Meus Parem Locus

ow not again!

Met up with De and Zoe for brunch this morning (at the impressive Lemon cafe in Surry Hills - I normally object to waiting for a table at breakfast time but this was worth the wait) and afterwards we went for a walk through Centennial Park.

It's the first time I have really ever spent any time there (I know - 8 years living down the road and still clueless to my surroundings) but it is such an impressive place!   Made all the more special by the Autumn sun angling through the blue sky.   I took a few pics...

And then walking back to the car after dropping the girls off, I rolled my left ankle for the second time in two weeks - really badly.   Holy crap it's a painful thing to do the second time :-(

¡Un poco loco!

What a week it has been!  The rain came tumbling down for most of it but that didn't stop me from spending the last 7 nights out and generally imbibing alcohol in various forms (I mean different types of drinks, although a jelly shot did get involved at one stage).   It has also been a very busy time in work, where for the first time since I have started at the company I can honestly say I am enjoying my time there.  Busy yes, but good-busy, and feeling like I'm part of something.  After 2 years of f*cking around not knowing what I was supposed to be doing with no management or support, it seems I've come to the end of that tunnel. 
♖

The holiday is only 5 weeks away now, and I am finally starting to feel some excitement about it.  I don't know why but I have been completely unable to get myself into the holiday mood.  Maybe it's because I'm still unsure of where we will be staying in London or something.  Or maybe I'm just thinking of how much it's costing!   But to hell with that....
♘

Am I a freak? That's the question I have been asking myself this last week.  When everyone else is moaning about the gloomy weather, the "freezing" temperature (hardly) and the constant threat or delivery of rain, I revel in the autumnal glory.   Seeing the yellow, red and brown leaves on the ground brings a sense pf warmth, security and inner glow that is indescribable.  The trees are half bare and people walk around coats and (premature) scarves.   My artistic eye (just the one, dear) comes out to enjoy the scenes from a stereotypical seasonal calendar.  Jason expresses concern that I appear to like decay and death in the nature around me, but I disagree.  It goes back to my childhood, although why I have no idea.  Autumn in Ireland was a hell of a lot colder, wetter and darker than here.   
♗

I sit here with my Spanish books in front of me.  My sister-in-law is heavily pregnant with child, and I have been trying to converse with her online in Spanish (she is Catalan from Barcelona).   I am daunted by the challenge (my last missive was typed after a few glasses of red) and even drove into the office this morning to pick up my Spanish Grammar - Easy Learning book to pull it together.  I need to pull myself together now to make it happen.    ¡Madre de Dios! ¡Yo soy un poco loco esta mañana!
☼

Yesterday, myself and Jase celebrated 3 happy years together.  A quiet affair (we were both worn out after the week)- we had a wonderful dinner (fab pork, apple & sage sausages with pepper creamed potatoes and vegies) with candles and music at home, while listening to the rain hammering outside on the balcony.  It was wonderful.  Here's to many more :O)

Just tax the STUPID people!

Ireland has a new Taoiseach (pronounced tee-shock - our name for the Prime Minister role).  Biffo (Big-Ignorant-F*cker-From-Offaly) Cowen, officially known as Brian Cowen, will take the reins from our corrupt leader after 11 years in office.   I don't know - either corruption has become more frequent in recent years or the media have become more diligent at seeking and exposing it.   In Ireland's case, no amount of indignant or incredulous huffing and puffing in the papers, on the radio or at the family dinner table seems to make a blind bit of difference to the outcome of a general election or lemming-like allegiance to a favoured political party.

“The accomplice to the crime of corruption is frequently our own indifference”.   

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So anyway, I did my exam on Monday this week.  80 questions, multiple choice, open book.  Not too challenging you may ponder... and it wasn't.... but not to be underestimated either.  I needed every minute of the 2.30hrs alloted to finish it with any degree of confidence.   As a result of waiting for the results, I have not signed up for the following module, and find myself somewhat at a loose end this weekend, with no omnipresent studying guilt lurking over my shoulder.   

I should be able to make a start on some of the other million things I need to focus on.  I should but I'm not.   Hungover from a big night last night I find myself happy to read papers, type my blog and generally fart around.  Even the plan to get the car washed for a few advertisement photos (yes - I'm selling it - I never use the bloody thing) seems horrendously daunting.   How I got myself up and washed and down to meet my dear friend John for breakfast at the overrated Bitton ($30 EACH) I do not know - even the memory tires me :)

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RANT: There are certain things that should not be tolerated and no amount of insanity, poor upbringing or drug/drunkeness can excuse.   Lighting bushfires, throwing rocks at cars and buses (seems to have become a favoured pastime of unruly teenage suburban shitheads of late) but the latest mind-numbingly f*cking stupid thing is pointing powerful lasers at approaching civil aircraft.   It seems to have happened quite a bit over the last few months in NSW, and the pilots and authorities are helpless to do anything about it when it happens.  Some dickhead with a powerful laser pointing up from bushland or their bedroom window is not an easy thing to locate, even less to prosecute successfully.   

In their usual wisdom, the Macquarie St clown show rub their temples and mumble things like "review penalties" and "banning private sale/use/importation of such devices", then scurry off for another Building Developer function to bump up their election funding in exchange for signing new releases for their mates. 

There IS no excuse for this sort of behaviour and this is where I get very right wing and think no end of fines, community service or "rehabilitation" is going to deter these idiots.   Either set up a gulag in the middle of the Great Sandy Desert and throw them in there, or off with their heads.    We don't need people like that in Australia, nor would anyone else want them.  Of course - another solution may be as the immortal words of Edina Monsoon (AbFab) stated "Why not just put a tax on the STUPID people" - wouldn't that be an interesting thought?

It's not all about the soup...

I wanted to wait for about 24 hours before I put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) on yesterday's disappointing dinner (non)event.   Having spent 3 hours putting together a special meal for some invited friends (one of whom has a temporary eating disability), a brief phone call received at 6.30 provided little information other than "argument", "not coming" and "speak later".   

Of course I was pissed off big time - both in terms to looking forward to the evening and missing a large part of the day that I could have spent studying for Monday's exam.   I still am pissed off but I'll get over it.   We enjoyed our part of the dinner with far too much wine, then went out on the town and had a great night, unfortunately descending into drunken reasoning of "it's 12.30 - no itsh not - itsh 1130 cos the clocks go backsh".    I am unlucky with dinner guests - either my invitees are too unreliable or my cooking sucks.   

tictictictictictictictictictictictictictictictictic....
The cooling fan on my laptop is driving me nuts.   I direct a little desk fan onto the thing (the Macbook pro's get unbelievably hot if you do anything involving heavy processing) yet still it whirs.   I need to get it in for a service quickly.

Yes I have an exam tomorrow for the first module of my diploma in financial services, with an 80% pass level.  I spent all day today working back through the material, doing practice exams, re-doing old questions... it's been a blast.  I can't wait until its out of the way - I look out the window and have an undeniable urge to get out and take photos or wash my car or something.  Anything.