Weekends of Culture with a Nosey Kookaburra!

Hi!

Well. Here we are on a pretty OK Sunday afternoon. It rained and was chilly most of yesterday but today it's warmed up (a little) and is raining a lot less. So, managed to get all the chores done before the latest downpour - excellent! But hey, it's winter, this is what it does here. Could be worse, could be the northeast coast. Ha - sucks to be you NYC in wintertime! So, now that the chores are done, we got the hip n' cool jazz tunes, got a nice, cool glass of the standby red (it was a toss-up between the standby red or the standby beer, I went with the red. Still have yet to organize myself to make Gluwein..... yet!), the kittehs were out on the balcony at their guard post stations until the latest downpour drove the big wussies inside. It was either that or the yuuuuge, warbling Kookaburra perched on the balcony railing that motivated them to come in....... So yes, clean house, wussie guard kittehs, good tunes and nice standby red - yes, life is goood!

So, work. Yep. Is good. Just had my mid-year performance review, because having two reviews a year isn't enough. We basically shot the breeze until our time was almost out when he wanted to talk about it. I told him "nothing negative, only positive". Needless to say, that wrapped up pretty quick. They always like to talk negative and I never understood that. So, at least that's over with until Dec or whenever the next one is. Have I mentioned I thought I'd sign up to be a movie/TV extra again? I'd done it a few times when I lived in Phoenix and then again Auckland........ Gotta spice things up in this workaday life. So far I applied to one agency (online) but they never got back to me. Honestly, I only applied to be an extra, not the next Cate Blanchett. There are a couple other agencies to check out, so, all may not be lost. Otherwise, work is work, not too busy, not too slow. Hard to believe folks are thinking about their Xmas parties already, the emails have been zipping around thick and fast. Am happy to miss it this year as I had to plan the last two - logistical nightmares, with such dietary requirements! Ahhhhh well, whining aside, my job is good - always happy to have good, gainful employment!

And then there were a few weekends in there. Last weekend was good, I met my friend Julian and we hit the French Festival for the day! That was tres fantastique! We got there when they first opened at 9am because any later and you can't see any of the stalls for the crowds. This way, you coud have a wander and note the places you wanted to check out later. The food was amazing, as it always is, but ever so overpriced and such tiny portions, as it always is, but so good. French folks eeeeeeverywhere this time, which you'd expect but this time there were lots. Normally there's just a scattering, but not this time. It was great. The wine was really good (but of course, eet ees French), the music was hip, and the people watching was even better. It was a good day. Then, tired of all that culture, we wandered into town and took ourselves on a mini-pub tour, finishing up at my [second] favorite pizza place, Boroughs of NY Pizza (first favorite will always be Kookaburra Cafe). I know it's odd to make legit, NYC pizza, made by real New Yorkers second-place but this last visit, meh, my ginormous slice wasn't cooked all the way, and I wasn't in a hurry and they weren't crowded. Ehhh, will give them one more chance and see where we're at..... And then it was time for home! A good end to a great day!!!!! And then Sunday was a little slow to get going.... I think I made a half-assed attempt at the chores then gave up and watched a movie. It was a good weekend.

And then earlier this week, on Wednesday, my friend Graeme and I went to the opening night of the Scandinavian Film Festival where, for $30 bucks, you got allllll the Cake wine you could drink (and did we ever, it was soooo good) and all the excellent Nordic-themed snacks that you could snaggle as they drifted past. Oh, and the movie we saw was "Welcome to Norway". It was fuuuunny. And just before the movie, the Norwegian Ambassador made a really, really good, little speech, followed by the gal who organized the whole festival (hats off to her) and who also introduced one of the actors whose film we didn't see but was playing the next night (where he was going to have a Q&A), Jakob Oftebro (I saw him in In Order of Disappearance, it was good, funny), he said hi and how happy he was to be there and then waved at his brother standing in the audience (by the exit door) - he was the main actor in a film I'd just watched like two weeks before called The Wave (for disaster films, it was goooooooooodd, based on a true story) - I thought that was neat of them to stop by. Yeah, that was a great evening. Home at respectable hour and everything (for a school night)!

And then here we are at this weekend - dull by comparison! Ahhh, I needed the rest. As my Mom likes to remind me now and then, I'm no spring chicken. Yeah, well, yeah. Anyways, that's about that! All is well here. Just happy that it's not summer because it'll be here soon enough. Although, now that I think about it, at least I'll miss about a month of it.........!? Hmmm. And say, speaking of going away, I finally have some folks coming to visit! An old family friend, Jamie and her husband Ron, are coming for a couple weeks and to take advantage of free digs (and me, the pet sitting) while they check out Brisbane! Turns out Qantas was having a very brief but crazy sale where round-trip tickets from LA to Brisbane were going for $750. Holy shit. I haven't seen tickets that cheap since the 80s. And she managed to get in on the deal and here they come! It'll be great to see them but am sorry to be jetting off not long after they arrive. Ahhhh well, we'll have a great time those couple days! So there you go - ticketing miracles can happen! Keep your eyes open and nab one sometime!!!!!!!!!!!

BYE!
J!

Voting For Glorious Winter Skies!

Hi!

Well. Here we are on another beautiful, sunny day. Winter's been here all last week, the week before, and it might even hang around through this coming week. But winter in this sense of the word is about 40+/- degrees at night and upper 60s, low 70s during the mainly bright, sunny days. It makes suffering through the summers worth it, because after our week or two (or three) of winter, we'll go back to beautiful until November, December and then we'll be back to whining about the heat and the humidity! So, we'll enjoy it while we got it! Even the kittehs like this weather better - they're in better moods and they certainly play more - even Kona gets the sillies more often than during the summer, which is understandable. So yes, the weather is in its glorious phase! Otherwise, all is well - the chores are mainly done, the kittehs are out guarding the balcony, got the good ol' jazz tunes, and even have a nice glass of the standby red, although with the "chilly" weather lately, it has occurred to me to try my hand at making a batch of traditional German Gluewein, which I had when I was in southern Germany all those years ago over Xmas and it was The Best Winter Drink EVER! It's just never been cold enough here to bother, heck it isn't now, but man it sure sounds good...... But no, for now it's a just a glass of the standby stuff..... Yes, life is good!

So, work. Yep. Picked up a little last week, had stuff to do to make the day pass, which was nice. Folks seem to be in better moods lately........ Otherwise, all seems better than it has been, but really, who cares, right? Always happy to just have a constant, decent gig to come to everyday that pays me enough to keep rent paid and the lights on (and lately, the heat going)! Waahhooo!

And then there were a couple weekends in there......... Yeah, they were pretty quiet. As the days and weeks drift by on the calendar, I realize how much closer my Big Nordic Adventure is getting (end of Nov) and how much stuff I have yet to buy (thermals, boots, coat, etc).... So yes, the bank account is in virtual lock-down, which in turn means a lot of fun stuff is deferred (unless it's free, that is). Trying to delay dumping it all on the credit card as long as I can because heaven knows it's going to take one hell of a beating during the trip! 

This weekend was quiet but good, one for the record books actually - I finally got to vote in a real-life Australian Federal election - something I haven't been able to do in over ten years!!!!!! And we still don't know who won yet! Sheesh. So, they always have voting day on a Saturday so most folks can actually go do it (looking at you, USA.....), unless of course folks do it early or by mail, then it doesn't matter. And as a citizen you HAVE to vote or you get fined, yes, fined for not doing your civic duty, which I think is a great idea, tho I have no idea what the fine monies actually go to........ So, after doing the chores, off I trotted up the hill to my local polling station, which also happens to be where my swing dance classes are held - lucky eh, to have it less than a minute's walk from my place?!? 

Once there I had to duck and weave past all the different party's volunteers handing out "How to Vote" materials - really just glossy one-pagers telling the uneducated/uninformed and gullible how to vote for their particular candidate and their interests - no, none for me, thanks! I was a good new citizen and spent the night before (that's just how I study, maaaaan) reading up on alllllllllllllll the parties and candidates (of which there are about a million), quickly narrowed them down to those clearly not lunatics, weeded through the ones with deceiving names and nefarious policies, like the Health Australia Party - with a name like that you'd think, yeah, they want us to have access to quality medical care, etc. Nope - they're vitamin-chewing anti-vaxxers who're dead against fluoride in drinking water. So, after hours of reading and whittling, I made up a cheat-sheet of who I'd vote for and brought it in with me. And boy, am I glad I did because good grief their ballots are a joke. For starters, you had to do preferential voting, so, out of the six House of Representatives you had to number your votes 1 - 6, 1 being the one you really like, etc. A method I don't like at all because it still gives votes to the folks I really don't want getting votes. But that's the system. 

Then it was onto the enormous Senate ballot - honestly, this thing was 3/4 the length of me. There were two ways you could fill it out - pick a minimum of six general parties above the line (1-6 preference), or a minimum of twelve(!) individual candidates below the line (1-12 preference!), which is what I'd studied up on. Soooo glad I had my cheat-sheet because seeing and fighting with it in person was an experience enough to fluster folks who'd been doing this for years and years. And then you had to do origami with it to get it through the little slot in the box at the end - that was fun watching folks fight with them. I thought I was super clever and folded mine accordion-style, then in half and it fit through the slot like a breeze. In the end, all I know is I tried to pick the people who have us folks and the country in their best interests (yeah, yeah, I know, but I live in hope), and I certainly didn't vote for annnnnny of the folks you see on the news all the time. No, I voted for the "little people". I feel good that I tried. 

Then it was outside where the first stop is the sausage stand, staffed by plucky volunteers with proceeds going to charity, and is an apparent post-voting Aussie tradition. So, for $2.50 you get a fresh-off-the-grill sausage (or snag, as the locals call them), complete with grilled onions and smothered in ketchup (or BBQ sauce - bleck), all wrapped up nice and neat in a slice of white bread. It was deeeeelicious, but lordy I burned the roof of my mouth something third-degree........ 

So there you have it! A dull campaign followed with a cumbersome ballot experience and no outcome yet! Ahhhhhhh gotta love Australia politics! Sure beats what's happening in the US by miiiiiiles tho!

And that's really been about it! Highlight of being a new citizen really, voting. Of course, the next thing on the list is when I will finally be called for jury duty......... Hmmm. But there you have it. All's well down here. Hope you're all well up there - dodging any wildfires/storms/heat. Hey, if you need a break, we're having a glorious winter........!!!!!!

BYE!

J!

Rain Can't Stop Dancing Jellyfish From Eating Bad Mexican Food!

 Hi!

Well. Here we are on another Sunday afternoon. Although this Sunday is veeeery wet and rainy and windy. Seems like a biiiiig low has moved in all the way from the Outback and is slamming us on its way to sea by this evening. I don't mind tho. It makes the farmers in the Outback happy - some of them haven't had real rain for years, and we haven't had a good dose since the last quick deluge about 3 weeks ago. Always heavy and fast - it'll be nice the rest of week starting tonight. Although I still don't miss the rain after 4 years of it in NZ, a couple days of rain now and then wouldn't be so bad. We do a get a lot of sun most of the time...... But before the rain arrived all the chores were done (more or less, mainly less), the laundry folded and put away, the junk mail thrown out, etc. So now here we are with the old tyme jazz tunes, a nice, cool, standby beer (I didn't say it was exactly a cold and rainy day!) - yes, life is good!

So work. Yep. Is good, was better this week than the last few, which was nice. Honestly, people. As always with work we can be quiet for a while then get slammed with work that's due like yesterday. Ahhhhh well, always happy to have decent, gainful employment!

And then there were a few weekends in there. Apologies for not checking in these last few - all's been well - no trips to the Vet! Actually, I tell a lie - no unscheduled trips to the Vet. I was at there again that first Sunday in June. But not because Lola did/ate something stupid, this was Kona's yearly exam. Now, normally I would never bother with the Vet unless they're like Lola who eat wierd stuff and have to have it surgically removed, or if they're bleeding. But the Vet/Cattery won't take them unless they've had their shots, and since I seem to check him (them, soon) in there once a year or so, well, there you go. So yes, last week was a big week for the ol' bank account. Coming into the home stretch to payday on Thursday, it's looking battered and bruised and most certainly underfed. Ahhh well, it's only monies, right??! At least the kittehs are happy and healthy, even if the bank account isn't!

And what else did I get up to besides spend money not on myself...... Oh, my friend Kim had a birthday last Tues, so I met her, her husband Carlos and a few of her friends at Pepe's, a Mexican restaurant not far from my house. Ehhhhhhhh. The first two times I went it wasn't too bad, and it's been a while since the last time so I figured it's only gotten better. Well, not that Tuesday evening. The margarita was good, and the rice and beans were good (homemade) but the Chicken Enchilada, well, not so good. Dry. Not much sauce or cheese. I had to drown it in guac and sour cream, which helped, but still. Yuck. Cooked by real Mexicans and everything. Sad. We're just too far away from proper Mexican food and that's just the sad fact of life. Very sad. And really, that's been all the excitement I can afford until Thursday.

And in that money-saving but starved for entertainment vein, I swapped my two beds around. Sit down for this excitement. Moved the nice, single bed into the guest room/office and set up the double airbed in my room. Not such a good idea in winter, even a sub-tropical winter. Airbeds don't get warm on their own outside of summertime without a bit of assistance. So, until that paycheck happens Thursday, there will be no helping it. And in the office I sleep. It's actually not bad at all. Cozy, warm, quiet. After my trip I'm even thinking of renting it out to the occasional student or maybe an AirBnB.....? It's got everything a little student would need for a couple months stay....... Hmmmmm?! 

Annnnd what else....... Planning for the Big Nordic Adventure is going well (yet another reason why the bank account is a bit stretched at the moment) - I finally booked, and paid for, the last of my accommodation. Very exciting. Man, I am totally kicking myself for going through a travel agent tho. Unless you're going trekking through India or safari in Africa on your own, I can't see any earthly reason to use one, ever. Ahhhh well, life lesson #6,327 learned! But at least I was able to book my own accommodation for two cities where I'm left to my own devices, and not on a tour, for a few days. So that makes it more exciting, more real. Now all that's left to plan is the fun stuff while I'm actually there! Yippie! Exciting! Expensive!

And that's about that. Sorry again for not checking in sooner. Not much has been happening tho. Same ol' stuff that thankfully hasn't involved super expensive, unscheduled trips to the Vet. Hope you're all well and happy, and cool, up there! Gee, if you need a break from all that hot, you're welcome to come down here for a cool spell! I hear Qantas is having a sale on Premium Economy seats if two folks book at the same time (it's totally worth it!).....!

BYE!
J!

Vet = 2, Lola = 7, Pigeon = 0, The Moose Drool Wins!

Hi!

Well. Here we are on another gorgeous Sunday afternoon. The weather has finally cooled off (wooooo, down to 70 right now and mid-40s at night!) and now I can concentrate for longer than ten minutes - yay! It's been a nice, quiet weekend, although come home Friday afternoon after a very long work-week I got a bit of a surprise, but more on that later. So, here we are now - the chores are mostly done, laundry's put away even, ironing is all done, bed is made, I've been on fire for gettin' stuff done. Kittehs are guarding the balcony, got the hip n' groovy, tho mellow today, jazz tunes, and I got a nice, cool glass of the standby red (yes, crime of all crimes, I keep it in the fridge because it's Queensland and you just have to.... Even tho the weather's finally cooled off, I kinda like it.... Don't judge me), yes, life is good!

So work. Yep. It was a bit of a week, not busy or anything, just.... people. And that's all I'm sayin' about that. Otherwise, it's good and am always and forever happy to have a decent place to come to and earn a paycheck!

And then there were a few weekends in there....... But they were all kinda like this one, which is why I haven't bothered to check in. Because really, what can compare with getting Australian citizenship?! No, the weekends have been good, quiet, literally nothing to write home about (which was why I started this little blog in the first place nearly ten years ago now)! Although last weekend was a bit of a weekend - it seemed Lola was missing the Vet and so decided not to eat since Thursday evening. We were in the Vet's office Saturday, Sunday and Monday trying to get her better. Long story short, and over $700 towards the cause, it was a fur-ball lodged in her intestines. A few doses of paraffin oil, Actilax and Cat-Lax, including an enema (for Lola, not me, thank heavens), and by Tuesday, stuff finally started to move right along. So, that's life #2 for little Lola! Of course, this was also the same week my car registration came due, at just under what it cost to fix up Lola......... Sigh. She's only two years old - brand-new, and I've never had these issues with pets ever! Ahhhhh well, hopefully she straightens up and flies right from now on, otherwise I'll have to go out and get a second job to keep up with her bills!!!!

So that was last weekend and Monday. Then, come this past Friday, I get home at 5pm from a very long week at work, although not before a small detour to a little cafe, Remy's, that opened up about a year ago just up the hill from my house, where I had a quick snack of breads and dips (very good, had a bit of bite to them which I quite liked, although I see from their website/FB page, they're in it for their burgers - will have to try one next time (they do take out, even better!)) and two beers from Montana, as you do when in Brisbane, Moose Drool Brown Ale and Scape Goat Pale Ale - both very good but I was partial to the Moose Drool, so I had two. Hey, it was Friday and work was a pain this week. Anyways, I didn't hang around long because I felt like the oldest person there, hell, I was for about half an hour until other "old" folks like me started arriving for Happy Hour. It's a fun, buzzy, young, hipster kinda place (yes, all the young men sported fluffy beards), but the staff were all very nice, professional and genuinely seemed to like their jobs and their coworkers (maybe I should get that part-time job there.......?). I'm glad I stopped, I'd been wanting to for ages but it's always totally packed-out. So, off I trot down the hill to home, belly full of beer from "home" and snappy dips, only to open the front door to crime scene carnage. Lola, feeling fulla beans again after being revived from death's door, again, somehow manged to catch a pigeon/dove, got it inside the apartment where an epic battle to the death ensued. Feathers everywhere, from one end of the apartment to the other, even in the kitchen. I open the door to this and see Lola bent over the headless corpse (?!), both wings separated from their owner, eating like it was manna from heaven, which I suppose it kinda was. She was very, very proud, and I was too after I got over the shock of the scene. It's impressive not only because of her speedy recovery, but for the fact she somehow caught a bird, killed it and ate every last bit of it (except the feathers), when all she'd ever caught before in her two short years were moths. Sure, she's speedy, but a bird? In a second-story apartment? I can't even imagine how she managed it without sailing over the balcony. All I can think is it may have flown into the sliding glass door or window, laid there stunned for a second and that's when Lola saw an opportunity too good to pass. That's how I hope it happened, because if she perched on the balcony railing, ay yi yi, that will be one expensive vet bill indeed. That's if she survives the drop. If she does and runs away, well, she's never been outside so she's bound to get lost and hit by a car. Geez, who ever said pet ownership can be dull sometimes never owned a kitteh like this!

And that was my weekend! Gosh, now I want one of those burgers and more Moose Drool........ No, saving money for the Big Nordic Adventure. And my car registration. So, there you have it! All's well here, fingers crossed! Hope you're all well up there! So, since the weather's gotten nicer, you're more than welcome to c'mon down and enjoy this window of opportunity - you only have until November, so get planning! And hey, that reminds me, I will be need a house/pet sitter come December...... The job is yours! 

BYE!
J!

Spider Evictions by New Aussie Citizens......!

Hi!

Well. Here we are, although it's not a Sunday afternoon, it's Monday - we have the day off for Labor Day (thank you Unions for always being upset about something and giving us a day off to be upset about it!) - and amazingly, a whole month hasn't gone by! It's been a nice, quiet weekend, for the most part. Ran some errands, got some of the chores done, lots of laundry, tidying, fluffing around, vacuuming up all the spiders that had moved in...... Normally I'm totally fine with spiders, they do good things in the world - but when you have whole neighborhoods setting up house inside my house, well, it gets to be a bit much. And speaking of bit, they bite me after they've been living here awhile, the nerve of the freeloaders, so they were evicted the hard way. Sorry folks. I'm sure we'll catch up in the afterlife (if there is one) and you can tell me all about being suddenly sucked into a big, loud, scary vacuum cleaner. And I'll still feel bad. Anyways, we're here now with the rugs flapping in what there is of a sorry, muggy breeze, the thunder clouds are trying to build up to something big but so far they're doing nothing more than making it, well, cloudy and super muggy. I swear, this really is the endless summer. But still, we have the cool, hip n' groovy jazz tunes - I love this new station so much more than RadioTunes, and they never hit me up for money or pester me with employment offers - bonus! Tho it's a bit early for the standby sparkling, I like to wait until I'm finished writing to break out the bubbles - like a nice reward!

So work. Yep. It's.... good. I've been in a training course all week (last day is tomorrow, whew) for this technical publications software called S1000D. Companies like mine think it's the end-all be-all in tech pubs software but I find it clunky and there are like three additional software applications you have to use to get them all to talk with each other, so it's a bit of pain actually. The tech pubs software we use for our Classic Hornets, XPP, may totally be from the 80s/90s, in fact, the version we use they don't even make or support anymore, haven't for years, but it works a treat without having all the messing around. Whatever. I always wanted to learn it tho, although I didn't put my hand up to do this course, a middle manager did because he thinks if I have this training he can poach me for his program (unless he doubles my pay, I don't see that happening)..... But boy, I'll be happy to be out of that tiny, windowless room squished in with all those people and that lonely lady who I don't think gets to work with actual people very often and won't shut the hell up....... Anyways, once this is over, we're supposed to finally get all that work our customer has been threatening to give us for years.... So we shall wait and see. Otherwise, all is well - always happy to have the paycheck, forced training or not!!!

And then there were a couple weekends in there..... Well, not a lot has been happening. This is the second of our two, three-day weekends, but I've mainly laid low trying to save money, in my dull kinda way. Tho probably the brightest spark in the calendar so far was this past Wednesday night when I had my Citizenship ceremony!!!!!!! It's all finished now - dealing with HR (thank you HR for being that incompetent and costing me $1,200 for the first failed attempt) and all the permanent residency paperwork, c'ship paperwork, all of it - finito! I'm legit! Now all that's left to do is get the passport and then I really am finished. WHEW! That only took two (technically three) failed attempts over five and a half years..... I'm so happy it's all over with I can't begin to say, tho I tried just then......

The ceremony was actually really, really good. At the main entrance they split us up  from our friends to send us through this reeeeeally long snake-line where at the end we had to show the "attend your ceremony on this date" letter Immigration sent us and our I.D. (driver's license) and they gave us our Certificate and Pledge Card (you could pick one of two pledges - one to god and one not to god. So, that was an easy choice) and next shuffled us on to the voter registration table where we, well, registered to vote - it's compulsory here, so, you get fined if you don't get out and vote, and having the newbies sign up on ceremony night is a fantastic idea. They should totally do it in the US. Then we filed to our seats where we had waiting for us a little gift bag with some handouts about Brisbane, voting, the words to the national anthem (whew!), an agenda for the evening, and the best little gift, aside from the actual certificate, was a seedling for a native plant - I got a Callistemon Wildfire (Bottlebrush)!!!! I like Bottlebrush trees, I had one just like it outside my bedroom window in San Diego.... Tho, as a renter I'm not totally sure what to do with it except for to plant it in a pot on my balcony and hope for the best...... And as we were walking in and stumbling around to get to our seats (we were jammed in like sardines) the Australian Army Band played and they were really, REALLY freakin' good! Played all these old swing songs that I like, they had a couple singers who could actually sing and horn players who wandered up and down the aisles in formation. Yeah, they were great. Then there came the Nunukul Yuggera Aboriginal Dance Troupe to welcome us and then the speeches and lectures about assimilating and how the police aren't out to get you so behave, etc. Then we had to make our pledges - godsy folks had to stand up and say theirs, then they sat down and we stood to say ours. Needless to say, there were a lot less of us heathens than there were of them....... The Australian Girls Choir sang a few really, really nice songs (well done girls!), then another speech and a lecture and then the national anthem (that there is the short version for sporting events but it's still good; here's the proper version) and that was that - we were newly minted Australian Citizens! All in all it took nearly two hours. I thought it was pretty good. Tho by the end of it I was ready to not be in that crowded room with all those people and their crying, fussing children another minute, I must say. And I even had a few friends come to watch - some had come all the way from Toowoomba and Redcliffe and Dayboro, and a few from here in town! But seeing as it was a school night and I really did have school the next day, it was a pretty short celebration, and that was fine. I was (am) pretty happy and I didn't need a big party to prove it! So there you go - Aussie Aussie Aussie, oi oi oi!

And then what else........ Not a lot, really. Again, trying to save money for my Nordic Adventure so am trying to keep the wallet safe here at home. I'm this close to paying the deposits and stuff, then once that happens, it's on!!!!! Tho Saturday I did stop into the mall to check that H&M weren't going out of business, so I made a small donation and they gave me clothes as a thank you! Geez, everything in there is like $19-39 bucks, so, a small and pretty cheap, yet styley wardrobe update. I guess I just had a serious dose of cabin-fever after a week of being trapped in that tiny training room.

And that there is really that! So, I hope you're all well up there. Say, even tho summer won't let go, it's not as gross as it was, so you have from now until November to come on down and check the place out! And say, when you're doing your research, let me know if you stumble across any useful websites that I can add to the little menu on the right there... I update that every so often, in fact I did a couple weeks back. So let me know if there's more you'd like to see? Then again, you can always do like I first did and just get on a plane and figure it all out when you arrive!!!! Just let me know when I need to pick you up from the airport!!!!!

BYE!

~ J