Well, I've done it! I booked myself a flight to Italy yesterday!
How come? I hear you ask.
Well, I was invited to join Martha (FS) and Sue (Suberbabe) and the rest of a party of US tourists in Milan, spend a week with them touring the Northern lakes and Western coast of Italy and Rome in September - and after I saw the itinerary, could hardly stop myself from drooling.
Imagine a lakeside hotel with views either over the Italian alps or the lakes, a hotel in Rome with paintings on the ceiling that is barely 400m from St Peters, or cruising to an island in the middle of Lake Maggiore!
Sighh.
How could I say no - and to such lovely ladies?
Since this means I'd have to fly half way round the world ( the flight is about 25 hours) , I decided to make it more worthwhile by spending a further week there and seeing more of this incredible country.
My tentative plan for my extra week takes in the Amalfi Coast (Sorrento and Pompeii), Tuscany (Florence and the Cinque Terre) and Venice.
I must be crazy. Right?
Remember my last blog entry? The one where I got lost in Melbourne - which is a mere 500 km away, where they speak the same language as me?
This is the woman with no sense of direction, no knowledge of Italian past what you might find on a menu or dredge up from some schoolgirl Latin (and we're talking nearly 40 years ago now), a hatred of big cities - but a love of all things Renaissance, thanks to my HSC European History teacher, Miss Gibson- and a very BIG tendency to unwittingly attract disaster.
Yup, that's me.
But I'm nothing if not game. And I have dreamed of visiting Europe ever since high school. When my marriage broke up I feared I'd never have the chance. But I intend to regard this trip as tentatively dipping my toe in the water of international travel for three weeks. If it goes well, I might decide to go to France or Switzerland next time around.
On the other hand, I may never leave home again.
I've only booked the international flight so far. The domestic flights and the land content are yet to be organised for my solo week. The week with the touring party only needs to be paid for. (Like that will be any easier)
It's gradually starting to hit me what I'm letting myself in for. There are so many decisions to make between now and then, such as -
How do I manage to strike a balance between seeing as much as I can, or relaxing and soaking up the atmosphere ( ie food and amazing scenery) without missing out or running myself ragged.
Do I want the freedom/flexibility to travel independently- which knowing me, could be tricky- or should I bear the higher costs and tight scheduling of organised tours since I'm on my own - in the interests of personal safety and having someone to have dinner with?
Should I opt for budget options like Youth hostels or B&B accommodation and a Eurail pass, rather than pricey coach trips and nice hotels, so that I can spend my limited cash on the actual sightseeing?
Hmm...as 'Deep Thought' put it. 'Tricky...'
So after some very determined armchair traveling in cyber space, these are the things I've decided to see that are NOT negotiable:
1 Il Duomo in Florence,
2 The Birth of Venus in the Uffizi and the statue of David at the Galleria della Arte.
3 The Cinque Terre and
4 Pompeii.
Everything thing else is just gravy. I must add though that I was really tempted with two 'different' tours in Florence
One is a small group cooking morning, where participants prepare a four course Tuscan banquet in the home of an Italian chef. It starts at the markets in the morning where the produce is selected and ends with eating the food we cook.
Frankly I'm drooling at just the thought of it.
The other tour is a three hour Segway tour around the city, checking out the various monuments. That could be a lot of fun - and be a bit easier on my feet than pounding the pavement all day.
Anyway I'm feeling optimistic that this whole trip will be fabulous. I just hope it doesn't beggar me. LOL
Now I think I better find some internet sites that will teach me some survival Italian. Does anyone know how to say, 'Excuse me I'm lost'?
Friday, April 30, 2010
Friday, April 9, 2010
Lightning trip to Melbourne. I'm still reeling from the experience
I have just returned from a lightning trip to Melbourne with Nick and Andrea and I feel quite shattered. We were gone from our quiet, comparatively thinly populated, and terribly laid back home state of Tasmania for a whole 24 hours to go to Oz' second largest city - and in that time had our patience tested (we don't cope with peak hour traffic very well when we are only used to peak quarter hours here), navigation skills (very, very bad) and irritability thresholds (frighteningly low).
Frankly, I'm going to need a week to get over it.
Let me go back a bit...
Both Nick and Andrea need orthoses for their feet. A few years ago I found a fantastic biomedical scientist from Queensland who used to come to Tassmania every so often. He did wonders for both of them, but alas, he doesn't come any more. He does however still visit Melbourne once or twice a year.
Now Andrea is keen to train in hospitality when she leaves school - a profession that naturally involves long hours on her feet - and her orthotics needed replacing. Nick's were worn out too. So I bit the bullet and arranged for the three of us to go to Melbourne for the day. We would visit my family overnight, get new moulds made and be back home in time for tea and feed the cats. Easy!
I set to and found some cheapish airfares with Jetstar. Well, they seemed cheap at first. But let me say that having to pay extra for seat allocation and to use my non-JETSTAR credit card was a total rip off.
Since my folks live in country Victoria, I had to work out how best to get there. After pricing all the forms of public transport we would need I opted to hire a cheap car - a Hyundai Getz - from the airport instead.
I'm not sure if it was quite the right thing to have done in hindsight.
Some of you may remember the main character in a story I wrote a while back who had a really bad sense of direction.
Well, as much as I hate to admit it, so have I. (Now for the record, this is the ONLY characteristic I shared with Fee.)
But the sad thing is that this particular lack of ability has bred true. Neither Nick nor Andrea are much chop at map reading either. So for much of our day it was the blind leading the blind.
The irony is that their Dad is a fantastic navigator. But of course he wasn't with us today.
So perhaps it WAS foolish of me to decline the offer of the GPS for the hire car, and to say we would manage with a street directory only.
Oh. My. God.
I'm afraid I lost my cool somewhat when Nick almost had us going back to the airport instead of to the suburb we needed, but at least he redeemed himself on the way back - to a certain extent. Unfortunately for him it was during peak hour. I figure that the constant stopping and starting (which drove him nuts) allowed him plenty of time to work out the maps.
But until then, we roared around the Eastern suburbs, missing most of our turnoffs and having to double back over and over and trying not to get streamed into the wrong lanes of traffic.
At one intersection, I had to try to slip into a gap ahead of a guy who was too busy snogging his girlfriend at the lights to be paying attention to what I was trying to do. I was 'ahem' a bit over it all by then - and all I'll say it was just as well for him that my window was wound up when I expressed my opininon!
Just about the scariest moment of the whole day was when we were congratulating ourselves of getting back to the airport in good time. All we had to do to finish off was find the petrol station to refill the car. Anyway, despite our best efforts I managed to be in the wrong lane and we found ourselves driving at top speed down the freeway AWAY from the airport. I was convinced we were NEVER going to get home.
There were some very bad words coming from the driver AND the navigator until we reached the first available turning point about 5km back down the road.
That really should have been the worst moment of the day - but there were two other incidents that would give it a run for its money.
1) The gear lever that would stick inexplicably in Park position, threatening to leave us stranded in several car parks. Somehow I managed to unstick it each time, without knowing how I'd done it. It wasn't until we got home that I learned that it only unsticks IF you are applying the brake! Unfortunately this little fact was not written anywhere in the manual AT ALL - nor did the hire car guy bother to mention it either.
Bastard!
2) You can imagine how pleased we would be to find an apparently vacant parking spot in a public car park not too far from our destination. That was until my return a few hours later to discover a (big) parking fine on my windscreen. Apparently I had parked in one of the three private spots in the car park. AAAGhhh
The parking guy was still in the area and so I asked him (nicely) to explain.
Now, get this...
The three slots were signposted, but he admitted that it wasn't clear and that as someone not familiar with the area, it would have been easy to miss. He actually suggested that I write and appeal the fine - and that he would support me in his daily report. I figure I've got nothing to lose so I'm going to do that tomorrow.
You might think that this trip was all one disaster after another. Well it was certainly memorable and not all of it was traumatic. Although the water main at my parents' house burst while I was actually in the shower, which was a bit of a shock to the system. But that's another story.
No it wasn't all bad. We did have some successes and besides, it all could have gone SO much worse.
Our flights all left on time. This is always a good thing.
We had a lovely, albeit late, dinner at my sister's place in Geelong last night. Note to self - next time, use the ring road properly.
We were able to celebrate my mother's birthday with family for the first time in yonks.
The gripey tummy I had for most of this week settled down just in the nick of time for the trip.
The health fund will cover about 70% of the cost of the orthotics. Pity I can't get them to come at the airfares eh - or the parking fine? LOL.
I bought some very good luggage accessories on sale - for the Italian trip later in the year - Although I have to wonder if I really ought to be let out on my own after today.
Oh and I didn't prang the car. This must be regarded as a positive in anyone's book. Of course, if I'd not paid the damage waiver, who knows what might have happened?
I think I need a lie down after thinking about that little lot.
Frankly, I'm going to need a week to get over it.
Let me go back a bit...
Both Nick and Andrea need orthoses for their feet. A few years ago I found a fantastic biomedical scientist from Queensland who used to come to Tassmania every so often. He did wonders for both of them, but alas, he doesn't come any more. He does however still visit Melbourne once or twice a year.
Now Andrea is keen to train in hospitality when she leaves school - a profession that naturally involves long hours on her feet - and her orthotics needed replacing. Nick's were worn out too. So I bit the bullet and arranged for the three of us to go to Melbourne for the day. We would visit my family overnight, get new moulds made and be back home in time for tea and feed the cats. Easy!
I set to and found some cheapish airfares with Jetstar. Well, they seemed cheap at first. But let me say that having to pay extra for seat allocation and to use my non-JETSTAR credit card was a total rip off.
Since my folks live in country Victoria, I had to work out how best to get there. After pricing all the forms of public transport we would need I opted to hire a cheap car - a Hyundai Getz - from the airport instead.
I'm not sure if it was quite the right thing to have done in hindsight.
Some of you may remember the main character in a story I wrote a while back who had a really bad sense of direction.
Well, as much as I hate to admit it, so have I. (Now for the record, this is the ONLY characteristic I shared with Fee.)
But the sad thing is that this particular lack of ability has bred true. Neither Nick nor Andrea are much chop at map reading either. So for much of our day it was the blind leading the blind.
The irony is that their Dad is a fantastic navigator. But of course he wasn't with us today.
So perhaps it WAS foolish of me to decline the offer of the GPS for the hire car, and to say we would manage with a street directory only.
Oh. My. God.
I'm afraid I lost my cool somewhat when Nick almost had us going back to the airport instead of to the suburb we needed, but at least he redeemed himself on the way back - to a certain extent. Unfortunately for him it was during peak hour. I figure that the constant stopping and starting (which drove him nuts) allowed him plenty of time to work out the maps.
But until then, we roared around the Eastern suburbs, missing most of our turnoffs and having to double back over and over and trying not to get streamed into the wrong lanes of traffic.
At one intersection, I had to try to slip into a gap ahead of a guy who was too busy snogging his girlfriend at the lights to be paying attention to what I was trying to do. I was 'ahem' a bit over it all by then - and all I'll say it was just as well for him that my window was wound up when I expressed my opininon!
Just about the scariest moment of the whole day was when we were congratulating ourselves of getting back to the airport in good time. All we had to do to finish off was find the petrol station to refill the car. Anyway, despite our best efforts I managed to be in the wrong lane and we found ourselves driving at top speed down the freeway AWAY from the airport. I was convinced we were NEVER going to get home.
There were some very bad words coming from the driver AND the navigator until we reached the first available turning point about 5km back down the road.
That really should have been the worst moment of the day - but there were two other incidents that would give it a run for its money.
1) The gear lever that would stick inexplicably in Park position, threatening to leave us stranded in several car parks. Somehow I managed to unstick it each time, without knowing how I'd done it. It wasn't until we got home that I learned that it only unsticks IF you are applying the brake! Unfortunately this little fact was not written anywhere in the manual AT ALL - nor did the hire car guy bother to mention it either.
Bastard!
2) You can imagine how pleased we would be to find an apparently vacant parking spot in a public car park not too far from our destination. That was until my return a few hours later to discover a (big) parking fine on my windscreen. Apparently I had parked in one of the three private spots in the car park. AAAGhhh
The parking guy was still in the area and so I asked him (nicely) to explain.
Now, get this...
The three slots were signposted, but he admitted that it wasn't clear and that as someone not familiar with the area, it would have been easy to miss. He actually suggested that I write and appeal the fine - and that he would support me in his daily report. I figure I've got nothing to lose so I'm going to do that tomorrow.
You might think that this trip was all one disaster after another. Well it was certainly memorable and not all of it was traumatic. Although the water main at my parents' house burst while I was actually in the shower, which was a bit of a shock to the system. But that's another story.
No it wasn't all bad. We did have some successes and besides, it all could have gone SO much worse.
Our flights all left on time. This is always a good thing.
We had a lovely, albeit late, dinner at my sister's place in Geelong last night. Note to self - next time, use the ring road properly.
We were able to celebrate my mother's birthday with family for the first time in yonks.
The gripey tummy I had for most of this week settled down just in the nick of time for the trip.
The health fund will cover about 70% of the cost of the orthotics. Pity I can't get them to come at the airfares eh - or the parking fine? LOL.
I bought some very good luggage accessories on sale - for the Italian trip later in the year - Although I have to wonder if I really ought to be let out on my own after today.
Oh and I didn't prang the car. This must be regarded as a positive in anyone's book. Of course, if I'd not paid the damage waiver, who knows what might have happened?
I think I need a lie down after thinking about that little lot.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Busy Busy - and WTF was she thinking?
I've been a bit slack on the blogging scene recently. I've been a bit busy y'see.
Since my last entry, I've had a birthday. Yay!, read a truckload of books - notably Nicola Cornick and Mary Balogh, installed new windows and AC upstairs, had a mammogram and ultrasound check up, and last but not least - been invited to join some friends on holiday in Italy for 10 days in September!
Guess which one I'm most excited about?
Of course now I'm thinking why the Hell did I choose to get the windows replaced this year of all years! Perhaps I could have left them another year... or three.
But the land costs of the trip to Italy aren't THAT high... and if I can find a cheap airfare....
In the midst of all of this kerfuffle, I'm still working close to full time and trying to recapture my love of writing.
It's not going well - the writing side of things, that is.
Granted, I've been trying to write 1500 words almost every night since late 2005 - and perhaps it is time to take a break. Lord knows I'm not managing anything like those numbers now.
But something happened a few weeks ago that has made me really cynical about what constitutes a writer. The question is, is someone a writer simply if she writes or does she need to be published to have the right to call herself one?
I used to think it was pretty simple actually. But maybe it's not.
Here's what set me off.
Someone I know has ventured into publishing on the strength of her FFs. I know this because it was trumpeted very loudly on FB some weeks ago.
Frankly I was shocked to hear this because her stories were never ones I'd rated particularly highly - for a whole bunch of reasons that I won’t go into here.
I asked myself how on earth could she have gotten herself published? And it struck me that perhaps her writing had vastly improved in the years since we'd corresponded and that she HAD managed to attract the attention of an agent - the lucky devil.
My second reaction was ‘How bloody dare she?’
Sighh. I know that makes me a very bad person. Or maybe just terribly insecure.
Now fast forward a few weeks. After the fanfare on FB died down, I discovered that this has been a self-publishing venture. Knowing this should have relieved me. But she has gone all out with it- to the extent she has set up a website to publicise and sell the book herself.
‘Hmm I don’t think so’ I thought and found a free excerpt on the site instead. This was one selected from an earlier story, presumably to showcase her talents to the punters before they part with their cash
I’m ashamed to say that I pounced on it - and then I gaped in disbelief.
Y’see, it was really, really bad. It was quite simply chock-a-block with the most basic mistakes a novice writer can make. I know this because I’ve made all of those mistakes myself. But I also know that I don’t make those particular mistakes any more.
Of course that is just my opinion.
I mean, what do I know? I’m not agented. I’ve never sought publication (although maybe one day…). It’s just me being a bit ‘sour grapey!’ isn’t it?
Well no. Actually it’s a little more than that.
This whole exercise has gotten right up my nose. She seems to believe she is a Writer (with a capital W… You know, a proper one?)and is enjoying playing Gracious Author to her fan.
She’s got the fancy website, gorgeous artwork highlighting the older stories, accompanying music, a glowing bio about her writing influences - including how she is responding to the urges of her worldwide fans to publish, her intention of using a particular linking device in all her future books etc etc.
I think I might vomit.
It’s a pity she hasn’t spent her time learning how to write well, rather than focusing her energies on 'getting her name and writing out there' to quote her.
So is she a writer?
Is she kidding herself? Is she going to take a financial bath?
And why should I care?
Is it because I desperately want to earn the right to call myself a writer - and know it is true?
I'm not sure I know the answer to this one. All I know is that seeing her stuff out there leaves me with a slightly nasty taste in my mouth.
Snark.
Since my last entry, I've had a birthday. Yay!, read a truckload of books - notably Nicola Cornick and Mary Balogh, installed new windows and AC upstairs, had a mammogram and ultrasound check up, and last but not least - been invited to join some friends on holiday in Italy for 10 days in September!
Guess which one I'm most excited about?
Of course now I'm thinking why the Hell did I choose to get the windows replaced this year of all years! Perhaps I could have left them another year... or three.
But the land costs of the trip to Italy aren't THAT high... and if I can find a cheap airfare....
In the midst of all of this kerfuffle, I'm still working close to full time and trying to recapture my love of writing.
It's not going well - the writing side of things, that is.
Granted, I've been trying to write 1500 words almost every night since late 2005 - and perhaps it is time to take a break. Lord knows I'm not managing anything like those numbers now.
But something happened a few weeks ago that has made me really cynical about what constitutes a writer. The question is, is someone a writer simply if she writes or does she need to be published to have the right to call herself one?
I used to think it was pretty simple actually. But maybe it's not.
Here's what set me off.
Someone I know has ventured into publishing on the strength of her FFs. I know this because it was trumpeted very loudly on FB some weeks ago.
Frankly I was shocked to hear this because her stories were never ones I'd rated particularly highly - for a whole bunch of reasons that I won’t go into here.
I asked myself how on earth could she have gotten herself published? And it struck me that perhaps her writing had vastly improved in the years since we'd corresponded and that she HAD managed to attract the attention of an agent - the lucky devil.
My second reaction was ‘How bloody dare she?’
Sighh. I know that makes me a very bad person. Or maybe just terribly insecure.
Now fast forward a few weeks. After the fanfare on FB died down, I discovered that this has been a self-publishing venture. Knowing this should have relieved me. But she has gone all out with it- to the extent she has set up a website to publicise and sell the book herself.
‘Hmm I don’t think so’ I thought and found a free excerpt on the site instead. This was one selected from an earlier story, presumably to showcase her talents to the punters before they part with their cash
I’m ashamed to say that I pounced on it - and then I gaped in disbelief.
Y’see, it was really, really bad. It was quite simply chock-a-block with the most basic mistakes a novice writer can make. I know this because I’ve made all of those mistakes myself. But I also know that I don’t make those particular mistakes any more.
Of course that is just my opinion.
I mean, what do I know? I’m not agented. I’ve never sought publication (although maybe one day…). It’s just me being a bit ‘sour grapey!’ isn’t it?
Well no. Actually it’s a little more than that.
This whole exercise has gotten right up my nose. She seems to believe she is a Writer (with a capital W… You know, a proper one?)and is enjoying playing Gracious Author to her fan.
She’s got the fancy website, gorgeous artwork highlighting the older stories, accompanying music, a glowing bio about her writing influences - including how she is responding to the urges of her worldwide fans to publish, her intention of using a particular linking device in all her future books etc etc.
I think I might vomit.
It’s a pity she hasn’t spent her time learning how to write well, rather than focusing her energies on 'getting her name and writing out there' to quote her.
So is she a writer?
Is she kidding herself? Is she going to take a financial bath?
And why should I care?
Is it because I desperately want to earn the right to call myself a writer - and know it is true?
I'm not sure I know the answer to this one. All I know is that seeing her stuff out there leaves me with a slightly nasty taste in my mouth.
Snark.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Soggy Sydney - Fab weekend
My adventure in soggy Sydney - as promised.
Just about everything came together the way it was supposed to for my four day long weekend earlier this month. Planes left on time and trains coordinated beautifully for my journey from Launceston to Sydney. Even the ferries worked out well for me between Kirribilli (where I stayed) and Circular Quay – where I didn’t.
The plan was to catch up with Sue (my writing buddy, Suberbabe) and her husband Dave on holiday from San Antonio Texas, the intrepid Jen (Thelma to my Louise – or is that round the other way? I can never be sure) and also fellow Aussie Diva, Lois who managed to make it down from north of Sydney to join us for dinner one night.
Yes everything was terrific, that is, except for the weather- and then there was the incident with my phone.
Sydney(and most of the Eastern Seaboard – except for Tasmania apparently) was enduring monsoonal weather from the fallout of Tropical Cyclone Olga.
I don’t cope well with muggy weather – even less well with muggy and wet – and that was Sydney weather in nutshell for that weekend.
I’d packed makeup, but didn’t even bother opening it. It would have sweated off the minute I walked out of the door.
The only thing that made it slightly bearable was that it wasn’t cold – merely overcast and grey – and very, very wet.
Still, we all managed to have a fantastic time. We talked and laughed a lot. We admired the fabulous harbour views from the Shangri La’s Horizon Club, tried to spot my tiny hotel on the other side of the Harbour and ate far too much. We walked all around the Rocks and Circular Quay and came to the conclusion that Sydney is a lot hillier than we’d realised – especially near the watery bits.
We managed to do quite a lot in spite of the weather including:
1) Go to the opening night of the Edinburgh Tattoo in Sydney with Jen and her mother– where we were drenched in a sudden downpour during the first half hour. Even though we wore raincoats we still got soaked. And those bits that were kept dry by the raincoats felt clammy anyway. But we tried to ignore the pruny feet and the disconcerting experience of sitting in a bucket seat that is quickly filling with water. I can tell you that you leap out of your seat fairly quickly when the water level rises past your knicker elastic and the water trickles over and down … and through (shudders).
Oh, and this is where my lovely new phone met its untimely end. It seems that the waterproof pocket in my carry bag was only good for keeping the water IN!
On a side note, I learned that my insurance doesn’t cover water damage, so I had to buy a new handset. It was either that or pay out on a contract I couldn’t use.
The kicker was that the phone was barely two weeks old and at the beginning of a new two year contract. However, I found a bargain on eBay and bought the same model for a 100 dollars cheaper than it would have cost me locally. So I felt a little better about that.
But for the time I was away, it was darn frustrating not to be in phone contact with home.
2) Visit Taronga Park Zoo by ferry with Sue and Dave and have our photo taken with the glamour-puss of all koalas - Eliza. Such a cutie she was too! She even tried to comb Sue’s hair with her claws. We took the skyrail trip across the park when we arrived and the view was breathtaking: bushland beneath and Sydney spread out for us in the distance. Apparently the giraffes have one of the best views in the country.
Sue was very keen to see a Platypus. They are very shy and nocturnal. We expected to have trouble spotting one during the day, but we even struggled to find the right enclosure! We did finally find one in a special nocturnal tank – and he / she flashed past us underwater in a very big hurry.
We had similar trouble spotting the Tasmanian Devil – he was sleeping under a rock, and the Wombat – which was huddled in a corner. Sue made up for it at the stuffed toy section though.
3) Go out for dinner with Lois, Sue and Dave at the Summit revolving restaurant in the imaginatively (not) titled Australia Square. We completed about two and a half rotations during the meal and we watched the sun setting over the city and the lights come on. It was very special.
The food was lovely but the service was pretty crappy. The food was not hot - and we had to pay for our vegetables separately. That is so wanky!
We were also given a wine list but no one came back for our order!!! Silly people. Don’t they know that’s where they make their money?
3) Bought a Daytripper ticket for trains and ferries and window shopped around underground arcades with Jen while trying to keep out of the rain. Sue and Dave were checking onto their Cruise liner that morning. Occasionally we ventured out of doors and I learned very quickly that my Crocs (which had been an inspired packing choice given the weather) had no tread left on them. The upshot? I aquaplaned down the streets. A bit scary really.
I bought myself a pretty little Murano glass pendant after we walked past the same shop three or four times. It seems I can only resist temptation so many times.
Hmm, perhaps the least said about the divine little cupcake shop a few doors down the better. Suffice it to say that the ‘Custard Tumble' cupcake (with custard filled profiteroles on top) was quite irresistible too.
And finally the pick of the bunch... Drum roll please.
4) Revisit our youth to see the Beach Boys in concert with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra at the Sydney Opera house! Again with Sue, Dave and Jen. All I’ll say is that it was Un- be– freaking-lievable! Old farts’ music? Not on your Nellie. We had a ball – clapping from the outset and up and rocking and bopping all through the second half.
I discovered that I knew all the words to the songs too! That was a surprise. I didn’t even know I knew them!
I had to leave on Sunday mid morning. I wasn’t prepared to trust the weather and tackle getting myself back to the airport by a combination of foot, ferry and train. So I lashed out and booked a shuttle bus to pick me up from my hotel instead.
Of course that was when the rain stopped, didn't it?
But on balance I didn’t mind. I’d had a great time and my new suitcase/duffle/ backpack combo worked out pretty well.
I’m all set for my next adventure now. And you know what? It may not be too far away.
Just about everything came together the way it was supposed to for my four day long weekend earlier this month. Planes left on time and trains coordinated beautifully for my journey from Launceston to Sydney. Even the ferries worked out well for me between Kirribilli (where I stayed) and Circular Quay – where I didn’t.
The plan was to catch up with Sue (my writing buddy, Suberbabe) and her husband Dave on holiday from San Antonio Texas, the intrepid Jen (Thelma to my Louise – or is that round the other way? I can never be sure) and also fellow Aussie Diva, Lois who managed to make it down from north of Sydney to join us for dinner one night.
Yes everything was terrific, that is, except for the weather- and then there was the incident with my phone.
Sydney(and most of the Eastern Seaboard – except for Tasmania apparently) was enduring monsoonal weather from the fallout of Tropical Cyclone Olga.
I don’t cope well with muggy weather – even less well with muggy and wet – and that was Sydney weather in nutshell for that weekend.
I’d packed makeup, but didn’t even bother opening it. It would have sweated off the minute I walked out of the door.
The only thing that made it slightly bearable was that it wasn’t cold – merely overcast and grey – and very, very wet.
Still, we all managed to have a fantastic time. We talked and laughed a lot. We admired the fabulous harbour views from the Shangri La’s Horizon Club, tried to spot my tiny hotel on the other side of the Harbour and ate far too much. We walked all around the Rocks and Circular Quay and came to the conclusion that Sydney is a lot hillier than we’d realised – especially near the watery bits.
We managed to do quite a lot in spite of the weather including:
1) Go to the opening night of the Edinburgh Tattoo in Sydney with Jen and her mother– where we were drenched in a sudden downpour during the first half hour. Even though we wore raincoats we still got soaked. And those bits that were kept dry by the raincoats felt clammy anyway. But we tried to ignore the pruny feet and the disconcerting experience of sitting in a bucket seat that is quickly filling with water. I can tell you that you leap out of your seat fairly quickly when the water level rises past your knicker elastic and the water trickles over and down … and through (shudders).
Oh, and this is where my lovely new phone met its untimely end. It seems that the waterproof pocket in my carry bag was only good for keeping the water IN!
On a side note, I learned that my insurance doesn’t cover water damage, so I had to buy a new handset. It was either that or pay out on a contract I couldn’t use.
The kicker was that the phone was barely two weeks old and at the beginning of a new two year contract. However, I found a bargain on eBay and bought the same model for a 100 dollars cheaper than it would have cost me locally. So I felt a little better about that.
But for the time I was away, it was darn frustrating not to be in phone contact with home.
2) Visit Taronga Park Zoo by ferry with Sue and Dave and have our photo taken with the glamour-puss of all koalas - Eliza. Such a cutie she was too! She even tried to comb Sue’s hair with her claws. We took the skyrail trip across the park when we arrived and the view was breathtaking: bushland beneath and Sydney spread out for us in the distance. Apparently the giraffes have one of the best views in the country.
Sue was very keen to see a Platypus. They are very shy and nocturnal. We expected to have trouble spotting one during the day, but we even struggled to find the right enclosure! We did finally find one in a special nocturnal tank – and he / she flashed past us underwater in a very big hurry.
We had similar trouble spotting the Tasmanian Devil – he was sleeping under a rock, and the Wombat – which was huddled in a corner. Sue made up for it at the stuffed toy section though.
3) Go out for dinner with Lois, Sue and Dave at the Summit revolving restaurant in the imaginatively (not) titled Australia Square. We completed about two and a half rotations during the meal and we watched the sun setting over the city and the lights come on. It was very special.
The food was lovely but the service was pretty crappy. The food was not hot - and we had to pay for our vegetables separately. That is so wanky!
We were also given a wine list but no one came back for our order!!! Silly people. Don’t they know that’s where they make their money?
3) Bought a Daytripper ticket for trains and ferries and window shopped around underground arcades with Jen while trying to keep out of the rain. Sue and Dave were checking onto their Cruise liner that morning. Occasionally we ventured out of doors and I learned very quickly that my Crocs (which had been an inspired packing choice given the weather) had no tread left on them. The upshot? I aquaplaned down the streets. A bit scary really.
I bought myself a pretty little Murano glass pendant after we walked past the same shop three or four times. It seems I can only resist temptation so many times.
Hmm, perhaps the least said about the divine little cupcake shop a few doors down the better. Suffice it to say that the ‘Custard Tumble' cupcake (with custard filled profiteroles on top) was quite irresistible too.
And finally the pick of the bunch... Drum roll please.
4) Revisit our youth to see the Beach Boys in concert with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra at the Sydney Opera house! Again with Sue, Dave and Jen. All I’ll say is that it was Un- be– freaking-lievable! Old farts’ music? Not on your Nellie. We had a ball – clapping from the outset and up and rocking and bopping all through the second half.
I discovered that I knew all the words to the songs too! That was a surprise. I didn’t even know I knew them!
I had to leave on Sunday mid morning. I wasn’t prepared to trust the weather and tackle getting myself back to the airport by a combination of foot, ferry and train. So I lashed out and booked a shuttle bus to pick me up from my hotel instead.
Of course that was when the rain stopped, didn't it?
But on balance I didn’t mind. I’d had a great time and my new suitcase/duffle/ backpack combo worked out pretty well.
I’m all set for my next adventure now. And you know what? It may not be too far away.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
New Years resolution - enacted!
Yes it is happening.
I decided it was way past time to de-clutter my life and my home. It was time to clear out years of accumulated crap from the house I’d lived in since it was new – in 1982.
I’d read a book on de-cluttering, gotten sick of not being able to move around in my garage, so I said to myself ‘I can do this.’ So after a quick phone around to check on prices, I arranged for a large skip to be delivered to my front yard on Friday afternoon
There it sat on Friday night, squatting in my front yard, looking ominously large. What had I let myself in for?
We had it for a week and by the end of it we had cleaned out the attic, sorted out the wardrobes, had a decent crack at emptying the garage and the storage in its roof, plus sorted out the garden shed. I’d also gotten two car loads off to the City Mission, offered the trampoline to the RSPCA (for the dogs) which is yet to be collected, and a stack of children’s books to a colleague.
There is still a bit of a way to go, but even though the skip has gone, I’m continuing the good fight.
The thing is that we’ve done the easy stuff. Now it’s the tricky – ‘too-good-to-throw-out-or-give-away,-but-will-I-ever-use-it again?’ items. Perhaps eBay is the answer – if I can be arsed.
I’ve offered Nick the proceeds from the sale of these items – if he sells them for me.
I had a weekend away from the clean up two weekends ago. I flew to Sydney to meet up with some internet friends. I had a ball - but I digress. I’ll tell you about my interstate adventures to be titled ‘An Aussie Diva's Soggy Tattoo and Old Farts’ Concert Weekend.’ next time.
When I came back from Sydney, I attacked the medicine cabinet and threw out a garbage bag of out of date medicines, potions and lotions. I mean why would I keep a bottle of expired eye drops? It's not like I'm ever going to risk putting them in my eye! It’s actually quite tidy now. I wonder how long I'll be able to keep it like that.
As of last night I was also finally able to park my car back in the garage. There might be three or four boxes still requiring my attention, but I can feel that I’m almost there.
De-cluttering is very empowering. I suspect it is one of the only advantages to moving home a lot. You get the chance to de-clutter every time you move - not that I would know. My parents have lived in the same house since 1963. They thought about moving a year or so ago, but the prospect of disposing of a lifetime of accumulated stuff gave them cold feet - and they've told my sister and me that we can deal with it when the time comes. Gee, thanks Mum and Dad.
I am determined I will not let it get as bad as that.
I feel stronger and more decisive for having made the decision to simplify and streamline my life. At this stage it is still about the tangible things, but I can see it might affect me at another, deeper level. For one thing I’ve noticed that I'm tidier at work now and I’m getting better at deleting emails. Not good yet, but getting better.
But it’s a good feeling.
Hmm next week – I think I'll tackle the Laundry room.
I decided it was way past time to de-clutter my life and my home. It was time to clear out years of accumulated crap from the house I’d lived in since it was new – in 1982.
I’d read a book on de-cluttering, gotten sick of not being able to move around in my garage, so I said to myself ‘I can do this.’ So after a quick phone around to check on prices, I arranged for a large skip to be delivered to my front yard on Friday afternoon
There it sat on Friday night, squatting in my front yard, looking ominously large. What had I let myself in for?
We had it for a week and by the end of it we had cleaned out the attic, sorted out the wardrobes, had a decent crack at emptying the garage and the storage in its roof, plus sorted out the garden shed. I’d also gotten two car loads off to the City Mission, offered the trampoline to the RSPCA (for the dogs) which is yet to be collected, and a stack of children’s books to a colleague.
There is still a bit of a way to go, but even though the skip has gone, I’m continuing the good fight.
The thing is that we’ve done the easy stuff. Now it’s the tricky – ‘too-good-to-throw-out-or-give-away,-but-will-I-ever-use-it again?’ items. Perhaps eBay is the answer – if I can be arsed.
I’ve offered Nick the proceeds from the sale of these items – if he sells them for me.
I had a weekend away from the clean up two weekends ago. I flew to Sydney to meet up with some internet friends. I had a ball - but I digress. I’ll tell you about my interstate adventures to be titled ‘An Aussie Diva's Soggy Tattoo and Old Farts’ Concert Weekend.’ next time.
When I came back from Sydney, I attacked the medicine cabinet and threw out a garbage bag of out of date medicines, potions and lotions. I mean why would I keep a bottle of expired eye drops? It's not like I'm ever going to risk putting them in my eye! It’s actually quite tidy now. I wonder how long I'll be able to keep it like that.
As of last night I was also finally able to park my car back in the garage. There might be three or four boxes still requiring my attention, but I can feel that I’m almost there.
De-cluttering is very empowering. I suspect it is one of the only advantages to moving home a lot. You get the chance to de-clutter every time you move - not that I would know. My parents have lived in the same house since 1963. They thought about moving a year or so ago, but the prospect of disposing of a lifetime of accumulated stuff gave them cold feet - and they've told my sister and me that we can deal with it when the time comes. Gee, thanks Mum and Dad.
I am determined I will not let it get as bad as that.
I feel stronger and more decisive for having made the decision to simplify and streamline my life. At this stage it is still about the tangible things, but I can see it might affect me at another, deeper level. For one thing I’ve noticed that I'm tidier at work now and I’m getting better at deleting emails. Not good yet, but getting better.
But it’s a good feeling.
Hmm next week – I think I'll tackle the Laundry room.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
New Year's resolutions
I’ve had my first week back at work since Christmas – and it was very hard to get back into the groove of things. I felt as though I had a head full of fuzz until at least Tuesday. I wasn’t sorry when Friday came around.
My week off was productive rather than recreational. I did do some writing, quite a bit of reading – and even tackled my stamp collection which has been sadly ignored for a while ( I blame the writing bug y'know. )
The weather was stinking hot and I was grateful for the air conditioning at home. I elected to spend most of my week off pottering around inside. I guess that the garden will have to wait a while longer, but I did manage to clean out the boys’ room, defrost the freezer, make some jam and sauce, cleared out the cupboard under the stairs and put away the Christmas decorations. I became a demon with a duster and broom and tried to chuck out anything that was past its use-by date, or being kept ’just-in-case.’ but there is still a stack more to go.
I realized that I am steadily de-cluttering my life… and it feels great.
What doesn’t feel great is that my laptop shorted out last Saturday and I’ve had to go back to the old ‘wind-up’ computer in the front room. I’ve discovered I simply can’t write there because it’s too damn uncomfortable. Seems I need my recliner and laptop in order for the creative juices to flow. With any luck I’ll have it back this week. I’m hoping that it is a minor electrical problem, but it could be the motherboard – and that would be a bad thing.
But back to the de-cluttering
I’ve had a 5 berth caravan at a site up the river about an hour’s drive from here since 1997. It has a colourbond permanent annexe, but each year the site fees have gone up – and we’ve not had the value from it for years. I kept it on after Vaughan left, thinking that the kids might want to use it independently – or I might choose to go up there on my own, but the reality is that they aren’t that interested and I found going up there hard work after a long week at work.
I knew I ought to either sell it or use it more often, but removing it on my own was simply too much to contemplate, so each year I have just kept it on and put my hand in my pocket as each quarter falls due.
However, all that changed this week when, Andrea and her boyfriend Rob offered to remove it for me – and take it off my hands.
Well I vacillated about it for days, but pretty soon I figured that the cost of removing probably offset the value of the van, so on Friday I said ‘Thank you very much and how soon can we do it?’
Long story short, four of us went up to the site the next day and spent a few hours emptying out the van and today Rob and Andrea spent the day dismantling the annexe, ripping up the floorboards and towing the timber and metal sheeting back home. (not sure what I’m going to do with it yet, mind. ) With any luck he’ll have the van itself off site by next weekend!
Next week I think I’ll hire a mini skip and take the opportunity to get rid of the bits
I can’t recycle and while I’m at it, clear out the garden shed and empty the garage – and anything else that can go.
By nature I’m a pack-rat, but there is something liberating about having a good old clear out.
Wish me luck!
My week off was productive rather than recreational. I did do some writing, quite a bit of reading – and even tackled my stamp collection which has been sadly ignored for a while ( I blame the writing bug y'know. )
The weather was stinking hot and I was grateful for the air conditioning at home. I elected to spend most of my week off pottering around inside. I guess that the garden will have to wait a while longer, but I did manage to clean out the boys’ room, defrost the freezer, make some jam and sauce, cleared out the cupboard under the stairs and put away the Christmas decorations. I became a demon with a duster and broom and tried to chuck out anything that was past its use-by date, or being kept ’just-in-case.’ but there is still a stack more to go.
I realized that I am steadily de-cluttering my life… and it feels great.
What doesn’t feel great is that my laptop shorted out last Saturday and I’ve had to go back to the old ‘wind-up’ computer in the front room. I’ve discovered I simply can’t write there because it’s too damn uncomfortable. Seems I need my recliner and laptop in order for the creative juices to flow. With any luck I’ll have it back this week. I’m hoping that it is a minor electrical problem, but it could be the motherboard – and that would be a bad thing.
But back to the de-cluttering
I’ve had a 5 berth caravan at a site up the river about an hour’s drive from here since 1997. It has a colourbond permanent annexe, but each year the site fees have gone up – and we’ve not had the value from it for years. I kept it on after Vaughan left, thinking that the kids might want to use it independently – or I might choose to go up there on my own, but the reality is that they aren’t that interested and I found going up there hard work after a long week at work.
I knew I ought to either sell it or use it more often, but removing it on my own was simply too much to contemplate, so each year I have just kept it on and put my hand in my pocket as each quarter falls due.
However, all that changed this week when, Andrea and her boyfriend Rob offered to remove it for me – and take it off my hands.
Well I vacillated about it for days, but pretty soon I figured that the cost of removing probably offset the value of the van, so on Friday I said ‘Thank you very much and how soon can we do it?’
Long story short, four of us went up to the site the next day and spent a few hours emptying out the van and today Rob and Andrea spent the day dismantling the annexe, ripping up the floorboards and towing the timber and metal sheeting back home. (not sure what I’m going to do with it yet, mind. ) With any luck he’ll have the van itself off site by next weekend!
Next week I think I’ll hire a mini skip and take the opportunity to get rid of the bits
I can’t recycle and while I’m at it, clear out the garden shed and empty the garage – and anything else that can go.
By nature I’m a pack-rat, but there is something liberating about having a good old clear out.
Wish me luck!
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
The week before Christmas.
The kids' long vacation started on Thursday. They don't go back to school until mid Feb now!
Andrea's got herself a job at a coffee shop near her boyfriend's place. I guess I won't be seeing too much of her over the holidays. Chris comes home on Wednesday and returns to the group home on the 5th Jan.
I'm into my last week at work before I take some leave. I'm only taking the three days between Christmas and New Year, which when combined with public holidays and weekends will give me about a 10 day break when I go back on the 4th. .... and I really will get out into the garden and get that weeding done.
The car and the floors are still clamouring for some attention. But there is the reading - and the writing that call out even louder.
Sighhh
I am SUCH a bad housekeeper!
I think I've finally got the last of the Chrissie shopping done today. Woo hooo!
Now we have to start the cooking frenzy.
Andrea is going to make some White Christmas and some Rumballs - like we need such rich foods in the middle of Summer, As a concession to the weather, we will have an ice cream Plum Pdding and our family favourite - Trifle. yum with our roast dinner. ( Crazy I know - but delicious.)
I've had my new glasses for nearly two weeks now. I have really struggled with the multifocal aspect of them this time around. I think I'm finally getting the hang of them now. Things don't waver or swim in and out of focus quite so much. I still struggle with looking down at the floor or stairs - and reading in bed with them simply doesn't work.
On the other hand, they do look quite nice IMHO that is.
Now - on another subject. I discovered the hard way - as I was dressing for a work social function on Friday - that I seriously have hardly anything fit to wear. It is either too old, too small or too goddam awful to leave the house in.
It seems that my very worthy goal of losing some weight before buying any new stuff has come back to bite me on the bum. At this rate I'll be in rags before I buy anything new.
The thing is I HATE going to buy clothes. I always come away from the fluoro lit changing rooms ready to slash my wrists! Every saggy bit, every lump and bump is shown in vivid detail, and have you noticed that when the stores have the mirrors front and back - well isn't that just so much better for your ego?
And here we have Christmas around the corner. ... the natural enemy of the dieter.
sigghh.
Have a safe Christmas.
Andrea's got herself a job at a coffee shop near her boyfriend's place. I guess I won't be seeing too much of her over the holidays. Chris comes home on Wednesday and returns to the group home on the 5th Jan.
I'm into my last week at work before I take some leave. I'm only taking the three days between Christmas and New Year, which when combined with public holidays and weekends will give me about a 10 day break when I go back on the 4th. .... and I really will get out into the garden and get that weeding done.
The car and the floors are still clamouring for some attention. But there is the reading - and the writing that call out even louder.
Sighhh
I am SUCH a bad housekeeper!
I think I've finally got the last of the Chrissie shopping done today. Woo hooo!
Now we have to start the cooking frenzy.
Andrea is going to make some White Christmas and some Rumballs - like we need such rich foods in the middle of Summer, As a concession to the weather, we will have an ice cream Plum Pdding and our family favourite - Trifle. yum with our roast dinner. ( Crazy I know - but delicious.)
I've had my new glasses for nearly two weeks now. I have really struggled with the multifocal aspect of them this time around. I think I'm finally getting the hang of them now. Things don't waver or swim in and out of focus quite so much. I still struggle with looking down at the floor or stairs - and reading in bed with them simply doesn't work.
On the other hand, they do look quite nice IMHO that is.
Now - on another subject. I discovered the hard way - as I was dressing for a work social function on Friday - that I seriously have hardly anything fit to wear. It is either too old, too small or too goddam awful to leave the house in.
It seems that my very worthy goal of losing some weight before buying any new stuff has come back to bite me on the bum. At this rate I'll be in rags before I buy anything new.
The thing is I HATE going to buy clothes. I always come away from the fluoro lit changing rooms ready to slash my wrists! Every saggy bit, every lump and bump is shown in vivid detail, and have you noticed that when the stores have the mirrors front and back - well isn't that just so much better for your ego?
And here we have Christmas around the corner. ... the natural enemy of the dieter.
sigghh.
Have a safe Christmas.
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