Gotta Fly

Friday 12 October - Only 2 days to go till I fly out of Brisbane across the world to Paris. Tres exciting, no?

In the past couple of weeks, my sister had a birthday in Hawaii, my Mum had her birthday on a cruise, as did my niece Aly. Mum & Dad arrived into Sydney on 10 October and my sister & her family will arrive this Sunday morning, and I will leave that night.

Saturday 29 September - I left the holiday house at Bulimba after the Cousins arrived home and after we watched some of the AFL Grand Final together. Sydney Swans beat Hawthorn, which I was happy with, as Hawthorn were the definite favourites and I like when an upset happens (except against my team, of course). On the Sunday, in the Rugby League Grand Final, Melbourne Storm beat the Canterbury Bulldogs. No real comment there. So Sydney won the traditional Victorian game, and Melbourne won the traditional NSW game, in a little turn of events.

Wednesday 3 October - Shikha's 30th birthday. She had the day off. As you should, on your birthday.

Thursday 4 October - Shikha's 30th birthday dinner. Lorraine, Gemma, Shikha and I headed back to Verve for dinner. A very delicious meal as expected, and a good catchup with the girls who don't work with us anymore.

Saturday 6 October - my Mum's birthday. Also a massive cleaning day for me, getting my kitchen and lounge room looking so fabulous, that afterwards, I sat for at least half an hour admiring just how fabulous it was... I clearly need to clean more often, as I was rather exhausted after that effort.

That night, Debbie and I saw a cute movie called Ruby Sparks. The girl who plays Ruby, actually wrote the script, and her real-life boyfriend is the other main character. It's about a writer who had a best-seller when he was 19, but is unable to follow up with another one. He is lonely and a bit socially-awkward, and when he dreams about a fantastic woman, gets all inspired and starts writing up a storm about her (on an old typewriter, how retro and quaint!) To his amazement, she comes to life and all is good for the lovebirds for a while... without wanting to give too much away, I think there's a bit of a message about trying to control or change someone, or being careful of what you wish for, or something deep. I really liked the movie, it was different, funny in parts, and quite dark  in other parts. And the Ruby character is really adorable. 8 out of 10.

Monday to Wednesday 8-10 October - Doing the job at work that I detest so much it makes me feel slightly sick and kind of unpleasant to be around...! Unfortunately we all have to do it 3 days a month, and as I only have 8 working days this month, I get to do mine all at once. Awful. But a couple of good things happened during the 3 days. On Tuesday I had lunch with Jane, my friend AKA Veronica Lodge, to my Betty Cooper (Archie comic references). She is getting married while I am away, so we had lunch to catch up before it all happens. Jane is one of my favourite people, I think she is hysterically funny, and we go back to 2004 when we started work the same day at Infinity Holidays.

On Tuesday 9 October, it was my niece Alycia's 14th birthday. She and her family are on a cruise on the way back to Australia from Hawaii. Still remember the day she was born, and the first time I saw her, being held by the nurse like a football, getting her full head of dark hair being washed as she squawked loudly. Incredible moment in my life!

Wednesday 10 October - Mum & Dad arrived into Sydney after their 72 day (?) cruise. I spoke to them on the phone, and it was so good to talk to them and hear them after so long away without much contact.

Thursday 11 October - Planning day for work - held at Brett's place at The Gap. It poured rain, the first soaking rain Brisbane has had in a while, and doesn't the place fall apart when this happens! Traffic was terrible, accidents all over the traffic reports on the radio, some nimrod got his truck stuck across train tracks and caused havoc for commuters, which caused negative tweets on Twitter and I imagine, some really bad moods that night!! Flow on effects... We had a good day though, got lots of issues cleared up and better defined, and a great lunch of BBQ and salads created by Brett and his partner Ange.

Today was my first day off - I wanted to sleep in till about 8am... got woken up at 7 instead, by the people hired to high-pressure hose the block I live in. Grr. Then I decided to wash all sheets, doona cover and towels, and hang them out on the absolute windiest day in Brisbane EVER. I was swearing and getting tangled in sheets, then pegs, sheets/towels etc were flying off the clothesline. Seems everything was going to be a challenge today. It did get slightly better. I headed to Chermside, got a lovely pedicure, eyebrow wax and eyelash tint, then my free fringe trim at Spring Hill, then got the stupid bunched up but surprisingly dry sheets/towels etc from the line and got my room cleaned and vacuumed. Next up is to iron clothes and trial-pack.

Tomorrow is my sister Sam's birthday. I will be having lunch with her, Sean and Katie at Southbank and then at 5ish, I will be having drinks with some of the girls at Cru Bar, as it will be the last time Kim & I see them before we head off on Sunday night. Then on Sunday night, off we fly to Europe for a few weeks. Can't wait for the flight to be over, and we are safe & sound in our snugly Parisian apartment.

I may not update while on holidays. A nice big post will happen on my return. This one was not so interesting, but I am now up to date!! A bientot and hasta luego!

Must be time for an update

Friday 28 September 2012 - Time really does fly between updates these days. 20 days since my last post, from Ballina. So here are some things that have happened in that time:

Saturday 15 September - Got hair done in the morning, saw the movie Kat & Kimderella (6.5 out of 10, not really recommended!) at Bulimba Cinema with my friend Kim; and then we had dinner with Debbie at my fave, La Quinta Mexican Restaurant, on what seemed to be their busiest night ever. At least 30 people at one stage, were waiting on the footpath outside for a table - and I reckon they, like us, had reservations too! It is that popular.

Sunday 16 September - Nat had a lunch at her place for our friend Flick, who is having a baby boy at the end of November. Rather than a "baby shower" and all the cringeworthy activities that tend to go with that term, we had a nice girls' lunch, and just happened to give her a pressie for the baby. Nat cooked up a storm as she does so well, and it was really rather a pleasant way to spend an afternoon.

Monday 17 September - as my Mum & Dad headed from San Francisco to Maui on their cruise, my sister Donna was off to Hawaii with John, Aly & Mitchell. On 20th, Mum & Dad would have landed (?) in Honolulu and met up with Donna & her family at our favourite shopping centre, Ala Moana, for the day. Aly & Mitch didn't know they would be there, so hopefully that was a good surprise, and that they all had a good day together.

Thursday 20th September - Today was Lorraine's birthday, and she, Shikha and I went to Verve for dinner after work to celebrate. Verve is a great restaurant, with big yummy meals for a good price.

The birthday girl and Shikha - did I mention Verve is in a dark basement?

Friday 21st September - on Friday night, I headed to Kim's place so we could catch up on planning for our trip. We now have our flights ticketed, tour vouchered, and our other hotels booked, and so to further fine tune it, we looked at what we could do each day in Paris, Madrid and Barcelona, and just how to get from Madrid to Barcelona by way of a super-fast train. Lots of research involved! She also made yummy tacos for dinner. A good hostess is Kim. Tonight also marked the end of Collingwood's season - they lost to Sydney Swans. Ah well, I still love them. Till next year, AFL - I won't be watching Sydney play Hawthorn in the Grand Final...

Saturday 22nd September - My first day house sitting at Bulimba for my cousins, Ben & Kylie, while they took their kids to Yamba for a week. They have their holiday, and so do I - kind of! I just have to feed their lovely old dog Ella, who only needs a bit of a pat, some food and water and she's happy. My kind of dog...! The house is in a great position, within walking distance of Oxford Street (restaurants, shops, cinema etc) and the CityCat to get to work.

Anyway, that afternoon, my Ballina friend Angela came up to stay for the night. She is travelling to Central America in March with some of my friends she had never met till this day, and Kylie Callinan (one of the organisers) put on a dinner at her place (another of my house-sitting locations - see August posts) so Ange could meet the others she would be going overseas with. I hung out with them for an hour, then met up with Nat, Kim, Mel, Rachelle and her friend Tani, for dinner at Bucci's in  James Street, at the Valley. It was a nice Italian restaurant, with regional style (not sure which region) Italian cooking and we had a good chianti with our yummy meals. We saw The Veronicas with about a dozen friends there too! Afterwards, I drove back to Kylie's, picked up Ange and headed back to my "holiday home" for the night.

Sunday 23rd September - breaky with Ange at the cafe down the road, then she headed off to Robina on the way home, to purchase an iPad I do belive! It was a hot day so I hung out in the house watching Foxtel all afternoon, from memory...

Monday 24th September - Something to look forward to - booked tickets for my sister Sam & I to see Morrissey in Brisbane in December. Very exciting, we both love The Smiths, and I got her the ticket as a combined birthday/Christmas present so she would come with me!

Tuesday 25th September - happy birthday to my lovely friend from school days, Nicole Eldridge. This night Debbie came over and we tried out Ahmet's, the Turkish restaurant near me. It was my first Turkish restaurant experience, and it was pretty good, but really filling. Deb and I had a good catchup.

All week I have been catching the CityCat to work, and this is what I see when walking from Riverside to my work:

The same day I took the bridge photo, I saw this in the afternoon:

A big duck - advertising The Great Duck Race, where they race rubber ducks for charity - you'd probably have to be there...

And speaking of ducks - my 'friend' who I call the Little White Bulimba Duck, who lives at the Bulimba ferry terminal, has been missing from there all week. Tonight I saw him for the first time in ages, asleep and all fluffed up, and I was relieved that he was still there and alive... I hope he was alive. I hope he is not lonely. The other ducks that sometimes swim around him are brown, and he doesn't seem to like them much. 

On a final note - I have watched 3 episodes of Sons of Anarchy Season 5, and it is bloody unreal. So much violence and killing, but so riveting, interesting and occasionally, really sad. Great, great show.

Long Weekend of Doing Nothing

Saturday 8Sep12 - I am in Ballina this weekend. Thanks to myself for working on Ekka Show Day in August, earning me a day off in lieu this Monday. I drove to Ballina on Friday night after work. It was a pretty good run, and once I got past the Gold Coast, there was hardly any traffic.

Mum and Dad are still on their cruise, and would be on their last day in Alaska by my estimation, on their way to Vancouver where they are due on Monday.

Today I had breakfast at a coffee shop at Ballina Fair and then was able to fill in a couple of hours shopping before I met my friend Angela for her first viewing (and my second) of The Sapphires. We both agreed it was a really good movie - or, "really nice" movie, to quote Ange.

Tomorrow I intend to sleep in, meet Ange for breaky somewhere, then wash my car, then wash my hair, with a bit of Foxtel watching in between. A lazy Sunday, the best kind if you can get one.

On Monday I believe I will take my time in going to either Robina or Pacific Fair for some shopping, then to visit my friend/hairdresser Courtney who had a little baby girl, Charlotte, in June. So Charlotte would be almost 3 months old and starting to do stuff other than lie like a little floppy bunny, sleep, poo and cry. I've already asked Court if she can arrange for the baby to be awake and happy when I get there - I'm sure that will be no problem!

Last weekend, I saw The Bourne Legacy with Kim & Nat. They both think Jeremy Renner is a bit of all right, which is true, but although I did like this movie, I don't believe that it was better than the Matt Damon aka Jason Bourne trilogy. There was an amazing, breathtaking, fairly long and full-on action sequence that was really impressive, and Rachel Weisz was actually really good in her role - I find her a bit annoying in the few movies I've seen her in previously. And there's the slight envy factor, with her being married to Daniel Craig in real life... Anyway, Jeremy Renner was a natural for his action-man character - I think his name was Aaron Cross - he was very believable and I liked him a lot. Edward Norton is always good, as he is in this - not sure who his character actually worked for and why he was chasing Jeremy/Aaron though! The Jason Bourne story going on alongside Aaron's brings back memories of the last Bourne movie, but as for the rest of the storyline, I really didn't understand much of what was happening! Didn't stop me enjoying it. 7.5 out of 10.

At work on Monday, we had 2 new people start work in our team. Elena actually trained me in June last year when I started, then she left to go to a different area of Flight Centre, then came back to us this week, for which we are all grateful. She has so much knowledge and experience, that she is training the other new girl, Konstantina (Kossi). Elena is also a most excellent patty cake chef. This is one of the treats she brought in on Day 1:

On Tuesday, I went to Footgear in Queens Plaza, in search for the perfect shoes to get me and my feet around Europe. I found that the only shoes that are really comfortable are my runners. After walking around all day a few weeks ago on the Prado Exhibition and Ekka day, my feet were killing me (I did not have my runners on, clearly). So anyway, the girl in Footgear was very helpful and friendly, which meant I only hesitated for a second before shelling out for these expensive little beauties, that are not the most attractive shoes, but feel like I am not even wearing any, and I loved them straight away for that reason!

Okay, then on Thursday night, Kim & I saw a movie called Moonrise Kingdom. It is hard to describe, other than being as quirky as anything I've ever seen. It was just delightful - set in 1965, and it looked like it was filmed back then, with the bright colours and retro look of everything. It's about 2 slightly disturbed 12  year olds who decide they are in love and arrange to run away together, and the search for them that results. It is both touching and humourous. The characters were mostly fairly deadpan, but with lots going on under the surface. Big adult cast, with Bruce Willis, Ed Norton, Frances McDormand, Bill Murray and Harvey Keitel even making an appearance. Funny cameo by Tilda Swinton - her character was simply called "Social Services" and she talked about herself in the third person as Social Services. By name and by nature! I thought it was funny anyway. This film really does need to be seen to understand just how different and gorgeous it is. 8 out of 10 from me.

Warning - Weekends Can Be Dangerous

Wednesday 29 August 2012 - an update from the past couple of weeks:

Saturday 18 August - 6 of us girls went to see the Prado Exhibition at the Gallery of Modern Art. The art on display is from the Prado in Madrid, and apparently it's the first time these paintings have been shown in the southern hemisphere. GoMA has been getting some good exhibitions, and this was really enjoyable. I went along because when I go to Madrid in October, these works won't be back there yet. I don't know many Spanish artists, but I picked out a few that I quite liked.

The "Disasters of War" sketches by Francisco de Goya were disturbing, and really showed what was going on at the time of Spain's struggles against French occupation in the early 1800's (I think!) I also liked the religious artists, particularly Antonio de Pereda's "Christ The Man Of Sorrows" and Francisco Rizi's "The Annunciation". After the exhibition, we had lunch at a tapas place called Ole at Southbank, which was really nice, and in keeping with our Spanish 'cultural' day.

And this gorgeous lady, by Goya - isn't she fabulous?!

That afternoon, I met 3 of the girls from work at the Ekka. It was the last day of the show, and we were planning on seeing Eskimo Joe playing at 7:30. The Indian girl and the 2 Kiwis had never been to Ekka, and so it was a complete eye-opener for them. We saw the baby animals, cows, horses, alpacas, llamas etc, then checked out the showbag pavillion and the $15 rides!! before we rested our feet in the Woolworths food pavillion. By the time 7:30 came around and we headed for the rather long queue to go into the band, we found out E.J. didn't start for another hour, and so as we were fairly exhausted, we decided to call it a night. As I finished off my Ekka essential, the strawberry ice cream with chopped up strawberries in the cone (YUM), we saw the 3 guys from Eskimo Joe right next to us, complete with show bags, and I believe the lead singer had a Bob The Builder backpack on, perfectly accessorising his perfect coiffure and muso tight jeans. So we did end up seeing the band, we just didn't get to see them perform.

So that was a big Saturday.

On Sunday, Kim and I saw The Dark Knight Rises, at Chermside. It was my favourite of the 3 Christian Bale Batman movies. Truth be told, I barely remember the first one with Katie Holmes; I was really disturbed for days afterwards, by the Joker in the second one, and so I thought this one was really entertaining, and wrapped things up quite well. 8.5 out of 10.

Friday/Saturday 24/25 August - Our team getaway to O'Reilly's in Lamington National Park

Shikha, Gemma, Lorraine & Andy in our Villa

Andy & I drove up in front of Gemma, Lorraine & Shikha on Friday night, arriving at about 7pm. Brett arrived the following morning for breakfast. Look at what greeted me on Saturday morning on our balcony:

Aww. Lorikeet? Rosella? Not sure, but he is very pretty

After breakfast, I made a boo-boo in going on a guided Segway tour with the team and a very reassuring and helpful guide called Brett. He said how safe these things are and how some 'older' lady had just done the tour before us etc. The fact that the previous group had seen a tiger snake in the bush/forest/whatever, made me even more nervous than I already had been, at the thought of balancing on and driving a 2 wheeled contraption along bush tracks... But, if GOB Bluth could do it (on Arrested Development).... 

 How I hoped it would be...

Anyway, being adventurous, we all set off in single file, with me directly behind Guide-Brett, following in his expert tracks. About 45 minutes into it, after skilfully negotiating turns and tracks and forests, I was starting to relax and actually enjoy myself. Then - we were on an uneven, rocky dirt road, and I hit the side of a pothole - not the best thing to do on a Segway, as one second I was on it, next I had been spectacularly tossed off it, and onto my arse, bouncing as I landed. OW!! Stupid freaking Segway, uneven dirt roads, adventure and nature in general. My first thought was, "I'm going to Europe in 7 weeks and I've broken my back!" As it was, nothing except my spirit was broken, also dispelling any thought of ever becoming a stunt woman. As my friend Allyson said, we need wheels under our feet like a fish needs a bicycle. Or something wise that I completely agree with. 

So, I made it back to the villa, the others headed back to the lodge for lunch, and I soaked in a long, hot bath until they came back. Then I lay on the lounge in the foetal position, trying not to move as I was so stiff and sore. Then at 5:30, alleluia, the Lost World Spa rang to say they could give me a massage, that ended up saving me. I had a 1 hour relaxation massage, which I thought would be useless, as Jenna, the masseuse, had a fairly light touch. When I got up, I wanted to hug her, I felt so much better. It really made a difference, obviously loosening up the stiff muscles for a while. I was able to join the others for a really delicious meal, then a game of Cranium before sleeping like a log. 

Today, 4 days later, my lower back is still a bit stiff, but hopefully no lasting damage has been done. I seem to have a little bit of bad luck when I try to be adventurous - last year it was attempting to sail, which resulted in the worst sunburn I've ever had, and a severe dislike of stupid catamarans (and their owners); this year, it was attempting the Segway. I am really having second thoughts about the sandboarding in Dubai later this year as a result. 

O'Reilly's is really beautiful, up about 45 minutes of winding, hairpin bending roads from the nearest town of Canungra, i.e. the middle of nowhere. The staff were lovely, our villa was very nice, and the food at the restaurant was great too. But as far as getting away from it all, and being  one with nature, I tried it, and I prefer looking at it from a distance, thanks very much:

Beautiful view from the villa's balcony - and somewhere in that beauty, I was chucked off a wild, untamed Segway!

The Stunning Sapphires

Thursday 16 Aug 2012 - So far this week:

Monday - worked. Watched Big Brother on Channel 9, betraying my Amazing Race on the other channel. Thought BB had potential, and I used to love it. This first episode was okay.

Tuesday - worked. Groundhog Day - watched BB as 2 new housemates went in. Still showing signs of  hooking me in. Caught parts of the 2nd last episode of Amazing Race. Missed yoga due to working late shift, and also wanting to catch the abovementioned shows! So very slack of me.

Wednesday - while many Brisbanites had this day off as Ekka Day, I had a fairly cruddy day at work, admittedly my attitude to the job I was doing, did not help. BUT at night, the finale of Amazing Race was on, and it was exciting and very satisfying in the end. The good-natured cops team beat out the "alpha males", one of which many people including myself, really disliked; and in third came the blonde twin cheerleadery, air hostessy types that actually were not too bad, although they did succumb to the pressure and kept snapping at each other in the last leg. BB is not taking my fancy the way I had hoped - maybe I have outgrown it over the long break between seasons.

Today - I got an email from Mum & Dad. They have had internet issues on the ship, so it was short and sweet. They are having a good trip, apparently just missed a typhoon when they sailed out of Hong Kong, and are on their way to Shanghai. Hearing from them made my day a little brighter.

Tonight I watched one of the best movies I've seen in a long time. The Sapphires is an absolutely gorgeous, heartwarming, touching, funny and feel-good flick, that I enjoyed so, so much. It is about 4 aboriginal girls who in the late 1960's, with their scruffy, funny Irish "manager", end up in Vietnam, entertaining the troops by singing soul music. And all the adventures and dangers in this setting that ensue... without giving anything too much away, the home truths and issues of the time are addressed subtly and without preaching, the music is great and so are the characters. Truth be told, I am not a major fan of Australian movies. In my opinion, The Castle is one of the best that springs to mind, and that I remember really enjoying when I first saw it; The Sapphires is definitely another. I loved this movie, and give it a 9 out of 10. Wonderful.

Weekend Country Escape

Sunday 12 August 2012 - The past week has flown by. I had little sleep, an eventful work week and was fairly exhausted by the weekend. What a great time for a Weekend Country Escape!

Last Sunday, I left the townhouse and precious pup for a couple of hours, for lunch at my friend Kim's. Another friend, Mellissa, had spent a few weeks in Paris and the French Riviera back in May. She filled us in on her trip, showed us her photos and gave us some good tips on what to do, see and eat in Paris. (This Tuesday, it will be 2 months till we fly out).

On Monday, I had a dentist appointment after work - all good - and then went to the townhouse to collect my stuff and return the keys to my friend who had arrived back during the day. She wasn't impressed about how much the locksmith had charged to get me in when the spare key BROKE in the front door lock. I don't blame her, and I felt so bad about the expense, even though it wasn't anyone's fault. Keys are not meant to break in locks, really. Anyway, somehow I think I might not be housesitting there in future.

I then sat up most nights watching the Olympics. One night an Australian sailor boy won gold, so I stayed up watching him win - even though I cannot stand those freaking boats where you have to hang off the side with waves crashing over you, then ducking under the boom to the other side and getting sails and ropes tangled - I just don't see the appeal. But the guy was so happy, I felt happy for him. And the other nights, I don't even remember the events I watched, but I seemed to just fight the urge to get to bed, therefore getting an average 6 hours sleep per night last week. And I actually missed Anna Meares win the cycling and Sally Pearson win the 100m hurdles! And gave myself, self-inflicted exhaustion!

My little brother turned 40 on Wednesday. He was with some mates in the outback, headed for the Simpson Desert in a couple of 4WDs. Camping and the outback - 2 more things I don't want to do or see in the near future. But he loves it all, so good for him. Bless those boys & their toys (4WDs and sleeping in swags).

On Thursday it was my brother-in-law's birthday. I managed to call him before he & the family went out for dinner, and before I had to meet Kim to go and stock up on some supplies for our Weekend Country Escape.

On Friday, it was my workmate Gemma's last day at work, before she joins my old area, FCGP as a product co-ordinator. We went to the Marriott for lunch which was a good 2 course special for $20, what a bargain. Then at about 4pm 3 teams shared the most massive pavlova I've ever seen - and we got through it in no time flat. Yum.

That night, Kim and I drove to a place called Hillyridge, past Boonah in the Scenic Rim area. The last 5km or so to the house was an exciting mixture of dirt, gravel and sealed road, and the driveway had to be experienced to be believed! But Nat, Mel and Jane, who had arrived earlier, had dinner just about ready for us. I had been eating all day, and another delicious meal beckoned that night!

The house had 4 bedrooms, a fireplace in the living room, a pretty decent kitchen and a couple of big decks. It was cold at night and when the wind sprung up during the day, so we quite liked the fireplace. On Saturday morning after a yummy breaky, the other 4 headed for some lake to do a bit of hiking (guess what? another activity I didn't want to take part in - I see a non-nature theme happening), I took the opportunity to sit on the deck with a cuppa and read up on the Paris/France Eyewitness and Rick Steves Travel guides. A real rejuvenation morning for me.

My morning location

On Saturday night, after watching a beautiful sunset, Jane and Kim cooked up a fantastic lamb roast with veges, followed by tiramisu.

Nat's Instagram Sunset

That night, Wests beat St George by 22-12, and Collingwood just edged out Sydney Swans, winning 78-70. Good results both. After watching some of the gymnastics on late night Olympics TV, we rolled into our beds, with tired eyes and full tummies.

Today Kim, Nat, Mel and I had lunch at the restaurant at Kooroomba Winery & Lavender Farm, before heading back to Brisbane. Beautiful setting, my meal was great, and the girls had lavender ice cream for dessert which was a hit.

Mel, Nat & Kim - Kooroomba Lavender Farm

Tonight, as I started typing this blog, Debbie came over with her hand burned due to her grabbing a hot pan handle. We had a good catchup as she held onto a packet of frozen veges from my freezer. I think she will be in a world of pain tonight and her hand is going to blister for sure. Yowch, poor Deb. 

Olympics & Happy Housesitting

Saturday 5 August 2012 - I am sitting in my friend Kylie's loungeroom, having just seen the Aussies win yet another Olympic silver medal, this time in the rowing. Far out, I know that's a good result, and I don’t appreciate just how hard it is to win, but I'm a little over the 2nd placings, I gotta say. Australia have won 1 gold medal so far, the 4 x 100m women's relay in the swimming on Day 1. I am house & dog sitting for Kylie for a couple of nights while she is away for work.

I got up at 5:10am on Thursday morning in the hope of seeing James Magnussen win gold in the 100m freestyle. I'm not an Olympics fanatic, but I did take a liking to him when he came through in the 4 x 100m men's relay to win the heat for the team. He was a bit cocky in his interview afterwards, but adorable and confident, which I liked. And very good-looking... 

Anyway, the team came 4th in the final, and he was devastated, then immediately, Giaan Rooney stuck a microphone in their faces to ask "what happened?" and he was expected on the spot, to be gracious and explain eloquently, why they just lost. And Aussie media turned on him for being arrogant and spitting the dummy. I find the whole interview as soon as they get out of the pool situation, really intrusive and insensitive. I say, give the athletes a few minutes to process whatever happened, gain a bit of composure and then maybe they will give a decent, media-savvy response. In other words, give them a break!

Back to the 5:20am race. He missed winning by 1/100^th of a second. What?! I went back to sleep for another hour, then went to work, where I was on a job that we each have to do once a fortnight or so, and that I really detest. Then, after work, when I got to Kylie’s place and tried to unlock the front door, the pretty blue spare key she gave me, broke off in the door knob! After calls to a couple of people who I hoped could help me out – I don’t know how – I rang Kylie’s mum in Hervey Bay, who told me she didn’t think anyone besides herself had a spare key, and that I should call a locksmith.  Which is what I did.

45 minutes later, I was in. A bit scary, just how easily the locksmith was able to open that door! Rama the dog, who I thought would be all traumatised for hearing what was going on outside her house, was just happily jumping around, wanting to play. It was me who was all flustered and stressed about it all. Anyway, after a long and crappy day, I was in the house by 8pm!

Today, Saturday, I went down the road to Toombul shopping centre, bought some clothes, the paper and Who magazine, and the 3^rd season of Offspring, which I am very much looking forward to watching. After lunch, Sam, her English friend Teresa and Katie picked me up and we all drove to New Farm Park. Katie had a play on the amazing kids’ stuff in the playground set up there, then we caught the CityCat to Bulimba where we wandered around the shops and had stopped at a cafe for a bit. Then we headed back to the car at New Farm and they dropped me off back at the townhouse at Nundah. Where I was greeted by a happy dog who, while I was out, had vomited in 2 places on the shagpile rug.

Jeez - vomiting dog, breaking keys in doors, very bad internet connection (bloody Optus) – is the universe trying to tell me not to house sit here or what? To top it off, I was looking forward to watching Collingwood play St Kilda on channel 7Mate tonight – only to find they’re showing fricking Brisbane playing Richmond. Who are playing in Brisbane, and who are 2 of the lamest teams in the comp. Hence the reason I am watching the Aussie silver performances of the female triathlete and the male rowers.... Now I have just looked up and see that the dog is chewing up and spitting out bits of an old slipper all over the floor.

It must almost be time for a cuppa tea and Offspring. After I pick up the pieces.