All week I had ummmed and arrrhhhhed about what to wear. I own mostly casual day clothes for work, and dressy winterish night clothes. I own nothing for 10am summer weddings !!!
Fortunately Katies 1626 range (now renamed Autograph) had some new arrivals when I popped in on Tuesday afternoon after work. I managed to find this (pic on right) nice sheer loose greeny brown tie dyed top with a built in necklace cleverly positioned to hide the gaping cleavage !!! It went nice with my linen 3/4 pants.
I still feel like I sweated massively all day - but so did everyone else so I wasnt Robinson Crusoe !!
By the time we made our way to the reception in the Swan Valley, after a lovely service, the temp had hit a mere 45c.
Karen obviously has my taste in colours. The table and cake decorations were deep purple and gold. There were cute purple star shaped tea candles on the tables and the place cards matched the pretty black wedding invite with a sheer purple tissue paper. We had a lovely buffet meal followed by dancing (or passing out from the heat - which ever came first!!).
I am not exagerating about the heat. When we went to leave the reception - we discovered that a can of coke had actually exploded in the car ! Its lid had ripped off and the contents were all over the car - all nicely dried and chrystalised !!
We continued on to a party on the grooms side of the family - while the bride & groom went away to their honeymoon. The party was filled with people I havent seen for at least 7 years but it felt like yesterday. A fabulous crowd that I have always enjoyed the company of. They know how to party and play all the best sing along songs !!
So yesterday it was time for the bi-annual (hmmm does that actually mean twice a year - or what I want it to mean is every 2 years !!!!) Chris Isaak concert.
Unlike every other year where he plays in a nice comfy indoor venue, this year some bright (not) spark decided the end of November would be an ideal time for an outdoor gig in a park by a lake.
For a start - the positioning of the stage on one side of the lake and the audience on the other - meant that basically no one but the ducks got a front row seat !
Secondly - lakes and night time usually mean mosquito's, moths and other assorted bugs in plaguelike proportions.
Thirdly - summer chose Sunday to really kick in. So there we are queuing in 36 degree heat and mega high humidity at 3pm waiting for gates to open at 4.
Fourthly - I hate the ticket collectors - they kept the tickets. Dont they realise that is our $100 souvineer ? How rude.
Fifthly - we selected what appeared to be quite a good possie for our picnic blankets - over the the right of the stage about 4 blanket rows from the lake. Only too discover too late that the fenced off area next to us had been left for "late arrivers and dancers". So of course when it filled up with the drunken hoards who ran down from the back - we couldnt see the stage at all. So just to try and see the stage I was forced to abandon my posessions and join the mosh pit - only to find myself behind a rude group of drunk women of amazonian hieghts who shrieked and yelled thru the ballads. Seriously - if they werent like a foot and a half taller than me - I would have belted them. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
Anyway ! Support act number one was the very appropriately chosen Rusty & The Dragstrip Trio - a local rockabilly band with a big cult following. They rocked it up for an hour with some great songs. Support act number 2 was the very poor choice for the night - Richard Claptons music did not remotely suit being sandwiched between a rockabilly act and a rockabilly rock act. He just sounded very hasbeen, very noisy and very out of place.
Finally at 7.30, just on sundown, out comes my boys. I managed to get away from the amazonian drunks and found a spot behind a slightly shorter person and stood on my tippee toes to enjoy the songs (because unlike the drunks and desperates - thats what I was there for).
His crowd walk came early - like during the second song ! After comments about never performing in front of a moat before, and how water and lights and a man in a sparkly suit always equals bugs and with so many he wouldnt have to eat for a week - he left the stage (singing the entire and clean version of Return To Me) and wandered along the edge of the lake (stopping at Loui's picnic blanket - lucky gal).
We were treated to a much longer acoustic set (and a Kenney solo !!) that featured some real 1950s gems, some Roy, some Elvis and even Gene Vincent. He even threw in his christmas single !! Quite delicious to hear so many songs that I hadnt heard him do live before.
He totally rocked - and as always - put on an awesome show. I have loaded photos to my photoalbum site - so do visit. They werent as great as I hoped - I had nothing to lean on to avoid shake - and was getting bumped by ignorant drunks so I got a lot of blurry shots ! I also took some videos and am just trying to work out how to reduce their size so I can load them to my You Tube account so you can view them.
Speaking of You Tube - if you search for my account name PerfectlyPerth - you will find some videos I took of the F18 jets doing a display over my balcony last weekend !! Chris will be there as soon as I work it out ! I am still new to videoing and you tubing alround !
Oh and on other newsfronts. Our pathetic yesmen (ie state politicians) voted last week to bring in daylight saving starting next weekend. So that one hour of sleep I get at 6.30am just got stolen away from me. Now I will be still wide awake as my alarm goes off. And I will be sitting in my office till 8pm waiting for it to get cool enough to walk home. Yep I can see it now Mr Pollie - it will improve my lifestyle to no end ! No sleep and staying at work till dark - woohoo - I simply cannot wait. And of course - it didnt occur to them to actually combine this with extended shopping hours ! So that was a big waste. And all those "family events" - like carols by candlelight and skyshows - will have to start much later - like after kiddies bedtimes - so they will no longer be family events will they. I would love the see the statistics on power usage after the 3 year daylight saving trial. I do believe it will increase dramatically. People will be getting home at the hottest part of the afternoon - and while the pollies may be of the belief that everyone will be out in parks playing sport with their kids - most people I know will be saying "hmmmm 45 degrees - fuckit I am off home to my aircon". Pollies really do live in a whole nother world to the rest of us dont they.
Anyway - enjoy the Chris photos. I am glad they always remember to put Perth on their tour calender!!!
A few hours after I got home from the Chris gig last week I started to get an earache. At first I thought it was from the concert - but that would have been unlikely. As the pain spent the night moving between my eardrum and my jaw - I realised it was more likely connected to a broken tooth :(
So I spent the night mixing concoctions of pain killers and swapping icepacks.
It only got worse as the week went on. I seriously thought my eardrum could burst from the pressure.
I gave in this morning and went to the doctors. I got the one that spoke no english so all I could do was point to the various areas that were exploding in agony. She seemed to catch my drift and prescribed me a big shot of penicillian (which I am probably still allergic too but right now I really dont care!) and enough antibiotics to keep me going for the week along with a weeks worth of panadiene forte. The ad for cocaine toothache drops did sound awfully appealing but I couldnt find them in the chemist ! So anyway tonight I might even get some sleep. And I better - seeing as how tonight is an hour less than normal as we cross over to the dark side of daylight saving.
To make myself feel better - and seeing as how I had gone to the effort of walking into town to battle with xmas shopping crowds to get to my doctor - I cheered myself up with some retail therapy. To Dymocks first for book therapy - a couple of Kathy Reichs, a Gabrielle Lord, and an autobiography that I am sure will give me a good laugh - Rupert Everett'sRed Carpets and other banana skins. And now I have $30 in vouchers to spend on more books in January - so Kathy or Colleen better have a new one out by then !!! Its my second big book buy up in as many weeks. I bought some new Jeffrey Deavers and a Nicci French, and the latest Ben Elton - Chart Throb - which I am cackling my way through right now. Its a piss take of the Idol phenomenom and its so bloody spot on - as only Ben can be. (I would link you to the Ben Elton site but its only half built - by me !!!! I will try and get it finished after my christmas holiday).
I might not get to blog again until the new year so just a final natter for the year from me. My Seasons Greetings are HEREfor you all.
I am off to the south west for the cooler temps (only locust plagues to deal with !!), vineyards and caving - no idea if there will be good net cafes down there !. Back again in January.
I set up a MySpace (finally I here some of you say!) so click on the button on the right and add me as your pal. So far I found half of Chris's band and all my pals from the We Will Rock You production. Was thrilled to see that the divinely talented Kate Maree Houlihan is using several pictures I took of her on her site !!
I also added some video clips from the recent Mr Isaak gig (button below on the right). Sorry to the non broadbanders - they may be very slow or not open at all for you.
I went to the office christmas party on Friday. It started at 11.30am and I got home at 11.30pm. Way too much alcohol was consumed in that 12 hour period ! Last memory was sitting in a pizza parlour talking to a 4 year old Japanese boy (ok so we were playing peekaboo) while I waited for a bacon double cheese burger pizza ???? What on earth possessed me ! I am getting to old for this !
Anyway - hope you like your christmas card ! The internet saves a fortune on envelopes and stamps doesnt it ! Best to all xxxx
I write this not just as a returned holiday maker, but as the owner of a brand new computer - woohoo !!! Mum and I returned from our southwest road trip this week (just in time as a cyclone hit down there about 12 hours later !) and once we finished downloading about 1000 photos and videos from 3 cameras - my old computer said "good grief what are you expecting of me !!!!!". So it was off to Harveys to buy a nice new one with a much much MUCH bigger hard drive etc etc.
For those who need the guff - the PC is a Philips PV02 and the 19in flat screen monitor (sighhhhhhhhhh) is a Samsung 920n. Umm what else - Intel Pentium D 2.8gHz, 1GB DDr2 RAM, 160GB hard drive, DVD supermulti drive (YEAYYYYY). I also like that it has card reader slots and extra USB ports on the front panel - saves crawling under the desk to access the back !
Thanks to young Karl (one must always have a friend with a clever teen) who transferred all my files, photos, videos, music and emails over to the new computer yesterday. What a lifesaver. And I spent today cleaning everything out of the old computer so Mum can inherit it and learn to upload and play with photos.
So - our holiday............let me back track a bit to.............
Sun 24 Dec: We had a bit of a panic the night before when, on the way to visit friend Keith, the car lost power (ie turned off!) at corners and traffic lights. At midnight I had found myself online getting hire car info - ready to start calling at 7am Sunday morning in the hope of getting a car ! But never fear. Mum woke on her birthday at the crack of dawn and went down to investigate the engine in the daylight and found a loose wire. She connected it and did a couple of blockie circuits before waking me to confidently inform me the car was ready to go ! So we packed the car and set off around 10.30am. First we stopped for petrol and the station attendant gave us a christmas gift of 2 little stuffed xmas toys - a little brown reindeer and a cute white polar bear - complete in xmas outfits. They were about 4 inches tall and fit in the dashboard consol just below the brand new cd player. As they were joining us as travel companions it was necessary to name them. I had the Chris Isaak Christmas CD ready to accompany us on our travels so we named them after his band, Rowley the Reindeer and Kenney the Polar Bear. Collectively they became known as "The Boys". The boys featured in photos at all of our sightseeing stops and had themselves quite an adventure. (I will build them a photo album all of their own next week !!).
So off we drove. Stopping first at the Harvey Vistors Centre (also home of a May Gibbs House tea room and lovely gardens) for a picnic lunch (turkey and cranberry sauce on lovely fresh rolls.
We reached the Margaret River region around 3.30pm. As a particular historical attraction was closing at 4pm and wouldnt be open again during our stay - we turned off before the town of Margaret River and headed straight for Ellensbrook House. Its the original homestead of the Bussells - the pioneer family of the region. Beautifully restored and maintained in lovely bush grounds, its a lovely piece of history worth seeing. We also strolled the 2km boardwalk through the bush to a little cave grotto and the falls. Obviously its the middle of summer so we were not expecting water - but there was still some definite waterfall action going on.
I must add. My original plan for a holiday was to avoid the typical Perth stinking hot xmas season by heading to the cooler southwest. How silly was I. Poor old Margaret River was having its own personal heatwave - with nasty temps in the high 30s (celcius for my US pals - think around 100F). So we completed our little bushwalk as very sweaty messes.
From there we drove into Margaret River and checked into the Grange on Farrelly. Nice little old fashioned motel - with AIR CON !! We strolled down to the main street and found very little open so ended up at a hot chook place (conveniently called Chooks) and bought ourselves a big feast of chook, chips, garlic bread, chocolate mouse and my personal favourite - fried pineapple !!!
Mon 25 Dec: This was a non day. I was already aware nothing would be open - its Australia, its a country town in Australia, and its Christmas Day ! So I had planned a few drives to seaside scenic places for picnics. This didnt eventuate because Mum woke up extremely sick. Some kind of a mix of gastro and cystitis. OUCH. I walked to the main street and miraculously found a grocery store that had opened just for 3 hours so I stocked up on Cranberry juice for mum and some snacks for me then found a chemist also open for the morning and was able to buy medication for Mum. Back to the hotel to have her take it all !! So while she slept through the day and night rather fitfully - waking only to go to the loo and take more pills and drink more cranberry juice, I occupied myself with excrutiatingly bad TV (again its Australia, its country WA, and its xmas day! even 3 foxtel stations didnt help ! So I read most of my new Jeffrey Deaver !
Tues 26 Dec: Luckily for us many of the tourism sites chose to open on boxing day so we had a very full day. We started at the Eagles Heritage Raptor Wildlife Centre just outside Margaret River. I love this place. It rehabilitates wild eagles, hawks, and owls. Some of its more permenant residents - the ones that were too injured to return to the wild - entertain you with a big flight and feeding display. There is a lovely 2km stroll through bushland passing by various aviaries where they keep all the same types of breeds together. I was thrilled to see some gorgeous Southern Boobook Owls. I had one that use to visit me in my last house and they are possibly the most adorable owl on the planet. And I am very pleased with my photos. During the bushwalk we crossed paths with a rather large lizard/monitor. Probably 2 foot long (and he was missing the end of his tail so not sure how long he was meant to be). He actually stood very still on the path in front of me long enough for me to take a few good photos.
From there we drove on down to Augusta to the Cape Leeuwin lighthouse. This lighthouse stands on the dividing line between the Indian Ocean and the Southern Ocean. I have been there before when it was so windy you could barely stand up and the huge waves meant it was too dangerous to walk out onto the massive rocks below the lighthouse - but not this time. The staff said the ocean was the flattest they had seen in decades ! So were walked right out onto the rocks and sat in the sun (ooops big mistake) for hours - watching the tiny waves, the clouds, the big pod of dolphins playing beneath us.
After that we explored the pioneers cemetary and visited the bakery for a great country pie.
Then we drove up Caves Road and went to Mammoth Cave. This was - for both of us - our first big test of cave photos with our digital cameras. Luckily you can stay in there as long as you want - aside from being 15 degrees cooler than it was outside - it also meant we could take multiple shots until we got it right !
Continuing up Caves Road we stopped in at the Boranup Wood Gallery - an utterly stunning place full of $10,000 tables made from single slabs of trees, all sorts of gorgeous craft works and some hilarious garden sculptures - animals made of car parts ! The first time I found this place 9 years ago - all I could afford to buy were the wooden handled pate knives and cheese forks. This time around they had increased so much in proce I couldnt even afford more of them !! We the drove to Redgate Beach - there is a lookout there with a monument for the Georgette shipwreck. Some of my anceastors were on this ship when it was wrecked in 1876 and were saved by Grace Bussell and her aboriginal stockman.
Back to Margaret River for dinner at the Settlers Inn - good hearty pub food.
Wed 27 Dec: Seriously hot day - probably about 40c. We drove up to Dunsborough and then to Cape Naturalist lighthouse. The intention was to do one of the 1 hour boardwalks that went to a whale watching lookout. It was so hot and the staff said there had been the lowest ever recorded number of sightings in years. Only 12 that month instead of hundreds. So the idea of walking that far to see nothing didnt appeal to either of us. So we headed to Yallingup - stopping at Sugarloaf Rock - a cliff formation on a beach.
Then we stopped in at Ngilgi Cave. It was discovered in 1899 and from ground level is totally unremarkable (unlike Mammoths grand cave like entrance !!). You go down a big long wooden staircase that spirals down about 3 storeys - yes I know - friggen freaky for the stair phobic Karina - but I weighed up the whole "its lovely and cool down there" thing and made sure everyone went down before me in case I changed my mind! At the bottom of the staircase it split into two massive canyons that went for miles downwards. I explored about 5 storeys of levels while Mum went off and did the full stretch - down 11 storeys below ground. There were two teenage girls on the tour and they went down into one canyon below me about 3 storeys down. It was called the cathedral and the rumour is that Dame Nellie Melba sung there 100 years ago or so. Anyway the girls turned out to be choir singers and they lay on the floor down there singing christmas carols and things like Amazing Grace and Hallelula etc. It really made the caving experience that much more special. I video'd them and will upload the video soon. Despite the staircase this would have to be one of the most stunning caves I have seen in all of Australia.
On the way back to Margaret River we stopped in at Yallingup Beach and admired the rather overpriced holiday homes (like in the 2 million mark) and Canal Rocks.
Chooks for dinner again !
Thurs 28 Dec: We checked out of our hotel and headed out of Margaret River. We took the Brockman Highway to Nannup, then to Manjimup on the Brockman Highway. Stinking hot day again so we stopped regularly to cool the car down. Turned onto the Muirs Highway to Mount Barker - stopping to view Lake Muir - oh dear - the word Lake should be removed - it was massive on the map - but as dry as a bone ! In Mount Barker we joined the Albany Highway - and the locust plagues (ewwwwwwwwwww) for our drive to Albany. Checked into our hotel and dined on a very scrumptious meal at the hotel. It was the kind of place that served REAL mudcake - not woosy chocolate cake disguised as mudcake !!
Fri 29 Dec: In the morning I rested up with a joint toothache/earache and mum headed off to the famous Mount Romance spa and sandalwood factory. In the afternoon we headed up to the Mount Melville lookout which was just behind the hotel. What a great view. Albany is so hilly and appears to be made entirely of rock. It really reminded me of Lake Tahoe in Nevada where homes have to be built around the enormous boulders in their yards !! The seascape and harbour are really stunning and its not difficult to see why Albany was settled a couple of years before Perth. We then went to the historial section of Albany, visting Patrick Taylors Cottage first. The cottage is the oldest original home in WA still standing and was constructed in 1832. It is filled to the brim with historical memorabillia, donated by many local families. Each room is set up exactly as it would have been "back then" complete with dummies in full costume. We then went to the Albany Convict Gaol - constructed in 1852. Really well preserved and also decked out with original furnishings and dummies in costumes. I must give 10 points to Albany for the way it has preserved its valuable history.
From there we headed out to the awesome cliff formations of Natural Bridge and The Gap. Even on the week of the "flattest seas in decades" there was still a pounding surf crashing against the cliffs and it was so windy that at one stage I was convinced my contact lens was about to come out ! From there we went across to the Whale World Centre. Until the 70s Albany was one of the worlds largest whaling stations. Obviously not a history we look at with pride. Instead of destroying the whaling station they have turned the whole thing into a huge museum. The huge oil silos are now theatres that show shorts films about the history of whaling, and docos about whales and sharks. The 3d one is pretty cool !! In one old warehouse there is a great collection of skeletons - sperm whales, blue whales, minke and humpbacks. There is also a fully preserved whaling ship that you can walk all over. Its great that they have preserved the history and been able to turn it into an educational experience.
Back to the hotel and wouldnt you know it - there was a Chooks store just down the road !
Sat 30 Dec: Checked out of our Albany hotel and drove up to Mount Clarence to see the Anzac Memorial. Soldiers from all over Australia gathered in Albany to get ships to Egypt and Gallipoli and France etc in WW1. The first ever Anzac Day dawn service was held at this memorial. Its an amazing place that I cant really describe - its right on top of the mountain with the view of the harbour where the soldiers left from. Its quite moving.
Then we headed out on the scenic road to Denmark - which we think was a new word for "less maintained road" !! We stopped in Denmark for lunch (oh god yes - Chooks again !) before stopping at Bartholemews Meadery for tastings of honey wine and icecream !! We then stopped at Dinosaur World (and fauna, reptile park). What a strange find out in the middle of no where. A huge display of dinosaur skeletons, surrounded by display cases of living lizards, goannas and snakes, and outside a collection of loose tame and talkative birds, aviaries filled with many varieties of Australian birdlife and even some kangaroos. The most out of the way bizarre place I could ever have imagined !!
We continued along the South Western Highway to the Valley of the Giants Tree Top Walk and Ancient Empire Walk. My third visit in 10 years and it still stuns me with its beauty. The day had finally cooled and we were able to spend nearly 2 hours wandering around and taking photos.
We then drove into Walpole and checked into the Tree Top Hotel. Dinner was from the "Flaming Hot" - a burger come pizza come fish and chips place. Mum had pasta and I had a burger to die for. There is utterly nothing like a country burger - where they use real meat instead of frozen patties, and they toast the buns and cook the onions YUMMMMMMMMMMMM.
Sun 31 Dec: Started the day in the Walpole Visitors Centre collecting local maps etc and then over to a little craft shop. Then we drove out to Conspicuous Cliffs. I first discovered this place accidently in 1997 and there was not a soul there. I returned with my American friends in 2001 and on that occasion I think we saw one surfer in the car park but on the beach - not a soul. This time it was positively crowded - at least 7 people !! Its a long walk on a boardwalk from the car park to the beach - ages before you even realise there is a beach. Mum and I split up as she headed up to the cliff top lookout while I made my way slowly down the boardwalk stairs. I stopped to take photos at one point and just missed snapping 5 or 6 dolphins surfing in on a wave ! How incredible. By the time I had the camera zoomed and ready they had swum off !
From there we drove up Hilltop Road to see the Giant Tingle Tree - and it really is a giant, then to Circular Pool - a lovely rock formation in a nice cool river.
Our new years eve celebrations were at the hotel. They had organised a DJ and a pig on a spit along with a big buffet. The hotel had been booked out with one of those seniors coach tours so there were about 40 old dears over 80 and a couple of other younger guests. I found myself joining in on the godawful Birdie Dance and Macarena, not to mention the exhausting Nutbush !!!! We lasted until about 11. I think the main problem was that the meal started getting served at 6.30pm so an hour later we were stuffed and there were still so many hours to fill before midnight. So we headed back to our hotel room - leaving the elderly to party on - and watched the fabulous Sydney fireworks on the telly.
Mon 1 Jan: We started our day (and our year) with a cruise with Gary Muir on his Wild Over Walpole wilderness tour. It was my third cruise with Gary (last in 1997 and 2001) and he recognised me straight away ! Scary !! His cruises are always the most entertaining I have ever experienced. He manages to excite, educate and bewilder each and every passenger. He is a very clever and passionate ecologist and similar to Steve Irwin in his absolute Australian-ness and passion for his job and his delivery of the message.
After the cruise we had lunch then drove out to The Knoll to look over Coalmine Beach (named for obvious reasons!!) then up to the John Rate Lookout, before trying out a circular track around Mount Clare which turned out to be a bad idea as we got 2/3s around to a dead end and had to turn in a tight spot and make our way back !!!! We dropped in on the town cemetary on the way back to the hotel.
Takeaway lasagna for dinner followed by brie and crackers.
Tues 2 Jan: After weeks of stinking hot weather we woke to cool refreshing rain (of course we didnt realise it was the tail end of a cyclone joining up with a huge southerly storm front and was about to become the biggest storm to hit the sounthwest in decades !!!!). We checked out and left Walpole around 10am. We were in a forrest about 60km from Manjimup around 10.45am when the gear stick came loose in mums hand. Luckily she had not yet decided to overtake the annoying two cars towing a caravan and a boat !!
Mum stripped back the centre console and the stereo part of the dashboard (all without getting out of the car due to rain) to access the gear shaft. Used a spare hotel toothbrush and some WetOnes to clean up the oil and grease before using some rolling epoxy to jam into the screw threads and screwed the gear stick back into its shaft. That took till just on 12. Drove the 60km to Manjimup on one gear “just in case” and spotted Micks Autos as we entered the town – got him to check our work and tighten things up with better tools and grabbed Chicken Treat for lunch.
After the epoxy dried we drove through Bridgetown to Ballingup to see the Old Cheese Factory - the largest craft shop in the state. So many things to look at !! But neither of us were in a spending mood.
Continued on through Kirup (the rain and cloudy cool conditions continued the whole way) and Donnybrook the shortcut through Boyanup and Burekup back to South Western Highway to home by 6.45pm. A long drive all up. Sandwhiches for dinner because we were too tired to make anything else !
Mum stayed for a couple more days until she felt up to driving home. We went computer shopping and grocery shopping and went to see the latest animated feature (a first for Australia) Happy Feet - really cute and enjoyable. Robin Williams was on a role and it was great to see many of the We Will Rock You ensemble in the credits as dancers.
Then mum went home and I did housework and hooked up the new puters etc. Back to work tomorrow - ho bloody hum.
Anyway - hope you are still here after that ramble. Later in the week I will load the photos to my photo albums and also some videos to my You Tube account (you will need to subscribe to my account (PerfectlyPerth) to view them - but that costs nothing and it means I can keep them private instead on available to the public).
So here it is - January in a whole new year. The first decade of the 2000's is nearing its end ! Scarey indeed. Where are the flying cars and space suits ??? Why are we not yet holidaying on the moon ???
I hope 2007 is fabulous for each and every one of you.
So, I have been comet watching this week, how about you ? Comet McNaught, which was only discovered in August, is the brightest comet to pass Earth in 40 years. It has a nucleus about 50km wide and a vapour cloud several thousand km wide.
After the disappointment of Haleys Comet in the 80s I really didnt hold out much hope of being able to view it with the naked eye - let alone from my own balcony when everyone else was down at the beach seeking the best vantage points.
But low and behold did I have a view ! Thursday it was too cloudy but Wednesday and tonight I was treated to almost an hour of prime viewing time. It was a little bugger to capture on film. I actually found the video easier. I will upload the video to you tube tonight. Remember you can search for and subscribe to my account (perfectlyperth).
So here are a couple of my photos.Top one is from Wednesday and the bottom one is from just a couple of hours ago.
Speaking of uploads. In my last blog I mentioned the adventures of Rowley the Reindeer and Kenney the Polar Bear who accompanied mum and I on our christmas road trip. The boys now have their own travel journal with photos of their trip - so take a look and leave them a comment !!!
So. (again - I already started with a so). Back at work for 2 weeks and naturally it feels like I never had a holiday. New team, but old team leader that I last had 18 months ago. I knew in advance we would butt heads. I dont have a lot of (ok none) respect for him. His qualifications are solely that of a team leader. He has no idea how his team does their jobs or the complexities of our work. Yet he has the power to refuse our submissions.
The problem is - he refuses them based on "gut feeling" whereas we write the bloody things using logic, policy and procedure. He has no balls to do our job so he makes gutless wimpy decisions. When I said to his face that he had no balls - he demanded I have some respect because "I am your team leader". I was in the mood for a fight that day so I responded rather loudly with "Hey - you lost my professional respect 18 months ago and my personal respect 6 months ago. You will have to work damn hard to earn it back and it doesnt come automatically with a pay cheque and a few stripes on your shoulder". The man was too terrified to come near me for the rest of the day !
By day 4 back at work I had already had a meeting with his boss to discuss my concerns regarding his inability to make correct decisions.
Blah blah blah.
Lookies at the other piccie. Its my two computers all hooked up together sharing their information. Now the big ole white puter has been relieved of the strain of Karinas HUGE photo and video collection and it feels much better and its ready to move to Mums house !! And the shiney new black puter is making itself at home just nicely.
And how old do I feel this week ? This week I RSVP'd to a wedding for a lad I use to babysit. Not only that, he became a daddy last year. I am OLD !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am a grandbabysitter ?????????????
I have been renovating. Do you like the sites new look ? I thought it was getting too busy and fussy and too many different icons etc - so have basic'd it down to just text links.
I have also been uploading some video clips for you to enjoy. Namely a clip of Comet McNaught, a sample of my holiday videos featuring some stunning singing in Ngilgi Cave, and a snippet of last nights Australia Day Skyshow fireworks display as viewed from my balcony. Just go to the links on the right under Baja Video Index.
I am having a four day weekend and what a weekend to choose to be indoors enjoying the airconditioning. 41c degrees yesterday and 40 today and worse tomorrow from what they say. Last night SydneyPal Keith came over to view the skyshow and shared his fab holiday photos from his trip around the US. God it makes me want to travel again !
I am hoping for a cool change as I want to go shopping on Monday.
My sympathies to those I know who lost "Uncle" Phil last week. He was a lovely man and will be missed.
I ran out of broadband useage time for the first time this week!! Thanks to those who answered my plea's for techo translations - I have rung Westnet and upped my plan ! It happened when I discovered the true joys of You Tube this week and was able to view a dozen episodes of UK Celeb Big Brother featuring my ole heart throb from the A Team Dirk Benedict !! I cannot fathom what led him to agree to go on it but its compulsive viewing. And such a bizarre combination of "celebs" - from Jermaine (brother of Michael) Jackson (the normal one in the family), to Leo Sayer (who walked out in a massive hissy fit of eff words because he refused to wash his own underwear, to barely known pop singers, to even more unknown boyfriends of former winners of UKBB ! (How that makes you a friggen celebrity is utterly beyond me). And then we have the racial war between a bollywood princess (who Dirk has quite the crush on !!) and the crass uneducated truly vile female whose only claim to fame is previously being a BB contestant. Her voice makes my skin crawl and her complete and utter THICKNESS makes me wonder how she graduated from grade 4.
But yes - thanks to broadband and You Tube - I am bloody addicted ! DIRK TO WIN !!!!! Can my pommy friends vote please !
Well after two of the hottest weekends I remember since 1991s stinker summer - today its decidedly cooler, cloudier and downright more pleasant !
Last Saturday I attended the wedding of Ben and Karen (pic on the right). Bens mum is one of my oldest dearest friends who now lives overseas so this was a joyous occasion that saw her and hubby return to Perth for a short holiday.
The wedding was at 10am in a church in historical Guildford. By that time the temperature had already reached 40 degrees celcius - baring in mind we current have daylight saving - that means that kind of temp was actually reached at 9am ! good grief.
27 February 2007, Monday.
I woke to an almighty storm this morning and leapt out to the balcony to try yet again to capture lightning. Out of a zillion photos I did actually capture a single lightning bolt - my first ever !! So its below - along with another of how tumultuous the clouds looked throughout the morning storm. I will add the rest to my photo albums during the week.
Its been a strange fortnight - highs and lows. Lows being yet more office politics. Weak males in positions of power putting complaints in about stronger more intelligent lower level females (yes me). So I had to deal with a whole heap of crap for a few days as the complaints were dealt with. Surprisingly I came out on top. I was simply honest. Yes I have very high expectations of the senior levels in my team. Yes I expect knowledge and intelligence from them, along with respect and support. But because they will never have the same technical knowledge as me - I will always be let down by them. They cant bring themselves to respect a female, a low level female, a low level female with more technical knowledge than them. I dont understand why. I am not a threat to them. I have utterly no wish to do their jobs. I am not climbing my way to the top and stepping on them. I am simply doing my darndest to work under them despite their sheer and utter moronic weaknesses.
I dealt with my stress by shopping - very unlike me. An afternoon in the city saw me purchase 3 tops, shoes, a handbag, two purses, some books hmmm and I am sure there was more !
Highs:
Last weekend I went to see my old pal Gina in her final Perth gig before she moves to Melbourne. I have put photos and a video on my MY SPACE entertainment blog here. I will miss her dreadfully but I hope Melbournites appreciate her talents.
Then this weekend mum and I went to see Fiddler on the Roof starring the original and the best - legendary Topol. I admit to getting a little teary at the end - seeing the entire audience standing and thanking him for sharing his performance with us Perthites. There is a review on my MY SPACE blog here.
I know I know - here I am crying about being in friggen agony again because of
toothaches.
But seriously this whole toothache thing is outa control. The right side of my face
feels like someone kicked me. Its a full blown jaw and ear ache :(
I wouldnt like to actually count how many panadiene fortes and nurofen plus
pills I have popped in the past 3 days. Lets just accept that its lots.
I still wanna know where exactly I can buy those cocaine toothache drops !
I know I should go to a dentist. I know I sit here in a condition of undescribable agony in
the belief that it will go away. I know I know.
But a phobia is a bloody hard thing to get past. I had a really nasty dental experience at
16 and it left me in a state of complete and utter fear and distrust of dentists.
The last work I had done was under a general anaesthetic in 2001. What I really need is
to just get them all pulled out and replaced with unbreakable fakes. I worked out that I
have two teeth in my head that are "just fine" - all the rest have problems - big big problems.
I need about $35,000 to do what needs to be done :( Thats like the price of a car. Actually its probably more likely the cost of a nice yacht - ie the one the bloody dentist purchases after he finishes rubbing his hands with glee after signing the quote for me.
On another subject - its 40 outside but its only 23 inside ! Its days like this that I truly love my ducted air conditioner.
OK so most of you know I am a lifelong athiest but I did have to laugh today when I discovered there is a patron saint available to pray to during a toothache ! LOL.
Look - this is a pic and a story about her.
Saint Apollonia was born in the third century and
lived in Alexandria, Egypt. Apollonia spent her whole
life preaching the word of God. She took a big risk
doing this because Christians were being persecuted during the reign of Emperor Philip. Even into old age, Apollonia still preached and bravely risked her life to
visit Christians in prison to comfort them. In 249 AD
she was captured and brought before a court.
When the judge asked her name, she replied, "I am a Christian and I love to serve the true God". People who were trying to force her to give up her faith then tortured her. All her teeth were smashed with pinchers and then knocked out. Even this painful ordeal did not shake her faith, when she was given the choice of rejecting Jesus or being burned alive she jumped into the burning fire herself. When the pagans saw how heroic she was many were converted to Christianity. A church was erected in her honour in Rome, it no longer exists but the square where it stood is still called after her "Piazza Sant' Apollonia". The Catholic Church celebrates Saint Apollonia's Feast Day on 9th February.
Because of the torture Saint Apollonia endured people frequently pray her when they have a toothache and hence she has become the patron saint of dentistry. She is generally depicted in art holding a gold tooth with a pincers.
So while I wont be resorting to prayers just yet (it would be pretty two faced for an athiest to even consider it) - I think its cute to have a saint of dentistry just in case !
The nasty jaw and ear infection went away after an agonising 10 days, but it has made me realise I cant put off getting something done. Its 6 years since I was able to bring myself to see a dentist.
So I have found the only clinic in Perth that specialises in Novum Same Day Teeth and I have emailed them my tale of woe and phobias to see what they can do for me in the way of a sight unseen quote. So lets see what horrendous dollar amount comes back and then I will think about it.
So what else is new ? Well my project at work was finished on Friday and on Monday I return to my other team where I will be working with the males I mentioned in my blog of 27 Feb, including the team leader. So it will be extremely interesting how that goes. I have spoken with his superiors about the issues and his lack of team leading skills and now all I need to do is try and keep my anger at bay when dealing with him.
Seriously addicted to the tv show HEREOS (for overseas pals we are only up to ep 8 so dont send me any spoliers!). Its so clever and keeps me hooked. LOST as usual also keeps me in suspense tho we are having a 3 week break before returning to ep 7. And All Saints now has John Waters as a regular cast member, and Jamie Durie is in Dancing With The Stars so what more could a girl ask for in her tv viewing week ???
The weather - well the days are getting nicer - no more nasty heatwave days thank goodness.
And a HUGE congratulations to my 91 year old grandfather, who along with my young cousin Roxanne, completed another successful skydive this month. They rock !!
Yesterday I wandered down to a lovely medieaval faire that was being held in Supreme Court Gardens beneath a skyline of city towers. I watched the anacronistics of Perth came out in all their glory. Gorgeous gowned ladies and gallant knights wandered among the staidly dressed "others". I watched displays of dancing and battle, female gladiators ruled the day. These are two photos I took - the rest will be viewable in my photoalbums later today.
This week has been pretty uneventful. The old/new boss hasnt changed his spots at all. He is still a petulant sulking child bordering on powerhungry millitant. Its a bizarre combination really. I cope with him by only dealing with the petulant child and ignoring the millitant moron.
Oh - the quote for the teeth was a mere teeny weeny $140,000. So I guess its either "lets keep a roof over my head" or "lets get new teeth". The roof wins ! Panadiene and nurofen will continue to be my closest friends !
9 April 2007, Monday.
Its the final day of the 4 day easter weekend. Have I achieved much ? hmmm not really. Mostly I have sat and dwelled on the work issues of the past week. Mega highs (being nominated for awards for the projects I took part in last year) and mega lows - yet more issues with the weak arsed males in my office. Some of them really need to grow some pubes on their balls. Actually some of them need the balls to drop first.
These guys really have some serious mental issues. I look at the kind of women they are lodging complaints against (because thankfully its not just me that is getting targetted - even tho it bloody feels like it) and its women who speak up for themselves about work processes and dont just sit back and let things happen around them without comment.
I honestly dont know how these guys find time in the day to be writing these complaints because personally I am too busy doing my actual job. They obviously have far less to do than me. What angers me the most is that their complaints are even given the time of day. Seriously - since working in this office I have been physically assaulted by a guy known to all as a complete psycho, bullied by a team leader for 18 months, and bullied by a team mate for several months. Yet at no time have I ever put pen to paper. But these weak arsed males have so much time on their hands that they are writing complaints when a woman is apparently "abrupt" with them near the printer. Seriously ?????????? I mean it ? Seriously ??????
All I want to do is the job I am paid to do each day. The job I am bloody good at despite the crap going on around me. The job I am really quite proud of. Why am I surrounded by pathetic little boys who cant handle a strong independent determined woman ?
My holiday to Sydney cannot come soon enough. The further I am away from them - the less chance of going postal.!
I have uploaded the rest of the photos from the medieaval faire. Just click on the Photo Album link on the right and go to the Album titled Perth - My Home Town.
