bloody hot, but no crowds! We were there for the opening bell and by noon we’d hit every major ride. I think the longest we had to wait was for Space Mountain and that was like 20 minutes. Man I was impressed. I can’t remember a time when we’d had that much luck with crowds and rides and it wasn’t raining or 11.30 at night. We were hot and dead tired but very happy. We ducked off to the hotel for a few then made it back just in time for the fireworks, which are always the best on the planet. I love Disneyland.

1^st – Was touristy sightseeing – Hollywood, Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills, etc. Yeah. Every time I “sight-see” in LA, am always so incredibly happy I don’t live there. It’s neat to scope out now and then but even neater to leave it!

2^nd – We flew off to San Francisco! I reallyreally dig San Francisco. Could spend ages there. We got into town and checked into our next Holiday Inn – they had the most amazing view, we magically got upgraded to a higher floor with views across the city. It was excellent. So we dumped our stuff and headed out exploring. Walked and walked and walked, which is pretty much what you do there.

3^rd – Was Pier 39/Fisherman’s Wharf, the seals that live there and Alcatraz (always pretty cool and creepy)! Pier 39 has improved a lot from, well, the pier that it just was; my god it’s a whole shopping mall now! With seals! After scoping out Alcatraz we headed back into town to the Boudin’s factory for lunch. I can’t highly recommend the place enough. Best sourdough bread on the planet and a really neat museum, and view of the bakers at work too. On our way back to the hotel from there we stopped in at the Buena Vista bar – where the Irish Coffee was invented. Gooooood. So good I had 2! After that we thought it would be a fantastic idea if we walked up what felt like the steepest hill in town (Hyde Street) to have a view down Lombard Street (the really cool and twisty street). So we got up there, took photos of the sun setting and the moon rising and decided we’d walk down it. Then walk back up it. Excellent workout. Then, satisfied we’d crammed in a year’s worth of hill walking in an hour, we headed back to the hotel where we died.

4^th – We headed over to see the ‘7 Sisters’ – the neat little row of restored Victorian houses near the pretty little park where they filmed a fair few things, easiest one to remember is that TV show “Full House”. Very pretty even if it was cloudy and a little rainy. Next we were off to the Golden Gate Bridge! That’s really pretty cool. When we arrived it was cloaked in fog but as the day moved along so did the fog and by the end of our visit the sun was shining bright blue. It was lovely. Such a cool bridge, if that can be said about a bridge. I mean, I’m still partial to the Brooklyn Bridge, but this one can be the way cool one on the West Coast! Then we headed back into town for a ride on a cable car. Coooool. We rode that around for a while until we came to the Cable Car Museum, which is really interesting and informative and where allllllll the cables live that control allllllll the Cable Cars! Neat! Then it was back into the center of town for a brief spot of shopping then finally back to the hotel. Whew.

5^th – Found us heading out bright and early on our little road trip to Monterey and Cannery Row! Once in Monterey we headed right for the Monterey Bay Aquarium, one of the coolest, most comprehensive aquariums I’ve ever been to – and I thought the Scripps Aquarium in La Jolla was cool! So we spent the best part of the day in there learning about jellyfish and seahorses and everything else that spends it’s time in the sea around Northern California! Then we got some lunch (non-seafood thankyouverymuch) and had a look around Cannery Row. Hmmmmm. I wonder what Steinbeck and his marine biologist buddy Ed Ricketts would think of the place now. It’s basically a big strip mall. Hmmm. Neat to see at least once I suppose! Then we packed up and headed south along the 17-Mile Drive which takes you along Pebble Beach and the most fancy pants houses on the most beautiful stretch of coast you’ve ever seen. Wow. You could just smell the money. Then we aimed for cool little Carmel, but because it was Saturday of Labor day weekend the traffic turned everything into one slowly shifting parking lot. So we had a drive down to the sea (or as near as we could get to it) then headed back out of town away from the traffic and money to continue along Highway 1 towards Big Sur (got there just in time for sunset – it was stunning, wish I had photos, no time to stop……) and finally coming rest in San Simeon and the last hotel in town with an overpriced room as everything in that part of the world was fully booked due to the holiday weekend. Eh, it did the trick and breakfast was included!

6^th – We turned the road trip inland to Highway 5 where we made a beeline for San Diego. What can I say about the drive along 5? It sucks. Very brown, very flat and veryvery boring, but speedy. So that evening found us lounging with margaritas with family! Ahhhhhhhhhh! It was fantastic.

So there you have it – Week #1! Told you it was action packed. It’s neat to think back on all we did because now being back here it seems like forever ago, but describing it all day by day makes it seem like it was just last week we were there (well, we kinda were!)! Ahhhhhh, was great. Tune in next week for Week #2! Hope you’re all well up there. Am sorry we blew through town so quickly, so much to do! And am sorry for not checking in from the road, it was difficult with no computer, or at best overpriced internet cafes. Thankfully my memory has improved over the last few months (hooray for the Nintendo DS ‘More Brain Training’ game!) and am able to go over the trip with details! Hooray for adventure!!!!!!

BYE!

J!

Vacation in 5... 4... 3...

Hi!

Well. Sunday evening. The few birds that are still awake are out there are twittering away like they’ll forget by tomorrow what they were going to say. I wonder if the other birds, the ones trying to get to sleep, just sit there and think “man I wish Fred would shut up already about that stupid big bug he ate today…”. Hmmm. But, I have my chilled glass of wine, some interesting jazz tunes on the radio, life is good!

So work. Yeah. Sigh. One more week to go, for better or for worse. I must say, I was ready for a vacation (permanent or not) at least a year ago. Careful what you wish for! I will say tho, I’m going to miss the folks I work with (most of them anyways), they are a good group of people, some of the better I’ve worked with, so will be sad to not have them in my everyday….. Oh well. Hopefully the next gig will have nice people too!!!?

And then the weekend. Ahhhhhh. Productive. Saturday was up and out of the house early to go out to the ‘hood of Springwood to get mah already pretty short hair cut before The Trip, cos I don’t want to show up looking like my head is a big toe. It’s very short, tho I like to call it “streamlined”. Then I had a good long wander through Target where I managed to pick up a couple outfits that are semi-hip and groovy and scrunchable – perfect for traveling!

And then today, also quite productive in a housecleaning kinda way. Got all the laundry done, all the scrubbing and mopping of stuff, then it was time to meet Hasse and his friend Mai for a very nice lunch at a very small Vietnamese restaurant in West End. Was nice to catch up, very relaxing to just sit in the breeze and gasbag about future vacations (she’s off to India in Oct!) and, just, stuff. Short lunch tho, had to get back to bring in happy clean laundry, make the bed and write mah blog!

Otherwise, that’s pretty much that. The weekend was pretty good and relaxing considering it’s my last free one until I leave. I’ve been trying to get stuff done daily instead of the last minute panic rush. I’m nearly all ready to go, just need to transfer some monies and call the airline to make sure we’re still going! Looking at our travel schedule, we’re not going to have time to breathe let alone stop to write mah little blog every Sunday. If I can even so much as write a brief blurb, I’ll sure try. Otherwise, I’ll see you at the same time, same place on the 4^th of October!!!! Eeeeeeeeeek! Seems so far away but I just know it will go so fast! Hope you’re all well up there – see you sooooon!!!!!! And if you happen to be in the neighborhood, stop by and say hi!

BYE!

J!

Short and Sweet Week! Sweeeeet!

Hi!

Well. Here it is again, Sunday evening, just like every week. Only this week was nice because it was so short, and during mid-week too. I took Tuesday off because I had stuff to do, and then we automatically got the Wednesday off as "People's Day" - the day everyone in the city gets off to go to the Ekka. And seeing as I'd gone the week before - hooray! Extra day off! Ahhhhhh, love short, paid-for weeks! Ha! Am gonna enjoy them while I can!

So work. Yep. Talk about enjoying the paid time off while I can..... yeah, its nice to have paid days off to get stuff done. In my short time working fuh the gov'ment, the whole legit paid day off just never got old, as you well know by now. But, the resume is out and about, just waiting for that phone to ring with the offer of Best Job Ever..... Oh wait, some English guy won that up at the Great Barrier Reef...... Ok, Second Best Job in the World, just waiting for them to call me and tell me I can start whenever! Cooool. I wish. But yes, so far in the time I have left, work seems fine. Which is good because I can focus on wrapping up my job properly and planning The Trip..... My god it's 2 weeks to the day........... Eeeeek!

And then the, uh, mid-week weekend! Tuesday was nice, had stuff to do which was really just the usual errands and supervising the real estate guy in his "inspection" [invasion] of my teeny little apartment. I think he was in here all of 5 minutes with his little clipboard before he said, "Well, I think I've seen all I need to". I didn't have the heart to tell him mine is most likely the best looking one in the block, but he was new, so let him figure that out. Now hopefully they won't come bothering me again! It's a lot of work making this place presentable in addition to hiding evidence of the illegal roommate. Sheesh. But, trip going well and job forthcoming, I'm so moving out of here upon my return. My downstairs neighbors, well, I'll just say I've had to call the agency twice about his totally awesome surround-sound system that he'll listen to allllllll night. Oh yeah. The agency says there're fees for "breaking a lease" but to me that's a cheap price to pay for peace, quiet and freedom. (P.S. - photo on the left there, that's one of a few possums that live in my ceiling and sometimes sneak into my kitchen in the middle of the night if I've accidentally left that window just slightly open.Yeah.).

And the Wednesday. Well. A young guy'd called Tuesday saying that he wanted to come look at my big car on Thursday. Oh boy! So Wed I bought car soap and spent a good 3 hours washing, vacuuming, polishing that big car. Took ages! Finally had it sparkling, went inside and sat down for a well-deserved beer when the clouds rolled in, lightning struck, thunder rolled and rain pelted my nice, shiny, clean car. Then that storm blew away but hot on the heels of that one was one more. And this one was good. It packed wind, lightning, thunder rain and bonus - hail! All over my nice clean shiny car that was all ready for the guy to come look at to see if he wanted to buy it. I just watched the hail and laughed. What else could I do??? Finally, when that one finished and the news promised there were no more storms coming, I went out with my little chamois and cleaned the car again. Man. But, silver lining, in the end, Thursday evening I was $4,500 dollars richer! First thing Friday I went to the bank and paid off the loan in full and closed the account! Now I don't owe anyone any money! am officially debt free! HOORAY!

And then the weekend. As if the short week wasn't good enough! Saturday was nice, a bit of a relaxing day. Because my neighbor downstairs loves his surround-sound at all hours, I don't sleep so well during the week, naturally, but thankfully they weren't home Friday night. I went to bed around 11.30pm and woke up at 10am. Yeah, I was tired. So I took Saturday to relax and enjoy them not being home. I even had a nap it was so lovely and quiet. Ahhhhhh Saturdays without the noisy neighbors!

And then today. Was up early-ish and out the door by 10am to meet Kim for a good loooong walk around the 'hood and then some! Ahhhh what a gorgeous day it was today! And getting pretty warm too. We walked for a good 5 hours, through Paddington, up to Bardon, down into Rosalie (where we had hamburgers and fries and ice cream for dessert - yum!), then it was over through to Milton and the Park Road cafes (keep walking, nothing affordable to eat here), down to the riverside where we walked along and then up into town, to Central Station where I left her to catch her train home! Whew! Man it feels good to go on marathon walks again. In one way, well, in many ways, but especially one, am kinda happy to have sold the car seeing as lovely weather is upon us (not that it ever went away), because it'll really force me to get out and walk again. Good. I miss the exercise! Hooray!

So there you have it. What an excellent and productive and short week that was! Hoorays all around! Now I just have to really focus on making sure all is sorted for our Trip! Wow, 2 weeks! Oh dear, I know how fast those 14 days can go. Better get ready! See you soon! YAY!

BYE!
J!

Fair Enough Weekend....!

Hi!

Well. Here we are, Sunday evening, happy sounds of the birds as they chirp the sun down, Penguin Cafe on the cd player trying to drown out the sound of the neighbors killing each other in the apartment downstairs, ahhh yes, the sounds of nature and the city combined: such is the coming of spring!

So work. Yep. Suffice to say, well, the less said the better at the moment. Apart from stuff, it would be pretty good. Had Friday off. Much needed. Getting down to a mere handful of weeks now....... Sigh. Am gonna miss this gig.

And then the weekend! Was most excellent, if not slightly quiet. But that has to be because Friday was so much fun. I took the day off and met a friend and his Dad to go to the Ekka! Also known as the Royal Queensland Show (how they get Ekka out of that I have no idea. Must have to be born here to know). I've been twice before, it's their version of a country fair, on a big scale, kinda the size of maybe the Del Mar Fair.... Maybe. Either way I love going, I don't know why. It's just an excellent, fun day out, especially when I'm able to take a legit day off of work to go with folks who've been going religiously for 17+ years! Hooray! But boy, I have to say, I was absolutely beat by the time I got home around 10.30pm (bloody full buses at 10 at night, what kinda city is this). We were there from about 10am until about 8.45pm. Eh, good practice for Disneyland I say! It was such a good day. The weather was absolutely perfect, the crowds weren't too, uh, crowded, the food was salty, greasy and sweet, the beer beautifully bubbly and cold, I had a tummy ache by the time the fireworks were ready for launching, ahhhhh, it was a fantastic day!!!!! If you plan your visit right, for the early part of August, we'll go. It's fun.

And then the rest of the weekend was comparatively, decidedly quiet. Saturday I know I got some stuff done, just can't remember what exactly...... Definitely stuff was done. Laundry stuff...... Relaxing stuff........ Yeah, stuff.

And today. Quite productive. For the first time in like a year and a half I have an apartment inspection (I hate them, such a blatant invasion of privacy, but such is the lowly, little life of a renter) this coming Tuesday. So I took the energy saved up from yesterday and my little list of chores to do, and did the best I could with a dump like this. Patching holes made by the combination of rain and cheap construction (and me poking said saggy ceiling), painted scratched bits of windowsill, painted rain stains on the ceiling, what a good tenant I am. Then the usual chores on top of that. In addition to having a bit of a spring clean, results of which are now happily sitting in one half of my car trunk! Love spring cleaning. Love tossing out crap I no longer need, or really didn't need in the first place, would rather toss to someone else who may be in need of some crap. Hooray for recycling! Somewhat necessary clutter has been streamlined and is now residing under the bed (sorry Kona, your scaredy hidey place is much needed), and evidence of the illegal cat roommate has also been secretly stashed, ahhhhhhh it has been a very productive day.

And that's about that. I think the neighbors have finally stormed off to their respective corners of the apartment below, as all seems quiet down there for now (at least my floor has stopped the occasional earthquakes from the slamming doors below, replaced instead by his incessant video game machine guns). Kona is tucked into his little nest in the Poang chair that I never get to sit in. The chill of a winter's evening is starting to creep in signaling time to put the heater on (hooray for "electricity included" - suckers!). Ahhhhhh, Sunday evening. Y'know what makes tonight so extra-excellent? I only have to work tomorrow then I have Tuesday off for the "inspection/invasion", and as Brisbanites we all get the Wednesday off to go to the Ekka (if you're not as lucky as I am to work for the government and earn a day off to go beforehand), then it's only Thursday and Friday to get through - excellent if I do say so myself. Now I'm not one to wish work away, but after last week, it's just nice to have some paid time away......... So hope you're all well up there. Plan your trip down here cos I'll be up there soon to guilt you into coming to the Land Down Under!

BYE!
J!

My God It's August Already.

Hi!

Well. Here it is yet again, Sunday evening. Chores are done. Little apartment is clean, laundry is washed and hiding in the dresser and closet, Kona, like clockwork, beat up the neighbor cat as the sun was setting (no cats were harmed in this sunset entertainment), got a glass of wine, an amazing Edith Piaf cd drowning out the party the neighbors have started up downstairs (earplugs again tonight), life is good!

So work. Yep. Is fine. Nice because I have allllll the time in the world to look and apply for new jobs. Funny tho, I applied for two today in under an hour, yet it took me most of the week to apply for one... Oh, it could just be having to do work while I'm still at work getting in the way I suppose. That's ok, the few things that haven't been divvied out to others are all quick and easy, sometimes it's just making a phone call. Sigh. I miss my old job, but, change is good and we have no choice but to move on!

And then the weekend. Started off pretty cool with the nice folks from work, we all piled into a couple cars and changed our after work drinks venue to the Breakfast Creek Hotel, over in the 'hood of Newstead (is strangely nice, with lots of fancy pants apartment buildings and lots of warehouses, right next to each other, next to the river). That is one huge pub(s). Boy, if Americans think they have the corner on big things, Australians have the market on massive, city-block-sized pubs. In fact, I wouldn't call them quaint little conventional pubs, I'd call them drinking/eating complexes. And did I bring mah camera? No. But will go again as they're meant to have some of the best steaks in town. Hmmm. So we stayed there for quite a while...... Enough for a few beers and 3 bottles of wine. Whew. It was a fantastic evening because before we sat down we all agreed that under no circumstance were we to even mutter one little word about work - and what do you know - we didn't and we just laughed and laughed and talked about stuff the whole time. It was nice. Fun. Am gonna miss working with these guys.......

Then it was Saturday morning. A little slow to get started and up and going. Darn that Merlot for being good enough to drink. Didn't manage to do much but wander around the house thinking of the chores that needed doing. In the end I ended up on the couch starting to watch the afternoon TV movie "Arthur", when the text came through to meet a friend down in Southbank for pizza. Now I'm no girl to turn down pizza, and no hangover was gonna stop me from woodfired pizza and good company! It was a most lovely afternoon/evening, which ended a bit early owing to the fact that we were both perhaps still suffering a little from the previous evening. I was amazed at how busy Southbank is in the evenings on a Saturday. Course, I don't get out in the evenings much, and I haven't spent much time in Southbank since I quit working ages ago at the school down there.... Southbank in the evening is actually quite cool and buzzy busy. When you come down here for that visit, we'll go there for dinner one evening!

And then today. Busy. Chores are all done. I think because the weather is getting nicer and nicer (even tho it's still winter) I'm having the urge to spring clean and throw stuff out. I kinda have a 6 month rule about carting around stuff - if I haven't needed it, looked at it, or even thought about it in 6 months, it goes to a new home via the big metal donation boxes found in parking lots all over town. Yeah! I think that's gonna be next weekend's chore.

And that's that. Overall a very nice and productive weekend under gorgeous weather. I managed to apply for one job on Friday and 2 today, so fingers crossed! I hope you're all well up there. Hang around if you can (curse you Sheldon and Scarlett for being in Sydney when I'm there! Never mind, Sydney's pretty cool and you can come again next year!!!), I'll be there soon, even if it is just blowing through town! It'll be fun and the girls and I are looking forward to it the closer departure day gets! HOORAY!

BYE!
J!