BLOG ARCHIVES: 1 Jan 2011 - 29 Nov 2011
1 January 2011
Have moved last years blog to the archives page.
26 March 2010, Saturday. 55 days without rain, about 3 months without temps under 35c.
I am very much over summer !
Its been a slow start to the blog this year. I have been using up all my internet allowance too fast while sorting and uploading photos from the Antarctica trip. Yes this is still a huge work in progress.
I returned to work on January 4 after a divine 2 months off. I was pleasantly surprised to be greeted with the news that I was heading straight back into the tech team to resume my higher duties where I left off back at the end of October. Surprised and also extremely relieved as I sure as hell didnt want to go back to the toxic environment that I usually work in. The tech team (where I have now been doing higher duties since the end of May last year) has been such a refreshing change. Working with grownups with no ridiculous back stabbing or hidden agendas. Anyway so it was nice to start the year with no stress. They have since extended my time there so I am still there now.
On Jan 15 Laurel and I went to enjoy front row centre seats at John Water's Looking Through A Glass Onion. It doesnt matter how many incarnations I have seen - this show always hits me with the rawest emotions.
On March 19 I went to see dear pal Gina Williams in her stage debut with jazz trumpeter legend James Morrison. The play is called Boundary Street and is set in Brisbane in 1942 when black American Sailers were allowed some R&R off their ships and visited a jazz club set up just for them. Gina plays indigenous singer Rosie, desperate to sing at the club. It was such a thrill to see her up there singing with one of her own idols and acting up a storm (out acting the seasoned pro's I might add. Most people in the audience had no idea this was her first acting job).
It was also a great opportunity to see the brand spanking new State Theatre (conveniently located on my street and just 15 minutes walk away!). It has several different sized theatres and performing spaces inside it. Gina's play was in the largest of them - the Heath Ledger Theatre. It was a great design. Nicely shaped so that every seat in every row has a great view. Good acoustics. Cosy feel to it. The other parts - such as the stark white lifts (blindening after coming out of a dark theatre) and the stark white uninviting bar area - looked more hospital than cosy theatre. Modern is modern - it still has to create an atmosphere and be inviting - and they have failed in their design here. Hopefully those bits can be improved. But so nice to have a new theatre. Wish they had considered building one big enough to hold the big east coast musicals but we live in hope.
Also this month I have been busy writing a job application for a promotion in my office, hopefully a permenant position in the team I have been in temporarily since May. So fingers crossed !!!!!!!
So basically its been work and home. And bloody summer ! Record breaking heatwave. Its just endless and our power bills are showing it. I just keep sitting back thinking of what I would have to do to be on another cruise to Antarctica. Gazing at my photos to cool down. Trying to pick out ones that could be put on a canvas print to take pride of place on my wall.
I continue to work on the photo sorting and writing up my travel blog. Better not take another holiday til that job is done !
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30 March 2011, very hot Wednesday
Having a relaxing day off after a late night out at the brilliant Neil Diamond concert.
He played nearby at Nib Stadium (previously known as Members Equity stadium, previously known as Perth Oval). Davina and I had great seats in the front block just to the right of the stage.
Wendy Matthews opened for him with all her hits from the 80s and 90s.
Neil opened with huge drum beats replicating thunder and big flashes of lightning - appearing at the back of the stage before belting out Soolaimon. From there it was chart hit favourite upon chart hit favourite from every era, along with great banter between each number.
After testing out his new ballad version of I'm A Believer he immediately said he needed to dance and redid it in its traditional rockin version. He became entranced by a group of front row dancing women on our side of the stage and at the end of the song he joked that while his limit was usually 5 he could make an exception for 7!! Then he realised he had totally ignored the other side of the stage so he went over there and performed the last half of the song all over again !!
We also got Sweet Caroline twice just to see if our singing along could be improved !
Before we knew it 2 hours had passed and it was time to end with the always stunning I Am I Said.
It was a brilliant night and the man still knows how to rock it with that big gravelly voice and stage charm ! Also loved his snazzy purple shirt and his well dressed band with their very funky pink and purple shirts!!
Photos are now on my phanfare page - only a few as security was being snarky!!
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8 May 2011, Sunday - 28 degrees - ridiculous temperate for May!
Well after our hottest driest summer on record, we moved onto our hottest driest April on record, and now here it is - May and we still havent moved into our winter wardrobes. We havent even ventured into our Autumn wardrobes for that matter ! I am still wearing 3/4 pants and T shirts to work.
There were signs...............
There are always signs ................
The first sign was when I found myself some months ago googling the special Muck Boots we had been loaned on the Antarctica trip, found them available in purple and ordered them.
The second sign was when I was telling a person online who is planning an Antarctic trip, that my one regret was that I hadnt packed a waterproof camera. I found myself googling brands, spotted a funky cheap purple one, and ordered it.
The third sign was when I was browsing online clothing stores in the US because the Aussie dollar had skyrocketed, and came across a fabulous plus size purple parka, and ordered it.
The fourth sign was when Jodie from Peregrine emailed me just before Easter to say there was a cabin available on the "sold out for past 3 years" very last ever cruise on the Kapitan Khlebnikov to Antarctica, and would I like it.
So I spent the 5 day easter weekend weighing up the pro's and cons and first thing on the Wednesday I paid the deposit and sent in my application for finance.
The finance was approved on Friday so I AM GOING TO ANTARCTICA AGAIN !!!!!!!!!!!!
This time I will achieve a few long time goals that were not achieved on my last voyage. Specifically - I will get to have Xmas and New Year down there, and I will get to see the "Australian" side of it.
And this time around - no massive airfares and 55 hour flights. Just a short cheap trip to Hobart. And the trip ends in Fremantle so just a taxi ride home !!!!!!!!!!!
Then the lovely KK retires from tourism servce and returns to Russia forevermore. I will be privileged to have been in the last group of people last November and this December to visit regions that will never be visited again by humans as there will no longer be icebreakers working down there.
So here I am ............ counting down the days to my second "once in a lifetime" journey !!!!
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3 July 2011, Sunday - very chilly!!
Hmmmm winter finally arrived in the past couple of weeks, cool temps and lots and lots of rain - generally while I am walking too and from work ! I keep arriving soaked to the bone but have yet the shrink from it.
I missed June - where did it go ? Had a couple of lovely cabaret nights at His Majesty's in early June. Bought VIP tiks to the Cabaret Carnivale where you got dinner at Barre Restaurant, then wine and cheese upstairs in the VIP room, then the show, then cuppa and petit four desserts in the VIP room with a meet and greet with the artist.
So on June 1 I went to see Rhonda Burchmore. For my overseas pals - Rhonda is a 6foot tall leggy redhead who has been singing dancing and acting in aus since the mid 70s.
This particular show is where she talks about her life and interspered it with songs that suited each moment. Great laughs and also big tears when she broke down in tears before her final song as she had a phone call from her sister earlier in the day, who is im Asia having all kinds of stuff done to her with stem cells etc. Of course she looked stunning and leggy and pulled off some big songs and big dance numbers. Along with being cheeky with members of the audience.
There was only 20 of us "diamond VIPs" so it wasn't crowded and she was able to spend time with each of us. Everyone mentioned her most famous productions so of course I got her attention more because I mentioned an obscure little film from 1982 that almost no one saw but I happen to love !!! (The Pirate Movie). So she was thrilled and said she has a whole chapter devoted to it in her new book so I will have to get it and have a read ! Shame she didnt have it on sale on the night - she said the print run had run short.
A week later I returned to His Maj, walking via the Perth Entertainment Centre to take some final photos as demolition has commenced :( Sad to see an icon I have spent the better part of my life being entertained in disappearing. (Photos are in the Phanfare albums).
The show this time was Tom Burlinson and "Now We're Swinging" - where he and his big swing band takes us through a history of Sammy Davis Jnr, Sinatra, Dean Martin, Tony Bennett, and Bobby Darin. he talks about each song and the singer and how todays artists are still influenced by them etc.
Some of you already know that I (along with being a fan since the late 70s) am also friends with Tom and have run his website since the late 90s. For the uninitiated - Tom was a massive hit around the world in the big aussie movie The Man From Snowy River back in the early 80s, along with many other movies and TV series etc. He is also a star of plays and musicals - most recently doing 2 years in The Producers. He is also an amazing singer and has had his own Sinatra tribute show for about 16 years. His voice was used in the big mini series about Frank made by his daughter a few years back (as his voice is identical to the young Frank).
Anyway we started with our lovely Diamond VIP dinner, then up to the VIP room for cheese and wines before the show started. Then enjoyed the show - immensely, before heading back to the VIP room for cuppa and adorable petit fors (mini desserts that I wished I had photographed before devouring!!).
We waited for Tom who never appeared ! Turned out he thought he could just sign a few CDs in the foyer but to his shock - everyone in the audience joined the queue ! So when he was done (an hour later!!!) they called us to come down and join him !
So he gave me the biggest bear hug and introduced me to a couple who I have always admired. Jill Perryman and her hubby Kevin Johnston. Jill and Tom did a movie here back in 86. Kevin was a world reknowned ballet dancer in the 50s and 60s before moving into choreography and acting. Jill has been acting since the 60s and I have seen her in so many stage productions.
So we chatted for a while and I introduced Tom to my friends (one whose crush was even older than mine as she use to watch him in a soap in the mid 70s before I actually had a tv !!!! she is still recovering !!!).
It was a lovely night and if I had the money I would have gone to even more of the artists this season as it was a brilliant line up in this first season. Hopefully it will become an annual thing. So civilised to see some one perform in an elegant theatre with a nice cosy crowd and comfy seats. No drunks to be seen, no heckling - all very refined. Photos with Tom and Rhonda are in my Phanfare albums.
Meanwhile, at work I still desperately wait for the results of the promotion. Its the govt so it takes forever. On friday I had to finish up my higher duties in the wonderful tech team. Tomorrow I return to the debt teams until the promotions are announced. Fingers crossed for a result in my favour because I really dont think I can tolerate the toxic environment out there for too long.
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13 August 2011, Saturday, blustery and rainy.
Must be time for an update.
I returned to my usual position and level at work on 1 July and promptly cauhgt a nasty flu. Stuggled in to work each day but only managed to be there a couple of hours each day before crawling home to bed. Stayed at home one day and naturally that was the day when the emails went round the office regarding the promotions. Luckily someone sent me an sms so I was able to find out I had finished 4th on the order of merit and thankfully there are at least 7 positions so I am quietly assured of one.
In the second week of July I took the week off to first recover from the flu, then to do a clean out and have a lot of stuff collected by the local womens refuge charity. Dad and Bev visited on their way to join a cruise over the top of Aus.
The gang and I had another fabulous night out at Friends Restaurant at the Hyatt on July 13. This time our entertainment was my friend Tom Burlinson and it was such a great success that I am sure he will be back regularly. Instead of doing the swing show he did at His Majesty's in June and is currently touring Aus with - he decided to give us a special treat with a very intimate performance of his entire Frank Sinatra show!! Having only seen it in Burswood theatre with 2000 people - it was seriously great to share it with just 99 others. Lots of great photos in the Phanfare albums.
On the last weekend of July I went to see Wicked The Musical - twice. This is my review that I wrote on a discussion forum:
So I finally saw Wicked today.
When it opened in Melb a couple of years ago I really only wanted to see it because my friend had won the role of the green witch.
But I decided that unlike many other shows where I would pay airfare and hotels to head east and see a show - this one didnt appeal to me enough to do so. So I said I would only see it if it came to Perth. Which it now has. (in the meantime tho my pal went off to London for a season and is now back in Sydney in Anything Goes).
The storyline itself was unappealing to me - I basically cannot stand the movie Wizard of Oz - like it actually repels me !
So really - was I ever going to be interested in the "back story of how the witches met" ?? Not really.
I arrived at the theatre exhausted and stressed. My taxi never arrived at my home so I was standing out in the driveway of the building sheltering from torrential rain making repeated calls to the taxi company - who kept assuring me he was only a block away. He finally arrived and stated he got lost because it was his first day - all I could say to that (and yes I actually said it) was "in this country ??????". So I realised I had to give directions the whole way - right down to what lane to be in etc. Sigh. I told him to floor it. We pulled up at the theatre and I could see them closing the doors so I waved frantically.
Driver took $5 off to appease my anger.
I had to run down a huge corridor while an usher waved me down frantically saying "hurrrrryyyyyy" !
(turns out its almost a 20 minute lockout for this show and in that time you do miss a couple of glaring spoilers !). He pushed me through the door and I tore along an aisle to my 5th row seat and collapsed into it as the lights went down !
Took me half the show to regain my breathing !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Anyway - what to say about the show.
Its very well cast.
Great sets.
Great costumery.
Woeful songs - drippy sappy and generally pointless.
Pretty predictable storyline - especially since there is a giant spoiler in the first 20 minutes. But even the other bits that made the audience go "ahhhhhhhh with realisation" I had already worked out.
I felt nothing. I like to come out of a production feeling something - I like to laugh and cry and feel exhilarated. I like to be shocked or surprised. I felt none of this. I dont think I even cracked a grin at any of the lines.
Anyway I am going to see it again (out of habit I always by two performances) tomorrow so lets see if I have a better opinion then !
No taxi woes on the Sunday. He arrived within seconds and didn't need directions. So I arrived in a better frame of mind.
No change to previous opinion.
I guess I blame it on the advance publicity of my theatre going and theatre performing friends over the years. Everytime I have said "oh it doesn't really appeal to me cos I basically hate wizard of oz" their replies were all "Ohhhh but it's nit really to do with anything from the movie. It's more about people's differences and discrimination and friendship".
Well they lied. There are munchkins and bloody flying monkeys and tinmen and scarecrows and gee whiz a bloody annoying brat in red shoes throwing water on a wicked witch. I'm sorry - I must have hated a different movie my entire life if none of those bits are directly from it !!!
So it was a $320 weekend and really all I could think if was "that's three less nights I can have in Hobart before my trip !!!".
The rest of July was basically a plodding along time as I wait for news of the promotions positions. The level above was also having a selection process and there are appeals in progress so that is delaying us being placed anywhere.
Waiting waiting waiting.
Distracting myself by planning a fun week in Hobart before my Antarctica cruise.
Now suddenly its August - this year is positively zooming by.
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23 October 2011, cloudy warmish Sunday and the Queen is coming!
My city is busy prettying itself up for the impending arrival of Her Maj and Prince Phillip for CHOGM next Wed. Next Friday is a public holiday (moved from its usual place in Sep!) so - weather pending - I may well go and say hi to the Royals on their drive about.
Hmm whats been happening since last update. Well things at work are too confusing to fully explain - hey - its the Government ! I still dont have my promotion - and the 7 available positions suddenly became just 1 single position. Meanwhile round mid to late August the team team gave me more higher duties through to the end of the year. So I am back to doing the job I actually enjoy at the higher level - but still oonly acting and keeping fingers crossed something will happen with the order of merit so I can get a permenant position.
September seemed to rush by too fast. I was mostly busy with little sewing projects to stretch my wardrobe further - turning old things into new creations.
A bit stressed to discover my strata (body corp) which was located in the ground floor of my building - has hmmm basically commited a big long term fraud - like the while 8 years I have been living here. So half the staff are gone and all the money is gone. I may loose a few thousand in the fee's I paid that are no where to be found, and I will definitely never see the $1500 or so that was owed to me in car bay rental and that I am furious about. I was counting on that to pay for my accom and day tours in Tasmania. So its been stressful trying to find out everything, inform the absentee owners & keep them updated, write up complaints to Consumer Affairs and the real estate bodies, try to sort out a paper trail etc etc.
In early October I went to see John Waters in Looking Through a Glass Onion again. This time at the newly renovated Astor Theatre in Mount Lawley. Similar to Subiaco's Regal - its now being used for cabaret and concerts. Comfy and great acoustics. Glass Onion always touches me - no mater how often I have seen it.
Last night I strolled down to nearby NIB stadium (previously ME Stadium, previously Perth Oval) to enjoy Meat Loaf in concert. I have a feeling it will be his last tour - it takes so much out of him physically - but that doesnt stop him from giving it all 100%. I am glad I have seen him in all his incarnations since the 80s !! He sung all the crowd favourites and a few of the two most recent albums and thoroughly entertained his fans. He is one of the few that actually thanks everyone for coming and said he loves us all !! Oh and he revealed a hidden talent - he is a rain god ! It had basically rained non stop all day - stopping just as we got to the stadium, and starting again just as we got home !!! The power !!!!!!!!!!! Photos are there in the Phanfare albums along with a few little videos. I could only take my little waterproof camera not my big concert camera so the photos are good but not great.
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29 November 2011, Tuesday. Off to Tasmania - next stop Antarctica.
So November plodded slowly along.
On the 14th a friend who won concert tickets took me along to see The Moody Blues at Burswood Theatre. We had fantastic seats in the middle of F row. Uninterupted views.
It was a brilliant show. Awesome sounding band, excellent vocals, great screen and lightning effects. Couldn't fault it. Knights in White Satin was utterly exquisite. Driftwood was heavenly. Seriously long standing ovations. Photos in the phanfare albums along with some video snippets !!
A couple of weeks ago at work we got the news that the Tech team I have been working in since June 2010 (and loving), was being centralised to Melbourne. So my higher duties ends on 31 Dec and when I return to work in mid January I will return to the crappy debt teams (which recently became an outbound call centre blahhhhhhhhhhh) to be a coach. Big drop in pay. Ouch.
It may be time to reconsider my options with regards to remaining in Perth - or moving to the east where there are more promotional opportunities available to me.
Spent the past couple of weeks making the final preparations for my trip. In a few hours I leave to fly to Hobart, where I have a week of fun things planned including a commemorative dinner with the Governor General to celebrate the centenary of Sir Douglas Mawson departing for his Antarctic expedition. I will also take part in a flotilla in the harbour.
Then I join my lovely Icebreaker, the Kapitan Khlebnikov, to sail down to East Antarctica for a month.
So - see you all next year !!!! PS my end of year newletter will be late haha !!
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