Well. Sorry am late. I kinda have a good excuse.... Went up to the 'hood of Redcliffe yesterday to sightsee with Kim, and by the time I got the train, got home, had dinner, had a shower, had glass of wine, sat down, my god it was like 9pm! And I was beat. So that's my excuse. But here we are, a cloudy, sort of rainy Monday afternoon.........! So work. Yep. Nope. Not yet. Plenty of jobs that don't want me but so far none that do. That's ok, I like to think that's FATE saving me from an ultimately crappy gig working with crazy people. The hunt continues, as does the training and building up the little business....... These things take time, what can I say?!
And then there was the weekend. Started off most excellent with pizza and boardgames at a friend's house. Man, those evenings are always such a good time. And the time goes so fast and so late! It's also really nice because now that I don't work with 2 of those folks anymore, it's extra nice to see them and catch up. Not sure how much longer we'll be able to have these evenings as their 3rd baby is due in like 3 weeks! Eeeeek! Ahhhh, we'll get the fun in while we can!
And then Saturday. Kim came over after her half-day of work and we went on a marathon walk along the river to 'hood of Toowong. Sincewe've walked there in a previous episode, we considered it more of a short marathon walk. We had some lunch then headed back to go up to her house in the 'hood of Strathpine to watch movies and pig out on junk food. Hooray! Which was excellent timing as my neighbors downstairs from me were planning to have a huge party (to be nice, I even got up early to bake Mexican Wedding Cookies for them, for their party (cos I'm nice) and kind of as an apology that I wouldn't be able to go to their party like I said I was gonna before Kim let me stay at her house.........) So, yeah, no thank you, their day-to-day noise is plenty for me. So once at Kim's we had the wine open, the movies fired up and chocolate stacked high between us! An excellent, late, evening was had by all!
And then Sunday. We ran some errands in 'hoods I've never been, North Lakes and a couple others, then we headed up to Redcliffe, which is on the sea, and had another really good long walk with ice cream as our finishing prize! Hooray! So yeah, by the time I got home and settled from the weekend, I was absolutely beat. 2 long walks (in the sun mainly) in as many days, had me thinking of mah Big Trip back home and alllllllll the walking I did! But I must say, I sure miss all that walking I did while I was there, cos I sure came back a couple pounds lighter! Must keep up the walks!
And today..... Was up earlyish and busted the chores out like I was having family come to stay. 4 loads of laundry (I think that was everything in the little apartment), vacuumed, mopped, bathroom scrubbed, cat food bought, mailed deposited with the post office (who, incidentally, need a part-time mail sorter.........................hhmmmmmmmmm..............), my god I was a cleaning woman possessed, only the bed is still to be made....... Just had a late lunch and now here I am!Ultimately it's all kinda dull, I'll admit. But that's that for now.............. Am only doing what the bank is telling me to do.........! If you want more exciting stories - money can be deposited to my account at annnnnnnnny Bank of America branch! Hey, now there's a business-blogging idea - people pay the blogger to go on little local trips and then write with cool photos! Think I'll have to set that up.................... Someone send money and I'll go somewhere local and interesting like Longreach, in outback/rural Queensland - it's where Qantas got its start! It would all cost me the low-end of a few hundred $$$ mainly because of flights, but accommodation and food would be cheap.......! What an EXcellent idea! Send money and I can get started today! Will work for adventure (that's what I could call the little business-blog)! Hooray!
Otherwise, hope you're all well up there! Send money, operators are now standing by!
Sorry am late. Have a good excuse tho – I was caught up in “studying” InDesign last night and by the time I looked at the clock, my god it was way past time for a glass of wine or starting the little blog..... plus all the brain power had been well used up by then. So here I am – brain on at least 50% power (only did a little bit of studying today as was expecting interruptions from landlord, real estate agent & handyman. Sigh). But here we are! And my toilet is fixed! Hooray for useful interruptions!
So work. Yeeeeeeaahh, I vaguely remember that.... It was something you got up really early to go to, you had to sit in an office all day and do stuff for other people.....? Yeah, think I remember doing that at one time or another....... I sure haven’t seen much of that around here lately...... Tho not for lack of trying, I’ll have you know! I did interview with an agency and it all went incredibly well until the testing phase. Yeah, I have a bit of remembering to do. Sigh. Failed on stuff I’d never done before (as can sometimes happen). So have been busy studying up on the stuff I’ve never done before. Whew! Is neat, sorry I never got to learn it or put it to any real use! Ahhh, but there it is and I’ll be a wiz in no time! But yes, slowly but surely dusting off and shining up those neglected skillZ, applying for jobs, and building up more of my little business..... It all takes an incredible amount of time, but I love it! Learning sooooo much! Slowly but surely! World domination takes time!
And then there was the weekend. Hmmmmm. Quiet but nice in a, well, quiet kinda way. Friday was meant to meet the young folks from old work but came down with a horrible sinus headache. Since spending more time in this whoknowswhat-ridden apartment, have been sneezing and sniffling all the day long. Then again, seeing as its spring, it could just be some dumb tree or bush in bloom. Great. So missed drinks with the kids. Maybe this Friday.......... I’m sure I’ll see them again at some point in life.......
And then Saturday. Yeah. Was nice. Kim came around and we went for an excellent marathon walk along the river near the ‘hood of West End. Little hot, I’ve done that walk before and still managed to forget that there isn’t much shade along there. Nevertheless we powered on and made it to the West End Ferry when we turned and headed into West End and along the main drag. Very quirky, hip and groovy part of town. Lots of hippies tho, and I don’t deal well with patchouli or dreadlocks, but we managed to find a quaint little cafe to have a spot of lunch away from the dreadlocked patchouli-ridden hippies. Lovely!
And then there was Sunday. Very quiet if I do say so myself; did a lot of studying, as you now know. My friend Hasse brought over, as a loaner to help with mah little business, his very modern and high tech little laptop complete with all the latest wiz-bang programs like most of the Adobe Creative Suite (bitchin’!!!) and includes this new fangled Windows 2010 – golly is it modern and really cooool and useful! Usually I get cranky when Microsoft re-does everything just when you’ve figured all the old stuff out. But this, even tho it’s all so different, it is sooooo much more useful and intuitive! And I’ve only been bashing away at it a little bit over the week (been too busy remembering my InDesign stuff!). In fact this little blog is the first thing I’ve done in the new Word. I reallyreally like it, and that’s saying a lot! Hooray for modern technology! Plus he’s also loaned me his very flashy fancy pants 20inch LCD monitor. So is that what stuff really looks like?????!!! Fantastic! So I must say it’s been an absolute pleasure doing all this studying and practicing with this fancy software! Just try to stop me now! The sky’s the limit!
And that, is pretty much that. Halloween passed by virtually unnoticed. They don’t really do it here, it’s an “American thing”. Well, they just don’t know what they’re missing I say. And because they don’t do it here, I kinda forget about it. No Halloween displays in stores or scary movies (or “The Great Pumpkin”!) on TV to remind me, so it just slips past. Sad. I’ll try harder next year, throw a costume party or something. Right now things can be pretty dull stuff at the best of times. But never mind, to keep it all somewhat look-worthy, I’ll include photos from The Big Trip there on the bottom. Hope you like?! Hope you’re all well up there? Drop a line sometime and tell me what’s happening up there, all the carrier pigeon’s tire out over the Pacific before they make it to these shores.
One Adventure Ends, Another Small Business Begins!
Hi! Well. Another sunny Sunday evening. Am a bit early for the birds to twitter the sun down, but they're still out there, hanging onto the trees in the lovely breeze that's crept up to cool a pretty warm day. Ahhhhhh. Summer's not here quite yet, but you can tell, the same way you can tell when winter's coming, there's that breath behind a breeze telling you what's about to come, and my god I'm afraid this is going to be a nasty hot summer. Hmmm. So work. Yep. Well, work in the traditional sense is still in a bit of a holding pattern. In fact, that plane is still in the hangar. I have applied for a few gigs, but nothing has come through yet. Which is fine because it's left me with much more time to focus my thoughts and energies onto my little biz, which is taking a more tangible shape everyday. Cool! Am getting there slowly but surely. Bit of work in creating work! Am this close to having a basic website, will keep you posted. Otherwise, still narrowing down and finalizing things like rates and contracts - all very detailed and kinda boring for anyone not playing along at home. Plus I still have to fatten up my business plan - don't leave home without it! So the week was good, quietly productive. Did take a breakThursday to meet my friend Dom who'd just returned from 2 weeks in Japan. We had lunch, wiggled our toes in his parents pool and headed into town for errands and a few drinks and more gossip. Was a most excellent day/evening and good to catch up. Now I want to visit Japan!
And then the weekend. Started off with a lovely Friday evening - I cooked dinner (Mexican of course) for friends at their house and we played board games until way past bedtimes. Ahhhh, almost becoming a most excellent Friday tradition!
And then Saturday started off with quick, basic chores in order to be fairly presentable for Kim when she came around, then we headed out for a good loooong walk along the river and for a spot of lunch in the 'hood of Toowong. Then we walked back home in time to just beat a pseudo-cloud burst, which was really nothing more than a cloud-spit. It was a fantastic walk and we're hopefully planning to do them for the next few Saturdays - gotta get fresh air sometimes and company just makes it more fun!
And then today. Laundry. Busy with the little biz and researching pricing and contracts and writing bits for the website (like "Services", "Rates", "About", etc), stuff I've thought about but haven't put on paper until now. It's all not as intimidating when you get the basics on paper in front of you. Cool! Getting there!
And that's been basically that! Kinda dull, but no pay equals kinda dull. That's ok tho. Get biz up and running, get a little tolerable part-time gig, and life will be good. And speaking of a good life, onto the last installment of The Big Trip! We left our heroes on their way to New York City..........!
Week #4 - Sept. 21st - 28th
21st - We were awake at a fairly reasonable hour to catch a shuttle-bus from Washington DC to New York City (it was only $21 bucks one-way - so cheap!) and took about 4 hours to drive there. Excellent. Once in NYC we wandered to our hotel, checked in, dumped bags and headed back out to explore. I have to say, I thought the last time I left NYC was the last time I'd want to see the place, but being back just a few hours I was pretty excited to be there again. Love the city. So much to do and see. And see stuff we did! This evening we wandered up to Times Square to buy ice cream and stare at all the neon. Then we wandered over to Rockefeller Center where we rode an elevator to the "Top of the Rock", the roof-top observation deck, and had a good look out over the city. I'd never been up there before and the view at night was stunning. Highly recommend it!
22nd - Today we wandered down to City Hall, where we stood for a while and watched the tv folks film an episode of"Law and Order - SVU". Pretty cool. Then it was down into Chinatown along Canal Street (we we went in circles for a fair while. Curse twisty streets!) until we made our way out again into Little Italy for a spot of lunch and a much-needed glass of wine (after wandering in Chinatown, you'd need it too). The we ambled our way back to the hotel for a much-needed rest before heading back out our own directions to explore. One ofmy very favorite things to do in NYC was to just wander and look at stuff. A term I just read in a Steinbeck book describes this wandering up and down streets with nowhere in particular to go, in Spanish, is called "vacilando", which means 'a wanderer' - yep.
23rd - Today we were up and out to pay a visit to the Statue of Liberty. Once we managed to clear the 3 security check points, which took at least an hour, we were in! We were able to go as far up as the top of the foundation stone that she stands on but no further (those tickets get snapped up months in advance), but oh what an amazing view both of the city and of the Statue. Always amazing up close and with the museum to support it all. Such history. Impressive. Makes me proud! Then we were headed back into the Staten Island Ferry Terminal to catch the Staten Island Ferry simply because it's free and provides a fantastic view of the Statue of Liberty, lower Manhattan, Brooklyn, the harbor, just all of it - and free and a chance to sit for a spell. Excellent. Then we headed through lower Manhattan to pay a visit to the World Trade Center site and memorial gallery. Very heartbreaking to see it all in person, especially since the last time I was there everything was, well, still there. I have to say, the memorial they have settled on is lovely and fitting. I mean, no memorial can fulfill everyone's expectations, but this is lovely and respectful without being too ostentatious. It'll be neat to see when it's all finished. 24th - Brooklyn was the name of today's adventure! With the subway as our chariot we headed into lower Manhattan to the footpath across the Brooklyn Bridge, stopping for a bagel and coffee, as you do, then over the bridge we went. Ahhhhhhhhh my absolute favorite thing in NYC has to be the Brooklyn Bridge, and favorite time is to cross from Brooklyn to NYC at dusk - the skyline never looks more beautiful. But today it was morning, the sun was struggling through the clouds and we wandered across and into my old 'hood. Ahhhhhhhhh. We wandered through Brooklyn Heights along the Promenade and into Carroll Gardens where we split and headed on our own adventures. I wandered into my other other old section called Red Hook, which was pretty run-down when I was there and since then they've built an Ikea and are still trying to clean the place up. Well, having an Ikea like 2 blocks from my old apartment was a little bizarre, but nice in a kind of miragey kinda way, just wierd to see it there. As could be expected, I couldn't resist a wander through and a cheap lunch. Yep. One Ikea in Brisbane is much like one Ikea in Brooklyn. Cool. Then it was time to meet the girls and head back into the city for a look around the Empire State Building! My second favorite thing in the city! Always stunning and way cool. Highly recommended especially at sunset and really late evening when the air cools and you can hear the cabs and cars below fighting for lane space. I love it.
25th - Today was a day to be vacilando, aimless wandering. After a healthy breakfast of bacon, egg and cheese on a toasted roll (my favorite city junk food next to pretzels with mustard - YUM!) I took myself up through mid-town to Grand Central Terminal - always imposing and slightly intimidating for those new to the city. What can I say, it's just grand! Then I wandered over to the United Nations, hoping to go in and tour the place. But alas, it was in some serious lock-down due to the General Debate. Every head of every nation on the planet was in town to, well, solve the problems of the world. Complete with huge dump-trucks filled with fine sand barricading every street in a ten-block radius and snipers on rooftops. No potatoes in getting in to tour the place this time around. Bummer. Thus disappointed, I continued uptown along 5th Avenue, stopping at H&M for a spot of shopping, a visit to St. Patrick's Cathedral, then up through Tiffany's (how could I resist) and along Central Park, for a peaceful wander through the Frick Collection, one of my favorite galleries. Happily cultured, I thought I'd wander over to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, but as I stood in line at the bag-check, I scanned the crowd and thought it was a visit better suited to more time and more energy. So, calling it a productive day, I took my tired little legs back to Chelsea and a spot of early dinner.
26th - Today, being my last day in NYC, I vowed to conquer The Met. And boy did I. Both floors,. One of the best museums on the planet. Can't recommend it enough. A visit to NYC just wouldn't be complete. And to think I wasn't going to go because "I've been there a hundred times before". Tisk tisk. So happy I changed my mind and went and took my time. And I still didn't see everything! But I saw 98% of it and that's pretty good. Then, because I magically had energy and some time to spare, I took myself along to The Whitney (a modern-ish American gallery). After a most excellent lunch I headed for a look at the new Georgia O'Keefe Abstracts exhibit and a look around the other floors. Usually a lot of Edward Hopper works live there (I quite like him), but not this time around. Bummer. But pretty cool nonetheless. Like I said, there's just so much to do in NYC. Suitably cultured, and a little sad to be leaving, I headed back to Chelsea and a last fantastic dinner!
27th - Today we were up really early to catch our flight back to San Diego, where we intended to relax a little and get in any last minute shopping, which we actually managed to do! Once back in SD we dumped our bags and headed over to Horton Plaza for said last minute shopping and a quick wander around downtown. Well, I have to say it's changed LOTS since I lived there. Well done San Diego! It's livable! It's someplace you'd actually want to go! Shops and restaurants and bars, stuff - cool! The it was back to homebase for a lovely dinner with family and Dad's famous cocktail - YUM! 28th - Today we head back to Australia! We took our time getting sorted and packed. I discovered I'd forgotten to pick up a couple things for Kim, so headed off to CostCo, then as a last-minute treat, was off to get a pedicure. Next thing, we were waiting at the train station for the train to LA, then we were on the shuttle bus from the train to the airport, then we were waiting in the terminal, and next thing we knew we were on the plane and then next thing we knew we'd arrived at Brisbane International Airport to the waiting arms and cars of friends and family! W H E W !
What an excellent trip. It was just absolutely fantastic, and on one hand seemed to go by in slow little bits, but on the other it simply shot by. We did so much in those few weeks it boggles me to even think back on it all. Like I mentioned before, I'm sorry for not being able to stay for long and catch up, but I'll be back, either that or I'll see you here first! Hope you're all well up there and that you enjoyed the Summary of The Big Trip as much as I enjoyed (yet struggled to keep it short and sweet yet cover everything) writing about it!!
Well. First off, am sorry for checking in late, again. This time it was maybe 10% my fault 90% this BlogSpot's fault. I'd updated the editing function for this little thing and next thing I know the photos won't go where I want them or even move anywhere. So after 5 hours of research and troubleshooting and I still couldn't fix it, I thought that was enough time devoted to it. So have gone back to the old settings and we'll see how we go. Bloody modern technology. Bah!
So yes, Sunday evening. Same birds twittering in the same trees, to the same setting sun...... Ahhhhhh only this evening there's a lovely cool breeze with a hint of rain up in those clouds, thankfully summer hasn't set it's fangs in just yet. Enjoy it while I can!
So work. Yeah, not much happening on that front, in the traditional sense of the term that is. Tho I will say, the bank is telling me I should probably call a couple employment agencies and see if they can't scramble up a half-decent part-time gig, thus leaving the other part-time available for me to work on my brand new teeny little business - Walkabout Business Solutions! I officially registered my little business doing "virtual office support and desktop publishing". And it takes a fair bit of time setting up a little business - so much to research and write! But it is very exciting and motivating. Once I have more concrete stuff to promote (like business cards and a website), will post it! But for now, if anyone has any general documents, presentations, reports, etc that need help with formatting, layout, editing, prettifying - pass 'em on!!!
And then the weekend. Went out Friday evening in honor of one of the Gals' 21st birthday (gasp!) at a groovy little lounge bar in the 'hood of West End called the Lychee Lounge. It was really pretty cool. And was good to see everyone and catch up (and get out of the house!). A good time was had by all I do believe!
And then Saturday. Was nice and very relaxing. I took the day off from business planning and researching, in fact didn't turn the computer on at all, and just sat and read Steinbeck's "Grapes of Wrath", never read it, never had to read it in school, I got the British writers. It's goooooooood. I've also been reading, and reallyreally liking, his travelogue "Travels with Charley" (his dog) of when they went on a road trip across the US from Maine to California. It's fantastic - highly recommend it. He's one of my new top 5 favorite writers. "Cannery Row" and "Sweet Thursday" were always my top fave books, but now wait there's more! But in amongst the books there was time for Kim to stop by and say hello as she was in town to do a bit of overtime at work. Very nice to have her drop in! And then after she headed home it was time for a nap, of course. What a little old lady I am.
And then today. Quietly productive. Cleaned my little desk right down to the wood (is that its original color!?). Gets to a point I can't think with all this clutter. And at work, when I had an At Work, I was sometimes accused of never doing any real work because my desk was always so clean. Yeah, it's called organization - filing and working on one thing at a time! Too much crap and I can't see to think. So, in preparation for my new role as Director of Walkabout Business Solutions, I thought I'd get my 'new' desk ready! Kinda dorky, yes, but I'll tell you what, it's working! And that took most of the day actually. Found an oldish brand new cell phone my phone company had bribed me with to get me to stay with them when they pissed me off for the 2nd time (the first time they did and they sent me a cordless phone, which am still using! Suckas.). So I hauled that out and charged it up, eh, for a new company phone, it'll do, just gotta get a phone number for it now! Coooool . Cleaning is fun! Which leads me nicely over to the 3rd installment of The Big Trip!
Week #3 - Sept. 14th - 20th
14th - Today we were up bright and early to pick up our rental car and continue on our Big Trip with Road Trip #3 bound for the Grand Canyon! I know we'd just driven from San Francisco to San Diego along Highway 5, and we'd just driven from San Diego to Tucson along Highway 8 (both horribly boring runs), but this was gonna be good because Arizona, south to north, is such a diverse state. You can go from bone dry desert in the south to, well, the Grand Canyon in the north - surrounded by beautiful mountains (with top class ski resorts) and pines and green and deer! It's a lovely, fairly quick drive considering. We arrived there around noon and wandered and looked and oooohed and aahhhhhhed to our hearts and cameras content. Unless you've been there, photos, no matter how fabulous this modern technology thinks it is, still doesn't compare, you just have to be there to take it all in, and even then you kinda can't cos it's so damn, well, Grand. Happily photographed, we continued on to Williams and our hotel for the evening.
15th - Today we were again up early to beat the 2 bus loads of German tourists to the check-out counter so we could continue our road trip along Route 66. We picked it up in Seligman and aimed the car for Las Vegas, Nevada! Man, it's a shame that Route 66 isn't used anymore. I understand why and the need for superhighways and all that, but nothing beats the scenic route and teeny little weird towns. So lunchtime saw us in Vegas! Holy cow has it changed since I was there yeeeeeeeeeears ago. It's very big and crowded and tall and crowded. Neeeeeato. So we dropped the car off, checked into our hotel - Paris (oooohlala!) - and began the sightseeing! And, really, how could you not, sights to be seen everywhere! But you also forget that The Strip is long, really long, and crowded, and just because you made it to one end of it, well, you gotta walk back, because it's a huge waste of money takin g a cab or a bus because the streets are so congested that it really is quicker to walk, heat and sore feet and all. So I'd shake it up by walking through one casino to the next, because most of them are connected anyways. What a surreal world the whole casino thing is. Sad. And for all our guff of "no smoking indoors", bless 'em, you can still smoke anywhere inside the hotels and casinos. Gag.
16th - Today saw more sightseeing and lots more walking. I have to say, after exploring our end of The Strip and all those h otels and casinos, my favorite had to be the Bellagio, so classy and slick, complete with the water fountains and the little show they put on - fantastic. Paris hotel tho, tres chic, tres interessante! So elaborate these themed places that you can wander around in it all day and still not see everything. It reminded me of Disneyland with it's false fronts and sets and costumed staff. And my 3rd favorite had to be Caesar's Palace with it's history, Greek god statues, and new, multi-million dollar face-lift, plus it's cavernous malls and shops and restaurants inside, really all pretty cool.
17th - Guess what we did? Why yes! More sightseeing! More shopping! More walking! Only today I really shook things up by needing to go to a real bank with real counters with real pens on chains and real people, something which, unsurprisingly, you can't find on The Strip, you have to go out into the 'burbs. So I hailed a cab and headed for the nearest real live bank. Once I told the driver where I was headed, he kinda sighed and shook his head (in sympathy) and asked
good-humoredly if I was needing more gambling money. I laughed and said no, as a matter of fact am off to make a deposit! He kinda looked at me in his mirror for a second then sighed and shook his head and just said "Oh wow. Congratulations." Then I kinda had a brief moment of panic that he might drive me into the desert and take my purse with all its "winnings" and leave me. Poor guy. All I needed to do was to transfer money from my Australian bank account to my US one, and the easiest, cheapest way to do it is to take a handful out of the atm and walk inside and make a deposit. Hee hee. 18th - Today we were up and out bright and early headed to the airport for our flight to a last-minute addition to our Tour - Washington DC! Forgetting also, because it's been years since I've done it, how long the flight really is. Man it's a big country. In fact, our flight was delayed for ages because "....the number one engine is giving false readings to the flight deck." Well fellas, if that's the case, take all the time you need. Never mind our tight connecting flight in Baltimore..... I'd rather the number one engine stay number one. So we waited. And waited. And waited. Which, really, was fine. Then we were off! I think we were delayed by at least an hour, however long it was the pilot made up for it. Holy cow we even made our connecting flight with just enough time to catch our breath from the run from one terminal to the next. I wonder if they have speed limits... are there Air Speed Cops? Hmmm. So we made it to DC safe and sound, all engines intact! 19th - Today was sightseeing! We got ourselves tickets on a really pretty handy hop-on hop-off tour bus which we rode around for half the day getting our bearings and taking notes of where we all wanted to go and then off we went! I was really disappointed that you can't just rock up to wait in line and tour the White House, like I did yeeeeears ago. Nowadays you have to write to your local congressman at least 6 months in advance asking for permission and listing the who what where of who wants the tickets. Gotta keep the Feds in gainful employment by doing all those unnecessary background checks I suppose. Shame. I really wanted to check it out. For as many days we were there, it was amazing how I just ran out of time in every day to see everything I wanted to. Such a big place! So much walking! So much to be seen! But I did manage to see the new Native American Museum and the National Archives where the Magna Carta, Constitution, Bill of Rights, just basically anything that helped to form our country in writing why it's all there. So coooool.
20th - Today was our last day in DC so we had to make the most of so many monuments and museums in so little time. I started off at the International Spy Museum. How cooooool was this place?! And comprehensive! I don't know what I expected, but whatever I did it was only a teeny percentage of what the place actually comprises. I was in there for like 4 hours and didn't realize the time until I got hungry. Man. It was really interesting and highly informative, if you're interested in international espionage and all that. So so interesting. I just loved it. Afterward I continued on to visit the hauntingly beautiful Korean War Memorial (my absolute favorite of all the memorials), then to the new WWII Memorial (so amazing, even at night - my Grandad, who's honored there, would quite like it I think) and finally as the sun was setting, to the Lincoln Memorial (always humbling). Now dark, tired and starving, I walked allllll the way back toward the hotel, stopping first in a lovely, very busy buzzy Spanish restaurant for dinner, then back to the hotel for our last evening before catching a shuttle bus to New York City! Whew!!!!!
So there you have it! Whew! Stayed tuned for next week's installment: Week #4, where The Big Trip sees us wandering around New York City! Hooray! Hope you're all well up there and are enjoying my brief accounts of The Trip thus far! Drop a line! BYE! J!
Well. First off, I have to apologize for checking in late – this was totally not my fault – turns out Optus, who I have my supposed high-tech fancy-pants wireless Internet with, they have been having MAJOR network problems over the last few days, to the point where I spent about 2+ hours last night trying to connect but every time it did it instantly disconnected. So hopefully it’ll work today now that it’s had a rest…. Modern technology. Harumph.
So anyways, back to my Sunday evening. A more relaxed weekend hasn’t been had in, well, months. Lovely. Enjoying the last days of spring before the muggy furnace of summer fires up. It even attempted to rain, something that hasn’t happened here in a few months. Cool, quiet, relaxing, and magically no naps were had – perfect!
So work, or the lack of (for better or worse)……. Interesting spot to be in for two reasons – 1) A couple of times I nearly lost track of the days and 2) No need to wake up early for work tomorrow, or ever (tho I still do out of sheer habit – curses)! I try to see the positives in a Sunday evening with no work to go to tomorrow – Don’t have to put on work clothes, commute by crowded public transport, eat lunch in a terrible cafeteria as punishment for neglecting to make my lunch, endure moronic conversations, commute home on crowded public transport, in painfully slow rush hour, in work clothes – huzzah for unemployment! But yes, there is an unpleasant flipside which the bank and anyone tied to it (including me) doesn’t abide. Am working on the work thing and these things take time it’s seems. I live in hope – so much so that I have two complete outfits ready to go at a moment’s notice if someone demands I come in for an interview!
So, in light of bank account lock-down, I’m left with not much to report on really….. Tho surprisingly, I did leave the house Friday evening for pizza and a very interesting board game with a couple of folks I used to work with (one who is also now in my unemployment boat – welcome sailor!). Was a fantastic evening – his homemade pizza is the best! Note to self when become gainfully employed: must buy pizza oven/maker.
And Saturday. Met Kim to go out to lunch in Roma Street Parklands (very lovely park, right in town) and to thank her for watching my little apartment while I was away. And then we went on a biiiiig walk around town, just to exercise and get some air. Was excellent. We agreed that the more we do these walks we’ll A) get fitter and B) explore more bits of town neither of us has discovered yet! It’s amazing the miles we can cover and the time w
e can pass just by walking and solving the problems of the world – excellent!
And Sunday. An extremely quiet yet very productive day (when the Internet worked). In amongst researching what other computer programs I need to learn in order to have more Mad Skillz, I managed to apply for 4 jobs – fingers crossed, and fingers crossed that the number of jobs that are worthy of applying for keep popping up, and any other fingers not crossed cross them that I get one of these jobs! The way I see it is, you throw enough cooked pasta at the wall, eventually one strand has to stick! Or so goes my theory………
Which brings me to my next installment
of The Big Trip…...!
Week #2 Sept7th – 13th
7th – So there we were in San Diego, a little ahead of schedule with a rental car at our disposal. Did a bit of random sightseeing (memory lane kinda stuff) when Katie invited us over to her house for a bigfamily Labor Day BBQ – excellent! I haven’t caught up with her whole family since, I don’t know when, probably when we were in High School. So it was fantastic to catch up and hear her Mom’s tales of her numerous traveling adventures. G
ossip happily
caught up on, we headed back to Dad’s for more BBQ fun!
8th – Today we conquered the San Diego Zoo! Every time I go there, which is every few years, they’ve changed it, added stuff, made stuff smaller (to fit more stuff in) and more modern, and it’s just cool and massive. I know there were things I didn’t even walk near because the place is so big. Though I was really very
happy to see that the Reptile House is exactly the same as it’s always been, my favorite. I somehow managed to get lost in their “LostForest” for a good 45 minutes or so; I kept walking past the same damn monkeys, much to their amusement, trying to find my way back to Katie and The Girls. By the time I escape
d, The Girls had gone sightseeing and poor Katie was sitting on a bench with an empty slushy cup waiting patiently for me to return. I hated that “LostForest”. After the Zoo Adventure, we headed back to Dad’s for dinner and a really bitchin’ evening trip to the beach for a bonfire and s’mores! I haven’t don
e that since I was a kid. A good time was had I must say!
9th – Today we headed out bright and early for Road Trip #2 – bound for Tucson! Much like Highway 5, it’s brown, flat and really really boring, and just a pain in the butt to drive, so much so that I got a little excited with the gas pedal and netted myself a speeding ticket! GASP! Only the 2nd time I've been caught, haven’t done that in yeeeears! Against my smarter side, I decided to argue with the cop as to how fas
t I thought I was going – apparently he clocked me at 86 and I laughed and said I don’t think so, more like 75…. Long story short, I got the ticket but it was only for 75 (in a 70 zone), still tho, that’s $200 some bucks I won’t see again…………. Stupid empty desert with hidden cops! But happily the rest of the trip was ticket-free and we arrived safe, happy and dusty!
10th – Today we took in the sights around Tucson. Starting off with a tour of my old theatre and a quick catch-up with some of my old work folks. I love that theatre, Centennial Hall. Then we continued
on to 4th Avenue for a stroll around the shops (always quirky) and some lunch at Bison Witches – my favorite sandwich shop.
Then we continued the tour to Downtown, that was quick, and had a last stop into Hotel Congress for iced coffee and cheesecake. Sigh, I love how some things just don’t change and Hotel Congress is one place that will always be cool and hip and groovy.
11th – Today’s adventure was the Arizona-SonoraDesertMuseum! We managed to time it just right and got to join a little guided tour, which was quite good considering
the number of times I’ve been to the DesertMuseum and never did a
tour – fantastic because you actually learn stuff! Cool. But it actually wasn’t so cool and 97% of the animals were buried under shade where the sun or we couldn’t see them. Either way, is always a lovely day spent in such a beautiful area of desert.
12th – Today we had big plans to tour Tombstone and perhaps take in a bit of target practice at the local gun range (for the tourists to experience, you see), but alas, plans were put on hold while one of The Girls had to go visit a doctor for not feeling too well. So whi
le waiting, we caught up on laundry, emails, packing and rest. Finally, suitably diagnosed, we headed off with my friend David to go tour the San Xavier Mission, the “White Dove of the Desert”. Lovely. I was sorry to see the quirky little cafeteria had closed (where to buy Authentic Indian Fry Bread now??) but thankfully the locals set up little tables in the shade just near the Mission parking lot, where you can not only buy Fry Bread in numerous flavours (plain, butter, honey, powdered sugar, etc) but you can also get some pretty good Mexican/Indian food and the money goes right to the person who cooked it for you. Mmmmm. I can’t go there withou
t getting Fry Bread tho. Mmmmmmm honey! Then we headed over to my
Uncle’s house for a real Chinese dinner – his wife and her daughter cooked up a massive spread, well over 6 different dishes, so much food it didn’t even all fit on the table! Ahhhhh but man it goooooood!
13th – Today was a very relaxed day. Ran some errands and even stopped by the local fire station (Northwest Fire District) to say hi on behalf of the QFRS and to trade t-shirts and patches (something fire people do the world over). We intended to st
op by, shake hands, swap and leave them to it – oh no, we were there over an hour while the guys talked to us about everything, including the new truck, which they just had to fire up (no pun intended) and get out of the garage so The Girls could sit and
have photos in. Ahhhh the guys were pretty nice and easy-going, I think they quite liked the break in the monotony. Was nice to stop in and say hi and to learn how fire departments work in other cities. Once home tho it was straight to work to get the house and food ready for a big BBQ! Ahhhhh so many people to catch up with, so little time. The evening was so good and went by so fast I never even had a chance to get my camera out. Was such a good night. Was a fantastic way to end ou
r visit in Tucson as the next day we were to head out bright and early to conquer the Grand Canyon! Watch this space for next week’s installment of The Big Trip – Week #3!!!!
So there you have it. Adventures were had, sights
were seen, much good food eaten, families and friends caught up with, just an excellent trip so far!
Hope you’re all well up there. I think I’ve fixed the ‘comments’ section to where you can post comments easily and not have to sign up and commit to anyth
ing, so if anyone is keen to try, let me know if it works or not, and if it does, feel free to drop a line!!!!!!
Hi!
want me but so far none that do. That's ok, I like to think that's FATE saving me from an ultimately crappy gig working with crazy people. The hunt continues, as does the training and building up the little business....... These things take time, what can I say?!
And then Saturday. Kim came over after her half-day of work and we went on a marathon walk along the river to 'hood of Toowong. Since we've walked there in a previous episode, we considered it more of a short marathon walk. We had some lunch then headed back to go up to her house in the 'hood of Strathpine t
o watch movies and pig out on junk food. Hooray! Which was excellent timing as my neighbors downstairs from me were planning to have a huge party (to be nice, I even got up early to bake Mexican Wedding Cookies for them, for their party (cos I'm nice) and kind of as an apology that I wouldn't be able to go to their party like I said I was gonna before Kim let me stay at her house.........) So, yeah, no thank you, their day-to-day noise is plenty for me. So once at Kim's we had the wine open, the movies fired up and chocolate stacked high between us! An excellent, late, evening was had by all!
And then Sunday. We ran some errands in 'hoods I've never been, North Lakes and a couple others, then we headed up to Redcliffe, 
which is on the sea, and had another really good long walk with ice cream as our finishing prize! Hooray! So yeah, by the time I got home and settled from the weekend, I was absolutely beat. 2 long walks (in the sun mainly) in as many days, had me thinking of mah Big Trip back home and alllllllll the walking I did! But I must say, I sure miss all that walking I did while I was there, cos I sure came back a couple pounds lighter! Must keep up the walks!
bathroom scrubbed, cat food bought, mailed deposited with the post office (who, incidentally, need a part-time mail sorter.........................hhmmmmmmmmm..............), my god I was a cleaning woman possessed, only the bed is still to be made....... Just had a late lunch and now here I am! Ultimately it's all kinda dull, I'll admit. But that's that for now.............. Am only doing what the bank is telling me to do.........! If you want more exciting stories - money can be deposited to my account at annnnnnnnny Bank of America branch! 
Hey, now there's a business-blogging idea - people pay the blogger to go on little local trips and then write with cool photos! Think I'll have to set that up.................... Someone send money and I'll go somewhere local and interesting like Longreach, in outback/rural Queensland - it's where Qantas got its start! It would all cost me the low-end of a few hundred $$$ mainly because of flights, but accommodation and food would be cheap.......! What an EXcellent idea! Send money and I can get started today! Will work for adventure (that's what I could call the little business-blog)! Hooray!
