Monday morning confusion

The ducks finally hit the water on the weekend, but not without a small amount of drama. Someone decided to set the $10,000 duck free and it was found floating some hundred of metres downriver. He was brought back home, the race launched, the PA Research Foundation raised a bucket, and someone lucky won a car.

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I transit through the city in the mornings on my way to work. Not because I have to, but because I love the bustle and I don't have to fight students for a seat. I'm standing at the lights and the woman standing next to me is wearing a soft knit dress with a black bodice and striped skirt. It's about knee length, a little higher. And as my eyes travel down I see she is wearing black leggings .... and black socks. Teamed with lovely strappy silver sandals with a mid heel. Wtf?

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There's a man on the corner selling raffle tickets. I've not seen him for ages. He suffers from cerebral palsy and he's possibly very confronting for some. Most people seem to ignore him, some are downright rude. I just smile and shake my head. I do find that I am uncomfortable, even though any ticket seller makes me feel so. I wonder why this is.

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Daydreaming out the bus window when I catch sight of a sign in a little grassland area "Laughter Park". Laughter Park? What the heck? Oh wait ... it's Laugher Park ...

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The student who has been working in our office has finished his project and today will be his last day. I did not realise, thinking he would be here till the end of the year. He brought in a cake.

I pronounced it chocolatey and good.

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I know I take my chances but as a regular public transport user I still get really pissy when I get missed by the bus. I see it coming down the road. It's still a way back - is it the right number? Yes! It is. I hail the bus and dig in my bag for my pass. I look up. There is no blinker on. I signal again. Still no blinker. I SIGNAL AGAIN. WHAT, ARE YOU BLIND? I think there's still a small amount of room for the bus to pull in although it might actually come to a halt just beyond the designated stop. A last second wheel swing and the driver decides, nope, no room. He shrugs at me through the closed doors and continues driving down the road.

LOSER! Learn the stops on your route.... It's 20 minutes till the next bus.

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I can hear a lot of noise outside today. The office is on floor 3 but only 2 flights above ground. It turned out to be about 7 male students playing some form of handball on the concourse. Wow. I thought there was a crowd.

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There is a crow and a magpie, duking it out on the footpath. I don't know what started it and I wonder what will finish it. Which one would win? It's like asking if Jet Li fought Bruce Lee?

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I decide I'm going to treat myself to lunch, seeing as I actually have a couple dollars in my wallet. I decide on a sausage roll and front up to the bakery. They're dressed for Halloween. Yay. I'm served by a zombie. I try to make up my mind if I will take a photo. I chicken out and head back to the office. Froggy and Elder tell me I should have so I head back out.

Oh darn! They've decostumed and I can only photo these two.

Peter Pan had a lovely accent....

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I thought I would spend some dollars on an 'on demand' movie from Foxtel. It kept telling me I needed to have an active telephone line. I can't figure out what the heck it's talking about.

I grab a voucher for the local video store and go for a look. Dammit. Pirates of the Caribbean 4 is all out. I find another instead and when I head to the counter I ask the girl if a copy has come in. It has so I grab it. Turns out to be cheaper than on demand anyway.

I'm glad I didn't see Battle in a cinema. Oh my good goodness, it would have been the wettest cinema ever! I tried so hard not to cry in places!

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And now for something completely different ... a photo of my flat black cat, Jerome.

The duck

Yes, the duck is still there. I think about getting a photo but the bus is never stopped where it might be visible in a camera.

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I like catching the early bus during the spring/summer. Positively detest it in winter. In summer the sun is peeping over the highway and everything is cast with a golden glow. There is plenty of greenery beside the highway, open areas between the roads with grass and trees, or untamed bushland. This morning there are cockatoos ground feeding on one of the open spaces. That's something I don't get to see every day.

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The suburb down from mine seems to be growing at a rather phenomenal rate. New houses are springing up everywhere and I miss the odd glimpse of wallabies, peeping through the long grass at the bus as it goes past.

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I glance up as we head along the highway to the shopping centre a couple of suburbs over. The light pole swoops over in a graceful arc, artfully decorated by several galahs lined up and looking down.

I wonder what they are up to. If they were corellas, I would suspect they are 'bombing' unsuspecting cars.

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I applied for a position outside my current work unit. I found out yesterday I didn't get it.

Totally devastated as I think I would have done really well. I think I'm ready for new and exciting. I guess though that I should be thankful. I did make it as far as shortlisted for an interview. The lass who gave me the news told me I interviewed really well. Surprising because I thought I flubbed it.

The successful applicant has experience in a field *ok, so it was mentioned in the job description, but desirable not essential* relevant to the position that I don't. I imagine in fact that very few people would have this experience. I'm not quite certain how it would fit into the job aside from making people feel like they were dealing with another funeral director!

The position was Bequest Coordinator and oversees the Body Donor Program among other things. See. Interesting and exciting.

Fast lane? Ha!

A season of wild weather is upon us it seems.

Rain every so often, but this time it's full on. I'm tucked up safe in the office but MOTH is home to witness the fury. *think he told me he jumped once or twice* Thunder. Lightning. Some small hail. Rain. He tells me the rain was dumping down and the wind was blowing so hard it was virtually horizontal. Sheldon was a little tense, Jerome was totally relaxed and MOTH eventually found Freddy hiding as far back as he could under a shelf in the garage.

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The next day I can see lots of debris on the paths that show me where the water ran off. The waterfall in the creek is flowing well.

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Cruising along in the bus I see two mynah birds telling off a crow. They dive and swoop as the crow hops about, obviously frustrated. And cranky.

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The bus comes into the stops ready to let us off. There is a taxi in our designated stop dropping off a passenger. The driver sits and waits for a few minutes. Eventually he gets impatient and uses the horn. The taxi pulls out.

Stupid taxi. The rank is about 50 metres down the hill. If that.

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It's going to be a noisy week. The floor above is scheduled to be refurbished and demolition is due to start soon. Or ... this week. It sounds like it's directly above. The refurbishment is supposed to take some time. Hopefully it doesn't become too unbearable. *but then again, it might be a good excuse to work from home if it does*

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I've been feeling a bit off colour lately and so very very tired. I've a little windfall *elder paid me back. i should bank it but it might be put to a better use instead* so I might treat myself to a very rare bout of retail therapy. Maybe if I dress up for work I might feel a little better.

I seem to have only one pair of work shoes these days. The sketchers are for winter and the style doesn't suit all my clothes. MOTH picks me up from work and we stop off on the way home. I've seen a pair of shoes the other day that look interesting and for a bargain price. They're still there! And WHOO FRIKKIN HOO! My size. I might get a second pair - dressier ones. And a couple of steps away, there they are.



That hasn't taken long at all. And only $40 down. I usually can't make decisions when I buy shoes. Too many to choose from.

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Off to visit Butterfly Garden to catch up with her and my sibling Froggy. Have to do something to kill time while waiting for the plane, right?

Butterfly and I have not seen each other for many, many years. She hasn't changed much. Got to meet her other half for the first time.

It was after lunch so we ate cake and drank cold softdrink. And talked a lot.

MOTH very generously let me drive home and we made it. The sky is getting dark and I didn't get lost *in spite of Karen's best efforts* and we're indoors safe and sound before the storm hits.

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My wardrobe needs a new addition as well. I have no 'work' blouses. Plenty of polos, t-shirts and other knit tops. But only one button blouse. MOTH decides to come with me to shop. I warn him it will take ages. I can't buy anything off the shelf without trying it on first, and it takes a long time to find something that fits.

He's cool with that. Unlike a lot of blokes, he doesn't mind shopping.

We start at Kmart. We find ladies wear ... and they have a rack of blouses. Only about 2 racks though mind. But there at the front is a button blouse. In my size. It's the only one of my size. I go to try it on. It fits almost perfectly. I decide to buy because I know darn well that if I put it back to come back to later, it will be gone.

So, shopping done ... in about five minutes. Anticlimax!

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PS. That duck is STILL there............

I've already posted for Sunday

So I'll just round up for the rest of the week.

Such as it is. I've only made 3 notes!

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We go past the River each morning on the way out to Campus. This morning I see there is a HUGE inflatable ducky on the water. A rubber ducky. He brings to mind the Ernie song. *starts humming rubber ducky you're the one* I'm not sure what it's there for. Maybe for the duck racing thing that happens every so often? It's a fund raising thing where they release thousands of numbered rubber duckies into the water. I think first across some line or another is the winner.

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It's still there today....

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I'm catching the bus home today. As opposed to the train. The driver stops in the middle of the busy street, right next to the taxi rank. One of the cabs has it's rear out in the traffic. Maybe the driver is upset because it's blocking the way.

He pops open the bus door and he and the taxi driver greet each other like old friends. They lean toward each other and shake hands through the bus door. A few words exchanged and we continue on.

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Jump on the bus from a slightly different stop this morning. I've come in by train. The driver waves us on and it's yahoo! A free ride this morning as it seems the card reader isn't working.

And I've just realised ... hope I remembered not to swipe off. But now I think on it, hopefully it wasn't working so I couldn't swipe off ...

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Thunder and lightening throw themselves around the sky this morning and I snuggle further under the doona. Luckily I don't have to get up. I lie there and listen to the storm; a song from Kenny Rogers begins to play in my head.

The intermittent storms continue through the day. MOTH heads out to the Village. I'm smart. I stay at home.

Sunday morning. In pictures.

Played WoW...
Listened to music...
Ate breakfast...
Fed and watered the cats, changed their litter and broke up an argument...
Checked the rumpus room for tidy...
Fed and watered the dog...
Made a cup of milo. It went cold...
Put a load of washing on...
Cat 'helped' me make the bed...
Whinged about the neighbour's yappy dog...
Checked the dog blanket was on the way to dry. He put it out in the rain yesterday...
Did a poo run and debated tidying up the rest...
Pulled out some prickles. it's that time of year...
Brushed the dog...
Fetched Jerome the escaped feline...
Up to the Village...
Spoils...


And all before 11 am!

Back to the grind

A big week in some ways and yet not so big in others.

It's school holidays this week and I can't believe how quiet things get. Traffic thins out, foot traffic on campus is ... almost non existent. I think I like it.

It's spring. Of course. And the wildlife certainly know it. Zman and I walk past the lake on the way from the car park to the office. Wait. I hear cheeping. We pause and sure enough, the water fowl hatchlings are out of the nest and taking a dip in the water. Zman is rapt and swears he's never seem them quite that little before. We watch them for a few minutes before continuing.

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The mynah birds are a little active. There are a couple of them on the ground. Oh no! They are babies! They must have jumped from the nest. Their flight feathers aren't developed enough for them to get back up. Mamma and Pappa are still hanging around and it looks like they are trying to lift them on their backs to get them to the nest. It's really not possible as they seem to be nesting in a gum tree. Not sure what to do but leave them there.

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I am just waiting for the ducklings to start appearing. One wood duck pair seem to have a huge clutch of little ones in tow each year but so far I've not yet seen them.

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We park in the undercover park and Zman goes to lock the car. He can't find the keys. It has a push button start and no actual ignition. The car still starts so he assumes that the proximity key must be around somewhere. We look under the seats. Check his bag. Check my bag. The glove box. The back seat. The boot. Under the front seats. No go. He can't find them anywhere and comes to the conclusion the proximity probably only works after the car has been locked. Or something. The only option is to go back home and see if they are there. I go to work, Zman heads back home.

I get a text about half hour later. Yep, they were on the kitchen bench.

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If Zman finishes his tasks, it's his last week at work. Next week will be leave then he moves on to a new job. It means I go back to catching the bus or train everyday. It also means I have to find extra money for the fares. Zman drives me to work each day in exchange for $20 a week, and I kept a little for the 'go card' *electronic ticketing for public transport* in case of emergencies. Just lately he hasn't been doing French lessons so I've not even needed the emergency money. Now I have to go back to spending $50 a week on public transport. *shakes fist in his general direction* How dare he!

Actually, I'm happy for him and wish him well in the new job.

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His going away lunch is at Montezumas. Mexican obviously. I've only dined there once before and enjoyed it. He tells me to have the Mole something or other. Chicken in a chocolate sauce. I'm game. It turns out to be a chicken maryland, covered in a thick almost gravy like sauce. It has chocolate, but also herbs and other things as well so it's not like pouring topping on the thing. The bed of rice is spicy and the coconut coated banana and pineapple ring lend a lovely touch. I really enjoyed it.

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We've done the collection for his present. Admin 2 isn't sure we have what we need to get what he wants *the star wars boxed set on blu ray* but another workmate volunteers to contribute extra toward the difference. I put in my contribution and count the money. I count it again. What the heck is she talking about? No extra needed; there's enough and a little extra. I get the job of buying the present. I don't mind cause it means I get picked up from work. Whoo!

Wrapping it presents a small problem. I decide that plain brown paper and string will work. *bursts into song, brown paper packages tied up with string, these are a few of his favourite things* Sheldon tries to help. By batting the very curly paper and eating the string.

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The present goes down really really well. He knows how much it cost and is really stunned that people were that generous.

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Here's a photo or two of the lake we walk *sigh. walked* past each morning.....