Coffee with Martians!

Hi!

Well. Here we are on a very breezy but very sunny Sunday afternoon. The birds are having an afternoon nap, or are way out running errands because they're a bit quiet at the moment... Resting up for their evening gab-fest I suppose. The chores are mostly done..... even tho I put the filing on top of the little file box, it can't seem to find its way inside.... But, have got a nice cool glass of the standby sparkling Rose, got the hip n' groovy jazz tunes, the kittehs are keeping watch of the balcony and bedroom, making sure nothing with wings gets past them and into the apartment.... Yes, life is good!

So, work. Yep. It's pretty good. Still waiting to hear our fate about our contract that expires at the beginning of December..... We're pretty sure it's all fine, it's just the final clarification questions, lawyers and contracts people are happy, signatures, etc. Way to leave it 'til the last minute folks - you've only known this was coming for the last two years! But what can a gal do but wait it out and hope for the best. Otherwise, things have quietened down a bit... Which is good, gives us time to clean things up and get ready for the Xmas break. I think our customer is saving up the work to send us once the contract finally gets sorted..... They'll heap mountains of work on us just after New Year's, which is good I suppose. It certainly beats having no work at all!!!!!! Yay for work!!!!

And then there've been a few weekends in there....... Am sorry - I've been meaning to check in but seem to have been doing things on these last few Sundays......! Let's see... Mom arrived from the US in the middle of Sept, so we've been out and about getting her phone sorted, got her a good set of walking shoes, show her the bus to take to town, where my work building is, that kinda stuff. That weekend of the 26th Sept we headed over to Toowoomba to visit my "foster family" Paul and Margaret (he was my boss way back when I worked for Qld Fire - I'm their Xmas orphan) - they'd met Mom once before on her last visit out. That weekend was the final weekend of the Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers - it's so pretty and the city council puts a ton of work into it, so we all had to check that out. Basically, the city council plants these amazing flower displays at parks (and everywhere else they can jam some in!) all over town. People come from all over to see it, plus you can tour private homes and their gardens, tho we were a bit late in the festival for that. And then we just hung out and caught up, for once we able to catch up properly instead of over a hectic houseful of folks over Xmas! I don't mind Toowoomba, and it was really nice to see Paul and Margaret outside of Xmas. It was a great visit!

And what else.... We've been out to the movies, saw The Martian... ehh, it wasn't baaad, but I'd wait for DVD. I mean, Matt Damon is pretty much excellent in everything he does, and it was directed by Ridley Scott for cryin' out loud, but this was, while not a bad story or bad acting or anything, in fact it had a few pretty funny moments, I don't know what I expected really, but ehhh. I'd call it a DVD for a rainy day - it'd be perfect for that!

And then we've gotten out and run some errands, shown Mom around town (and giving the car a little run in the process)........ A bit of shopping - bought a fanceeeee pants Nespresso machine (and what seemed like hundreds of different little pods), something I kinda always said I'd never buy... But after spending the weekend at Paul and Margaret's using one, well, we decided it could be good to have one of our own. And the best part is, on Amazon, there are reusable/refillable pods that you can fill with your own coffee (looking at you Safari Coffee Roasters - here's a new idea for you - Nespresso-compatible pods!), which I think is pretty cool, and less wasteful (and cheaper too in the long run). So far it's pretty good. A bit of trial and error getting the right blend and amount, but it's fun to experiment. So now if only Safari Coffee would make compatible pods, life would be excellent!

And that's kinda been about it. Planning to go visit the friends Glen and Alison in

Cairns in the next month or so, hopefully. It's always really nice to get up there, I rather like Cairns..... Maybe if things don't work out with the new contract at work.......? Hmmm! But before then Glen will be staying with us for a couple nights in, gosh, just a couple weeks, so it'll be good to see him and catch up. Haven't seen him/them in ages...! Looking forward to the visit(s)!

And that's about it, really! Still trying to get settled into the whole contact lens thing, but I think the one, single thing I've learned from all of this is that my eyes really aren't that bad at all and in the end I may just give up and just wear my stupid reading glasses (if I need to) at work! Gah. Well, I wanted to try them and now I can say I have! What else...... Am still going to my swing/lindy hop dance classes, just started another new eight-week block of both intermediate and beginner - that's nearly two and a half hours of dancing on Monday nights - go me! But am still trying hard to save for this trip over Xmas next year, golly that's gonna kill the bank account but man oh man it'll be worth it!!!!!!!

So there you have it. Sorry for not checking in, things have been busy and yet quiet, but all is well. Hope you're all well up there - hopefully summer has cooled down enough yet? I've seen San Diego has been 100 degrees - what the?! Down here we're enjoying a pretty decent spring so far. We've got to enjoy it while we can because it's so short that before we know it we'll be settled into summer and begging for winter to come - which is an excellent time of year for visitors to come, by the way (wink wink, hint hint)!!!!

BYE!
J!

Weekends of Seeing Through Citizenship Applications and Chores.....!

Hi!

Well. Here we are on another lovely, breezy Sunday afternoon. The chores are all (mainly) done, the laundry is out there swinging in the breeze only this time I'm hoping that not only will the birds not poop on it, that the rain holds off for another hour or so at least.......! The kittehs are taking an afternoon nap in their respective beds, a break from a rough day of sleeping on the comfy chairs on the balcony. Got some fun and bouncy jazz tunes from the great standby RadioTunes (same type of music we dance to in mah swing dance class!), and to top it all off I have a nice, cool glass of the beer I made mahself - yes, life is good!

So, work. Yep. It's good. I'm busy, but then being such a small team I think we all are at the moment, which has been super good because the days have flown by. There're more Management moves and arm-wrestling matches going on but none of us really care as long as it doesn't affect us, and we're pretty sure it won't any time soon. If anything, our project will end when they retire their FA18s in a couple of years. But yes, so far all is well. Now that it's September (gasp - that was quick), people are starting to think about Xmas and all the time off they get to take. I'm always amazed at how folks here/at work

all go away for five weeks or so to go camping, usually to the same campgrounds that everyone else does. How is that "getting away from it all"???? Good grief, last thing I'd want to do, ever, is head out into the wilderness for some peace and quiet only to be surround by people from work! No offense work folks but you're the last folks I'd want to see for my five week break. Good lord it sounds like a nightmare. Or at the very least a murder mystery/thriller.......... Otherwise, all is well. I know I say this every single time, but after years and years and years of non-permanent jobs, including all those years at the theatre, having a stable, half-decent job to go to everyday just doesn't get old. Sure, actually having to work for a living does, because really, who wouldn't rather float around on yachts in the Mediterranean sipping fancee French champagne all day? But the paycheck keeps the bank happy, the kittehs in tuna, and me in a normal apartment - and who can really argue with that? So, hooray for gainful employment (until those winning lottery numbers come in....)!

And then there were a couple weekends in there........ Eh, the weekends have been pretty quiet lately...... Come to think of it, so have the weeks. Except for mah swing dance class Monday evenings, of course. Still haven't worked up the guts (or the end-of-the-week energy) to go to one of their bi-weekly social dances...... One night I will..... sometime. Maybe I have to be dying of the flu to have a lively social calendar? I know one thing I did after work one night (hardly exciting tho....) - went and got a prescription for real contact lenses! So, my

eyes aren't actually that bad, but I've been thinking about what life might be like if I didn't have to haul my reading glasses around all the time, and what if getting a proper prescription made seeing things an incredible new experience? So, the optometrist gal and I tried to narrow down what I could and couldn't see, tried two real ones and settled on the latter one. So, with mah new eyes, off I toddled into the world of rush hour. Eeeeesh. Wierd is what it was but made it home safely. Wore them to work all day the next day, and then spent the whole day with a low-grade headache wondering if by "getting used to them" she meant getting used to not actually seeing the things I could before? Basically, the suckers were super good for stuff within arm's length, anything beyond that it was doubled and kinda off, sort of 3D... I can't explain it but all I know is I couldn't see like I could without them. So, needless to say I haven't worn them since. And that's OK because you apparently get lots of visits until they get it right. And really, what this little exercise has taught me is that I don't actually need help seeing just yet (whew!). But man, I hate dragging these stupid glasses around........ Never mind, I'm just super happy to know my vision isn't nearly as bad as I thought!

And, really, sadly, that's about it. Oh, I know one other thing I did, forgot to mention last time, I submitted my application for Australian Citizenship on the 10th of August (I was eligible on the 7th of Aug)!!!! Still waiting to hear anything about when they want me to come in for an interview..... I did get an email from them saying they got my application, so that was good. When I called with some basic questions before I submitted it I asked the gal how long this whole process might take, and she was really good, broke it down into chunks of weeks, and basically, I hope to know in the next few months..... I like to hope I'll be able to get in on an Australia Day (26th of Jan) citizenship ceremony? Hopefully? Hard to know. You'd think they'd be over the moon that I had all the documents they required and that they were all clear, legible and in English! Will keep you posted.....!

And that really is about it. Quiet, but that's fine. Like I've said, the less I leave the house on weekends, the less likely I am to spend money, because I can always think of something I "need"! But hey, if any of you feel a "need" to get out and check out the great outdoors, why, c'mon down thisaway and do it! 'Course not in summer, unless you like Florida hot, or if you head into the Outback, Phoenix/Death Valley kinda hot........ But hey, there are nine other months that are safe to visit - pick one (or two or a few) and c'mon down!!!!

BYE!

J!

A Month & a Half of Birthday, Shows, Movies, Dancin' and Cake!

Hi!

Well. Been a while, hasn't it? Missed all of July and most of August....... Very sorry. There hasn't been a lot to report, but still..... I know. Am sorry. If I thought more than none person ever read this, and if I actually did super exciting things besides just go to work, I might check in more often. But never mind. Either way, if I check in or not, Sunday afternoons aren't quite the same if I don't sit here and at least think about recapping the week(s)!

But we're here now! It's the last gasps of winter, tho unusually rainy and cloudy for what is meant to be the "dry season".... At least it's nice and warm (73 degrees, overcast, with a bit of a breeze). Supposed to get thunderstorms the rest of this week, which is weird for this time of year.... But am not complaining because the hot and muggy furnace of summer will fire up before we know it! So for now, have got the chores all done, the laundry is out there flapping around on the breeze outside (please birds, don't poop all over mah clean sheets), the kittehs were fighting but seem to have tired themselves out from it, the birds are out there chattering away - trying to be heard over the very annoying crows, got some hip old New Wave tunes from RadioTunes (I still totally like the SkyFM name so much better), and to top it all off I have a nice cool glass of the beer I brewed mahself (you might remember from an earlier post) - and it's not too bad! It's an Australian Wattle Pale Ale - very nice, hoppy but not overly so (the longer I let it set the mellower the hops will get), not too bubbly just a nice little fizz - all and all not a bad first attempt at brewing my own beer! Yes, life is good!

So work. Yep. It's pretty good. It's quiet but I've been busy, as usual. Well, it's not quiet because we work in an infernal open plan office and the noisiest person on the floor, hands down, is the head of HR - lordy can she shriek from 50 feet away..... Cuts right through my noise-cancelling headphones, which is a pretty impressive feat because those little headphones are really super good. Our CEO is leaving (after four and a half years) to go back to wherever it was he came from, Australian Federal Government, some Defence-flavored department of some kind... I don't know, I tuned out. So now it's pretty funny watching all these people scramble to be the top dog. Whatever. As long as they don't go crazy and get rid of my job. I think stuff like corporate management reshuffles are only interesting and exciting for people who earn six-figure paychecks and get their clothes dry cleaned every week. But otherwise work is good. Always a relief to have a decent, stable job and place to be every day!

And then there were more than a few weekends in there... Including mah Birthday! Meh, it was on a Thursday this year, so all I really did was take the

day off..... Didn't get up to much because this year was a low-budget birthday in light of saving (time and monies) to go to Scandinavia next December..... So, I took the day off and did a little shopping in town (new pair of work pants - wooohooo), took myself over to Cove Bar & Dining at Southbank for a little lunch of oysters and fanceeee French champagne (oh my god it was goooood!), then wandered back towards home and the Palace Cinema at the Barracks to see my free birthday movie, saw Far From the Madding Crowd (slightly mushy but I really liked it). After that it was pushing dinner time so I wandered up to Kookaburra Cafe for my favorite dinner ever - Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo with Strawberries, and ended up eating with the owner, Steve and his cousin and her husband who's birthday it was too! And then it was finally home to the cake I'd baked for mahself - a big ass chocolate cake with strawberries - NOM! For a low-budget Birthday, it was a great day!!!!

Then, that next Friday or so, I met up with my friends Jan and Trich to go see the musical Anything Goes (yeah, I know, but it wasn't as bad as I expected because I like Cole Porter, and the costumes....!). It was pretty good! It moved, like, there wasn't a dull bit in it. Oh, I really liked it, I surprised myself because I hate musicals, like, a lot. That was a really nice night. Had dinner with the girls at Lyrebird Restaurant beforehand (pretty place, nice, professional staff, boring food in tiny, artsy portions... meh). I don't get to catch up with Trich very often (her husband had a stroke so can't be left alone), so on the rare occasions we do catch up, it just flies past so quickly. Ahhh, it was a good night, great to see her and Jan. 

And then about a week after that I got two tickets to go see the (sold out) sneak preview screening (and Q&A afterwards with Bill Bryson himself!!!) of A Walk in the Woods - the movie from the book by Bill Bryson, one of my absolute favorite writers evereverever. If you haven't read any of his stuff, well, I highly recommend any of it, and you can start with A Walk in the Woods - interesting and funny, funny stuff. The Q&A with Bill Bryson after the movie was pretty short but I managed to get in one question before they wrapped it up, and out of all the questions, he liked mine the best! I asked him if doing the walk they did was better in 1996, with none of the technology we have now or if it would've been better with no technology, y'know, with GPS and satellite phones, etc. He basically replied that it would've been more comfortable if he'd been able to call his wife every night rather than have to wait once a week or so until they got to the next little town, just to let her and his family know that all was well, that they hadn't been eaten by bears yet. Then afterwards, on his way out, he stopped by me and thanked me for my question and asked where I was from! I said San Diego, he asked how long I'd been here, I said 9 & a 1/2 years, he asked if I liked it here, I said I loved it, and he smiled really big and said "Yeah, it's pretty good here, isn't it?" Oh I was so happy. He's the coolest - so down-to-earth and normal, and very very funny. That was a great night. Over the years I've missed every single time he'd come to town, and I'd miss it by like a night. So this was the first time I actually had advance notice and scored a ticket, because tickets to his talks sell out in no time! YAY!

And then, a week or so after that I met up with my friend Jan again and two of her good friends (both named Judy - that was easy to remember) to go see Australian comedienne Kitty Flanagan at the Powerhouse, one of my favorite venues. Oh man was she funny. I hadn't heard of her before that night and I thanked Jan for the belated birthday ticket because she was damn funny!

And wouldn't you know it, through most of those shows and dinners and catch ups, I was suffering from the worst flu I've had in years and years and years (apologies to everyone I may have passed it onto). I even had to get on antibiotics it was that bad. I'm still hacking up my lungs two weeks later but it's not nearly as bad as it was, thankfully. Drugs are good! But yes, being that sick just makes being a social butterfly just that much trickier, sheesh! Oh, and also throughout all of this I was still going to mah swing dance classes! Of which I've since graduated and moved on to the Intermediate classes! Goooo me! I can't say I'm ready for performing or competitions but I'm getting better than I was when I started (as one would hope) and I still really like it. I like the teachers and the people in class are pretty nice, and never mind the music! It's been really, really good, tho I have yet to attend one of their social dance nights..... They have them every two weeks on a Friday evening and most Fridays I was either out being a social butterfly or sick, or basically too chicken. But now that I'm getting a little better, I'd feel a bit more confident walking into a room full of semi-strangers and having a dance or two - and not screwing up too badly, I hope! 

So there you go! Huh. Looking at it, I guess I have been up to a little bit.......! Am sorry for not checking in. I know it's been nine and a half years and most stuff you've heard already, and it doesn't help that my routine doesn't change much, like most folks - work, home, work, home, weekend, work, home...... But I have tried to shake it up a bit with the swing class and going to shows and stuff..... It's tough because I want to get out and do stuff, catch up with the gals, but I've really got to be good and save for this trip, 'cos it's gonna be one of the most expensive trips I've ever gone on.... Put it this way, the one 15 day tour I really, really want to do costs about $10,000 (curse the stupid "single supplement"!)!!!!! So, yeah, gotta save money and vacation time! But still, a girl has to get out and catch up with folks so there's no use living like a nun.... Perhaps I'll just eat microwave food over my week in Denmark instead to save money...!

So yes, there you go. Apologies again for not checking in. I hope you've all been

well up there and are busy planning your trip down here... one day... never mind that I've been here nearly ten years.....! C'mon people! Tho it's a bit late in the season now unless you're interested in Florida-hot weather....... Otherwise, like I've said, any time from March until November the place is great to visit! Get down here already - you're missing a great time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

BYE!
J!

Dancin' Through a Fine Dam Weekend(s)!

Hi!

Well. Time sure flies, eh? Sorry about that. I could've sworn I'd only missed a weekend or two....! Apologies for the radio silence. All's well here tho - the weather is lovely, bright and cool, the birds are happy out there flitting around running (flying) bird errands, got most of the chores done, laundry is happy spinning around in the dryer, kittehs are holding the chairs down on the balcony, I have a very nice sparkling rose from Jacob's Creek, got the hip n' groovy jazz tunes - yep, life is good!

So work. Yep. It's good. Not as busy as we've been in the past but we do have a very important bid to respond to, the one where we find out if we have jobs after the 20th of this December........! So we're all trying to help our Manager write the response. I can't say I'm any good at stuff like estimates and explaining our data management capabilities and processes, etc, but am trying. It's kind of nerve-wracking this whole 'sing for your supper' thing, but we can only respond as best we can and hope for the best....... Otherwise, I guess it's good that there are a few other successful programs around the place a few of us might find work in.... Gee, I hope I don't have to jump ship to another program (project), but if the alternative is "unemployed", another project it will be! But hopefully we say all the right things and the customer realizes they'd be fools to let us go! Otherwise, work is good. I work with some good folks (for the most part) and that makes everything bearable. And y'know, after what, nearly five years with the same job (!), the fact I still even have a good job to come to everyday is way bitchin' - gainful employment just never gets old!

And then there were a fair few weekends in there..... Hmmm.... I might start with this weekend and work back..... So, this weekend was pretty good. Friday night I headed over to my friend Julian's house for pizza and wine so we could get up stupid early to go on a hike (6am. For me, on weekends, getting up any earlier than 9am I consider stupid early)! We drove about 45 minutes south-west towards Beaudesert, to

a place called Wyaralong Dam, where we at first took the easy walk to warm up, then when the paths split and we had to decide between easy and uphill, I picked uphill - and it was worth it for the views once we got to the top! Turned out we'd picked the path that went along the Mt. Joyce ridgeline, which we later discovered, was one of their more "advanced" trails - and it hadn't even seemed that hard! Coooool! And I happily learned I am not as unfit as I expected, with only walking around town all the time and not in and over nature. Bitchin'.

It was fun. We had a great day. And the even cooler thing of it was, besides having perfect weather, was that it didn't take as long as I expected, only 3 or so hours. And another even more bitchin' thing is I'm not even sore! Tired, but not sore. Cooooool! So hopefully we'll go on another one sooner rather than later - I really liked it! And then we came back to his place where our friend Linus joined us for BBQ and beers. It was a very good day.

And then earlier this past week, on Monday, I had my first class of swing dancing (Lindy hop, Charleston, etc)! The class goes once a week for 8 weeks,

and it was fun! I'd done a swing/ballroom class back in NYC for a few months but haven't done it since. And the best part is, it's just at the top of the hill from my house, so not even two minutes away (that link says Fortitude Valley, but I'm doing the Paddington one, same class different venue (and dates))! And another good thing about the class is, it's pretty relaxed, the teachers (guy and a gal) are really cool, not snobby, and the other folks in the class all seem all right (so far); lots of different ages and quite a few folks showed up, maybe 30 or so? I'm not good at guessing that stuff (and I wasn't about to take pictures and feel even geekier). Who knows, maybe there'll be less folks this week, or more........ Either way, it only goes for an hour once a week and it's two minutes away - I can totally do this!

Otherwise, aside from a cool hike and fun dance class, there's not been a lot happenin'. Same ol' crap - work, home, work, home, chores and spacing out on the weekend..... You haven't missed much. But I'll try to check in more often and give you the update with how the class is going and with hopefully more hikes!

Anyways, hope you're all well up there. Qantas was recently having a sale on flights to here, flying in April next year or thereabouts. I thought that was

exciting. Well, what I thought was exciting was that it was actually kind of affordable to come down here for once, and even better, the exchange rate is in the US dollar's favor - bonus! Because it's gonna be awhile until I can get up there again - am planning a biiig trip to Scandinavia over next Xmas! Yay for Winter Adventure! Well, all depending on how it pans out with work and if we get the project work or not....... But for now, I'll be here until next Xmas, so you have a whole year and a half, with the help of a good Qantas sale, to get yer butts down here! Yeeehaw, mates!

BYE!
J!

Happy Credit Cards + BBQ Chicken = Quiet Weekends

Hi!

Well. Here we are and a month hasn't passed! Hooray! Still, it's not as good as checking in every week, yeah I know....... All is well tho, Autumn has finally arrived with much cooler temperatures and less humidity - I actually ran the heater last night, and do you know why? Yes, yes it was chilly (a bone-numbing 51.6 - hey, after months and months and months of 80-90s, 52 is freakin' freezing!), and yes there was a bit of a 'chilly' breeze, no, I ran the heater because A) I bloody well pay for it and B) Because I can!!!! It was awesome, even if I felt like a wimp. But really, living in a 'modern' apartment, well, one built 25+ years ago versus 75+, this just doesn't get old. Ahhhhhhhhhhh! So yes, the weather has been perfect, the sun is shiny and bright, the birds are happier because they can get stuff done without having to dive from shady branch to shady branch, hell, I can get stuff done without melting into an overheated, muggy puddle, the kittehs are happy because they can spend more time lounging out on the balcony...... So, yes, the chores have all been done, even the ironing, the dishes are waiting patiently in the dishwasher for their weekly shower, got a nice cool glass of the new standby sparkling, and of course, checking in without the hip n' groovy jazz tunes would be a crime - yes, life is good!

So. Work. Yep. Is good. Still pretty quiet but it's a nice change from the last year or two. Don't get me wrong, I do like being busy, hell, it's the only thing that really makes the day zip past, but having a bit of time to sort out files, empty three year-old emails, etc, that's good too. There're always little jobs that need doing so quiet time is good for that too. Some folks don't deal with quiet time well at all, like a pseduo-coworker who just buzzes around (loudly) and pesters anyone with a pulse; thankfully other folks in my group use the time to troubleshoot stuff that has given us grief - like little mysteries in our software, creating new, quicker ways of doing stuff, that sort of thing. It's a pretty good little group I work with. And yes, so far so good having a decent gig to come to everyday (although a massive lotto win would be even more good!)!!!!

And then there were the weekends...... Quiet (nice). Feeling a need for some education, I bought that 'new' series Cosmos on blu-ray - pretty freakin' neat,and that's only the first two episodes! I highly recommend it - and Neil deGrasse Tyson is an awesome host, Carl Sagan would be proud. Otherwise....... Haven't thought of any cool dinners to make since the awesome chicken pot pie.... I'm open to suggestions?! Keeping in mind I am not even a dim shadow of Julia Childs.... Sundays I should plan to cook a good meal with leftovers when I know I have a quiet weekend. I like having good, real food to eat during the week.... Tho last week I did make my Dad's BBQ chicken - NOM is all I need to say about that. Cleaned my grill really good, hadn't done it in so long the grill had gone a little rusty. Never mind, sorted it right out with the wire brush and canola oil - just like new (almost)! I even roasted some potato and asparagus in the little toaster oven. Somehow through life I've never actually cooked roasted veggies... note to self: asparagus does not go in at the same time the potatoes do, but they came out pretty good (except for the wilted asparagus, but it was still good enough to eat!). Even used the leftover potatoes in scrambled eggs the next day - NOM! Man, I should cook real food more often..... Send meal suggestions (ummm, and tips)!

And well, that's been about it. Nice and quiet, which may be pretty dull for most but I like it. And really, if I'm being honest, my bank and the credit cards like my quiet weekends too, probably more than I do. The scooter is still loads and loads of fun but I have noticed one very small downside to riding it to work all the time - I don't get as much exercise as when I walk in... which is a bummer for mah butt! So I think I need to walk to work and back more often, now that my knee is feeling better....... Sorry scooter, but mah butt needs the exercise!

And that really is all. Dullsville, Queensland! But hey, all is well, everyone here at the Hacienda is healthy and happy. Even more so now that the weather hascooled off, finally. We'll enjoy it while we can because it'll only be here for a month or so then it'll be back to hot and humid. Just kidding. But that's about how it feels. So until then, hope you're all well up there, and to those of you in California, if you want a nice, long shower, c'mon down, we have plenty of water, and green yards everywhere!!!!!!!!!!

BYE!
J!

Scooting Around Weekends Full of Chicken Pot Pies!

Hi!

Well. Time, she sure do fly, don't she? Jeeeeez. Sorry about that. Hopefully the weekends should clear up from now on (finally finished Breaking Bad) and I will have more free time to check in, and hopefully take more photos! Sorry for the radio silence...... But we're here now. The weekend has been good, weather has been nice, tho still a bit warm and muggy, been busy with chores, catching up with folks (yay Skype!), and this afternoon I even baked two chicken pot pies from scratch! Woooohooooo! They don't do them here, you see, and when I had an urge for a Marie Callender's chicken pot pie, which they don't sell here either, what else was a girl supposed

to do? That's right, make it herself! So they're currently cooling on the counter in all their lovely golden glory while I check in. Dinner tonight is gonna be soooo awesome! And when I freeze the rest - more awesomeness! The kittehs have chicken bones to gnaw on, the hacienda is clean, the laundry is hanging around being all clean, got mahself some hip n' groovy jazz tunes, even got a very nice, cool glass of Jacob's Creek sparkling rose - yep, life is good!

So work. Yep. Is good. Was real busy there for a few weeks but that little project has wrapped up and now it's over to housekeeping and waiting for the next wave..... All is well. Our customer is happy, we're happy, well, we'd be happier if our little lottery pool actually won enough to retire on, the bosses ignore us (under the radar is gooood!), all is well, which is awesome. What's even more awesome is having a decent, stable job and a place to be everyday that pays me a livable wage - hooray!!!!

And then there were some weekends in there. Which were mainly filled with much Breaking Bad, pizza and beer. I got on the scale the other day and yeah, pizza and beer - quick and easy to go on, ever so slow to come off........ Still, it was neat to watch the show again - sooooo good, you have to see it if you haven't already.  And what else...... Oh, I know, I did manage a trip to Ikea on this past Tuesday (took the day off, 'cos I could), I hadn't been there in ages and ages, and I have to say, this was one of those rare trips where I liked nothing in there. I spent only $39.97(!) and managed to walk out with three (OK, technically five) things - four little storage boxes (to replace the crappy photo-copier boxes that I stash stuff in and hide under the bed, which are falling apart) and a king-sized, fairly light, duvet insert, for lack of a better term. It'll be good for the light winters here. The comforter I have is all feather and made for living in NYC through the winter (coulda used it then!) and nine times out of ten I kick it off, dying of heat-stroke. So a lighter one was in order. But yes, got in and out of Ikea under $40 bucks - ahhhh-mazing. But was disappointed in their lack of neat stuff. Harrumph. Tho I could hear my bank laughing merrily as I drove away.....

And let's see, what else............. Oh! I know! Duuuuh. I got a new mode of transport for getting to and from work! I was inspired by my friend Amaru who has a similar one and my cranky knee..... Got it on the 19th of March (sorry for the delay in the announcement). It's a Revo Sprint electric scooter (I have the 2015 model, which doesn't appear to be on their website yet)! And the thing goes like mad! 1000 watt lithium battery that I swear I've only charged once, in addition to the initial out-of-the-box charge. It's AWESOME! Soooo zippy! From door-to-door takes about 15 minutes, where to walk takes me about 40-45 minutes (which I really don't mind tho my knee currently does) and the bus can take anywhere from 20-30 minutes, depending, which'll cost nearly $10 bucks round-trip. Coooool. I

can't ride it on days where it might/will rain because nothing in it is water-proof. According to the guys at work, if even a tiny bit of water gets in the cables to the battery I'll have one nice, hot hot hot fire. Eeeek. So on those days I'll walk in and take the bus home. Same with grocery store day - impossible to haul groceries on the little thing. It takes a bit of getting used to with the balancing and all, and you have to get good with the throttle 'cos that sucker is ON or off, basically, and when it's on, hang on or it'll leave without you! I love it. It's

loads of fun and gets the odd look now and then. And don't worry, am safe, I have a cool skater helmet. After having ridden it off and on over the last month, and varying my ways to and from work, I have to say the bike paths in this town suck - they begin randomly and end randomly. And the state of the sidewalks? Oy vey. Good thing the little scooter has decent shocks - and boy do they get a workout sometimes! But yes, it's awesome and heaps of fun.

At work I have to lock it up in the basement of our building with all the bicycles, but it's totally secure, employee swipe card and cameras and everything. And when I get it home, I take the battery out (because it weighs like 10 pounds on its own), fold it up and put it in the back of mah car - perfect! Saves me hauling it up and down three flights of stairs every time! It's just awesome. I highly, highly recommend it!!!!!!

So, apart from a disappointing trip to Ikealand and a way awesome little electric scooter to zip back and forth to work on, that's been about it! The kittehs are getting along a little better, less knock-down drag-out fights, which is nice. The car was happy to have had the run to Ikealand, hauling stuff back or not. The hacienda is still awesome but am thinking, seeing as it's been a year May 1st, I might shove some of the furniture around, shake the place up a little..... Ooooh yeah, exciting times here in Brisbane.........! 

Gee, now I think I know why no one I know reads the little blog aside from mah folks! Ahhhh well, for the few, the interested, the bored to tears, it's really just

to let everyone know all is well down here at the almost bottom of the world. Hope you're all well up there. I think I'll give up trying to get anyone to come down for a visit - it's been nine years and only my Mom and my friend Sheldon and his wife Scarlett have come to visit...... Sigh. Trust me - if I could get back to San Diego and live, I'd be there like a shot (with mah little e-scooter)!!! Anyways, hope you're all well, and hey, I hear Qantas is having a sale on flights down here! HAAA!

BYE!

J!

P.S. I had a piece of mah chicken pot pie...... and it was awesome! OK, a little bland, but nothing a dash of salt and pepper can't fix! First-time success! NOM!