I forgot to tell you where I'm going camping

The Mammal Club I'm in is holding a field survey this weekend just outside of Coonalpyn, at Mt Boothby Conservation Park. So that's where I'm going camping. And it'll be real camping too, with no running water, no dorms, and no (eek) real toilets. It's gonna be great! A field survey basically means that on the first day we set up some traps at various sites and then on the other days we check the traps regularly to see what animals are around. I've been through but never stopped in the Upper South East (or Upper Limestone Coast as it's known these days) before so I'm looking forward to checking out the scenery. Unfortunately, it looks like the weather's gonna be crapola. I think as well as my sleeping bag I'd better take another blanket. And I don't mind if it's cold while we're out during the day, so long as it doesn't rain. But it can rain at night while I'm cosy in my tent. Got that, weather gods? Good. Only today and tomorrow left of work this week, yay!

Nah, I don't need to buy anything

It seems inevitable that whenever I get invited to something like a makeup or perfume party, despite me stating that I won't be buying anything, I end up going home with a receipt for some purchase or other. Such was the case on Saturday afternoon. Maria was holding a Mary Kay party, and when being invited I warned her I wouldn't be buying anything, but lo and behold, they had this hand care set I just "had to have". Ah well, my intentions were good.

In other news, Mum got out of the hospital on Friday morning, despite a scare about a wound being infected. On Saturday morning I went to my parent's house and did a bit of housework and cooked them a stir fry at Mum's request. She's looking really good, hopefully her body keeps healing this well.

On Sunday, despite it being perfect weather for staying tucked in bed (cold and rainy) I went to a workship in Belair for the NCS spring survey coming up in a couple of weeks. Got home at about 2:30 and did little else for the rest of the day. I do love going out sometimes but I'm turning into a boring old person, preferring to stay home mostly. Working all week makes weekends sacred so I prefer to do nothing sometimes. Very boring, I know.

Today's day at work seems like a waste, but I'm only here for a couple more days this week so I shouldn't complain. I'm off camping over the long weekend and I can't wait, since it's been about 2 years since my last camping trip. So I suppose I can last at work until Wednesday :)

All is well

With a Family Leave day booked at work yesterday I had the whole day to, well, spend with the family, surprisingly. I got to Dad's at 11am and spent a bit of time with him. He was doing some gardening so he asked me to go to the shops to get us some lunch. I went to what is these days called Stockland or something, but back when I was younger was known as Parabanks.

Seeing as I don't want to see 95% of the people I went to school with ever again, a trip to the local shopping centre can fill me with a touch of dread. Now that I live about 30 minutes from where I grew up, the possibility of facing dickheads I went to school with is minimal. But I ventured onto their turf nonetheless. The trip to the shops was, I must say, most uneventful. It was interesting to see the new shops opened and the older stores soldiering on, but I wasn't there for very long.

After lunch Dad and I went to the hospital to see Mum. It was so good to see her, it definitely put my mind at ease. The doctor was very pleased with not only how smoothly the surgery went, but also how well she was recovering. She looked really good and was in happy spirits, so I spent a couple of hours there before going home. Methinks I'll pop in there tonight after work too for a little while.

As is usually the case, little else has been happening. A somewhat quiet day here at work, which means I have a little time for web browsing and other not-too-interesting things. Bloody hell, I need a coffee.

Mondays suck and blow

Mum isn't even in hospital yet and already I'm worrying. I called her this morning and she seems more calm than me, that's for sure. I was going to go and see her tonight but she said that was silly, as she'd only just be waking up from the anaesthetic and wouldn't really want to see anyone. I have tomorrow off work anyway so I'll be able to spend more time with her then, so a phone call from Dad telling me how things went will have to suffice.

We had a nice weekend together to celebrate her birthday (except the Crows losing their match didn't make her happy). On Saturday we all went to Mum and Dad's to have a birthday lunch, then yesterday I went to church with her and Grandma. The church was raising money for flood victims in Hungary so after the service they held a lunch, so we were there for a fair chunk of the afternoon.

And before I know it, it's bloody well Monday again! Work has really been ticking me off lately (moreso than usual) and I can't wait to go camping next weekend. I'm only taking 4 days off but I haven't been camping in almost a year so I'm extra excited. I just have to remember to look through my camping gear well beforehand, as I think I may have packed some of it away at Mum and Dad's. Don't really wanna drive 3 hours away to find I don't even have a torch or something. Anyway, the break will be good, if the weather improves.

As one final rant before I get back to work, I tell you, I never thought I'd be one of these people to say this, but the young people in my neighbourhood piss me off. Every week, the train station is repainted to get rid of the graffiti, and every weekend the kids are back out there scribbling. It's so disappointing to see the new scribbles every bloody Monday morning. It's not even remotely artistic, it's just a bunch of scribbles in black or red texta. Pains in the asses!

It's gas isn't it

Whoosh! Another week gone, just like that. Work has been nuts so I've had very little time to web browse let alone update my blog. Plus, nothing much has been happening. I bought a new mobile phone. It has a camera. That's been about it.

Mum's birthday was on Tuesday so this weekend we're doing the family thing to celebrate. Buying her a present was a trial, let me tell you. First off, I spent one lunch hour walking around stores aimlessly, looking for a great present to jump out at me. No such thing occurred. Instead, I had to ask Mum what she wanted. Thankfully she gave me a few options. With her going into hospital on Monday she wanted some new things to take with her, so problem solved.

But methinks I must have had my invisibility cloak on. At one store, I was patiently waiting in line and some woman just simply pushed in front of me. And got served. Then at the next store, the checkout next to the one I was in line for was free, so the checkout girl actually looked at me, then asked the lady behind me if she wanted to go through her checkout. Piss off. Ofcourse, I said nothing, because I am WEAK! Instead I was late back from lunch by about 20 minutes and was left fuming. I really must speak up to rude asshole city people. Bloody rude women.

So, that's been my adventurous week. Oh, last weekend Dad and I went to Hahndorf which was cool, as I've never been there during the day and it's a gorgeous town. We did a little window shopping before the bad weather arrived, then we went up to see Maria and Steve, and pick up Mum. One good thing about Dad being out of work (possibly the only good thing, because it depresses him) is that we get to spend more time together. I got to have lunch with him again today and I really like that.

Fridays are aces

Hooray, the end of the week is here! I'm in such good spirits because of it, or perhaps it's because I'm overtired and therefore a bit zany. Whatever the reason, it's a Friday, and that can't be a bad thing.

Dad has finished his contract and so has returned to the unemployment line. I fear he may go through some depression again, so I'm trying to spend as much quality time with him as possible. This morning he's driven me to work (that was his suggestion, not my crazy idea of quality time) and we're going to catch up for some lunch. Tomorrow he's picking me up and we're heading up to see Maria and Steve and having some lunch at their place. They've bought a whole bunch of new things with some of their wedding money which I haven't seen yet so I wanna check it out. The rest of the weekend looks like it might be a bit quiet but that's perfect, especially considering the rain will be returning.

I've really gotten into the cricket, which a few years ago would have definitely not had happened. In fact, the excitement of the cricket (or lack thereof) used to be quite a family joke. But I'm really enjoying this Ashes test, and although I try and stay up for a lot of it, it's just not possible (like last night). Perhaps some late nights will be in order this weekend.

The office is in the spirit of the football showdown this weekend. My manager is a big Crows fan and her manager is a big Port fan, so our end of the building is being decorated in a sea of blue, yellow and red. She's brought in a whole bunch of her Crows merchandise so that everyone has something on their desks. Facing me is the cutest teddy bear, draped in a small scarf and beany. I'd like to take it home really, it's so cute. And there's a scarf draped over my partition. Oh, and I just noticed someone pasted a 'Go the Crows' sign on one side of my partition. I'm hoping that today will just be a bit of a bludge. That's why I'm blogging, hoping to avoid work today as much as possible. You understand.

Time killer

I really must start compiling a list of what people type into a search engine, and somehow it pops up with my blog. I have no idea how the association between a lot of these things happen. For example, someone has recently done a Yahoo search for "dungeon accomodation" and my site was in the list of hits. What the...? Each time I think I've seen a weird one, another one comes along to keep me entertained.

Father's Day

I can't believe Father's Day has already been and gone. Is it really September already? Crazy how quickly the year has flown.

Anyway, the weather was gorgeous yesterday (as opposed to Saturday where it was poo) so Dad and I went to the Royal Adelaide Show to celebrate Father's Day. We always have a good time there together as we tend to like the same things. Time was a bit short, so we didn't get to see the fashion parade or the precision driving team, but a nice day was had anyway.

My favourite place to visit is the dairy food pavilion. For someone that has been labelled a "big mouse" the endless free tastings of all sorts of cheese is the best place to be. It's inevitable that we'll buy some cheeses. Oh well, at least I didn't buy any useless showbags this year.

That was about it for the weekend. I was supposed to go to a Friends of Belair meeting on Saturday but wanted to stay cosy and warm inside so didn't end up going due to the poo weather.

And yet, there was no weather problem yesterday, yet last night we lost power for just over an hour I think. Cooking and eating dinner by candlelight was quite nice, and we killed the time by playing a "how well do we know each other" quiz. Interesting results ;)