Let's take a walk...

It was such a glorious day in Melbourne on Sunday I decided to take the camera with me when I went for a walk to the supermarket.

So, out the door and I couldn't resist the roses in our front garden.

About half-way down our street the council has renovated the playground.

It's so much nicer than it was. It's funny but you don't actually see a lot of kids in the area, although I'm sure they're there. Maybe it's because we're only just coming into summer now and the weather's a bit better. Dunno.

Anyway, we're not far from the station, and I had to stop at the level crossing when a train came out of the station.

I actually had to stop on the way back from the supermarket for a train heading in the other direction too.

Our street is lined with beautiful Jacaranda trees and almost all of them are now in bloom - such purple gorgeousness!!

The thing that surprises me somewhat is the proliferation of olive trees in the area - they're starting to fruit now and I think they'll be picked in about April of next year.

And then back home.

There but for the grace of god ...

(or whomever your chosen deity is), go I.

My partner declares that the world's gone mad (again), and I think she's right. With the goings on this week in Mumbai and Bangkok, and the ongoing dramas in Zimbabwe, I'm incredibly grateful that I live in Australia.

We complain about having to go through checkpoints at the airport and the stadium, but these are necessarily 'evils' put in place to try and protect the nation of Australia, and each person who can claim citizenship, residential status, or happens to be here on holiday.

I don't complain - I understand that a small inconvenience now and then will, hopefully, prevent a much more serious disruption. I'm not naive enough to think that terrorist attacks aren't possible in Australia, but the small things we can do to try and stay safe shouldn't be dismissed as being a nuisance or inconvenience.

And while we may not all agree with the decisions made by politicians, we have the opportunity to protest, or to remove them at the next election. And we know that the election will be fair and the result a true reflection of the will of the people.

I can't imagine the pain, both physical and emotional, being suffered by those in Mumbai in Zimbabwe. And I don't pretend to understand the reasons behind the extraordinary protests in Bangkok. But I do know that what we have in Australia is special and should be protected as much as possible, so long as human rights are not trampled upon.

Enough doom and gloom, except for one small in-memoriam. I heard on the news today that this man died:

Who is he? You may not recognise his face, but you may know his name, and you definitely know his work:

Yes, Joern Utzon, the dead-set legend that designed the Sydney Opera House has died at the ripe old age of 90. It's too much of a long story to talk about how the NSW government of the time totally screwed him to the wall and bastardised his plans for the interior of the House, but it's a travesty that his grand plans were never totally fulfilled.

I'm honoured to be able to say that I've performed at the House - both in the Opera Theatre and on the amazing Concert Hall stage. It's a magical place and today I take my metaphoric hat off to Joern for his vision and for giving Sydney, the nation and the world one of the most recognisable and amazing buildings we'll ever see.

Something to talk about

So it's been an eternity since I last posted.

I've just been soooo busy after moving interstate, and getting back to Uni and blah blah blah.

I copped a serve from a Ravelry friend about my lack of blog action, so now that I have something to mention I will.

Sunday just gone (19th), the missus and couple of close friends went off and did the Melbourne City Romp which was an absolute hoot! We finished way back in 935th place (out of 2000), but the point wasn't to win, 'cause that was soooo not likely, but just to have a noice day out and explore Melbourne a bit.

Here's the happy crew just before we enjoyed a quiet bevvy after the big day

We're already considering our strategy for Romp '09....

Moving makes you sick

They say that moving house is right up there with death and marriage as far as stressful events go.

Oh yeah!

Making the move to Melbourne is absolutely huge on the stress-o-meter. As it turns out, it's so stressful that it gave me mumps.

Yep, at the age of 40, I get so stressed and run down that I manage to pick up mumps from god-knows-where.

Normally I just shrug illness off after taking a couple of nurofen - not this time. I went down like a sack of spuds, and my face blew up like a balloon. I seriously looked like John Travolta in Hairspray, or Aunt Marge in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - seriously puffy.

So I've ended up with 6 days off work - I think that's the same as the total number of days I've had off work in the past 2 years!

But the good news is that all the balls have finally dropped.

My job.

The missus' job.

The removalist's been booked.

And we finally have a house in Preston.

Yay!

Long time, no post

So it's been, like, two months since I last posted; and there's been waaay too much going on to catch up - so here's the heavily edited highlights.

The missus and I spent two weeks in Melbourne over Christmas/New Year for a holiday and reconnaisance for the big move which is coming just after Easter.

We had a great time - with one of the highlights going to Carols by Candlelight at the Myer Music Bowl - mainly 'cause these guys were performing:

Yep - it's the Choir of Hard Knocks - after an amazing year including a Platinum album, sold out concerts at the Melbourne Town Hall and Sydney Opera House, they get to sing to thousands of people on national television. Awesome!

I've been accepted into La Trobe University to continue my law degree, so I'll pick that up in 2nd semester once we've settled in our new abode (yet to be finalised).

And over the Australia Day weekend we spent a couple of days in Canberra to witness this event:

Ladies and gents, I give you Australia's Local Hero for 2008, Jonathon Welch. It was a fantastic weekend - one of the most emotional of my life. Not only being present at the Australia Day Awards, but then attending a citizenship ceremony was a fantastic way to spend our national holiday.

Now, the focus is totally on getting moved to Melbourne - it's looming very large on the horizon and things are starting to fall into place nicely. The missus remarked that it's a bit like a really huge game of Tetris. Yep, and it's starting to feel like the pieces are falling REALLY quickly!

THE Stash Conversation

Yep, the missus and I had THE stash conversation yesterday (and continued today, albeit tangentially)...

First, some background. We're moving to Melbourne - it's like a micro tree/sea change. We're swapping the in-your-face craziness of Sydney for the not quite as bad Melbourne. We really want to live in country Victoria, but without having jobs to go to, it's totally unrealistic. Then of course, I decide to go back to Uni, so that's put another spanner in the grand plan.

But in any case, we really want to be in Melbourne 'cause it's way more arts-focused than Sydney and that's really where our hearts lay - notwithstanding that I'm a public servant in law enforcement and she's (currently) in hospitality.

And we have some good friends there that we really want to spend more time with - and they're in the arts too...

So we're off to Melbourne at the end of March 2008. Yesterday we had a 'meeting' about what we need to do when we're south of the border at Christmas - like sussing out the suburbs and what's available for renting etc. Of course, I mentioned Bendigo Woollen Mills and that's when it happened.

"Why do you need more wool?!" Ummm, because I'm an addict? I only have 7 plastic tubs (I think they're 44litres), and that really isn't very much, is it? And that's what I said to her today. And she's like "by compared to who?" And I said not much compared to other people (read: addicts).

So I guess BWM is off the itinerary until we actually relocate. And I promised myself not to buy any more yarn until we relocate.

And then this arrived on the doorstep:

Uh oh....

It's a meme

I saw this meme on a couple of blogs that I read regularly, and 'cause I've never done one, I knicked it. I've whipped off the last two questions about why I answered it and tagging others.

1. Name one person who made you laugh last night
Well, not my partner who was sick, but I think I got a laugh from Judge John Deed at some point.

2. What were you doing at 0800hrs?
I was asleep

3. What were you doing 30 minutes ago?
Pretty sure I was watching Kevin Rudd on Rove

4. What happened to you in 2006?
I decided to go back to Uni to study law and convinced a good friend that doing a TV programme about a homeless persons choir was a good thing.

5. What was the last thing you said out loud?
"No thanks darl" in response to a question as to whether I wanted a cup of something.

6. How many beverages did you have today?
Mmm, I think 3 cups of coffee, 2 glasses of diet coke and a couple of glasses of water.

7. What colour is your hairbrush?
White

8. What was the last thing you paid for?
Groceries (boring!)

9. Where were you last night?
At home, enjoying the fact that I didn't have to study, and not enjoying the fact that my partner was throwing up (totally unrelated to each other!)

10. What colour is your front door?
Maroon and cream

11. Where do you keep your change?
Usually in my wallet, but I have a mug on my desk at work for overflow.

12. What's the weather like today?
It was very warm and sunny which was good for drying the washing, then it cooled down around 4-ish.

13. What's the best ice-cream flavour?
Only one?! I had sour cherry gelato yesterday which was nice, but I think my favourite would have to be rum n' raisin.

14. What excites you?
Singing with my choir, seeing my 2nd best friend (see Q4) and his partner, the prospect of making a huge life change in 2008 by moving to Melbourne (scares the crap out of me too!)

15. Do you want to cut your hair?
Yep - it's driving me mad. It's quite long and dead straight and boring. Although my partner loves it long. It's getting the chop at some point, but probably only to shoulder length.

16. Are you over the age of 25?
Oh yeah!

17. Do you talk a lot?
Depends on the situation. I'm actually quite shy and don't do small talk with strangers very well, but when I'm with a group of friends I'm quite gregarious.

18. Do you know anyone named Steven?
Yes - a work colleague, actually, a couple of work colleagues!

19. Do you want up your own words?
No, at least no intentionally.

20. Are you a jealous person?
No - I was quite jealous of my partner's ex early on in our relationship, but not anymore.

21. Name a friend whose name starts with the letter "A".
Amanda and Angela

22. Name a friend whose name starts with the letter "K".
Kathleen

23. Who's the first person on your received call list?
My partner

24. What does the last text message you received say?
"Oh - I thought I may have left my brain there" - don't ask.

25. Do you chew on your straw?
Yep, and pens and pencils

26. Do you have curly hair?
Nope - straight as it comes.

27. Where's the next place you're going to?
Work in the morning.

28. Who's the rudest person in your life?
I don't think there are any - they've been culled.

29. What was the last thin you ate?
Barbecued steak, potato in its jacket, onions, salad.

30. Will you get married in the future?
Hopefully one day the federal government will wake up and allow same-sex couples to get married.

31. What's the best movie you've seen in the past 2 weeks?
I don't think I've seen a whole movie in the last 2 weeks - I've been too busy studying for Uni exams.

32. Is there anyone you like right now?
It depends on what you mean by "like" - as in, got a crush on etc? In which case, only my partner.

33. Did you cry today?
Nope