Aerating a Muggy Weekend....

Hi!

Well. Here we are, another slightly breezy, warm and very humid late afternoon. The birds have been out there twittering happily away over the last week as we've had that much rain I bet the grass looks like an over-flowing grocery store of worms and bugs = happy birds! I'm actively avoiding the strange show tunes radio show as I heard the gal say they were going to play music from all the Oscar-nominated films this year. Not sure why I'd avoid the music really, it's the Oscars I think I'm avoiding. But never mind, with my jazzy new flashy pants internet, have decided to stream radio from the SkyFM interwebs radio.... cooooolllll..... Otherwise, have the lovely cool glass of stand-by white wine. Hey, speaking of, I got the coolest thing ever to help a glass of wine...... OK, so I don't know what's it's brand name is, but it's an aerator - you hold it over the glass as you pour the wine through it and through the magic of physics and a couple of well-placed holes it sort of slurps the wine as it goes into the glass. I swear it makes such a difference. Tho the little pamphlet that came with it said it's mainly for red wine (and boy does it make a difference there), I've been trying it on white as well and I like to think it helps, tho I don't think as much. It's most excellent! The one I bought is a knock-off of the $70+ Vinturi version (which could explain why mine doesn't have a brand name)..... hey, it was $24 bucks and it does exactly the same thing and is made of glass and designed the same way (but according to the Vinturi website, they do have a separate one for white wine, different dimensions and all that... hmm). But mine is the same and it was only $24 - HA! So there you go, a fantabulous wine drinking addition!

Otherwise, apologies for not checking in last weekend. I was cranky. Super cranky. Had a cape, a mask and everything. Thought I'd spare you. Woke up cranky and stayed that way until the chores were finished. And seeing as I was still pretty cranky, I decided margaritas were needed, and by then I was well into watching season one of Mad Men (my new favorite show and coincidentally another AMC production...... same as Breaking Bad - have you watched that yet? My god you're missing out!) and lost all track of time. Cranky because my neighbors, pretty much all of them, got on my last nerves one way or another all through the weekend. Which lead to me down the fateful spiral of "do I rent and endure this shit forever, or do I buy, commute a thousand miles and be broke forever"? By the end of the weekend I had no definitive answer and considerably less tequila. But this weekend has been much better - I remembered to dust off the trusty ol' earplugs and managed to get some really good sleep (all roads lead to Rome and sleep is my Rome. If I get lost on my way there, I end up on the road to Crankyland). Tho the question still stands unanswered if I should stay here or move and go broke........ But, noisy neighbors and sleep issues aside, after 6 years, I'm still happy to be in Australia - life is good!

So work. Yep. The one job is quite good (my foster department) and the other job is not so good (biological department). And in between, no one can decide what to do with me. Tho they ever so kindly threw their yearly bonus at me to keep me placated (basically it amounted to two weeks' of pay - not complainin'). The bonus will work until I have to start drawing on it if they don't sort themselves out by the 27th of April (my expiration date with the whole company). There have been plenty of assurances from both departments but no paperwork has yet graced my desk begging for my signature. So I wait. And cautiously apply for other jobs, of which there are few. Fingers crossed the foster department can sort something out and soon. Otherwise, ultimately, am always happy to have a good job - I just wish I knew it was going to last beyond April!

And then there were the weekends. Well, you know all about last weekend and the crankiness that was successfully treated with margaritas and TV. This weekend was happily crank-free and equally productive. After having had lots of sleep, got all the chores done, caught up with friends (pizza and games!), took the car for a spin about town (Manly and Wynnum), and nearly finished season one of Mad Men. It's been a good weekend. Plus, we're nearing the end of February (gasp) and the light at the end of the hot and muggy weather tunnel is starting to shine. All is well!

And that's about that. I hope you're all well up there. I hear rumblings that my friend Gloria and her family are thinking of moving back down to this hemisphere around July sometime...... And already a good friend has settled in to Melbourne and is teaching at Monash....... Hooray! It's almost like having family being down thisaway! Now only if family really would come and visit...... eh-hem....... Anyways, drop me a line and tell me your news. Now that it's closer to cooling off, it's an even better time to book that flight down here........! Helpful links to airlines are in the side bar off to the right..... am just sayin'!

BYE!
J!
P.S. Hooray! The computer was feeling muuuuuuch better today - whew! I know the photos aren't all that exciting, but I just can't sleep knowing there're no photos to go with the little blog. So hooray for a happier and hopefully healthier computer. Now time to back up all those files................

Storming the Interwebs!

Hi!

Well. Here we are, another hot and humid afternoon..... Thankfully the afternoon storms have begun rolling in and will hopefully cool the place down, if not kill my car with "large hailstones" or so the weather bureau is predicting........ hopefully not. But here we are, a little late, apologies, but we've got a new cool glass of white wine, Watershed "Shades" Unoaked Chardonnay, I've not had it before but a coworker is a stockholder of the Watershed winery and he had a bunch on hand that he thought he'd sell cheap to us his coworkers. I'm always for trying new things and it's pretty good. Must keep an eye out for them in the booze store....... Anyways, we're here with the glass of cool white wine, a little early for the groovy jazz tunes radio show on ABC so I've got hip n' groovy jazz tunes streaming from my new fave internet radio station SkyFM, the weather is starting to turn stormy and cool, which means all the birds are out there arguing and scrambling for a dry branch (hopefully), life is good!

So work. Yep. Is good. Been fairly busy helping the bid guys straighten out a few hopeful bids and helping the technical publications team (my adoptive home department) with publishing technical things, including cleaning up old F/A-18 drawings, enough work that the day passes quickly. Still no closer to an answer regarding my permanency or contract so I'll just keep showing up until the pay stops (which according to my current contract is the 27th of April). Otherwise, all is good. Always happy to have gainful employment with nice folks!

And then there were the weekends. Last weekend was the usual chores..... y'know, I have seriously considered getting a cleaner to come in sometime during the week so I can have my weekends to myself, I only get two days out of 7, I'd like to spend them sitting or running around guilt-free with a "magically" clean apartment....... I know I'd never do it, but it's such a tempting thought. I know what would happen if I did get a cleaner tho - I'd clean and tidy before they came, like a dork because I certainly couldn't leave them a mess! Still tho, it's a thought.......... Anyways, did the chores Saturday so I could head over to my friend Jan's house on Sunday for lunch. She lives just outside of a little village called Dayboro, about 45 minutes north-west of town, in the "country". Her place is great - it's called Glenwood, on 40+ acres of mainly natural bushland with two smallish dams and two good-sized houses. It's not fanceee or ostentatious by any means, but all the work she's done on it (including landscaping) she's done herself over the last 25+ years, resulting in a lovely, quiet, green place, with lots of birds and critters (thankfully I didn't see any snake critters, tho I did accidentally drive over one on my way out). She wants to sell it tho, because after so many years commuting into the city she's getting tired of it. Plus, all of her family lives in or near the city. But for now it's a lovely spot and lunch was wonderful (gluten-free lasagne - mmmm!) and leisurely. She gave me a quick tour of the main bits of her property (I say quick because I wore the opposite of bush-walking wear - sandals. And as you can tell I completely forgot my good camera. Oops) and vowed that next time I visited we'd get an earlier start and she'd show me around the little village with their cool farmers market and cafes. It's so nice being out of town, but I'd have to agree that the commute would get to me too. Now, if it were a B & B...... Any takers?!? So yes, that was why I neglected to check in last weekend as by the time I got home, showered (it was hot and gross out there in nature after all) it was too late and I was too tired from all that fresh air to be able to write. But it was worth it. Jan is one of the first (and nicest) people I met when I first moved here (now 6 years as of my "Australia Birthday" on the 3rd of Feb! Gasp!) and started work at Southbank (you might remember from earlier episodes), all the while managing to keep in touch even after all the job (and apartment) changes. She's cool.

And then there was this weekend. Very quiet, very uneventful, very lazy. Didn't even do the chores except for laundry (those clothes and sheets can't wash themselves, tho I totally wish they could. Hello, Hogwarts? Harry Potter?). Oh, hey, speaking of, during the week the most magical and wondrous thing happened - I got real internet! I know! After all these years I've finally done it! I've made the actual commitment to a two-year plan. Of course, seeing as I decided to stay with my current phone company and "bundle" my phone and internet, it couldn't be easy or straightforward, it had to get messed-up and take a week and a half with numerous phone calls to finally get it all sorted. But now I've got real, honest to god proper ADSL broadband internet! Waaahhoooo! It's amazing! And it works through the fanceee TV too! Wow! I say, this modern technology, you can waste hours, if not days, of your life away on YouTube alone! I promise not to, but YouTube can be so educational, depending...... Boy, people'll put anything on YT won't they? Anyways, hopefully that means that the next time we speak on Skype it'll be that much clearer! HOORAY! Call it an Australian Birthday present to mahself! Happy Aussie B-Day to me (and you)! Yippie!

And really, sadly, that's about it. Still no Adventures planned for the year yet (aside from going to see Tony Bennett in concert on the 7th of April, 2nd row, center!).... Waiting to see what happens with The Job before I go doing anything crazy like scheduling flights to interesting places to see and do interesting things. Will keep you posted tho. Otherwise, I hope you're all well up there and staying warm through what seems like an extra long and cold winter? You're always welcome to come down here for a visit during those months........ am just sayin'!

BYE!
J!

Long Weekend with Rain, Friends and Bratwurst

Hi!

Well. Here we are on a wet Sunday afternoon. Well, that's not true, it's not just today, it's been a whole week of pretty much non-stop rain. Usually we get this rain in November but we're getting it at the end of the season. Hmmm. Anyways, there are a few lorikeets out there chattering away. I've heard a lot of Kookaburras, but they're tough and can deal with any kind of weather. They're cool that way. Otherwise, as a bonus to the wet rainy days, the temperature hasn't been too hot or muggy, which is a wonderful thing in my book. So yes, the weather is lovely aside from all the rain. It's cool and breezy. Got some really groovy jazz tunes streaming through one of my new favorite internet radio stations Sky.FM Radio (am streaming their "Jazz Classics" station. So far they have 42 stations of various flavors, from blues to Japanese pop to new age and points in between. They're awesome!). It's a bit early for the cool glass of standby white wine, but seeing as I've been sitting here slaving over this hot little computer all day I almost think a small glass might be ok........

So work. Yep. Is good, busy, the usual. Tho I had a very quick "catch up" with my Boss, who's been away on vacation for a month and a half......... He had almost no memory of telling me how he wasn't going to keep me permanently or follow through with my permanent residency application. Again, I was dumbfounded. Suffice to say I set him straight on a few things and all he could say was that he would talk to HR. Again, it's all out of my hands so they'll concoct what ever deal they can figure out. That's too bad but will just sit tight and see what they come up with. Sigh. Hopefully they'll keep me and go through with the PR application, but I'll be happy with a measly contract extension. Suffice to say I'm keeping my eyes and options open........... Watch this space! Otherwise, all's well, it's nice to have a job and be busy!

And then there were the weekends. Apologies for not checking in last week. I've been sitting here trying to think what I was up to that I couldn't check in................. I know I busted out the chores on Saturday like a crazy lady......... Oh yeah, Sunday was errands/take the car out for a spin where I made the fatal mistake of going to a 'new' grocery store (by car for once, like normal people) in Ashgrove, the 'hood behind mine (another 'hood I'll never be able to afford to buy in). Well. It was me and a thousand other SUVs all trying to get around in a parking garage made for Minis (did I feel like a dope for not having my SUV packed with screaming children and their sports gear). And being a rainy Sunday afternoon, the place was absolutely packed. All I can say is I won't do that again. But I did manage to get what I needed and that was chicken so I could make my Dad's boneless fried chicken (or as my neighbors dubbed them, "Gourmet McNuggets"). It's the bestest recipe on the planet, of which I can't divulge due to fatal repercussions......... So that's what I spent the evening doing and cleaning up after. Which was why I was too busy to check in. But man they were gooooood! Worth the Battle of the SUVs!

And then there was this weekend, with a nice catch-up dinner at Vio's Italian restaurant (fairly new kid on the block with excellent food and super nice staff) with my friend Jan during the week. Always good to see her, our catch-ups always go too fast. And then Thursday was Australia Day (and a national day off - hooray!) where, traditionally, we all head to Julian's for his usual Australia Day BBQ. But alas, this year Julian was not in the mood to entertain and therefore didn't have it. A bit of a bummer but completely understandable. So I didn't do anything except enjoy a nice day off - no chores, no running around, it was excellent. I think I just read and watched more "Breaking Bad" episodes. And because Australia Day was on a Thursday and I had yet to take my January Free Day Off from work, I took the Friday off too. Again, it was another quiet day, but later that evening met up with the usual suspects for pizza and games, again, that was most excellent and always a good time. Yesterday was a bit busy, had lots of people drop by to say hi, which was nice but sort of wierd as I never have people "drop by".......... Good thing the little apartment was tidy and I was dressed fit for public approval! And then later that evening I met Bruce, my friend/old co-worker from Fire days, and his family at the German Club for his birthday dinner. All I can say is I had the best time I've had in a while. Not only because of catching up with Bruce after aaaaaaaages, but there was a German one-man-band named "Andrew" (the video isn't so great but you totally get the idea) who, complete with lederhosen, played everything from AC/DC to Madonna, to traditional German drinking songs to the theme from Zorba The Greek, all on his stack of keyboards, trombone, guitar and trumpet and who knows what else he has up there on that little stage. The guy was unstoppable and managed to bring down the house with his rendition of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit (Entertain Us)". Maaaaaan it was funny. And the place was full of alllll types of folks - little old ladies to little kids, and everyone looked to be having a fantastic time. If you get your butt down here soonish and he's playing one weekend, we are so going. Not to mention the (traditional) food was amazing for the portions and price (I had the Bratwurst - soooooo good, complete with veggies, mashed potatoes and sauerkraut). It was an absolutely fantastic night out. I wish I'd brought my camera because the photos I took on my phone didn't come out so well (as you can see). So you'll just have to get down here and see for yourself!

And that brings us up to now, and that you got to read at the beginning, so we're all caught up! All's well down here, we're in the home-stretch of summer and then we'll be out of the heat and humidity (not that it's been that bad this year) and into Autumn! Hooray! So feel free to book that trip down here anytime! I hope you're all well up there. I say it and I'll say it again, drop me a line sometime and tell me your news from the Northern Hemisphere!

BYE!
J!

Running Around with Wildlife on Dining Room Tables

Hi!

Well. Here we are, Monday evening. Sorry to be a little late but am here now. The weather was really wierd last week - super hot and stinky humid and then boom - come Friday it was rainy and "chilly", and it's stayed ever since. Am not complaining tho - I'll totally take this rainy damp chill over what we'd normally be having at this time of the year. Thankfully we only have until the end of Feb, maybe March to get through and the worst will be over and we'll be into Autumn! Hooray! But yes, here we are, Monday earlyish-evening. A few brave lorikeets out there in the rain jabbering away, trying to be heard over the crows. Don't know where the magpies and pee wees are..... and the noisy miners are out there yelling full blast at anyone who wanders under their tree (which is usually Kona - you should hear the ruckus when he sits in the yard. There'll be like 7 of them out there all yelling at him. He ignores them. Good boy.) So yes, it's wildlife central out there when the weather is cool and damp. Not too many Kookaburras, but they swing by on patrol now and then. Anyways, got the way groovy jazz tunes courtesy of the modern TV (do you know, I've had it just over a year now and it never gets old having a nice, modern TV (as opposed to none, if you'll cast your memory back)), got a nice glass of Merlot (seeing as it's cool enough to drink red), Monday is officially in the bag - life is good!

So work. Yep. Is good, busy-ish. Enjoying it while I gots it. Was super busy last week with the bid folks editing a big bid they're hoping to hand in. Sat in a stuffy room for the week shoved in a corner at a little laptop. It's Monday and I'm still feeling the bad typing angles and posture. Thankfully no more of that for a few weeks, or so I hear. Apparently there're a few "Big Bids" coming up that they want to go for and apparently "need" my help on. Hmmm. Still no word on my ultimate fate but that's because my Boss isn't back yet from his cruise around the South Pacific with the family. Hmmm. So it's still a case of 'watch this space'. Otherwise, I have enough work in my foster department to keep me entertained 8 hours a day, and that's always better than the nothing I had to do this time last year in my previous department! Hooray!

And then there was the weekend. Saturday was chores. The usual. And when I finished with them I plunked myself down on the couch in front of the TV and had a mini-marathon of Breaking Bad. I was still suffering from all the wicked kinks in my shoulders and neck from the editing blitz, on top of not sleeping well most of that hot humid week - I was beat. But hey, at least the little apartment was clean!

And yesterday, Sunday, was another Ikea run. Well, the car needed a good little drive around and I thought a good walk around (indoors, because of the rain) would help with the kinks. I had a list but meant to just look and think and plan. Well.... I came home with a new dining room table! Hooray! I have been wanting a new dining room table ever since I moved to this Shitbox Palace. My unit came with a super crappy table (with wobbly, tin legs) and two crappy chairs (that were way too low for the table. So every time I sat at it to do anything, like, say, eat, I always felt like a kid) that I just never organized myself to replace (or ask the owner to take away). So yesterday I made the Executive Decision and got a new table and two chairs (with jaunty red cushions)! And I lugged down the old table and chairs and stuffed them in our little "abandoned furniture" niche under the S.B. Palace. It took a good couple of hours putting at all together (those chairs are never coming apart!), but in the end it looks totally awesome. I'm ever so happy with them. Just like normal people in a normal house (almost)! And now I actually want to be in the kitchen longer than just cooking and running away into the "living room"! Hooray! And then unfortunately, as the afternoon wore on, my aches and kinks moved back in with a wicked headache to boot. So as soon as I finished building the table and chairs I had to sit and not do anything. Which meant not checking in. Bummer dude. Am better today - hooray for Advil and Aleve!

But there you have it! Another week and another weekend. Not too exciting. Otherwise all is well down here, I hope you're all well up there! Hurry up and plan that visit down here already! If you need annnnnnny help with an itinerary, I can hand out a few ideas...... Am just sayin'.........!

BYE!
J!

Movies, Pizza, Laundry - It's a Weekend!

Hi!

Well. Here we are, Sunday afternoon, hot, humid, ahhhh summer with no air-conditioning.....! Am a bit early because I've decided that when I wait until the late afternoon/early evening, I'm tired and get distracted easily. Ok, so no cool glass of white wine or groovy jazz tunes, but at least this way I can be productive on two fronts - getting the laundry done and checking in! So yes, here we are, it's a hot, humid Sunday afternoon.... the birds were fulla beans first thing this morning and are usually even chattier in the evenings. I'm glad the lorikeets have come back, the evenings don't seem as fun if they're not around. But yes, since it's early, there is no wine, but there it's there waiting in the fridge for when the sun goes down, meaning the worst of the heat has passed! For now, I have two fans on full-speed and a huge glass of ice water - life is good!

So work. Yep. Is good. It was a short and quiet week last week. Lots of folks are still away on vacation. I don't get using all your vacation time at once, especially at the hottest time of the year, unless you're off to Europe for Xmas that is, I suppose. These folks use all their time when everyone else does, they all go to pretty much the same beaches, and then fight with each other to get home at the end of it all, undoing all the great relaxing they just did. It doesn't make sense to me. Take vacation in chunks when the weather is cool and places aren't crowded with your co-workers. That way your sanity is sure to be kept intact, instead of losing your marbles hanging out for that one big vacation a year. I don't know, that's just me. I'd rather spread the vacation across the year than blow it all at once. Hmmm. But in saying that, not knowing what's happening with my job, saving my vacation time could be an even better way to go - if they let me go they'll have to pay me out for it - whew! Again, with the job, watch this space. Fingers crossed they can figure something out........... and soon?!

And then there was the weekend. It's been quite nice, heat and humidity aside. Yesterday my friend Kim came around and we wandered up to the Palace Barracks Cinemas to go see "Iron Lady" (that's a link to the Herald Scotland review, which I think nails what I thought of it). While Meryl Streep was, as usual, amazing, the movie/story itself was just ok. I got it, but they could have done more about her and her rise through the ranks of an all-male parliament and her political career instead of focusing on her present-day, sort of hallucinatory/dementia-riddled relationship with her dead husband. To me, that took away from what could have been a really interesting and enlightening film. But no, Hollywood had to step in and toss a bit of sad drama into it. Hmmm. So, while I can recommend it for Meryl Streep, wait for the DVD. Or TV. Thankfully I'm in the cinema's movie club and only paid $11 for the ticket, instead of the usual $17.50 (gasp!). Now I remember why I rarely go to the movies.... But it's an awesome cinema with lots of windows and comfy spaces to sit (with coffee tables) while you drink your wine and wait for your movie, and you can bring your wine/beer/whatever booze in with you (Awesome! Take that US movie theatres!), and I'd go more often if there were movies I just had to pay $11 bucks to see on the big screen...... Maybe this year I'll go more often............. And after the movie we headed up to Kookaburra Cafe for dinner - always perfect and too filling! So, even though it was getting on to 10pm, we had to go for a bit of a walk to walk off all that pasta and pizza. The days are too hot but boy the evening's are beautiful. Certainly beats when I lived in Phoenix when, during summer, the temperature would drop to a chilly 95 at night! At least here it gets to 75, and I can live with that.

And today, Sunday, just did the laundry and can't be bothered for much else. Too hot. Hopefully maybe get some more writing done on my Hollywood Blockbuster Sell-Out Screenplay.............. Maybe after a nap.......!

And there you have it. Dull, dull, dull. But that's ok. Will just sit tight until the job thing is sorted and then we'll see where we're at for fun and Adventures! Until then, you have until March or so to plan your visit down here - by then the weather will be back to being perfect! Hooray! Hope, you're all well up there! Drop a line and let know know someone is alive and reading this out there!

BYE!
J!

Holidays, Food and Naps!

Hi!

Well. Am late, like late, again. I swear, these last few weeks have been stupid crazy busy. Still, that's no excuse (but it kinda is when the holidays have been on the weekends....). Anyways, here we are on a bright, warm and happy Monday morning (we get Monday off because New Years was over the weekend. I don't get it either but who am I to question local customs?), the birds were up and at it early this morning but I chose to sleep in - get it while I can. Way too early for the cool white wine, but since am on vacation, and it's a Monday when I'd normally be at work, it's almost sort of tempting...... But no, I've got a nice cup of coffee, some groovy French jazz tunes that I forgot I owned - life is good!

So work. Well......... it's been good. Busy in an I-can-handle-it kinda way. Helping to re-draw (electronically) aircraft technical diagrams, it's half interesting, but much better than doing nothing. Although the whole work thing took a slight turn just before we went on our break. The Boss rather bluntly told me, after asking me to come on in shut the door and have a seat (always a harbinger of doom), that they weren't going to make me permanent, that they weren't going to support my permanent residency application and if I didn't like it I was happy to look for work elsewhere. After an entire year of telling me that they would do both. In fact, in the week or so before this little dive bomb, we'd talked about the permanent contract and how HR was nearly finished with it and how the Director of Finance had given the go-ahead to fund it all. Not to mention that up to now I've spent over a grand getting my PR paperwork together. The paperwork they told me to go out and organize. Then boom, he pulls this Crazy Ivan and tells me to "have a good Xmas and a Happy new Year, OK?". I was as stunned as a baby seal on an ice float. So, I had a quick chat with my foster department and they say they'll see what they can do, which is also an interesting change in direction as a month ago they were willing to "do whatever it takes" to get me from my original department permanently into theirs. Hmm. All I know is my contract ends at the beginning of April and I have no idea what's going to happen then. Do I fire up the job hunting machine? Do I sit tight? What a pain. I hope Santa left him a lump of coal...... (is the kindest thing she could say in an open forum like a little Blog..........). So yes, watch this space.

But then there were the weekends, riddled with holidays, food and naps! To kick-start the break, that Friday, the 23rd, we had a half-day at work, which was good so I could get ready to go out later that evening to see The Church here in town at the Powerhouse (P.S. Not my photo on the left there. I took a couple and they were crap. Thank you Church website). It was one of their best shows I've seen yet. The audience was well-behaved compared to some shows of theirs I've seen where half the audience (usually the folks up front) spend the evening talking on their cell phones, only to have the front-man stop the show to yell at them. Thankfully, there was none of that. Either folks have learned that the lead singer is a grumpy dude who doesn't put up with their rudeness, or they all just really wanted to be there. Ohhhh it was a good night. The Church have been around for 30 years (gasp!), hence it was their 30th Anniversary Tour, so they did one album from each decade - the latest one "Untitled #23", "Priest = Aura" and "Starfish", with no opening band and two intermissions. It was a fantastic night. If you even remotely like them I can highly recommend going to see them. And tickets weren't as stupid expensive as I expected. And, knowing how notoriously expensive the Powerhouse is for food and drinks, I smuggled my own wine in, thus saving the $22 for the cab ride home - awesome! What a good way to kick off the holiday break!

And then there were the holidays. Xmas was lovely, as it usually is. I spent it with my foster family (former boss from my job with Fire), Paul and his wife Margaret, his son Russell and his wife Kim. We ate, talked, ate, talked, watched the latest Pirates of the Caribbean and Planet of the Apes movies (Pirates good, Apes bad), ate, talked and finally home around 9.30pm. A lovely day with awesome food (I even had seconds, which is rare)!

And then somewhere in the break my friend Linus and his girlfriend had a BBQ, which turned into a really really good evening meeting new folks who all used to work at Southbank at one time or another (quite a few jobs ago now, thankfully). It was a great afternoon/evening. And for once I was in the country! Usually whenever he's had a BBQ I've been out of the country. And you know how rare that is. Such timing!

And then it was New Years. Spent it with the usual pizza and games suspects. Again, another lovely and fairly quiet evening. Heh, we almost didn't notice it was New Years until we heard the fireworks. We looked at each other, said Happy New Year and continued with our game and more wine. I love that it's such a non-event with us. It's most excellent.

And that was the holidays for another year! Hooray! I'm splurging and taking my monthly one free day off and taking Tuesday off, going back to work this Wednesday. Thankfully we have another break at the end of the month for Australia Day, which happens to fall on a Thursday, so am taking that Friday off too (as are most folks I imagine). Because right now, with work giving me the run-around, it's just nice to have the [paid] time away.

So yes, apologies for not checking in yesterday like I should have, like I intended to. I even fired up mah little computer but my sinuses decided otherwise. Ooooooohweeeee, I swear, one new bush or tree blooms somewhere in the neighborhood and my sinuses overreact with glee. Going all out (literally) for the entire day. I didn't feel better until 9.30pm last night. And I had such grand plans for yesterday.......... Thankfully I have tomorrow off, which kind of makes up for it. But am checking in now and hopefully will keep it up, do my best to check in on the weekends. Again, it's tough sometimes when I don't get up to much. I'm convinced that doing chores and napping just can't make for even remotely interesting reading......... But I will try! And so far there is not a single Adventure on the calendar! Gasp! Then again, with the job up in the air, best to just batten down the hatches and see what shakes down. Hopefully I'll know which way the wind is blowing in the next month or two. Sigh. Either way, all is well down here, with summer trying to get going. Thankfully we haven't had the blistering heat and humidity that we usually do, that tried to move in in early November. Nor have we had a third of the storms we usually have. Huh. Wierd weather. But, am not complaining! Every day that the temperature is even two degrees "below normal" is perfectly fine by me!

So there. I hope you're all well up there, that you had good holidays and have grand plans for the new year.... like coming down here for a visit (or else the 'roo with the laser eyes will hunt you down)! Hooray!

BYE!
J!