Why is getting sick so expensive?

My wonderful marvelous tax refund, the last one of this size I shall ever get, is almost gone. Until you need treatment, you just don't realise how expensive having sleep apnoea can be!

And I did think about not writing anymore as I began this as a way to keep my sibling-in-another-state (Froggy) up to date of the happenings. But it seems that we chat every day and exchange most of the gossip there. Thank you readers, I guess I will keep the tales going so you may continue to nap through my updates.

The fortelling thing can be a little exciting. I dreamed once my ethereal self was standing with a couple of others, watching someone perish in a car fire. The radio news the next morning featured a story about some people who died in a car fire. I've dreamed that MOTH was riding pillion involved in a accident. He came off the bike headfirst into a light pole and broke his neck. His next doctor appointment revealed trouble with his neck... Haven't done it for some time though beyond the little things like the mattress. Just as well!

MOTH comes to pick me up after work. He's early, so I make him wait for about 15 minutes. Finish up time and I jump in the car, eager to get home. He turns the key and ... nothing. What? Again. Nothing. Then he switches off the lights and slumps in his seat. Dangit! Not AGAIN! Yes, the battery is about two years old and he's back to his habit of leaving the lights on...

I often see a cat running past the office through the garden. It looks way too well cared for to be a stray. An expensive looking cat actually, a beautiful cream with very pale red tabby markings. Someone has come in the front door and the cat has seen them. It comes to the door, meowing loudly. Is it hurt? I go to the door and look. No, but it has seen me and rolls on the step, showing its belly and continuing to meow. Now I see it up close, it's definitely an expensive cat! Beautiful colouring and lines, muscular and sleek. Pedigree by the looks of things. Why would you let a cat like that roam a busy street and with no collar?

Speaking of cats, Jerome has his vet appointment today. I've borrowed a cat carrier from the vet. He didn't fight to go in it, but when he realised he was trapped, he began to cry. Like a siamese. This little kitteh cried meow meow meow all the way ... to the vet, in the waiting room and finally quieted just before we went in. The vet was running late. Must be a medical professional thing.

He took the poking and prodding and temperature check in his stride and didn't even flinch at the needle. But apparently he's a bit of a porker. I didn't think I fed him that much - up to 1/2 a cup of dry food and an 85g can of tinned food. Googling and Bing-ing the interwebs and cat care forums don't give so much as a clue as to volume but plenty of opinions about WHAT they should eat. I took a guess, somewhat less than the packaging gave as a guide. So. Now he's fat. The Teen wails ... YOU MADE MY BABY FAAAAAT. I laugh, rough him up and call him fatty. In an effort to cut back, I've dropped the tinned food to half a can.

I've also got to figure out what details have been included on the microchip? The Teen's or mine? Or maybe even Ma's?

It's a toll free weekend. The new airport tunnel is open. I get an email from our toll provider who say their tunnel is free this weekend so people can go check out the new tunnel. Perhaps we'll go for a look.

Movies again! W00t! This week's special is The Avengers. MOTH asks if it's the Emma Peel one. What? No, get with the program. Just asked, he said, cause they released that not long ago. The one with Uma Thurman? Yeah, that one. Riiiiiight, Rip Van Winkle, that was some years ago now.... The Avengers is great; great characters, great cast, subplots, themes, tension and all broken up with some well placed one liners.

And I like it even better because the ticket price on special is $5.50 a person.

MOTH tells me that we will have passengers for the tunnel trip. John and his daughter were going to have a look so they will come with us. No problem. She and I are quite alike and get on like a house on fire. We head out with a few thousand others to check it out. Around Airport Drive and MOTH and John are contemplating whether most of the other traffic is just 'doing the loop' as well. It seems so. The whole round trip takes an hour and a half from home. Usually one way takes a minimum of 45 minutes.

We extend our stay to a cup of coffee and chat. An hour or so flies by but it seems only a few minutes.

I walk the length of the house to MOTH's office. Wanna go out to Hardly Normal? Sure, we can do that. *surprise surprise cause moth doesn't do impulse* I'm thinking of buying an expansion pack for a game I have. We arrive and I remember that HN has very little in the way of computer games but gear more toward console. Okies. We browse and before I know it, I'm looking at printers.

Half hour later I've walked out with a new printer, an HP photosmart that takes the same cartridges as the printer I already have. It's wireless and networked too. Sunday night after dinner and I finally get around to setting it up. It is wireless and networked! It sits on my desk, not a cable in sight and it's on the network so MOTH can print too. If he wants. He snavelled the old one. And I have discovered I can print photos directly from the iPhone too. Excellent!

Now I just have to print out some photos to mail to Ma. She's not tekkalogically advanced....

Slightly more than usual

True. I do have slightly more than usual to blather on about. But sometimes I wonder if I should let this slip for a while. I don't know if anyone reads it anymore as most of the people who used to read it seem to have dropped off the blog-o-sphere...

I'm in the car, music playing as I wait for the lights to change. Traffic is horrendous this morning. Busier than I recall from previous mornings. I glance in the rear view mirror and something catches my eye. I look again. It's an ambulance. Coming down the same side of the road as I. Usually I seem them rushing past going the other direction. Uh oh. This will be interesting. Everyone is at a standstill waiting for the lights. All three lanes are full. I start to pull the car to the left. Luckily I have room. As I watch, cars move and open up a gap in the middle as the ambulance weaves in among the traffic. And then the cars close behind it. I can see the same thing happen all the way up the hill. It looks amazing.

Different day, homeward bound. I approach the big overpass roundabout and notice a car, about three in front of me, with a mattress tied to the roof racks. An image flashes into my mind of the mattress coming loose. Gee, I think, I hope I'm not behind it when that happens. I think no more about it watching the traffic and waiting for my turn.

I wasn't behind it. On the other side of the roundabout, just down the hill, the mattress AND THE ROOF RACKS are lying in the middle of the road. A 4WD has stopped in the middle of the lane, the driver of the car is running back to get the mattress. It's a busy spot and I don't stop although I slow to the the 4WD cross into my lane and out of the way. I wonder how the driver got the mattress home...?

MOTH is driving me to work and we are listening to the breakfast radio show. They've found a website where you can enter a famous name and find out if the person is alive or dead. They've called the segment Dead or Alive. I look at MOTH. How come, I say, no one has yet rung up and asked about Elvis?? MOTH laughs, and a minute later, someone has phoned to ask about Elvis. MOTH looks at me. You've got to stop doing that, he says. I'd already told him about the mattress.

Cruising my email and I see the newsletter from our local cinema. They are offering discounted tickets to see Prometheus. Sometimes I don't bother, other times I check to see if MOTH wants to go. Prometheus. I had seen a trailer and it looked like it had potential. The plot seemed to indicate it was about the origins of man. Well. It was an outing anyway. The movie that had potential seemed to have lost it. Someone asked for a no spoiler review, but it was difficult to say anything without spoilers. It began with potential, cut to a scene in the mountains with nothing out of the ordinary beyond finding some cave paintings, then suddenly they were in space on a ship named Prometheus and from there degenerated into a monster movie. I leaned over to whisper to MOTH that I was waiting for the Aliens to jump out. It turned out to be an Alien prequel and not a great one at that.

My recommendation ... wait for the DVD.

I love this!

It's a great shot. :)

Nothing much has been happening lately. MOTH has been sick and I have been keeping a low profile, hoping I don't catch it. He's been on a course of antibiotics for the last week and it seems to be easing. I'm gradually beginning to breathe again as I have seemed to have missed it. *of course, having just said that...* I took him to the doctor before I went to work this week. I'm grateful for flexible starting hours. I didn't get to work until nearly lunch time!

Things have been quiet at work. Admin2 returned from holidays this week. It's been sort of busy doing both her work and mine, but certainly waaaay easier to handle than the six week stint I usually have to cover over the Christmas/New Year break she takes.

I've put in for my holidays. Ekka week, and two weeks at the beginning of January next year. Maybe I can sneak in a day or two in between. I don't think she was happy, but like my super says, I got in first. She also didn't realise that Admin2 takes that time period EVERY year?? Yes, that's the emphasis she put on it.

It's tax time again, and I make an appointment. I hate making these appointments. I don't know why, but I am really out of my comfort zone doing this kind of stuff. I have all my papers and off we go. MOTH decides to come with me. WHAT?? No more dependent spouse rebate? This is the last year I can claim? Sigh. Typical. The Government gives with one hand and takes away with the other. Apparently the rebate no longer exists for non-working spouses born after 1952. The new tax changes that have increased the tax free threshold do NOT in any way come close to compensating for this loss. This is a huge blow as it pays my bills which all seem to come in at that time of year and lets me buy small things for Christmas that I wouldn't otherwise be able to afford. Look out Froggy, no presents for you next year not just no birthday ones! The change doesn't take into account any spouse that CAN'T work either. MOTH is on a disability pension.

The storeman is over today to collect his 'reward' for helping us ship things to our conference in May. We donate chocolates and a backpack for him. Usually we drop it off - Admin2 always seems to drag me along - but since we've relocated, it isn't as easy. He's carrying a box out to the car and as I see him in my peripherals, he takes a misstep out the door. Whoa! Luckily he steadies himself before he hits the next step but it's a close run thing. Imagine the horror of the rest of the department if the storeman is laid off with a broken ankle! My heart slows and as he leaves I remind him to watch the step. We laugh.

I have had a small payment of a work related allowance this week. Whoo! I decide to see if Target has some specials on DVDs. I leave MOTH with the old boys and as I go to walk away, Wombat asks MOTH ... Do you feel just like you're in an old folks home, where they bring you in, sit you down and leave you? Yes, I said. I'm getting in practice. They laugh. I have now decided to call them the Baby Sitters Club.

Yes, Target have specials but certainly not clearance prices. I purchase three. Choosing was a brain destroying exercise! I ended up with Harry Potter 7.2, Captain America and Jason Statham's Blitz.

I get the DVDs home and pop them on the shelves ..... and discover that I don't have Harry Potter 7.1. That must have been Elder's copy. Whoops.

I also tried to find a second pair of flanny jammies. I only have one pair and with the cold and rainy weather we've been having, getting them dry has been difficult. I don't have a dryer, and this weather is the only time I miss it. But none my size. Siiiiigh. When I get home, I look at the ones I have. Oh! They did have this size. I forgot I had bought 1 size bigger as I  like them really baggy. Back the next day and grab a pair.

Ahhhh warm flanny jammies....

Pics. Just cause.

This is gonna be different...

I usually close my eyes to housework. Somehow I've managed to train myself not to see that it needs doing. Until it gets to the point where I simply cannot ignore it anymore. This is a far cry from being a teenager and living at home. My room was tidy and before I had the carpet put in, I recall dragging the furniture out to the hall so I could vacuum and mop properly.

A lot has changed!

So, it's around 8.00pm and I walk into the kitchen and discover Jerome playing with a huge dust bunny. Mostly made up of his own fur mind you. Does he do this deliberately - throw his fur around to mark the house as his? It would not surprise me.

But this did! Holee! MOTH's guests arrive tomorrow at sparrow fart and THE PLACE IS A PIGSTY! Did I mention that I hate housework? The vacuum and I are not friends either. The Kirby man came to us once. Talk to him I said, I don't touch that stuff. I'm not tall by any stretch of the imagination and even with the pipe at full extention, I still have to bend my back to use the cleaner. There are chips of paint out of the corners where I never fail to get caught. They don't call it a barrel cleaner for nothing, I always manage to get it to barrel roll at least once.

So in the space of an hour and a half I had the main areas of the house vacuumed, the dusting done, the shower and bathtub cleaned, the vanity cleared of my stuff and cleaned and the kitchen and bathroom floor mopped. Oh, and towels replaced *is proud*. 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOTH! He already gets coffee in bed every day, and he'd been given his present last weekend so nothing special this morning except an early rise so he could get to the airport by 7.20am to collect his guests. 

Still haven't managed to hem those jeans. They are dress jeans, not blue denim. But even the blue denim ones he likes to have chopped off to the right length. Usually I make him do those.

He drops me off at work on the way ... and the gate is still closed! Uh oh. Ok, so I am a bit earlier than usual but hey! That's no excuse. MOTH drives me round the long way - I can still get to my office, just not through our normal gate. I find out later the gardener doesn't work on Wednesdays so the site manager has to open them. 

Home to meet Eva, Mike Snr, and Mike Jnr. She's nice, Snr is quiet and ... dorky. Jnr is ... well, a 6yo boy. Been a long time since I've had anything to do with one of those. This is going to be interesting. Jnr calls me Aunty. Roast lamb for dinner tonight. MOTH is cooking.

MOTH drives them to Dreamworld the next day. They pay for his way in. Bus home, and I walk in the front door. MOTH tells me they've only just arrived home themselves. His feet and back are killing him but they seemed to have had a good day.

Shopping night. MOTH told me she keeps Jnr well in hand, but not this time. Or is that me and she's just not keeping him as in hand as I might like? He's not mine so I feel I can't take him to task properly about his behaviour, but I do set him to task helping me find things. It keeps him occupied and Eva and Snr tell me it's the first time he seems to be enjoying shopping. *i'm glad someone is!*

Eva and Snr have gone to sit down, Jnr is still with us. We get to the checkout and Jnr is bothering me so I send him to find his parents. I can see them sitting on one of the seats. I'm packing things into the trolley and MOTH says ... Uh oh. I have to make a quick trip home. You what? Home. I have to go home. I've left my wallet at home ... in the bag I asked him if he needed before we left *rolls eyes*. I get to stand at the checkout and wait for him to come back. 

Eva and the boys have something planned for Friday night and we leave straight after I finish work. They have a pass to see Ripley's Believe It or Not. I've gone past, but never visited. I'm excited at the prospect of doing something different, yet at the same time not as I like to come home and crash on Friday night. I fall asleep in the car. It's on Cavill Avenue and MOTH assures me he knows where it is. Turns out he was ... not correct ... and we are a little lost. I sigh and look it up on the phone. Not far enough south. He drops us off and we wait for him to park the car and come back. We're outside some eateries and Eva buys everyone Subway. 

Eva wants to buy souvenirs but we aren't sure where to find a store. We wander a little, the weather is cool but not totally freezing, the clubs are going full bore. We find markets on the beach and spend time wandering along the foreshore looking at stalls. Eventually they tire of this and we head to Ripley's. 

They pay our way in *yay* and off we go. There are some great things to look at but Jnr is very loud. VERY loud. I shush him several times, my patience is wearing very thin. I will add some photos in an update. 

Home for them today. The flight out is 6.30am so we are up at 4.00am. The airport has changed a lot since I was there last! Drop them off with lots of hugs and back home to bed. 

Later, MOTH lays on the floor to watch Robson Green's extreme fishing while I hemmed the jeans. Soon enough, he's snoring. He didn't surface again till nearly 4.00pm. He must have been tired!

Out to dinner tonight. This is what MOTH needed the jeans for. We had booked a table earlier in the week, but some of the old folk read reviews about the place and decided they wanted to change the venue. They chose Thai, but Stan told them he didn't eat Thai and wasn't going. Back to the original choice and see how it goes.

It went really really well. The only complaint from the table was Stan - he had bangers and mash and the skins on the bangers were a bit tough. Dinner was served within 25 mins of placing the order. Everyone who had steak thought it was perfect. Even Wombat *who wanted to change the venue* was raving. Home by 9.30pm. 

He was still in a good mood the next morning when we all met up again. Amazing. 

Jerome spent the day meowing. The. Whole Day. Ok, slight exaggeration. He spent the morning meowing. Constantly. I patted him. I played with him. I feed him and still he called. Eventually he wore himself out and fell asleep on MOTH's couch. Thank heavens!

Another pair of jeans need's mending. Not sure how to do this one as the waistband is falling off. The only thing keeping it on is the belt loop and some safety pins. I can't machine it - that means unpicking the belt loop and trying to sew it back in place. Ummm no, how many layers of denim is that?? I try to back stitch it. Nope, the needle breaks. And it wasn't a tiny embroidery needle either. I find a way and spend a pleasant couple of hours listening to Jerome and hemming jeans. Not! 

Winter! You have arrived!

Winter seems to have arrived. I can tell. 'Tis the season of the Lukewarm Shower. Yes, that's what I said. By law, it seems, our State Leaders have decided that we are too sheep-like to be able to determine how hot is too hot. It's law to have a temperature regulator attached to your plumbing. Y'know, just so your water doesn't get above a certain temperature and you don't scald your little self. Or the little selfs you might have cloned and have running about the place. I mean, geez, surely you can keep your little selfs away from the bath/shower taps?

I have no idea if that happens to all or is merely a quirk of my hot water system. It seems to be affected by the temperature outside. In winter, hot water in my shower is a couple of degrees above body temperature. The only time I get hot water for a shower is ... SUMMER. Yes, right when I need it. Unless I choose to bathe in the kitchen sink. THAT tap gets hot enough to scald.

Wait ... haven't I mentioned this before??

I decided to go via the motorway to work today. Traffic was better than I expected. It was still down to a crawl in the usual spots but not as bad as it could have been. I seem to have missed the delay as I go past a five vehicle end to ender. They are all off the road and traffic is moving slowly but smoothly. Good timing!

The weekend rolls around again and I'm looking at the floor. Again. I really should do something about that. I have visitors coming during the week but I walk on by. Again.

I have other things to think about. Like taking up the hem of MOTH's jeans. Why do I hate doing that so much? But he's dressed and ready to go out so I don't bother him with it. We head out to the shops and join up with the oldies at the corner table. John has one of this sons with him. I'm sure we've not met before but he has one of those faces that look familiar. We discuss plans for our group outing next weekend. We've decided on a venue but some of them aren't sure where to go.

MOTH is up and dressed and out again. Ah well, maybe those jeans will have to wait.

I suppose I should make the cheesecake. Thank you Sparklingmerlot, he LOVES that recipe. Wait. First I have to let the cream cheese soften. I wonder if it will set in time? Ah well. If it doesn't it just gets to wait another night and we don't have it with the lamb shanks tonight. Off to play with Facebook while I wait. I like making cheesecake. I've finally found something I like using the food processor for. Crushing the bikkie mix is great! And so fast too.

Pop the cheese into the mixer and switch it on. WHOA! The bowl and the bit it sits on to make it spin jump off the base. I KNEW I didn't like this mixer for a reason. It looks kinda flashy, costs heaps considering where it's made and purchased. And could certainly function a whole lot better. There is no dial to tell you what speed you're at, only minimum and maximum. And a turbo button. And I had this set on minimum! It spins way too fast, but settles down a little once the cheese becomes creamy. Wish I could afford one of those Kitchen Aids! Anyway, cheesecake finished. I've added extra juice and a tiny dash of pulp instead of rind. I take to the tester. He doesn't want to wait for it to set!

A voice calls from the kitchen. I look and he's got the jeans on. I need to pin it. I do both legs. But you only need one pin he says. I tell him I do both legs cause you just never know if one of the legs is slightly longer than the other. I measure and pin the rest of the way around. One of the measurements comes out at 6.5 cm from the existing hem. The other has been pinned at ... 9.5cm. What? I fold the jeans and note that the legs seem to be the same length, and pin them both at 6.5cm. MOTH then begins to tell me a huge story about how he would have put the pin in and measured them down the outside leg to make sure they are the same and ..... so on. Sheesh. Maybe I should have left him to do it himself?

Anyway, they are now pinned and I just have to get myself motivated to hem them before Wednesday...

PS. The cheesecake is set and extra tangy. I'm not permitted to bring any to work. Success!

Rain. The end.

Sometimes I think Blogger is getting weirder every time I look at it.

A very quiet week this week.

Queen's Birthday Weekend. The first of the year. We get two this year as they transition to October for next year. Why can't we transition every year? I, for one, could do with more Public Holidays each year. We are invited to a bbq. The invite came over Facebook. MOTH comes to me. Do you want to go to a bbq on Monday? It's at 11 o'clock. Well, I say, you can go. I'll be working. Ok, he says. I decline the invite telling the hostess I will be at work.

And then I look at the actual date. It's not till Queen's Birthday weekend, and not the coming Monday. Sheesh! *facepalm* Back to accept the invite. It's a BYO meat and drink affair, salads supplied. The hosts are neighbours from our previous residence; we usually only see them out at the shops. It's raining. Of course. The bbq is outdoors. The weather is abysmal. Rain. Wind. But hey, we're under a cover and snuggled up in our winter woollies. Nice and dry and comfy .... and will you look at that. The roof leaks...

It leaks on to the glass topped table in front of me. And splashes. I'm not moving though. Lunch is eventually served. The company is good, the food plentiful. Eventually someone puts a cup under the splash where we watch it slowly fill, one drop at a time.

Around mid afternoon the family with the tiny babe decides to go home. The hosts son and daughter in law leave not long after. It's funny but once one group leave it doesn't take long for others to follow. That left MOTH and I as the last remaining guests. As the hostess leaves to take the son and daughter in law home, she checks to see if we will still be there when she gets back. Sure, why not. And we are. Lunch started at 12noon, we left after dark around 5.30pm. A great afternoon. We should do it again. But when the sun is shining....

A day off sick this already very short week. Lack of sleep, headache, cramps, joint pain. I wonder if maybe there is a virus going round.

A lazy weekend planned. Well, actually I toy with the idea of vacuuming the floor. It's something that needs strong consideration before I go ahead with the task.

I decide to play WoW. I haven't devoted much time to it lately. Too much reading, facebooking, Diablo 3 going on instead. I'm getting into the quest and suddenly BOOM! No more game. It's thrown up and error and it's my fave toon! Now it won't let me back to this game. Looks like I have to submit a ticket. Hope it gets resolved soon!

It's dark and I'm thinking of prepping things before work tomorrow. I walk past the lounge and realise... it's the weekend gone and that vacuuming didn't get done after all.

Sleepy Kitteh

Though this update really has nothing to do with kitties, I think. Actually if I think about it at all, it's probably more a week of lunatics and oddballs.

Driving to work today and I seem to be caught behind a bus. A 428 to be precise. Hey. It's going the same way I am. That's a bit odd but nothing more. Suddenly I realise ... as it starts going around the round about. It's missed it's turn and has to go back. No wonder I was confused. Wonder if that will set the tone of the day??

The traffic homeward bound is a little heavy. I see two lanes and two rows of cars stretching out in front of me. Suddenly a motorcycle in the right lane PASSES THE CAR it is following, thereby passing the car to the left. Sheesh! Idiot! No wonder so many of them get killed and they wonder why motorists don't respect them?

I turn the corner and in short order come out under the bridge. I'm startled to suddenly find a pedestrian in the middle of the road, hidden from view behind the bridge pillar. It seems he's ... directing traffic! Luckily he's not in danger of being hit, but I wonder how the drivers who are stopped feel about it??

Whoo! Walmart has come to us. Well, the Walmart-ians anyway. The sharp wind blows down the city street and she's standing at a bus stop. A solid girl, wearing a lightweight piece of black frippery cleverly disguised as a dress. Her skin has that golden orange tint and brings out the brassy tones of her bleached bed hair. Her trout pout is somewhat understated as the nude colour of her lippy blends in with the colour of her skin. Her breasts hang unfettered beneath the dress. I can tell cause it's either exceptionally low cut or slipped below her cleavage. Sometimes I wish I had that level of self confidence!

We're having a morning tea to celebrate the Queen's Jubilee this morning. It has been arranged for a while but just the other day they have decided to turn it into a fund raiser for an ex workmate. His little boy has been diagnosed on the Austism Spectrum and they are trying for an assistance dog. I'm off to the shuttle with one of the GTs. Well, I would be if he weren't running late. From the corner of my eye I see I've disturbed a butcher bird. I'm about to step off the curb and - oh wait no, maybe not yet. Regain my balance and look at the thing wriggling madly in the gutter. Ooooh. A legless lizard. I bend for a closer look and it flicks its tongue. WAIT! That's not a lizard! I was about to step over a small snake! I think discretion is in order and I wait for it to move before I step down and go for a photo.

I ask the shuttle driver to wait. He says he can, as long at it's only a couple of minutes. Sure enough, a couple of minutes later he closes the door and heads off. No GT. Ah well. I shall be going by myself. I glance to the right and see the GT running down the lane. Wait, I call. GT gets on and a couple of the other passengers cheer.

The morning tea goes well as it's good to catch up with people. And we get a visit from the Queen to boot.

The traffic home today is horrendous! I've left my usual time and it's like everyone else has as well. I want to turn left at the corner but I can't see what traffic is coming over the hill. Pedestrians block my view, milling all over the footpath. I nose out a bit further. Nope, still no good. By the time I have some view, the nose of the car is well out into the lane. Round the corner and I'm in the right lane. A bus is in the left blocking traffic that way. No one in my lane is moving and finally I see why. EVERYONE is wanting to turn right across oncoming traffic. That NEVER happens and I'm stuck. A postal van blocks the view behind me so I can't change lanes. A few cars get through and I've edged left. Now I can see, I'm beyond the end of the dotted lane markers but no one is letting me out. The nose of the car is poking way out but no one slows to let me out. I grit my teeth and take a chance. I can't move with the rest of the traffic if someone at the front finally makes it around the corner. Stupid inconsiderate people. There isn't even a bloody second lane there, technically speaking.

Same corner. Different day. Today I have time to notice that one of the pedestrians crossing in front of me has the most amazing shoes. Wingtip brogues with Doc Marten style chunky heels. Silver and metallic sapphire blue. Very distracting!

MOTH has told me of a woman who had approached the group while they were chatting around the table. She began to ask them about their religious beliefs. MOTH was debunking her 'Jesus loves you' spiel and laughing along with her. Today I have joined them and Wombat arrives later. One small reference to the woman from MOTH and Wombat is away ranting. "You shouldn't have done that." blah blah blah "If you're so STUPID to talk to them you deserve what you get." So nasty with his tone. What a pompous arse! I stood up and told MOTH I was going to the supermarket and stalked off. If I had stayed there any longer, Wombat may have been punched in the head. Luckily we need supplies for a bbq lunch on Monday.

It's raining this weekend. And cold. Sigh.

MOTH goes up to the shops without me. One of the daughters will be there but I send him with a message for her. I would love to come and chat with her but the siren call of warm flanny jammies calls louder. She laughs.

Argh! Turn it off! Turn it off!

I think I need new sunglasses. These have always been a little slack but they are getting worse. Or my eyes are getting more sensitive. Today I had to sit on the wrong side of the bus. The sun shines directly in my eyes and I have to close them for a little ... they say falling asleep on the bus on the way to work isn't good for you, don't they??

The week is ultra quiet. The conference is over and with it my work load has dropped drastically. So drastically that I am a little worried that I might need to justify my existence.

C and the GM are out of the office for three days. C has left me a couple of tasks that she wants done by the end of the week. But I've managed to do them before she leaves. Froggy tells me that I'm just too efficient.

I've not caught the bus this week, so not much to tell by way of tales. Actually, even when I do there isn't much to tell lately. The general public is becoming rather slack methinks. It's also been a week and Cupcake hasn't come to collect some of the things she's left behind. I think she still also has a set of our housekeys. I should get MOTH to remind her *again* as I can envision 'babysittig' that stuff for ages like I did the last time one of Teen's friends left stuff behind.

My avon finally arrived this week. Exciting life I lead, hey. I spent about $46 for a makeup bag which contained a foundation, blush, mascara, eyeshadow, lippy. Would you believe to just get the foundation *the product i was actually interested in* is $30 on its own.

I'm out at the shops with the Club. You know, the one MOTH hangs with. He's told them I will be there so I've made an effort to accommodate him. We spend most of the morning there and I head back home. Wish it would stop raining. There's washing to do! I want to try using fabric softener but I can't find the manual. I don't know which part of the detergent tray to use. I decide to search online but the product doesn't have an online manual available. Unless I want to download one from one of those dodgy sites that offer them if you do this or fill out that or subscribe in some way. So I look to the forums. It seems the general consensus is not to buy the product in the first place. We've had ours for nearly 7 years and it looks like it should have failed miserably about 3 or 4 years ago. And that's from those with the longer lasting machines. And the noise, sometimes smelly wash, and the walking all over the floor are common too! Better get saving cause I'm thinking it won't be long before we are up for a new one.

I decide to play Diablo this afternoon. I've been so caught up reading that I've not been playing any of my games. But my level is too low to easily beat this foe so have to spend time monster hunting so I can gain a small advantage. MOTH decides to start a batch of pea and ham soup. It's a 2 day process apparently.

It's still raining this morning and the washing isn't drying! This is the only time I lament not having a dryer. I might have to think about bringing some items in from outside. But I had put the lights/whites load to dry in the spare room and MOTH's shorts are still wet too... It's a lose/lose whichever way I go. Sigh.

Today is catch up on viewing day. I watch Grimm and Once Upon A Time. I've only managed to get the first episode of that and missed the next 2. Is it worthwhile trying to catch up with the rest? I can't series link it so I have to make an effort each week to tape it. Hmmm. Never mind, I decide to spend some time watching dvds. But first I have to venture out to get them. MOTH takes me with him to join the lads. I go with him and it's noted that I'm there a second day running. I grin and tell Stan that I'm only there because I had something else to do that way. He laughs.

It's Teen's birthday and MOTH had done the unthinkable and phoned her. Of course, it's too early so the call goes to voice mail. Apparently it sends as a text if not answered. While out that morning I get a text from her to say thanks for the birthday wishes. She mentions that she got MOTH's message as a text. She doesn't know what a HUMPKIN is but she isn't sure she likes it. We all fall about laughing. That's GOLD!

We've chosen the dvds. I've made MOTH come with me as he usually just waits in the car but this time he actually found a couple of movies he wanted to watch. We sit down to watch The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (US version). It's not a bad movie and the scene I was dreading wasn't as graphic as I thought it might have been. It's more graphic in the book. I have read all 3 of them a while ago and since I missed the beginning I was having a little trouble working out where I was in the movie. MOTH heads off to begin part 2 of the soup.

One of the movies I have is Hugo. I didn't get to see it in the cinema but it certainly looks enticing. I put it on and wow. Not even into the film very far and it is visually stunning. The colours! The depth! The cinematography is amazing and it turns out to have a good story line too. But while it was playing I decided I would begin making a lime cheesecake, the recipe supplied courtesy of sparklingmerlot. But since the soup is also going on, I've lost a lot of bench space so I'm not sure how it will turn out. If I'm not 100% comfy while cooking it often doesn't work. Half the bench is dirty utensils. The bench is wide and today I'm having trouble reaching the plug properly *it's in the middle of the bench and hey, with stuff all around...* I have to rearrange the cupboard just so I can get the right size springform pan. I notice there are things put back in the oddest of places. I have to wash up some stuff before I can begin. The dish drainer is full and .. well, you can guess... Eventually I get it done and in the fridge. But I've missed a lot of my movie...

Mouse sends me a text to tell me Horrible Histories will be starting soon. She had mentioned it but I'd never seen it. Yes, I like it. Educational and funny. I settle in for Sunday night viewing - Hercule Poriot. I think I've read the book but I hadn't seen the movie before. And somewhere in there I miss a text from the Teen to tell me to watch SBS1 for a documentary involving Star Wars and technology. That might have been good too. Never rains but it pours....

But what are you going to call me now...?

She wails. She's about to have a birthday and won't been a Teen much longer. What else can I name her? She's been the Teen for so long I may as well keep it.

What a week it's been! There haven't been enough hours in the day.

Last week the budget worked out and MOTH and I made a dash north to visit Ma and make sure she was behaving herself. A big ask, I know. She will be fresh from hospital but not taking things easy - there is just too much to do and not enough people to do it for her. And being bush bred and a tough cookie, she won't slow down or ask for help either. Stress is a big issue but there is no relief in sight.

So, home from the conference on Saturday lunchtime with enough time to do the washing and repack for a departure on Monday morning after I drop off the work car...

Finally on the road and I get a call from the GM. What do I know about a work car with a cracked windscreen? Whaaat? It wasn't mine, I know that much. Are you coming in he asks. Ummmm noooooo. He managed to get it sorted without me though. Whew.

We stop off at Ma's place for a short time before we head into town to camp at Mouse's. Apparently the kids are home from school as Niece and Nephew greet us at the front door with very loud voices. Eventually Ma and Pa arrive downstairs and there is happy laughter all around. I had expected a flood of tears. Only Mouse knew we were coming. Ma happily informs me that if I had arrived a couple of days before there would definitely have been a flood of tears. She still isn't coping very well. Mouse has choir tonight but will forsake it if I don't want to go with her. I'm happy to go but then we won't have time for a bottle of Brown Brothers moscato. She ditches choir.

Today I will spend the morning with the Teen while MOTH goes with Ma and Pa to the hospital. He will ask about his medical records while he is there. I text Teen to ask what she is doing. Grocery shopping but she has no way of getting to the shops and getting it home again. I guess a taxi is rather expensive. I tell her I will pick her up. Whhhhhaaaat???? She didn't know I was in town either. The Elder did, she guessed from my last blog entry *smarty bum*. While out shopping we come across Wookie. Someone I could have done without seeing. She is Subs sister and Elder has been trying to avoid her. She and I chat for a while then I move on. Teen laughs at the way I did that *when she took a breath, stood up, said i had to keep going and started walking. she followed* We dropped by Elder's place of employment for a quick chat. Mu-um, she says, I got dressed in a hurry and realised that I am wearing the top I cooked dinner in last night. I've got pasta sauce on it. Can you please buy me another?? *wow. that's almost as good as the teen* I buy her a new top and jeans. She spies Wookie out the front talking to an apparently mutual friend and tries to hide but the friend calls out to her and she has nowhere to go.

Off to grocery shopping and drop Teen home. It's the first peek at the unit where she is staying. The living area is large and the place seems clean. Much better than previous abodes!

Head out to Ma's place to look after Rabbit and the kids. Not sure if her Respite Lady will be out today and Ma has to head back to hospital to see the doctor. Ma and Pa arrive early and Ma heads me off to sit and talk for a while. I keep her occupied on the couch while Rabbit wanders about and Niece and Nephew go off to do their thing. MOTH and Pa gravitate toward the garage to sort out a new antenna for the car. Spend the next day with Ma and Pa as they take Niece and Nephew to the Pediatrician. Pathology first to feed the vampires; Ma stands when the Nurse opens the collection room door. Hold up Granny she says, this lady comes first while she flashes a cheeky grin at Ma. Then to collect the kids for their appointment. We wait and while we wait a woman comes in with three boys. Some people just have no clue how to parent! They run in circles yelling and shouting, playing with the water dispenser and the suction valve on the wall. Stop it she says, we're in a hospital but they take no notice *hardly surprised there! i manage to catch the eldest boy's eye and he slows down a little* We don't get away from there until nearly 2pm.

Ma treats me to lunch at Coffee Club and who is sitting near us? Wookie, her mother and Nan. You just can't get away from some people!

State of Origin night and Teen asks us down to her local. She's recently started work there and seems to be enjoying it. They do have a policy though that means staff are not allowed to drink there *i think due to some fracas that occurred once* but it has been relaxed tonight. I'm surprised when Elder, Burrich and a friend join us as well. It's a good evening and MOTH manages to catch up with an old acquaintance who seems to be a regular.

Now it's Elder's turn for a visit and we swing by her place. It's ... not what I expected. Burrich is apparently in the process of moving in and there is stuff everywhere. She's not feeling very chirpy at present and they still need to find a doctor for Burrich. He's had today off sick and needs a medical certificate. We spend a little time at the shops before she needs to leave. Of course, it's EB Games. While we chat, she shows me a game and offers to buy it for me. Payback for buying her the clothes. Sure! I can't wait to get it home to look at it.

Back out to check on Ma and have dinner. She shows me the report she has received following the autism spectrum test that have been done for Niece and Nephew. Oh my. They're shocking. The brief paragraph on their background is wrong. Nephew's name appears multiple times in Niece's report. A quick glance seems to indicate that even the results tables are exactly the same. It looks like a very shoddy cut and paste job. This is the sort of effort she has been battling for years trying to get help for them and respite for herself.

She treats us to KFC. She likes to watch the soaps so I sit on the couch and read while they're on. I glance up and Rabbit is dozing on one side. I poke her awake. We laugh at her jumping. I go back to the book and look up again later. Rabbit has dozed off again. I look at the other side. It's catching - Ma has dozed off too. BY GOD, I say, and almost fall off the couch laughing as they've both jumped a mile high. Probably not good for Ma's ticker....

Made arrangements to cook dinner for Mouse today. We've been there for a week and not managed to spend much time with her. We had wine left over from a previous purchase the day before, this one a sparkling red. *Brown Brothers again. i love that label* to have with roast beef. It turns out well and the wine goes down a treat.

Home today, and we get lost. Stopping in a new shopping centre to stock up on road snacks and buying fuel. How can you get lost in a servo? But we did. The line markings were confusing MOTH says. There are way more stops for roadworks on the way home than on the way up. 80km for 4 kms, 100 for 2, 60 for 5 and down to 40 then back to 100km. And MOTH growls. Why are there stretches of road where the limit is 60km and not a road worker in sight??? We make good time though, stopping only to change drivers. Lunch is packed in the cooler so a quick toilet break and check the front tyre is the only stop. *i ran over something. something HARD that jolted MOTH something terrible. i think it was a bit of blown tyre thrown up by the vehicle in front* Jerome is not in sight when we come in. I look for him and suddenly he answers. He runs to me and chatters on, smooching about my ankles and shins, standing on his hind legs and giving me full body bumps in greeting.

He's been a little paranoid ever since. It's ok Jerome, I promise I won't leave you again unless I'm off to work. I promise. Till next time. And I'm hoping that won't be too soon!

Conference week

The tutorials begin the week this time. All is quiet and it's a small break after the rush of last Sunday. It also gives me breathing space to work on the app before the demand kicks in on Wednesday.

The tank has come in! True, it's not quite what I was expecting, but hey! It will do!

I head out to the lawn to watch.

The booths are mostly set up. We have a cut out at the stand and some are game enough to have photos taken... We have a wii at the booth. We are offering a prize and the geeks are happy to have a go. Admin2 badgers me to play but I don't like to do that when people are watching. Eventually a passing geek talks me into it. I've never played the game before and get a score of 586. It's not the best but it's not the worst either. *i'm happy. and now i think i want a wii. or maybe an xbox. i miss that...*

I'm waiting for the Gala Dinner. I've arranged the 501st for delegates and I hope they will like it. Not many people know about it and I've kept it that way so it's more of a surprise. I think it goes over well.

I've organised for them to arrest one of the speakers and take him from the stage. But OH NO! Everything is running about fifteen minutes ahead of the run sheet and 501st have missed their cue. The speaker went shorter than time and fled the stage quick smart too. Luckily, I had asked C her opinion about it before adding it to 501st run sheet. The GM took the stage, called the speaker back and arranged the 'arrest' photos. I didn't see the speaker again after so don't know if he enjoyed the experience. I'm told from those who could see that he was in seventh heaven.

I didn't feel well and left before Axis of Awesome.

Budget day and luckily this month is a three pay month. I decide that the bills can wait - MOTH and I will trip up north for a few days. I arrange with C and K to have the week off.

The conference is finally at an end. I'm doing pack up duty with Admin2 and it's between 1600 and 1630 when we finish. I don't like driving a work car in the dark so I had booked an extra night. We decide to stay. We haven't spent all the budget for the week, so we have dinner at the pizzeria. I have carbonara and MOTH a pizza. We sit, talk, wind down. The carbonara is absolutely delicious. We've arrived, been served and eaten within forty-five minutes. I crash after watching Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries and don't stir till after 0600 the next morning. Excellent sleep for me.

Head out the next morning and within mere seconds MOTH says you probably should have gone that way. Things deteriorate from there. Karen tells me to go one way, MOTH tells me another but today he is a terrible navigator and says That way while vaguely waving his hand around. I take several wrong turns. I'm getting frustrated and stressed, MOTH is getting angry too. He asks if I put the right destination in when I started. Yes, I did. He is going to reset it just in case, has a go at taking it off the mount and gives up. Things are getting worse. I duck down an empty side street to do a U turn. We're still arguing and in the few seconds it takes me to pull in and turn, I've not checked the mirror and someone slams on the brakes and beeps their horn. A few seconds in an empty suburban street. MOTH thinks later that she has come around the corner pretty quickly too.

Karen tries to take us back in her original direction and MOTH throws his hands up. Just go where she says. I do. We're on the motorway in a very odd way *it looks like we are going south when we need to go north* and all is good for a time. We pass exit 24, looking for exit 23. Guess what! ... ... It's blocked off. No exit 23. Or 22. Or even 21. We take the next and come home a totally different way.

Finally home! And as I come in the door, MOTH is looking at Jerome. Jerome is looking at me and when I speak, he meows and runs to me, twisting around my ankles and telling me how good it is to see me. He's on the bed, nuzzling my hands and purring like an engine. He's barely left my sight since.... and yet, I have to leave him again...

I've been so busy!

I can't believe that it's been two weeks since I last updated! And I've not even kept notes...

It's the lead up to the conference. The last week and I've been running around like a chook with my head cut off. Last minute things like hoping some of the collateral arrives at the office before then!

It does, and I have made arrangements for it to be virus scanned before distribution. Yes, it's a USB stick. The sponsor has asked they all be scanned but I've managed to negotiate a higher than normal quota. I've tripled it. I have also managed to get two of the GTs to help with the task. I distribute the sticks and wait for them to come back to me for their final scan. There are 6 from each tray. And about 10 trays. This afternoon I ask Admin2 if she can help. Sure she can do that. I have one day to do it. It's the last day before we all leave for the Coast. I ask Admin2 for help. I'm sorry, she says. I can't, I'm busy.... (!)

My favourite GT sends and email. HE'S LEAVING! OH NOES! Now I think I am really going to have to work on finding another job. But I'm still close to my long service leave. Do I give that up or wait? I think I will wait a bit longer.

This week has been so rushed!

I've been enjoying myself a little more. C is finally trusting me to do more so I am being kept busy. Very busy.

One of the work projects has come to an end. That means no more tape changes. No more monthly report writing. And now that the conference has come to an end for the year, I have no idea what my duties will be. Perhaps I might not even have a job for long...

We've been told that for the gala dinner we will need to sit at a work table with named places. I hate that. Hate it a lot. I work with Admin2 and don't like her enough to spend time at the same table. Closer to time, we are given the option of seating ourselves. I jump at the chance and send an email to say MOTH and I will 'free range'. Fave GT edits that to add a bracketed "like crazy chickens" and the jokes come flying. Complete with chicken suits with the GT's head.... Conference girl comments on it - the nonsense YOU started, she says.

Dinner will be provided for staff on Saturday, Sunday and Monday nights. Partners costs won't be covered but they are welcome to attend as well. I reply to say I won't attend any. The girl employed by us to help with conference stuff is somewhat stunned when I tell her 'none'. I tell her that MOTH is just as likely to say 'nah, too expensive', 'can't be arsed' etc. And he will. The venue is 5 star with 5 star prices. Think a 12 inch gourmet pizza for $30. We can drive to the nearest KFC and get something cheaper thanks!

I've collected the work car and I think I'm set for the next week. The house sitter is arranged so Jerome won't go hungry. Saturday comes and off we go. I take MOTH with me, although this year work will not be covering any of his expenses outside of the conference social functions.

As I go to check in, C is there. She tells me she is about to call me and asks if we will be joining everyone else for dinner. It seems that work is required to pay for a certain number of people anyway so if that number don't turn up, he can take one of the paid meals. I check with MOTH. He says ok, so dinner tonight is taken care of. Hopefully for both of us.

We have been trying to use an app for the conference program and proceedings. It works on smart phones and devices so you don't need printed copies of the program for everyone. It got buggy and the vendor tells me it will be right when the Apple store release the update. I grit my teeth and soldier on. One of the Managers has been trying to use it and gets cranky. Hey! It's not my fault! I can't help it and I've asked questions... I didn't write the bloody thing! ... ... siiiigh. It works fine for a day then gets buggy again... This isn't going to be pretty.

The work room is set up and I go to keep working on the conference app. IT'S WORSE THAN BEFORE! I decide that I have to let C know now.... I've been talking to the vendor and although they are helpful, they aren't giving me much I can work with. One of the GTs has noticed a massive packet loss and not only is it occurring for my app, it's also the conference network in general. Panic stations everyone!

I decide to quit for the day. The GT is still working on things, and I miss C when she comes to see what is happening. They contact the vendor and apparently their data centre is at a complete stand still. Not helpful Jan!

I am working on Mother's Day. It's Sunday and my work day starts at 0745. It's the start of a long, busy and often boring week.

That night, as MOTH and I return from buying our dinner, I get news that Ma is in hospital... What am I going to do? I want to visit but I don't think I can. C tells me to do what I need but I decide that I can't do much at present and continue on.

Living on a ... rush?

The conference is only a week away and I'm feeling very pressured now. I am not sure I will get this task finished in time. But I don't know who else can help me as everyone is as busy as I.

Anzac Day this week. A day to give thanks to our fallen for the sacrifice they made. Stan travelled out to Longreach for the ceremony. He was gone for a week. I arrived home from work to find a parcel on my bed. Stan had bought back gifts. I now have a FUSCHIA t-shirt. It's a tight fight but well good enough for home wear.

The sun has set and the night is getting dark. I'm minding my own business when Jerome starts to call. Yowl would be more like. Or yodelling. Uh oh. That tells me he's definitely not happy about a trespasser. I look out the bedroom window and I think I can see a shadow. Jerome continues to call. He's very loud! I unlock the front door and yes, there's a cat sitting at the top of the garden steps. I shoo it away. Or I try. It just stares at me. I shoo it again and it heads down the steps. I can see it silhouetted under the street lamp. They're sneaky but I am too. I stand there and sure enough, it comes back. I chase it again and it walks away. I stand out there like a fool for a few more minutes but it doesn't return.

It's a time for Police cars I think. I'm on the bus and there are three of them parked in a bus stop. There is blue and white checkered tape closing off the top of the stairs. Uh oh. What's going on here???

The Elder tells me it's Starlight week this week. Her employer works to raise funds for the Starlight Foundation, a children's charity. I think she even managed an extra day at work. She was totally chuffed. AND she got to wear her pyjamas to work. Why can't I do that? Oh wait, I had to retire my mad fave Jim Beam jammies. That just wouldn't work.

Starlight Foundation is also a favourite charity of the 501st Legion. I get off the bus and there they are! Brilliant! I am rushing to the next bus stop and I only have my bus fare in my pocket. I wish I could have taken photos! It turns out that I did have enough time after all. I had forgotten I had actually caught an earlier bus and now had twenty minutes for change over. The costuming this group wears is amazing. Not something tacky, but Lucasfilm's preferred Imperial costuming group.

This morning I go past the bus stop where the Police were parked. The steps are still roped off but today there is a sign advising a partial collapse of the bike path. I hope no one was hurt yesterday.

I'm not in the office today. I have training so I'm out of the office. I've not done this training before and it's usually two days. They've squeezed it into one. I'm expecting a loooong day. The course starts at 10.30am and I'm not certain of the location of the training room. I arrive at 10.00am. Early I know but the trainer is already there. I apologise for being early; he directs me to the coffee and continues to pack up from the previous class while we chat look at some of the pictures hanging on the walls.

Closer to 10.30am and others start arriving. It looks like I'm the only woman in the class... but no another turns up. This training is for my department at work and I know the other lady well. We fill out our forms and the training begins. Yes, people I am now a First Aid Officer. But goodness knows how I became that. CPR was up first. I can't even remember if I actually used the dummy. I think I did. Briefly. I DID get to use the defibrillator. *whoo!* That's easy because it tells you what to do.

CPR finished and .... everyone else left. That left just me for the Senior First Aid certificate. Ummmm. The trainer gave me a multiple choice questionnaire to complete. Take a guess he says and we'll go through it when you finish. The first ten questions had been included in the CPR training so I started from question eleven. There were thirty questions in all. When I finished, we went through them all. I got five wrong. He was impressed, considering I've not held a certificate before. He did a quick demo of bandaging a bite, use improvisation for a wrist splint. Showed me how to use an epipen, an asthma puffer with an improvised spacer. We ran through a couple of scenarios. Someone has fallen over and hit their head, split their lip and hurt their elbow; which one would you treat first?

So, somehow, I'm a qualified First Aider. And the whole process took ... two hours...

Time is aflying!

The conference is looming and it all seems to be going too fast! MOTH still wants to come with me but I think this year will be more expensive than the last. We were told partners get everything. And perhaps they do. Just not everything everything. I'm thinking I will have to fund his lunch on a few days instead of having it supplied.

The week started off well too.

Been so tired lately. I can't even bring myself to cook a decent meal. You know, with vegetables and all that. I guess MOTH could do it but it hasn't even occurred to me to ask. Tonight I decide on a premanufactured chicken schnitzel with a fried egg. I'm talking to MOTH and dishing the food onto the plates. The egg is not dead. It throws itself from the pan to the floor. MOTH smiles and takes pity on me, even 'keeping' it after I offer him mine. He 'reassures' me while eating that there are no gritty bits so all worked out fine. Sheesh.

I'm a little later this morning and the line of traffic to get under the bridge is taking its time. The usual assortment of motorcycles go past, lane splitting in an effort to get ahead. I hate that. It's dangerous. Suddenly I notice the scooter which has just gone past has two front wheels!

A conference meeting today and I think it's my turn to supply the snacks. Usually Bee does it. I get up early and make cheese scones. I think they are pretty good. None of them came home so I guess I wasn't the only one.

It's a bus day today. I'm staring out the window and plotting the bus's next move. I do that sometimes especially if I don't ride the bus very often. I don't know why. Left here, I think. The bus goes right. Oh. I must have got it wrong. A passenger in front calls out YOU'RE GOING THE WRONG WAY! Nope, I was right. Now the driver is confused. So is her sidekick. I think they are learning a new route and the driver map seems to be marked wrong. She doesn't know how to get out of where she is; streets are really narrow here and there is no room for a bus to turn. One of the young passengers directs her down a side street and back across the traffic. We've effectively done a loop and are on our way again. I'm later than usual. But not too late.

I'm driving home and I can see red and blue flashing lights in the distance. Wonder what's going on there? I get closer and I see a police vehicle cross to the wrong side of the street. The lights are still flashing. I have enough time to notice that it has parked in front of an ambulance. Behind the ambulance is the paramedic. Parked on the footpath is another police car. Police get out of the car just parked and run toward the back of the unit complex. I can't see anything from the road. A little further down, a motorcycle policeman is headed that way with lights and sirens.

There's nothing on the news bulletins later that night that could have clued me in. *sigh. only time i'm actually interested in something and all is quiet*

Finally home for the weekend. That is, it's Friday and I'm finished work. MOTH has had some work done on his teeth yesterday and his mouth is still a little sore tonight. A light easy tea; he's cooked his winter supply of pea and ham soup so we have that. I had chicken mince out and decide that we can have it for lunch tomorrow. But I cook them up later that night and we snack on them. Miss Fisher's Mysteries is on and I settle down to watch that. And read a book.

It's raining this morning. In fact, it rains all day. MOTH is cooking roast pork. I make an apple crumble for dessert and send him to the shops to collect cream or icecream to go with it. He gets both. Cadbury caramello icecream in fact. MOTH comments that he hopes the crumble topping cooks through. The last few times I've made it, it browns on top but is still floury down near the apples. It's done this for as long as I can remember. I turn the heat up a little. Perhaps that will help? Time passes. OOPS! I can smell something crisping when it shouldn't be. I rush back to the crumble. I forgot I had turned the temp up. It's beginning to blacken on top, just. Juice from the apples has bubbled up and begun to caramelise in places, burn in others. And when I dish up, it's STILL floury underneath. *just can't win* I tell MOTH that maybe I won't bother to cook it anymore. He disagrees. The pork is amazing, the crackling perfect and dessert is accompanied by a chilled glass of wine. Marvellous.

Not raining so much today. I wander out and while outside I decide to pull some weeds while the ground is soft. I grab a handful of ferns. Ugh! It's tough. I don't have a garden fork. I keep tugging. Eventually it comes out but I've probably wrenched my shoulder from its socket. Well, not quite.

So much to choose from lately. Do I play WoW? Do I facebook? Do I watch telly? Do I read? Reading is winning the battle a little lately. It's that Song of Ice and Fire series. I've got to reread the first volumes before I can get to the new one, right?

Blogger has ... changed

Well, I'm sure they said it would but I am always slightly startled when the page looks different.

It's a bit of a pea-souper on the way to work today. I try to take a photo but I'm either getting no red lights or they change before I get the camera aimed. Why does that always happen? And how come it never looks as foggy in photos as it does in real life? Oh, my life's conundrums!

An invitation arrives in my inbox last week. To a cocktail evening at one of the hotel chains. I don't normally accept but this time I think I might. It has come from handing over my contact details while attending the travel expo last month. Was it last month? Or is the passage of time fogging my sense of life's direction? Ah well, no matter. I don't want to go by myself though. I've dismissed the idea of inviting Admin2. She wouldn't accept anyway. My supervisor, C has been ultra stressed lately so in the interests of self preservation I have asked her. It's on this week and I'm looking forward to it.

A taxi into the city and after waiting for C, we're away. As soon as we hit the venue door we are greeted by a very chirpy gentleman who escorts us inside to the sign in table. By the time I chat to the lass there, sort out my name badge and things, C has disappeared. I'm not worried 'cause I know exactly where she will be - at the drinks table. I find her there, we vote on bubbly, and meet some more very friendly Rendezvous staff. C and I stand together and are soon joined by other staff. They are all circulating and so very very friendly. C and I grab some nibblies from the circulating plates and gravitate to the outdoor area to admire the cityscape. We chat for a while then notice there seems to be a speech going on. The speech and prize draws over *i didn't win anything. hardly a surprise there* and everyone is directed outdoors. They have a surprise for us...

Everyone goes back inside for more food and drinks but C and I stay outside. It's a beautiful night. Soon we are joined by Roger, the bloke who greeted us at the door. He is from Christchurch and is very, very chatty. We sit and talk for ages. Something comes up about anniversaries and I mention I am looking for ideas for MOTH and I. *it's not till august but i want to begin examining my options* Soon C has to leave for another engagement and Stefan has joined us at table. Roger mentions to him about anniversary plans and Stefan offers some suggestions.

I think I've had about 4 glasses of bubbly by now. Roger asks if I want another, and talks me into trying a white wine. He leaves to get it and is gone for some little while. Stefan and I chat some more, with the occasion passerby stopping to chat to him. Roger returns - with a coffee. Gosh it's a great coffee. Not too hot. The crema is perfect and two sugars is just right. And absolutely no bitterness in the coffee at all, only flavour. PERFECT!

It's nearly 8pm and everyone has left *i'm still outside and didn't notice* and now the Rendezvous staff are all heading down to dinner. Roger, Stefan and I say our goodbyes and perhaps the bubbly has affected me more than I thought. I allow myself to be hugged and kissed before I head out to catch a taxi home.

A couple blocks walk and as I get to the rank I'm hoping that the lead is a silver service. Nope. Just an ordinary one. I get in and am very pleasantly surprised. It's a little worn but CLEAN! Very, very clean. Seat covers and all. I tell him when he drops me off that it was a pleasure to ride in such a clean cab. He seems pleased.

I have caught the bus directly to the office this morning, rather than to campus. I'll catch the shuttle over so I don't have to take extra stuff with me. I have arranged to collect something from another ITS staff member while I am there. I do my usual task then pop over to her office to collect the CD. We have a little time so we go to have a cup of tea and stand out on the balcony. Relaxing. I check the time; it's 11.26. Time to head for the shuttle. I get there and the driver is ready to depart and isn't looking he begins to close the door in my face. I knock, he opens it and says something cheeky. I look at the clock at the front of the shuttle. It says 11.30. Seems my time is a couple minutes slower than his!

The trip back is slow; there seems to be a car full of tourists out for a Sunday drive on a Thursday. They are doing 40km in a 60km zone and no passing opportunity. Up to a corner then suddenly decide which way to go. Swing really wide on the wide sections of the road but don't pull over. The shuttle driver is frustrated and shaking his head. There are a couple of comments from other passengers. But we get there.

Usually MOTH drops the scripts off at the chemist before joining the lads while he waits for it to be filled. I'm with him today and we've settled in the corner before he's gone by the chemist. After everyone has gone their separate ways we head to the chemist only to find there is a 25 minute wait. We're standing outside and for something different I decide to look in the bottle shop. I talk MOTH into coming with me. We're walking through and I see 3 bottles of wine I like. I ask MOTH if I can get one. He's feeling generous and tells me he hasn't quite blown the budget so yes, get one. I can't decide which one I want. Get two he says. REALLY? Yeah, why not. So despite the fact they are about $17 a bottle, I buy two.

One is cold so I put that one in the fridge and the other in the cupboard for another day.

I don't do much else on the weekend. I see in my email that Blizzard have offered me a spot as a beta tester for their new expansion pack. I'm excited because I think it will be a while before I can afford the expansion pack once it's released. I look at the specs. Ok, I need 10GB of free space. No problem there. I set to download and see that it is telling me I'm actually downloading 18GB of stuff. Whew. That's going to take ages! *maybe we are spoiled and think that ADSL is too slow? i'm not sure but ADSL+2 isn't available in our area so mighty downloads just seem to creep. glad we don't do dial up anymore!* I let it install overnight.

Alright! Ready to check this out. Everything is going fine until everyone else arrives to do the same quest at the same time. And people aren't waiting their turn and blocking the quest objective, a small brazier required to light a torch. Because you can see everyone else's character, imagine them all crowded around the brazier, six or seven deep and you can't click on the brazier because you can't see it. There are other questors trying to get people to back away so we can all have a turn in a multitude of languages *and being completely ignored*, people who are lining up to wait their turn, people who are completely disregarding the line and pushing around the brazier, and people spamming the chat trying to get a macro to work which clearly isn't. There are people complaining they've been at this for hours *it took me a couple* and the situation hasn't changed for them. The first time, I got to within a couple of the head of the line and everyone abandoned the line. I guess the line was rather futile since everyone was pushing in anyway. I tried again later but it was just the same. Eventually I got it completed using a mild 'cheat' from the first time I was there. I'd tried it then but couldn't get it to work because I wasn't fast enough. This time I must have been because I got the torch lit and I was away!

MOTH talked about purchasing some necessaries. I mentioned that I would like to purchase an ebook. Or a set of 4 novels for $27, otherwise it was $10 each. Volume 5, I said, was $14. Just do it, he says. Later that afternoon, I had forgotten and MOTH reminded me. Later again he came to me and said I may as well purchase Volume 5 as well. *falls off chair*

I shut the computer down and realised I hadn't made the purchase. I boot up again and do it. Oh my!

I have the iPad with me today - so much reading to catch up on!

Back to the grind...

Holidays are over and it's back to work tomorrow. I've spent the whole week at home. Doing not much of anything. I swear if MOTH hadn't forced me out to the shops I would have never left the house.

Up to the local shopping centre. For no particular reason I think. We meet up with the old folks. I don't know if I've named them. John, Stanley, Wombat and occasionally K and S, the daughters. Today we arrive at the shops around 9am and it's nearly lunch time before the group breaks up. K is there today and I laugh a lot as she gives MOTH a hard time.

MOTH and I get an invitation to the movies to watch Titanic 3D. I appreciate the invite, but alas I shall be back at work when they go. MOTH helps them sort out the timing of the screening they want to attend while I merrily chatter to Stanley. I have seen the movie once, and that once was enough. I'm not keen enough to sit through it again, let alone in 3D.

I have spent the week off and on doing a spot of weeding in the garden. Mostly trying to thin the ferns that are choking out the gazebo. I don't dig them out, but pull them out a couple at a time. The garden bin is full and I have to stop to wait for it to be emptied. That won't happen till the end of the week. I look about, but I can't really see where I've managed to make a dent. Luckily it's been raining off and on all week so the soil is softer than usual.

One of the posters on my rumpus room wall has decided to release it's moorings. I don't really care and haven't really endeavoured to pick it up. Too late for salvage now - Jerome found it and has chewed a hole in it. It would have served me right if it were one of the ones I really wanted.

Splurged a bit this week and grabbed a couple of dollars to get some dvds. On a Tuesday, and all dvds are only $1.95 to hire. Gotta love cheap Tuesdays. If I timed it right, Tuesdays could mean heaps of dvds and $5 pizzas for dinner. Sounds like a plan for the future. Shame MOTH doesn't like pizza.

So. Puss in Boots. Funny! There's some adult humour thrown in there as well. They're getting better at it - imagine Humpty Dumpty in a gold lame suit, no underwear and complaining of chaffing.

The Priest. Some sort of post apocalyptic or futuristic setting? I'm not certain. A faction of the Priesthood have killed all the vampires, blind animalistic things with no resemblance to humanity in any form. The Church has disbanded the warrior priests and insist that vampires no longer exist.

Xmen: First Class. The prologue to the other movies. Pretty much to formula but I enjoyed it and a great time waster.

Gran Torino. Wow. If you haven't seen this one, get and see it. Wow. I did cry. Quite a bit.

A visit from Zman today to hand back the modem. I had to bribe him with fresh scones, but he did arrive. He stayed for about three hours, just chatting. And eating scones with jam and cream. It was good to catch up.

Time to install the modem today. Uh oh. The computer recognises it. The lights on the modem that need to be flashing are flashing. But there is no internet connection. I can't figure out what is wrong. Diagnostics aren't picking up any problems. I send Zman a text to let him know and ask if he had changed any of the settings. And plug the old modem back in again. Zman phones back late in the afternoon and talks me through some diagnostic things. All it does is confirm it's not working. He thinks there might be a problem with the DNS setting. Riiiiight.

I think maybe MOTH might want to phone Telstra tomorrow to sort it out. We plug the old modem back in again. But it doesn't seem to work. MOTH is despondent. I switch off my computer. Later I switch it back on but Airport doesn't seem to want to pick up the network. I turn it off and back on again. Eventually it picks up and all is good. I tell MOTH that he can use my computer. He can't get his to recognise the modem. I go to look. Switch it on and it's there. It works fine. I can open the browser and connect. MOTH is much happier.

I convince him to cook dinner this evening. Steak on the bbq. It's lovely and I've done the dishes. Time to kick back with a bit of Poriot tonight I think.

Easter chocolate time!

It's been a very quiet week. Happening wise. I've been slack on the notes front, so if you smell smoke it's me trying to remember what I've done this week.

Conference preparation is ramping up this week. Oddly enough - or perhaps not that oddly at all - work has employed a full time conference helper for the next three months. I have reminded the temp that if she has too much work to pass it to me. About 40 - 50% of my position description is conference stuff, but I think maybe my supervisor has forgotten that. Even though I ask every so often what she wants me to do.

Plenty annoying and bringing the serious job searching a little closer.

I've caught the bus this morning. It's not a long bus today, but I have managed to grab a couple of those. Yay! I always go right down the back. Each morning as we travel through the city we pass a Synagogue. Sometimes I have seen a gent outside wearing his yarmulke. This morning I see an Orthodox, complete with black suit, white shirt, broad brimmed black hat. The only thing he was missing was the long curly sideburns. I wonder what role he plays, if any.

Second to last stop and the driver calls something back to the passengers who aren't de-bussing. We all look at each other, as strangers do when they aren't sure what is going on. It turns out she is getting us to swipe our go cards at this stop as the reader is about to die. That's helpful of her as not swiping incurs a penalty of $5. A bit excessive when the trip is less than that. You can claim it back from Translink, but that's a bit of a convoluted process.

A short week this week because of Easter. Late night shopping on the usual day - Thursday - and the shopping centre is packed by the time we've finished. I finish work early because I start early so we have it over and done with by 6.30pm. Yay for our cleverness.

I think about making cupcakes, but only I would eat them so I don't think it's worth it. Maybe I will make them before I return to work next Monday? I'll think about it some more.

Easter Sunday dawns and I give MOTH his Easter present. A block of Coles milk chocolate. He thanks me and droops a little. I didn't get you anything for Easter. Never mind, I say. I got myself a block of Coles milk chocolate as well.

It's now Tuesday and I've just opened it today.... Who am I and what have I done with myself??

Crazy days

Some days, it just seems like every fool and his dog is loose on the road. Someone did a 3 point turn, just below the crest of a hill near the lights this morning. We had red so that must have meant he was crossing against the green? Some drivers have no idea.

Not like this driving school. Obviously they have some idea. Mostly about what they might be capable of. I wish I had had the time to take a photo. "Dang Driving School". Has a nice ring, don't you think?

It's a bus day today. I'm early. Almost too early. I've decided that I have worked my full day and see if I can catch a bus slightly earlier than 3.50pm. Sure I can. 3.12pm. I ask permission to leave at 3.00pm and I wait at the bus stop to go into the city to catch my bus home. One of the GTs sees me and crosses the road. He has an appointment and tells me he will give me a lift. Don't argue! he says. Okay, if you insist! So I'm in the city and waiting for my bus. Along comes a likely young lad, headphones on, using his shoulders and arms popping and locking along to whatever tune he's got on the 'phones. Assuming of course they are plugged into something! I notice people are giving him plenty of room.

I'm driving to work and I'm in the 'office' stretch. I can't call it home really. The shuttle bus goes by and I'm distracted long enough to glance at it. Eyes back to the road as I come around the bend and ... holy cow! There's a pedestrian!! She's crossed just around the bend and her clothing makes her blend into the background a little. She's made to the the other lane before I'm anywhere near her but geez! That was a little too close for me.

I'm coming home and I've hit the long smooth stretch. Some of the roads are shocking, but not this piece. There's a fire and rescue field services van. A tall white one. It crosses to the lane in front of me and I think nothing of it. It transitions out of my lane to make a right turn and HOLY CRAP! The ute directly in front of it which I could not see AT ALL is at a complete stop! I'm soooo glad that I don't tailgate! I didn't realise how much of my vision that van actually blocked. Luckily I am able to slow down without screeching brakes but had I been any closer to the van it might have turned out so different!

Exciting week on the road, eh?

The office refurbishment is nearly done. Only the swipe access on the internal door to activate and the removalists to come shift our stuff back to our floor. And then it's finished. Oh wait. The conference room has to be set up again and a whiteboard or two hung.

Friday! I leave for the day and I'm heading to my car when a truck pulls up outside the gate. Think nothing of it and get into my car. And the truck pulls into the driveway. It's collecting the skip and now I'm stuck till that's done and he leaves. That gate is one vehicle only access. Sigh.

Dang! I've missed the show I wanted to watch. I had been gearing up for it all month but at the last minute, completely forgot and watched Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries. Luckily for me, Foxtel replays things at regular intervals on most channels so I grab the guide and note it's on again the next morning. I settle in to watch Lynda LaPlante's Above Suspicion: The Red Dahlia. And I notice that all through this story line, the coppers and others all claim to have never heard of the Black Dahlia. Not playing this one for real, are they!

It's a quiet day today. It usually is, but I feel a little restless. I pace up the hall to talk to MOTH a few times. I make him lunch. I lean over the bathtub to open the window a little so Jerome can look out. I find myself clambering over the sides of the tub to pull the lace curtain down for a good soaking. The soaking water goes black quickly. Is it really that long since I washed curtains?

Curtains soak overnight and I put them through a wash cycle the next day. I put out some birdseed. MOTH goes up the street to purchase some things to have with dinner tonight. It's left over roast pork, sliced inch thick and charred on the bbq. MOTH asks me to make a butterscotch sponge pudding, a packet mix he bought a couple of shops ago. Go on, he says, it's a chance to give the mixer a go. Due to some trouble he has had with unauthorised transactions against his debit card his has been deactivated and I give him mine to purchase the goods. He comes back, shaking his head. He's only bought half the things he wanted. It didn't work. I was so embarrassed. You'll have to call the bank he says. It said 'contact bank'. Suddenly I'm hand to mouth. I've just realised I've given him the wrong PIN! No wonder it didn't work. Uh oh.

Luckily the card is only locked out for 24 hours.

Oh, my week has been so exciting!

Bright. And shiny.

My fancy new wall and some of the new carpet.

My desk from the front door. Notice the bright purple carpet? Yes. Yes you did.

The new storage cupboard they built behind Admin2.

Looking down the corridor toward the 'everybody else area'. See the contrasting blue patch there?

Outside. From the bus stop. Convenient, hey.

Part of the 'everybody else area'. Down the other end of the office. Away from the Admin section. Where they should be.

Much better than we had!