Weird day...

Today was odd:

5:30am text message arrives, with the basic jist of... hey, such a shame I didn't bang you last time you were in town
8:00am - mild anxiety, but must leave for work
11:30 - incoming phonecall, can you work? rains, pours.
11:45 - incoming phonecall, hey some mail turned up here for you
14:30 - roomie phonecall, hey can you go pick up the memberships? Sure.
15:00 - leave work
16:30 - feels like I have wisdom teeth coming... at my age?
17:00 - text person back along the lines of... i think I know who you are, you highly inappropriate fuckwad....

Moral of weird day: I guess.... Friends, don't ever just randomly text someone you haven't seen in months with a shitty message that will make them feel like a piece of ass, unless you have an in-joke in play, a la "stilettos and stockings", or an actual relationship with them that would warrant said text, but most importantly NOT AT 5:30am.

Bwargh of the hargh.
Love you all. x

Considering the Premier of NSW office doesn't accept emails from outside it's electorate...

First, here's part of the email I received in return: "If you are a constituent of another electorate

Due to the large volume of emails we receive, your correspondence will not be forwarded to the Premier’s office."

So, here is one I penned (the last 4 paragraphs are not mine) quite some time ago, November in fact:

>>>>>>>>>>>>
Dear Mr Baird 

I am from South Australia, and have recently attended a public forum on the future of water looking ahead to 2050 held by the Goyder Institute. The conversation is already starting to take shape about what we need to do to protect our farmers, indigenous land owners, environment and general public in regards to water security for the future. 

Recently I sat with my family and we watched the documentary "Gaslands" about the issues that Coal Seam Gas extraction (fracking) has created in communities across the United States. I can only use one word to describe the reaction we all had: horrified. 

Water belongs to everyone, not corporations, and is a basic human right. 

I have also recently spoken to an old colleague who is now working in inland Queensland, who sadly reported to me they had lost two more farmers in the past week to suicide. She stated that it was because the support in infrastructure is not there for them, and they could not see forward into the future. They are trying to get this information heard, but it is not being heard loud enough. I find these kinds of stories exceptionally sad because although I do not know these families personally, I acknowledge that we rely on them for our local food sources and should be easing any stresses they have in relation to security in all its forms, including natural water supplies. 

I have seen and heard reports coming from NSW of communities fighting to keep fracking wells out of their communities, with some success. Please continue to listen to these people, and there rest of the country when we say CSG is not the way forward. It is a dangerous practice that should be banned in Australia. 

I believe the only way forward with regards to energy is via wind and solar. 

A scientific review presented to the NSW Great Artesian Basin Advisory Group has said that the Great Artesian Basin may not be able to survive the water extraction methods used in CSG operations. 

CSG could deplete the pressure that keeps water flowing through bores throughout the basin. The basin's recharge area makes up only about 10 per cent of the overall basin area, and most of this is in the Pilliga region, where Santos is now conducting exploratory drilling. 

CSG threatens to stop bores flowing throughout the basin, thereby cutting off the sole water source for 22 per cent of Australia. 

This represents an unacceptable risk to a water supply that's critical for farming, irrigation, and drinking water for rural communities.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Next time you want to clean your kettle...

Just tried something I remember my mum had told me and found some random notes on a website about it.... 

- halve a lemon
- squeeze half into 1 glass of water
- do that again (2 glasses)
- pour into your kettle
- boil

VOILA!

Let the kettle cool right down, including the element of course, and empty. If there is any scum left then wipe through with a small amount of bicarbonate of soda and a damp cloth. Rinse several times before using again.

Sooooooo good, no chemicals really required if you do this regularly instead of allowing the build up.

Really pleased. Simple.

xJ

begin rant...

If We Don't Dig It Up, Someone Else Will: Coal Giants Argument in Court
https://newmatilda.com//2015/04/09/if-we-dont-dig-it-someone-else-will-coal-giants-argument-court

No. Just no.  It is bad enough that this is a company from outside Australia with such an exposed poisonous, horrendous environmental record, but to say 'nobody is doing anything anyway, someone else will just do it anyway' is just shit.

YES we absolutely need to bring the developing world out of many forms of poverty and provide more stable energy and safer ways for households to cook, etc. to many; we are all equal and should be assisting in making the world safer in this way for the basics of living; but I would hope we can do this with alternative energy sources and with existing infrastructure, or at LEAST coal Carbon Capture technologies being added to existing sites. This particular type of technology has been discussed in many papers I have been reading (back to 2008), so what is the hold up?! And why are these paid think-tanks still getting away with spouting crap like this?! Urgh. Why is it NOT THEIR RESPONSIBILITY?! It is going to take everyone, Adani, you just can't opt out of this global issue of keeping the ecosystems sustainable and safe.

It is very obvious, and well documented, that China and others are moving well away from coal as an energy source because of the health issues/pollution it is creating in their Countries. Arguing to build another coal mine, another port, and to temporarily create jobs etc etc in a very vulnerable part of the ecosystem is a giant cop out.  There IS existing infrastructure in place, if we must continue to use it. We are smarter than this, Adani forgets that.

Don't get me started on Australia cutting foreign aid. What a joke!

Forwards, not backwards, you bag of DICKS (Liberal party - hehe).

/rant

Story time: The Corporate World...

(Originally 'penned' November 9, 2014)

Periodically I step back into the corporate world in the form of, well, what I have heard it referred to as is a 'professional temp'.  Luckily for me I have a long standing relationship with one particular Company that calls me in when either someone is on leave, it gets to a busy period, or they want to complete a research project.

So this week I have been back in the office, ultimately helping play catch up, and filling a hole left as sadly someone had a relative in a bad accident overseas and had to jump on a flight immediately.

This week has stemmed a conversation amongst those of us in this particular department I am working in, on different 'breeds' of workers.  I guess it is funny to categorise people in that way, but I really can't think of a better way to put it.

There are people that cruise along in their workplace and don't think of the flow on effect that their daily work has on the person next to them.  I have run across this multiple times in my previous life as a corporate lackie, along with the fact that nearly every job I have ever taken there was no instructions for.  Which opens up a whole new can of worms I suppose; the old 'what if I got hit by a bus' argument. Not that any of us want to be hit by a bus of course, however it begs the question, are people too busy in their day to document what it is they actually do?

When I worked in Corporate full-time, I actually tended to stay in jobs quite a long time... 4 1/2 years I think was the longest, in a job I actually truly loved with a great team of people who were like family. But the great powers that be in Government, back in the time when they never wanted to make anyone permanent and forced them to annually apply for their own jobs in a long-winded application (I'm talking 12 pages here), ousted me from my own job. They decided to pass it on to someone who I knew for a fact actually had no real direct experience in how we were developing this division of the Agency. I'm all for learning new skills but this was a little different.  They gave me four days notice that I was unsuccessful in my application to retain my own job and said 'there's talk of you perhaps wanting to stay on a little bit longer' (as they understood it was not much notice, or some such fuckery). I strongly replied 'I think it's more in my interest to go and find another job, don't you?'.  They wanted me to stay on and train the person. Well fair enough; I have done a myriad of training and hand-overs in my life, when moving sideways or upwards or whatever. But when someone actually decides to pull one over in you in that manner, giving so little notice, sorry but they're on their own.

I had a new job about 5 days after leaving that one.

I also had a Corporate relationship that was very toxic, and after 3 1/2 years I declined an offer from Management to simply take a break (I'd fallen down a staircase and screwed up my lower lumbar too, that didn't really help sitting at a desk every day).  I ended up over the few years following my departure often being poached when they found out, somehow (little birdies?), that I was in between temp jobs.  In this instance I had the power to negotiate - which was always received well - and make some small demands. IE. 'I can come for X period of time, but 2 weeks before I leave I want you to find me someone to fully train' or 'I want to work 4 days in December, in the new year I can go to 5, but at X date I must leave because I have a contract with Y.'

I do leave VERY comprehensive instruction manuals in any job I move on from, whether it has been a short fill-in project, or a longer permanent full-time job I have had. When I have been given the opportunity to hand-over properly I give training to the best of my ability, which I actually think I am quite good at.

(new notes 20 March 2015): Wow, this is actually pretty good I think. Anyway it goes a small way to explain as to why I moved from full time Corporate universe into Festival CarnieLand. As many of you know, I spent most of my extra curricular hours in those early working years volunteering for the excellent Three D Radio, clocking up ten years in total between 1994 & 2004. I also put my hand up to assist with many local events in Adelaide, anything from being a door bitch, to organising Three D's 21st birthday when everyone else had thought there was not enough time to do so. And after many years of sitting in an office, I applied for a job with Falls simply because I wanted an excuse to go back to the beauty that is Tasmania.

And the rest is history...
xJ

Annual Goals

Each year I write myself a list of things I want to get done... not a new years resolution list, more personal goals that I can monitor and mark off as they are completed.

What I just realised is that I am already 25% of the way to my annual savings goal, and this makes me super happy.  I put the level UP this year, so that's even better. I usually burn a giant hole in it when I do my big annual trip to see the North American family, but I am determined not to do that this time.

Might be a small thing, and whilst money is never my main focus in life (as in, it's not all about the money), I realise that planning somewhat for my future is important.

After reading Hannah McQueens book on finance last year I started putting 10% away of whatever I earn from that point on, no matter how small. Realistically I can often put away more as I am resourceful and don't tend to overspend, but this small target has been great to keep a focus.  Even when I had a few weeks of shitty income and had to actually dip into this fund, as soon as I was able a few weeks later when a decent pay cheque arrived, I replenished it. Go me!

Fringe is imminent! Happy festivalling all, may you have a beautiful season.

xJ

Trying to NOT suck so hard at sewing.... Part Deux...

This awesome shopping trolley that I have had and used for a while now, thanks to a delightful friend who picked it up at a yard sale for me, has always seriously needed something to stop smaller things sliding out the side...

Awwww.... poor trolley!
So naked.

Anyhoo, my mother very naughtily cut out the sizing I had measured instead of letting me do it! Naughty mum!

So she said she would teach me a 'french seam' as it is the strongest thing she was ever taught when she learned to sew.

But then she realised she had not calculated quite enough to allow for this so we had a gap - nawwwww! Balls!

Oh look! Here's some sweet sweet corduroy from the shed!

So cute, totally foreign.

That's BETTER!

Completed Mission 2 of trying not to suck at sewing! Huzzah!

It's a little saggy at the side I guess but when filled with groceries who gives a toss.
It totally does the trick, is removable and washable.

NB. There was an awful lot of swearing and laughing during this project.

xJ