Coffee time!

Back on the webs! And I think I got a windburn from going too fast. Whew! What an exciting ride!

I realised just today that it has been nearly six months since I finished work. It has gone so quickly. And I can't say I have missed it. I feel so much better these days. Much happier, more relaxed. I don't have to deal with other people if I don't want to, and I'm loving it. If it wasn't for the fact that our welfare system insists that as I'm healthy I must find work I would never work again. Even the fact that the income MOTH and I receive each fortnight only covers the cost of our rent doesn't phase me much.

On another note, my iron levels are all up in the air again. I've completed a second course of injections but they haven't had much effect. This time my whole bloods also seem to have some clumping so my doctor wasn't sure whether to trust the test or not. Since I have to have more tests in about six weeks and I don't feel any worse, we're leaving it as it is and checking again for the second tests.

MOTH has managed to come down with a nasty viral thing. It started like a sinus headache and went from there. The poor fella has been coughing up a lung for the last few days. He hasn't gone up to join the Club often so he doesn't pass any germs around the old people.

The Niece went off to respite for the weekend. I like the peace and quiet when she does and it doesn't seem long enough. She's no real trouble but it's nice to have the the time alone with MOTH. Niece seems to enjoy it because she gets to see a girl named Zoe whom she seems to get on well with. Another couple of weeks and she's off for the weekend again!

I've been applying for jobs all over the place... well, no not really. I'm fussy about what I apply for. But I'm not thinking anything is going to happen in a hurry. I've been applying for jobs for more than twelve months now and in all that time I've only had one interview.

I have had plenty of interviews for different things. I have had another interview with Centrelink, our welfare agency. I've had an interview with my jobsearch network provider. They can't do anything to help me yet as I haven't been registered as unemployed for thirteen weeks.

I applied for a hardship payment through my superannuation fund to get some of the money I've paid in. I don't qualify though as I haven't been on welfare for a continuous period of twenty-six weeks. I guess from the wording that doesn't take into account any waiting period I would have had to serve before Centrelink paid me. This means I am not eligible for any assistance until mid September.

A quick visit from Elder. She and Burrich are between houses at present, having moved out of the place they were renting. They have been offered another house but it won't be ready for a couple of months. She dropped back Sheldon and Penny. Things didn't take long to get back to normal. They've been here a couple of weeks and the spats have begun. So far, it's not too bad but it's early weeks yet.

MOTH and I decide to spend some time at one of the larger shopping centres. We haven't been there for a while and it has been updated. And oh wow, has it been updated! Now it looks like one of the fancy CBD arcades. Polished floors, shiny black tiles on the walls, gold accents. Very upmarket. I felt like I should have been wearing a suit and high heels. But only briefly!

I have been notified that I have been accepted as a volunteer for Supanova Pop Culture expo again, this time in Sydney. This is great because I get to kill two birds with one stone - attend the expo and visiting time with my sibling Froggy. I can't wait! I only had enough money to book a one way flight and use some of my frequent flyer points for a discount ticket. Hopefully I can still get a cheap fare on the way back!

A friend of mine is hosting a Greatest Morning Tea in support of the Cancer Council. But it's really an afternoon tea. It's a fund raiser so I pay $10 each for the three of us to go. I haven't seen this friend for many years. So long in fact that her youngest daughter was about twelve or thirteen and is now a fully qualified painter and working for herself for a couple of years. It was great to catch up with her. I've eaten so much! A little of her house has changed since I was there last! What hasn't changed is the fact that the park is still there, still full of gum trees. And tucked away in the top of one of the trees was a koala. It brought back good memories.

Another interview this week. I have volunteered through Volunteer Queensland for the G20 which will be held in our city. I have made it through the phone interview and the face to face interview. I just need to wait until early July to find out if I have made it any further. Not really worried if I don't, though being successful will look good on my resume I think.

It meant a trip into the city for me. Yay! I haven't been in for ages! Some things have changed, certainly new shops are in place in the mall. I caught the bus just before 12noon thinking I would catch the train. But then I decided to stay on the bus all the way into town. It takes a little longer I think, not sure. We left the bus stop at the shopping centre and hit the roundabout. Oh, ok, we aren't going the way I thought we would..... wait up. The bus continued to do a full circle around the roundabout and exit on the highway where I thought we should have been going. There you go, I'm not crazy after all.

It was nearly 3:40pm when I arrived home and in all that time, the interview took only ten minutes....

Mind, I did spend money I didn't really have in an effort to sample a pork and prawn dumpling with a dash of soy sauce. It was delish. I managed to eat it with chopsticks too. Reminded me of the time I was eating a noodle dish outside a teppanyaki place with tables full of Asians. I was the only one using chopsticks....