Well, that was a first.
Our plane was 2 hours late to depart due to the inbound plane from Perth being delayed because of bad weather.
However, the pilot managed to cut 45 minutes off the trip. That was most likely due to having 3 Nigerian (assumption) mid-20 women handcuffed in the back of the plane. Continue reading “On my way back from Wollongong – 3 arrested!”
Well, I’ve just spent a week in Melbourne taking over an architect role from someone who’s just left CSC.
It’s only temporary (they say)… the initial suggestion was that it would be for about 6-8 weeks. I think that’s reasonable if they can source a permanent replacement from within CSC, but it’s more likely to be 12-16 weeks if they have to hire.
That said, I’m sure some of it can be done from Perth in the interim – I hope!
For the moment I’ve become a white-collar FIFO between Perth and Melbourne… at least it’ll accumulate points and get me to gold Qantas membership.
We decided to catch up with our niece, Ella, while we were there. She had only moved down to Melbourne from the Sunshine Coast for her studies at the start of the year so she was still finding her feet.
After a short walk to the rendezvous point (boy has she grown up!) we headed off to a Japanese restaurant for a meal.
It was really good to chat about what she was up to: uni, work, family, etc.
She is totally reliant on public transport as she hadn’t done all of the required hours on Ls while she was still in QLD. That’s not really a problem here in Melbourne though since the trams & buses are so good.
She works as a shop assistant at a local pharmacy to fund the life of a student. She’s sharing with 2 other students for the moment.
She’s studying an arts degree in psychology and criminology and is really enthusiastic about it.
I can understand why she loves it here. I think I could get used to Melbourne myself!
We were here to see Dockers down the Tigers at the Emma-See-Bloody-Gee on Saturday, but since we’d heard good things about this tour we started the day with a chilly walk along the Yarra down to the ground…the temp was around 7C. We’ve had colder temperatures than that of course but there’s something about it here that seems to make it worse.
The tour lasted about 45 minutes and was thoroughly worth it. If you get the chance then just do it.
There are several things we learnt about the “G”:
– it’s full of history dating back to the 1800s;
– membership is really cheap (~$600/yr), but there’s 200,000 in the waiting list;
– it’s a full-time going concern – there’s always something on;
– it seats 95,000 with room for 5,000 standing spectators;
– they shine lamps onto the playing surface every chance they get to help it grow;
– there’s not a bad seat in the house;
– there’s a ridiculous amount of space behind the seating; &
– it puts Subiaco to shame. We can’t wait for our stadium at Burswood to be ready.
…quite fascinating.
As with any attraction the tour miraculously finished at the gift shop. The usual fridge magnet was got.
We then visited the National Sports Museum, also housed in the G. This covered many sports and not just those related to the ground. Another attraction worth the visit.
Dad & Brian: you must make a similar to this – we know you’ll enjoy it immensely.
When we were done we headed back to the city via Federation Square, a little wander, & then back to the hotel for a quick rest before dinner with Ella.
I had a cold about a month ago. It was just a site throat followed by a blocked nose – usual stuff.
As predictable as ever though, I then developed a very bad dry cough. 3 weeks later and I still have it. It’s just so damn tiring. I get sore stomach muscles and headaches all of the time with it.
I’ve been on antibiotics for a week now with 1 to go. The doc said an xray withdrawn be warranted if the ABs didn’t work.
I guess I need to make an appointment.
Well, several events caused me to work today… the project didn’t allow enough time, the Customer didn’t review my deliverable on time, & they changed their mind at the last minute.
A recent change to my laptop also meant I had to physically go in to work as I couldn’t remote in. 4 hours there – but I got it done.
Then, jump in kids’ taxi to collect Grace from rehearsals and then on to WAAPA foe a singing lesson.
While waiting, check the fuses and headlights to find out why they’re not working… just the bulbs.
Finally got home, cooked a nice BBQ for dinner.
I’d planned to do some more edits of my doc later in the night with an offline copy but I was just too knackered.
