Weeks of Walks, Baseball and Escape!

Hi!

Well. Here we are, checking in a bit later than I thought it was.... eeeek - sorry about that! Time seems to fly when there's not a lot happenin'! But we're here now - it's a fairly warm and quiet afternoon, getting ready for summer by the feel of it. The chores are all mainly done...... The birds must be having a siesta because it's all rather quiet out there - for now. The kittehs are doing their best to protect the little apartment from anyone foolish enough to climb up over the balcony or up through the floor under my bed..... Got the hip n' groovy jazz tunes, or rather, lounge tunes today just for something different, and of course checking in wouldn't be complete without a nice cool drink and today it happens to be a red wine spritzer - yes, it sounds gross but you try drinking red wine when it's warm out! And hey, you can't knock it until you've tried it, it's pretty good! So yes, all together, life is good!

So work. Yep. Is good. Been really quiet lately, which has been good for the most part because we've been able to catch our breath from the mainly busy year..... But I think we're all now starting to get bored..... We like to be busy. They've told us we'll be moving to the building right next door to where we are now because "we've just won sooooo much work and we're running out of room...". Whatever. There will be pluses and minuses to moving, the main plus being we won't have to share the floor (and tiny toilets) with the HR dingbats anymore, which is kind of a shame because they were good for comedy relief - walking into the kitchen to watch one of them dig a slice of toast out of the toaster with a metal knife being one of my favorite episodes of theirs....... The downside to the move is a fear that we're being rounded up to go into a pool of technical writers (as far as I'm aware I'm one of the only technical editors left in the building... gulp). We've been told we're moving, along with two other projects about our size or bigger, at the beginning of December, but within the week of telling us, they've changed the date three times. Soooo, we'll just wait and see. Otherwise, work is good. I just celebrated five whole years with them on the 8th of Nov. Crazy how fast it's gone...... But, no matter what, am always happy to have good, gainful employment!

And then there were a few weekends in there....... Well, one weekend I can think of was spent watching the NY Mets get their butts kicked by the Kansas City Royals in the MLB World Series (thank you to whatever website I was able to find that was live-streaming it! Gotta love the interwebs these days). That was sad - first time the Mets had been back to the World Series since I lived in NYC - and that was 15 years ago (gasp)! And even then, that game was against the Yankees (Yankees suck!) and they got their butts kicked then too..... Poor Mets. Hopefully next year! Go Mets!

And then another weekend I went for a walk with my friend Julian out towards

the bay at Wellington Point to King Island, a teeny, little island that you can only get to at low tide. That was nice because we've been having some interesting storms during the day (usually this time of year we get them in the late afternoon or night) and the time we decided to go just so happened to be a break in the storm series - so the day was actually really, really, really nice and thankfully not too crowded. Then we headed to Cleveland Point (no, not Ohio, even tho that's what I always think when I see the road signs) and stopped in for lunch at a really cool, oooold place called The Grand View Hotel for steaks - nom! We even got to sit upstairs on their veranda, away from the crowded bar area downstairs. That was a good day.

And what else...... Oh, I know, this past Friday I actually went to my very first

swing social dance! I've been going to these classes once a week since June and I finally felt confident enough that I could do a few basic moves and not trip or fall (either myself or anyone else). It was fun! But seeing as these social dances are on [every second] Friday evenings, and I'm no spring chicken, man, I was pooped by 10pm - and it can easily go until midnight! Ahhhh, to be young and not have to get up every morning at 5am to go to your full-time job! I'm not so sure I liked the venue very much, the place itself was fine, in an old church, but the space was so hot and stuffy, and summer isn't even up to full steam yet; so am not sure how often I'll feel like going over the next couple of months...... But yes, it was fun - very glad I finally went!

And, well, I think that's about it. Mom and I are off to Cairns this weekend to see my friends Glen and Alison, so, really looking forward to getting out of town for a little bit and catching up with them! I don't get to see them very often as they're generally super busy either traveling all over the world, hosting family or working too much! And I think the last time I was up there was when Mom was here last! Yikes, time sure flies.

So, there you have it. Apologies for not checking in sooner - time certainly got away from me and am sorry. I hope you're all well up there - drop a line and let me know if you need annnnnnny help planning your trip down thisaway! Yay! 

BYE!
J!

P.S. I swear, this little blog sure can make life hard sometimes - no idea what's going on with the font size. I've fought with it and fought with it for an hour so I've given up. Get yer glasses out!

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!