Category: Life

Who says I haven’t learned my lesson? Yes, we’re going back for more.

As we’ve told a few family and friends, our time in Sydney has come to a close, and we’re returning to WA for the foreseeable future. I’ll be keeping the same job, just working from a different place, and Ainslie will have to find another way of keeping herself amused. Again. Maybe she’ll take up writing.

In reviewing our snapshots of the last few years, we’ve achieved so much and also seen so many places other than Sydney. I’ll have to collect a Brag Sheet together before we leave.

However, we’ve saved the biggest adventure until last. We’re driving.

Yep – it’s one of the great road trips of the world, and we think the Forester is up for it. it’s over 4200 kilometres of some of the most boring countryside on the planet, but it’s one of those things you need to be able to say you’ve done at least once in your life. For me, this will be three. For the rest of the gang, it will be one.

Anyone done the journey recently? Any tips?

Hey, if you’re into Sci-fi or Fantasy books, look at the extensive list below. If not, well, *shrug* don’t look at this extensive list.
Fantasy:
Inheritance series (Christopher Paolini)
Harry Potter series(Joanne K. Rowling)
Legend of Lancon (Caleb Robinson-cook)[For the first chapter, click a link under the title- Dragonfire-LOL preview]
Battle of Ragnarok (Caleb Robinson-cook) [For the first chapter, click a link under the title- Dragonfire-BOR preview]
Wind Singer (William Nicholson)
Dragonlance series (Various)
The Last Time (Caleb Robinson-cook) [For the prologue, click a link under the title- Dragonfire- TLT preview]
Sci-fi:
Battle of Ragnarok (Caleb Robinson-cook) [See above]
The Last Time (Caleb Robinson-cook) [See above]
Star Wars?(?)

This may seem weird and insignificant to anyone reading this, but isn’t that what rambling’s all about? Anyway, you’re the one who started reading this thing! Didn’t you? Don’t blame it on me, it was all your fault!!
Anyway, back onto the subject. If you pause a Simpsons episode, for example, the one where the two women that Ned and Homer married in Vegas hunt them down, in a single frame, a piece of clothing either changes colour, a word is not coherent with the mouth position, or, like in the one I just mentioned, something that one of the Simpsons are wearing just disappears. Like during the above Simpsons episode, when the Vegas woman that married Homer is talking to Abe, who she is married to now after being drunk, Abe’s glasses a disappear for one single frame! So if you ever see anything like this while watching the Simpsons, give me some feedback and I’ll look at it. And if you do send in some feedback relating to this rambling, you get a nifty prize… self-esteem! Now isn’t that great-diddly-ate?!

Caleb and Milana are rightly proud of their brilliant performances at the Dancesport Grand Prix in Bankstown today.
With 2 first places in Waltz/Quickstep and one in Jive (and a 4th and a 6th), these are Caleb’s first big wins in Sydney, and Milana’s first ever!
By the way – don’t forget to vote for the kid’s coach – Serghei – in Dancing With The Stars – his great performances might be rubbing off on the kids!

OK, The pressure is on – how long is a respectful time to wait from the release to start talking about the spoilers in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows?

Because that’s exactly how long I have to finish reading this sucker. Grrr.

After 9 years, I think it’s time to upgrade.

It may surprise some of you that I’m about to buy my second computer. Ever. Well, technically, it’s the fourth computer I’ve ever owned, if you don’t count my calculator watch (1978-1980), or my watch that played ‘Yellow Rose Of Texas’ (1980-1983), or my sad string of deceased Personal Digital Assistants and Organisers (1994-1999 R.I.P. – Young dads, PDAs and low bathtubs don’t mix well.)

Here’s the list:

• 1982 Commodore Vic-20 (a gift) – 5K, 1MHz
• 1984 Commodore 64 (another gift) – 64K, 1.02MHz
• 1998 Custom-built PC – 500Mb, 600MHz (upgraded)
• 2007 Dell Inspiron 530 – 4GB, 2.4Ghz

Hopefully this new purchase won’t need to last 9 years. It’s on the plane on the way here, according to Dell’s website. More details as they come to hand.

Friends and family might be interested to see that our old house is back on the market – a google search will bring up the details.

If you’re interested, please contact us for some tips on dealing with the seller :-)

A woman brought a very limp duck into a veterinary surgeon. As she lay her pet on the table, the vet pulled out his stethoscope and listened to the bird’s chest. After a moment or two, the vet shook his head sadly and said, “I’m so sorry, your pet has passed away.”

The distressed owner wailed, “Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure. The duck is dead,” he replied.

“How can you be so sure”, she protested. “I mean, you haven’t done any testing on him or anything. He might just be in a coma or something.”

The vet rolled his eyes, turned around and left the room. He returned a few moments later with a pair of Labrador Retrievers. As the duck’s owner looked on in amazement, the dogs stood on their hind legs, put their front paws on the examination table and sniffed the duck from top to bottom. They then looked at the vet with sad eyes and shook their heads. The vet patted the dogs, took them out of the room and returned a few moments later with a beautiful cat. The cat jumped up on the table and also sniffed the bird from its beak to its tail and back again. The cat sat back on its haunches, shook its head, meowed softly, jumped down and strolled out of the room. The vet looked at the woman and said, “I’m sorry, but as I said, this is most definitely, 100% certifiably, a dead duck.”

Then the vet turned to his computer terminal, hit a few keys and produced a bill, which he handed to the woman. The duck’s owner, still in shock, took the bill. “$150!” she cried. “$150 just to tell me my duck is dead?!!”

The vet shrugged. “I’m sorry. If you’d taken my word for it, the bill would have been $20. But what with the Lab Reports and the Cat Scan, it all adds up.

Here’s an assortment of new jokes I heard over the holiday break. For your entertainment.

• What car does Tarzan drive? A Mazda Tree-To-Tree.
• Why do ducks have flat feet? To put out small bushfires.
• Why do elephants have flat feet? To put out burning ducks.

And some crickety hooma:

• Who has the easiest job in the English cricket team? The guy who removes the red ball marks from the bats.
• What does Asley Giles put in his hands to make sure the next ball takes a wicket? A bat.
• ASHES = Another Sad, Horrific English Season

Okay, OK. That’s a pretty lame effort for 2006. 8 Posts. After 12 years, you’re allowed some down-time, but that’s probably a little too far down.
I’m not going to set a new year’s resolution to write more. I’m just going to do it. Like most bloggers, I waver between treating The Blog as testimonial or therapy. I probably could use more of that this year.
2006 has been a pretty mad year. In the space of 12 months:
* We moved from Perth to Sydney – and put the kids into a new school
* I changed jobs: from product management to marketing – I inherited *direct reports* for the first time!
* I continued the tradition of travelling to the US (only once, this time)
* We travelled as a family to Canberra, The Gold Coast and Hamilton Island (best family trip ever!)
* We hosted many friends and fellow families at our house, including Granny, Nanna, Jos, The Olsens and The Kamps for their Sydney holidays.
* We also hosted Christmas and Australia Day for the extended families
… and a few other things – eating, sleeping, stuck in traffic.
So, this year, I’m going to swing the balance back a little.
I’d like to do less documenting, and more things worth documenting.
If you’ve been wondering where all the posts have been – please check in with a quick comment so I know you’re also alive!
Happy New Calendar Year, everyone!