It's been brought to my attention that I've been neglecting my blog. Skimming over the last couple of entries it occurs to me how inaccurate my blog is at the moment.
For one thing, it implies that I am in Adelaide, when in fact I didn't end up going to work on the festival at all because I wanted to spend the last few months of Mum's life in Melbourne with her (despite her protests). So I stayed in Melbourne and was lucky enough that a job came up on Billy Elliot which has kept me out of mischief for the last six months.
This is however drawing to a close as our season finishes in just under two weeks. After that, who knows what I'll be doing or where I'll be. Will endeavour to write more often, but make no guarantees.
Not much news other than that! Am looking forward to a break after the show. Quite possibly going to head off on a holiday. Destination and duration to be determined soon...
Anyway, I should give sleep another try. Am suffering from insomnia or possibly have reverted to a nocturnal state. Not good. Sleep is important according to the SBS documentary on sleep depreviation I watched last week... in two viewings... because I may have fallen a sleep due to being a tad sleep deprived. Ahem.
Sleep.
Showing posts with label work. Show all posts
Showing posts with label work. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 03, 2009
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
Playing Catch Up
Quite a bit has happened since I last wrote and although I've been meaning to write (and have often gotten as far as opening up the "create post" page), I just haven't found the words. I'm feeling a little despondent at the moment. Well, more than a little. Nick mentioned the Korean term Han to me yesterday and I think that combined with an overwhelming sense of ennui would be an apt description of how I'm feeling.
Anyhow. It's been a couple of weeks and since then Mum's come out of hospital and is going for a PET scan today to make sure that there's no cancer left. She has to go to a hospital in Moorabin for the scan.
Moorabin is where I flew a helicopter last Monday. (What a segue way!) Which was amazingly fun and I'd really like to do it again some time. Perhaps when I've stopped working in the crazy profession that I seem to have chosen? Who knows, but I was lucky enough to have a great instructor who took me up to the training airspace and once I was a little less wobbly with the controls he directed me from Carrum back towards Melbourne's CBD along the beach en route to the airport. Many thanks to Lisa & Dave for the opportunity to fly!
Stepping back a week, I finished up work on Summer Fun in the City with Set Sail which was a great three day event where people could book in for free sailing lessons. There's nothing quite as special as seeing a nervous five year old come back from the water all excited because they sailed a small two person boat! We were even lucky enough to try it out after the last group on the Wednesday. A perfect time to be sailing as some of the Sydney to Hobart yachts were still moored down at the Docklands.
A brief trip to Sydney to say hi to Tamsin at the opening night of Carmen and generally get away from Melbourne for a couple of days and I was back to watch the ladies finals of the Australian Open. Good grief it was hot! Good match though and there's nothing quite like the atmosphere in a stadium - or talking to the random people sitting next to you. I really should see more live entertainment...
Our family were down for the weekend and while I had every intention of taking my cousins to check out Australia Day celebrations we settled for Sing Star instead. Did I mention I should see more live entertainment...?
Which brings me back to the week that's just passed. Not much else to report. Had a small operation to remove and replace the implant in my left arm. I'm rather pathetic when it comes to needles and the local anaesthetic hurt more than the scalpel going in (and that was before we had to reapply the anaesthtic which for some reason hadn't taken).
Sunday was Dad's birthday so we had a feast at our place. Roast beef for 11, one baked fish (with lime and ginger), many many roasted veggies, a freshly baked loaf of bread and a sweet potato & green bean salad (with sweet chilli & balsamic vinegar dressing). Dessert was a stack of profiteroles (Dad's new favourite baked good) and a plum & nectarine crumble (made from the fruits from our backyard!). Given the number of profiteroles and cake that I've eaten in the last two days I should really stop writing and go for a VERY long walk.
Besides, it may help me sleep and perhaps think less... which would be nice. :)
Anyhow. It's been a couple of weeks and since then Mum's come out of hospital and is going for a PET scan today to make sure that there's no cancer left. She has to go to a hospital in Moorabin for the scan.
Moorabin is where I flew a helicopter last Monday. (What a segue way!) Which was amazingly fun and I'd really like to do it again some time. Perhaps when I've stopped working in the crazy profession that I seem to have chosen? Who knows, but I was lucky enough to have a great instructor who took me up to the training airspace and once I was a little less wobbly with the controls he directed me from Carrum back towards Melbourne's CBD along the beach en route to the airport. Many thanks to Lisa & Dave for the opportunity to fly!
Stepping back a week, I finished up work on Summer Fun in the City with Set Sail which was a great three day event where people could book in for free sailing lessons. There's nothing quite as special as seeing a nervous five year old come back from the water all excited because they sailed a small two person boat! We were even lucky enough to try it out after the last group on the Wednesday. A perfect time to be sailing as some of the Sydney to Hobart yachts were still moored down at the Docklands.
A brief trip to Sydney to say hi to Tamsin at the opening night of Carmen and generally get away from Melbourne for a couple of days and I was back to watch the ladies finals of the Australian Open. Good grief it was hot! Good match though and there's nothing quite like the atmosphere in a stadium - or talking to the random people sitting next to you. I really should see more live entertainment...
Our family were down for the weekend and while I had every intention of taking my cousins to check out Australia Day celebrations we settled for Sing Star instead. Did I mention I should see more live entertainment...?
Which brings me back to the week that's just passed. Not much else to report. Had a small operation to remove and replace the implant in my left arm. I'm rather pathetic when it comes to needles and the local anaesthetic hurt more than the scalpel going in (and that was before we had to reapply the anaesthtic which for some reason hadn't taken).
Sunday was Dad's birthday so we had a feast at our place. Roast beef for 11, one baked fish (with lime and ginger), many many roasted veggies, a freshly baked loaf of bread and a sweet potato & green bean salad (with sweet chilli & balsamic vinegar dressing). Dessert was a stack of profiteroles (Dad's new favourite baked good) and a plum & nectarine crumble (made from the fruits from our backyard!). Given the number of profiteroles and cake that I've eaten in the last two days I should really stop writing and go for a VERY long walk.
Besides, it may help me sleep and perhaps think less... which would be nice. :)
Sunday, January 20, 2008
End of a Fairytale Season
Today was the last day of the show I've been working on for Summer Fun in the City, Fairy Factor. It was looking pretty grim for our first show of the day as it was raining incessantly until 9:30am when paused long enough for us to set up the show on the stage that's normally used for Twilight Rhythms. I'm glad we did because despite the inclement weather we still had over 100 people show up to brave the weather. Happily for all it didn't rain at all. In fact it cleared up to a bright sunny day with cloudy patches. By the time we finished our second show for the day and final for the season it was quite muggy!
Sadly Mum had to go back to the hospital today as she's been feeling rather under the weather and started to develop a high fever (the only lucid memory she has from this morning is telling Dad she didn't want to go to the hospital). She's doing much better, although she's feeling very fatigued. Her temperature is down which is the important thing. Now we just need to work out where the infection is. Hopefully she'll be home in a few days.
Anyhow it's almost bed time. Just a couple of job applications to write and then early bedtime before an early rising to Set Sail tomorrow!
Sadly Mum had to go back to the hospital today as she's been feeling rather under the weather and started to develop a high fever (the only lucid memory she has from this morning is telling Dad she didn't want to go to the hospital). She's doing much better, although she's feeling very fatigued. Her temperature is down which is the important thing. Now we just need to work out where the infection is. Hopefully she'll be home in a few days.
Anyhow it's almost bed time. Just a couple of job applications to write and then early bedtime before an early rising to Set Sail tomorrow!
Saturday, January 19, 2008
A Productive-ish Week
It's been a fairly productive week in some ways. I've replaced my lost diary (left it on the plane back from Sydney), baked breakfast muffins which formed my lunch for several days which has been my lunch for the week and finished the first book (Across the Nightingale Floor) in the series I've just started to read.
Work has been good although I've clearly been spoiled by my extended break as the short 6 hour days are still getting the better of my energy levels. I came home to day and slept for a good 4.5 hours even though we finished early due to the rain!
I've been feeling a little more tired lately since my cervical cancer vaccination. Not sure if that's a side effect or if it's all in my head but I'm glad that I've only got one more shot left for the immunisation. While it seemed less painful the second time round my arm still feels bruised. It should be better just in time for me to get my implant replaced... Oh the joys of pressure bandaging.
Tomorrow is the last day of the Fairy Factor which is the great 1hr free kids show I've been working on in the Fitzroy Gardens. It's been a real pleasure watching the kids (even when they rushed the stage). There have been some amazing costumes and more pink fairies than you could poke a stick at. I've made a mental note that if I have a daughter not to dress her in a pink fairy costume, if she's into fairies, as I'd never find her in a fairy show audience. On Monday morning I'll start three days of Set Sail at the Docklands Shed 2. I'm really looking forward to that, I only hope the weather holds up a bit for the duration of the event. There's a possibility that I'll give the flying trapeze a shot next week but we'll see how that goes!
Work has been good although I've clearly been spoiled by my extended break as the short 6 hour days are still getting the better of my energy levels. I came home to day and slept for a good 4.5 hours even though we finished early due to the rain!
I've been feeling a little more tired lately since my cervical cancer vaccination. Not sure if that's a side effect or if it's all in my head but I'm glad that I've only got one more shot left for the immunisation. While it seemed less painful the second time round my arm still feels bruised. It should be better just in time for me to get my implant replaced... Oh the joys of pressure bandaging.
Tomorrow is the last day of the Fairy Factor which is the great 1hr free kids show I've been working on in the Fitzroy Gardens. It's been a real pleasure watching the kids (even when they rushed the stage). There have been some amazing costumes and more pink fairies than you could poke a stick at. I've made a mental note that if I have a daughter not to dress her in a pink fairy costume, if she's into fairies, as I'd never find her in a fairy show audience. On Monday morning I'll start three days of Set Sail at the Docklands Shed 2. I'm really looking forward to that, I only hope the weather holds up a bit for the duration of the event. There's a possibility that I'll give the flying trapeze a shot next week but we'll see how that goes!
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Failure to Write
In the wee small hours of the morning, when the whole wide world is fast asleep I'm lying awake wondering why it is I've got Carly Simon stuck in my head when I've been listening to Edith Piaf's rendition of L'accordéoniste on loop all day.
I'm frustratingly nocturnal at the moment. Frustrating because I have two LX plots to attend tomorrow and I'd like to be awake for them please. As well as tickets to see Don Giovanni. Again with the awakeness.
Since I wasn't sleeping anyway, I figured I might as well update my sorely neglected blog.
Let's see, last time I wrote I'd just planted a mini-herb garden for a show. Well, the season went really well. So well in fact that Kat & I don't own any plants (dead or alive) from the show. Since then I've moved onto another show and am in the process of looking for more work over the silly season. Mind you I think I could do with a couple of days off to sort out my body clock and get a little R&R but we'll see. Plenty of time for that when the theatres are dark again.
Other items of note in no particular order are:
- my shoulder (which I fell on about two weeks ago after a particularly sleepless night... futons should never be underestimated for danger, can anyone say trip hazard?) is feeling much better but is at the annoying stage where it feel good but as soon as I do anything more than hold a cup of coffee in my left arm it begins to complain. Not that I've been doing anything but resting it of course... ahem
- Mum's started her next course of chemo after a week's break last week. For some reason I kept thinking it was her last course last time... hopefully this is the one. She's getting great results from the treatment but I think she's looking forward to stopping the chemo.
- I've made it further on my NaNoWriMo novel this year than ever before, but I'm still many thousands of words behind where I should be. Perhaps I should attack that instead of this blog... I should probably also note that I'm only ahead of my previous attempts by about 1,000 words... oh well, only 48,000 more to go...
Anyhow, that's all that springs to mind at the moment. I think I'm approaching the "low" in my sleep/wake cycle, so I'm going to make another attempt to fall asleep. Wish me luck!
I'm frustratingly nocturnal at the moment. Frustrating because I have two LX plots to attend tomorrow and I'd like to be awake for them please. As well as tickets to see Don Giovanni. Again with the awakeness.
Since I wasn't sleeping anyway, I figured I might as well update my sorely neglected blog.
Let's see, last time I wrote I'd just planted a mini-herb garden for a show. Well, the season went really well. So well in fact that Kat & I don't own any plants (dead or alive) from the show. Since then I've moved onto another show and am in the process of looking for more work over the silly season. Mind you I think I could do with a couple of days off to sort out my body clock and get a little R&R but we'll see. Plenty of time for that when the theatres are dark again.
Other items of note in no particular order are:
- my shoulder (which I fell on about two weeks ago after a particularly sleepless night... futons should never be underestimated for danger, can anyone say trip hazard?) is feeling much better but is at the annoying stage where it feel good but as soon as I do anything more than hold a cup of coffee in my left arm it begins to complain. Not that I've been doing anything but resting it of course... ahem
- Mum's started her next course of chemo after a week's break last week. For some reason I kept thinking it was her last course last time... hopefully this is the one. She's getting great results from the treatment but I think she's looking forward to stopping the chemo.
- I've made it further on my NaNoWriMo novel this year than ever before, but I'm still many thousands of words behind where I should be. Perhaps I should attack that instead of this blog... I should probably also note that I'm only ahead of my previous attempts by about 1,000 words... oh well, only 48,000 more to go...
Anyhow, that's all that springs to mind at the moment. I think I'm approaching the "low" in my sleep/wake cycle, so I'm going to make another attempt to fall asleep. Wish me luck!
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Greens
The show I'm working on at the moment calls for a herb garden. Given our rather tight budget, Kat (the set/costume designer) and I decided to donate a small herb garden. The best part was planting all of our random plants into our make-shift container.
Here we have the main container (the no-weeding required garden) which has basil, tomatoes, cos lettuce, parsley and some random flowers.
This is the second container (weed-me!) which contains baby corn, more tomatoes, more parsley and more lettuce as well as some weeds from outside the cafeteria.
We love our garden and hope that it's still alive in three weeks time when the season closes...
Here we have the main container (the no-weeding required garden) which has basil, tomatoes, cos lettuce, parsley and some random flowers.
This is the second container (weed-me!) which contains baby corn, more tomatoes, more parsley and more lettuce as well as some weeds from outside the cafeteria.
We love our garden and hope that it's still alive in three weeks time when the season closes...
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Festival Life
Well the Darwin Festival has well and truly opened... so much so that we're into our final week of shows! It's been an amazing time up here and really great to see so many people coming to see the shows.
Photos of the venue would have been posted (along with more regular posts) had my laptop's hard-drive decided to die on me. So as a result there are no pictures and yet another fortnightly update.
The Santos Concert on the Esplanade was our big opening night. We had over 6,000 people attending which is not bad given the population is estimated at 71,900 people (in 2006). Excellent music although I did miss the final act to go and paint a set.
I was lucky enough to operate three performances of Play Play which was a physical theatre show from Singapore. It was quirky, occasionally morbid but balanced with a great sense of humour. I wish that more people could have seen it! It was also great to get to know the company who taught me how to play "paper, scissors, rock" in a group. An excellent way to pass some idle time!
There hasn't been much sleeping since we opened. Partly because we're busy through the day doing the office work. Partly because we're busy at night at shows. Also partly because SoCo Cargo is a two minute walk from my doorstep and as such it seems almost rude not to drop in to say hi to the crew there...
In other news I had a minor accident in a truck and was bitten several times by a spider at the same time. It was a rather boring 5 minutes of my life but all is well!
Today I had a little R&R with the crew from the Star Shell when we spent the morning at Berry Springs have a swim in both the main & lower pools as well as the actual spring. I must say I'm a little sore having spent four solid hours swimming in the water but I'd do it again in a flash.
Tonight I'll be back at the Star Shell to say hello and soak up the atmosphere. Not to mention the great food that's down there... Why cook and create dishes to clean when you can have excellent food on site?
Well, I thought I'd just say a quick hello before I run away to Festival land again.
See you soon!
Photos of the venue would have been posted (along with more regular posts) had my laptop's hard-drive decided to die on me. So as a result there are no pictures and yet another fortnightly update.
The Santos Concert on the Esplanade was our big opening night. We had over 6,000 people attending which is not bad given the population is estimated at 71,900 people (in 2006). Excellent music although I did miss the final act to go and paint a set.
I was lucky enough to operate three performances of Play Play which was a physical theatre show from Singapore. It was quirky, occasionally morbid but balanced with a great sense of humour. I wish that more people could have seen it! It was also great to get to know the company who taught me how to play "paper, scissors, rock" in a group. An excellent way to pass some idle time!
There hasn't been much sleeping since we opened. Partly because we're busy through the day doing the office work. Partly because we're busy at night at shows. Also partly because SoCo Cargo is a two minute walk from my doorstep and as such it seems almost rude not to drop in to say hi to the crew there...
In other news I had a minor accident in a truck and was bitten several times by a spider at the same time. It was a rather boring 5 minutes of my life but all is well!
Today I had a little R&R with the crew from the Star Shell when we spent the morning at Berry Springs have a swim in both the main & lower pools as well as the actual spring. I must say I'm a little sore having spent four solid hours swimming in the water but I'd do it again in a flash.
Tonight I'll be back at the Star Shell to say hello and soak up the atmosphere. Not to mention the great food that's down there... Why cook and create dishes to clean when you can have excellent food on site?
Well, I thought I'd just say a quick hello before I run away to Festival land again.
See you soon!
Friday, December 15, 2006
Almost There
I'd like to think that I've adjusted to night shift but in reality I think I've just adjusted to shorter sleeping hours and more adrenalin.
For those of you who might not know the Closing Ceremony is tomorrow night for us here in Doha. December really has flown past. I have no idea where the time has gone. Admittedly I'm strugging to remember what day of the week it is so that doesn't help! I love the nightshift. It suits my nocturnal habits and general love of darkness. It does make it hard to track time though because you arrive in the evening, finish work in the morning and come back the same day you finished. I love it!
Off to do a coffee and biscuit run while there's time. Anyone in Oz who wants to check out the show should tune into SBS on Saturday at 1300 (1pm).
Not long to go until it's all over and I wander about the world feeling lost until the next show... at least I'll be wandering about in a new place with two of my best friends :)
For those of you who might not know the Closing Ceremony is tomorrow night for us here in Doha. December really has flown past. I have no idea where the time has gone. Admittedly I'm strugging to remember what day of the week it is so that doesn't help! I love the nightshift. It suits my nocturnal habits and general love of darkness. It does make it hard to track time though because you arrive in the evening, finish work in the morning and come back the same day you finished. I love it!
Off to do a coffee and biscuit run while there's time. Anyone in Oz who wants to check out the show should tune into SBS on Saturday at 1300 (1pm).
Not long to go until it's all over and I wander about the world feeling lost until the next show... at least I'll be wandering about in a new place with two of my best friends :)
Thursday, December 07, 2006
Trundling
Eight days to go until the Closing Ceremony and I can't believe how much rain has fallen. After all we are in the desert... we're only meant to have half an inch of rain this month according to the averages. We had that alone on the 1st & 2nd December! The forecast for the next week is looking much the same. Hopefully it will clear up by the end of the week!
Life is trundling along. The usual work, with reduced hours for the next few days before we do it all over again. There have been some lovely gatherings which have meant better quality sleep but less of it. Can't win them all eh?
My copy of the Stardust audio book (narrated by the author and unabridged) arrived the day before yesterday which was wonderful. I love hearing authors read their own work because you get to hear their inflections on their words. I guess I imagine it's like hearing how it should go in their mind. Love it! Nick's copy of Fragile Things arrived with it but I haven't managed to catch him to give it to him. Belated birthday/early Christmas pressie.
Nothing is new aside from that! Getting ready to start knitting again. After all the weather is perfect for it. Planning to make Lisa a pair of socks. Hopefully that will go faster than the pair I'm making for Mum. (One sock's complete though Mum, I'm getting there!).
Okay going to go be productive now. Or dance in the rain. It's hard to tell...
Life is trundling along. The usual work, with reduced hours for the next few days before we do it all over again. There have been some lovely gatherings which have meant better quality sleep but less of it. Can't win them all eh?
My copy of the Stardust audio book (narrated by the author and unabridged) arrived the day before yesterday which was wonderful. I love hearing authors read their own work because you get to hear their inflections on their words. I guess I imagine it's like hearing how it should go in their mind. Love it! Nick's copy of Fragile Things arrived with it but I haven't managed to catch him to give it to him. Belated birthday/early Christmas pressie.
Nothing is new aside from that! Getting ready to start knitting again. After all the weather is perfect for it. Planning to make Lisa a pair of socks. Hopefully that will go faster than the pair I'm making for Mum. (One sock's complete though Mum, I'm getting there!).
Okay going to go be productive now. Or dance in the rain. It's hard to tell...
Monday, December 04, 2006
Middle Ground
One down, one to go.
The Opening Ceremony went well despite the inclement weather. It rained for much of the day of the show and proceeded to drizzle and rain through most of the night. The show still looked amazing from the few parts that I was able to watch. Nura looked amazing on the huge LED screen and the fireworks, well they were pretty too! Photos from the night are mainly centred around City of the Future because that's when I was on the field. Nick took some great shots of the final fireworks display. There's going to be the usual trading of pictures among workmates and I'll be sure to bring them all home.
I was lucky enough to work the first overnight shift of the bump-out (transition to sport) which we were expecting to get rather wet in the rain. We were not surprised to find this the case. What did surprise us was the golf-ball sized hail that fell in the wee hours of the morning. Talk about random desert weather! We've officially seen it all in terms of weather in Doha. From extreme heat to ice. What can I say? That's Doha for you.
After leaving work in the morning I headed back to work that night and was happy to find it no longer raining. The temperature however had dropped to a cool 16˚C. I was very grateful at having left my QR55 100% PVC Matrix-esque jacket at work from the night before.
That was yesterday morning I think. Today I've been given a luxurious day off and I'm struggling a little. After all I've had a decent amount of sleep albeit at the wrong end of the day. I'm moving back into a slightly more day-oriented shift now. My brain has no idea what to do with itself.
The day started with the sound of running water. By running water I mean gushing water. The pipe to the bidet downstairs had burst and the downstairs bathroom had started to flood into the stairwell and was making a good effort towards the front door. Gene got up and helped me move the beer out of the water flow and then the cleaners and maintenance guys came and fixed the pipe. I knew it was going to be a good day. So far so good. A bit of shopping for tomorrow and a quiet evening at home hanging out with Nick. It's just like being in Melbourne only not.
Tomorrow's looking to be a pretty good day too. Lisa & Dave have given me a half day and then there's the party at Bayti which has proved an excellent night in the past. I doubt the party will help me reset my body clock but at least it will be fun! I'm baking cookies to bring as promised in the wee hours of the transition.
I doubt I'll recognise the stadium tomorrow when I get into work. There will be grass there. Crazy sporting event. In fact, I doubt I'll be allowed near the stadium during the sports so it'll be a good day of paperwork.
My willpower is a little lacking today. I think I'll have a quick nap before Nick arrives to hang out.
Foilled! Or saved depending on which way you look at it. Nick's here so I'm going to run off and be sociable.
The Opening Ceremony went well despite the inclement weather. It rained for much of the day of the show and proceeded to drizzle and rain through most of the night. The show still looked amazing from the few parts that I was able to watch. Nura looked amazing on the huge LED screen and the fireworks, well they were pretty too! Photos from the night are mainly centred around City of the Future because that's when I was on the field. Nick took some great shots of the final fireworks display. There's going to be the usual trading of pictures among workmates and I'll be sure to bring them all home.
I was lucky enough to work the first overnight shift of the bump-out (transition to sport) which we were expecting to get rather wet in the rain. We were not surprised to find this the case. What did surprise us was the golf-ball sized hail that fell in the wee hours of the morning. Talk about random desert weather! We've officially seen it all in terms of weather in Doha. From extreme heat to ice. What can I say? That's Doha for you.
After leaving work in the morning I headed back to work that night and was happy to find it no longer raining. The temperature however had dropped to a cool 16˚C. I was very grateful at having left my QR55 100% PVC Matrix-esque jacket at work from the night before.
That was yesterday morning I think. Today I've been given a luxurious day off and I'm struggling a little. After all I've had a decent amount of sleep albeit at the wrong end of the day. I'm moving back into a slightly more day-oriented shift now. My brain has no idea what to do with itself.
The day started with the sound of running water. By running water I mean gushing water. The pipe to the bidet downstairs had burst and the downstairs bathroom had started to flood into the stairwell and was making a good effort towards the front door. Gene got up and helped me move the beer out of the water flow and then the cleaners and maintenance guys came and fixed the pipe. I knew it was going to be a good day. So far so good. A bit of shopping for tomorrow and a quiet evening at home hanging out with Nick. It's just like being in Melbourne only not.
Tomorrow's looking to be a pretty good day too. Lisa & Dave have given me a half day and then there's the party at Bayti which has proved an excellent night in the past. I doubt the party will help me reset my body clock but at least it will be fun! I'm baking cookies to bring as promised in the wee hours of the transition.
I doubt I'll recognise the stadium tomorrow when I get into work. There will be grass there. Crazy sporting event. In fact, I doubt I'll be allowed near the stadium during the sports so it'll be a good day of paperwork.
My willpower is a little lacking today. I think I'll have a quick nap before Nick arrives to hang out.
Foilled! Or saved depending on which way you look at it. Nick's here so I'm going to run off and be sociable.
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Soon
It's 3:52am and I'm just waiting for the next bus home. The Opening Ceremony is in just over two days time and I doubt I'll get a chance to post for a while as we'll be flat out.
The days have been a bit up and down. I think it's just my body's way of settling into a different rhythmn. Happily I've settled down a bit. Admittedly the weather has changed quite a bit in Doha. Gone are the 30 degree days. Instead we've had 20-25 degree days and light rain.
Monday was a luxurious day off for some of us. Laundry was gratefully cleaned while we stocked up on groceries and other items. Gene, Nick & I spent our day at City Centre where we enjoyed a variety of take away foods for lunch and purchased the odd piece of clothing for the upcoming Europe trip. Gene bought me a watch as I think he finds the Baby G a bit big on me and also because he's been wanting to buy me a watch for a while at least until we get home. He also got a G-Shock watch of his own which he loves.
I'm having trouble getting to sleep at the moment. Again I think it's to do with the different rhythmns and also just the excitement of the ceremony being so soon.
It's interesting to note that 8 months to the day on the Closing Ceremony of the Asian Games, we were Opening Melbourne's.
See you all on the other side of the Ceremony!
The days have been a bit up and down. I think it's just my body's way of settling into a different rhythmn. Happily I've settled down a bit. Admittedly the weather has changed quite a bit in Doha. Gone are the 30 degree days. Instead we've had 20-25 degree days and light rain.
Monday was a luxurious day off for some of us. Laundry was gratefully cleaned while we stocked up on groceries and other items. Gene, Nick & I spent our day at City Centre where we enjoyed a variety of take away foods for lunch and purchased the odd piece of clothing for the upcoming Europe trip. Gene bought me a watch as I think he finds the Baby G a bit big on me and also because he's been wanting to buy me a watch for a while at least until we get home. He also got a G-Shock watch of his own which he loves.
I'm having trouble getting to sleep at the moment. Again I think it's to do with the different rhythmns and also just the excitement of the ceremony being so soon.
It's interesting to note that 8 months to the day on the Closing Ceremony of the Asian Games, we were Opening Melbourne's.
See you all on the other side of the Ceremony!
Monday, November 20, 2006
A serenade, bandages & the unexpected
What a surreal and fantastic 24 hours have just passed!
Last night as I was readying myself to head home I was called over to a seat near the quartermaster's store and serenaded by one of the crew members. Rob (the aforementioned crew members) sang Just the Way You Are as he'd been singing it in our site shed one night after Anneke had the song stuck in her head. Rob then said he needed to work on the song a bit and I suggested a repeat performance one night. So last night it was. Complete with backing track! Then Play that Funky Music resounded over the system and the crew, locals, workshop and general passersby in the compound alike, danced for the duration of the song. It was great to see people smiling as they went past!
I headed home and drew myself a nice hot bath to try and ease my sore shoulder and back muscles. I'm currently waiting to find out if the osteopath that is recommended has enough time to see me. I hope so! There's a little point just to the right side of my spine between my shoulder blades that hurts. I can feel the pressure there... I just can't seem to ease it though. Anyhow, I did that and listened to the soothing sounds of the Baraka soundtrack.
Twenty minutes of meditation finished my relaxation for the night and I crawled in to bed and dozed off within seconds. Can I just say that I've never had so much trouble focusing on one thing for twenty minutes before? I think the meditation is a good thing. I've woken up feeling really good this morning.
Speaking of waking up... I woke up this morning, rolled over to give Gene a hug and was shocked to see a huge, okay rather large, bandage on his left hand. It held his middle and ring finger together and went down across his palm to his wrist. He was asleep though so I didn't want to wake him up but I was alarmed never the less. I went to open a packet of tissues and woke him up doing so and he explained that it wasn't as bad as it looked (typical boy style I thought). His finger (middle) had gotten caught between two bits of steel and there was a cut and some bruising but he didn't think it was broken (he can still move it). Apparently he woke the nurse up so he thinks that's how he ended up with the large bandage instead of the bandaid he was after. Phew! Shall monitor it just incase he is just being a boy about it, but I think he'll be fine.
This brings me to the unexpected part of the twenty-four hours. After fussing over Gene while trying to get ready for work I realised I was going to need to run for the shuttle (nothing new there). I trooped off down the stairs and opened the front door to see... rain. I was stunned. I watched it for a moment with the grin of a cheshire cat on my face before heading upstairs to get a cardigan/jackety thing to cover up so that I didn't have to sit in the office with damp clothes all day. The rain was light but it was actual rain as opposed to the odd drop of water. It's starting to ease now but it's possibly going to continue lightly through the day.
I love it!
Last night as I was readying myself to head home I was called over to a seat near the quartermaster's store and serenaded by one of the crew members. Rob (the aforementioned crew members) sang Just the Way You Are as he'd been singing it in our site shed one night after Anneke had the song stuck in her head. Rob then said he needed to work on the song a bit and I suggested a repeat performance one night. So last night it was. Complete with backing track! Then Play that Funky Music resounded over the system and the crew, locals, workshop and general passersby in the compound alike, danced for the duration of the song. It was great to see people smiling as they went past!
I headed home and drew myself a nice hot bath to try and ease my sore shoulder and back muscles. I'm currently waiting to find out if the osteopath that is recommended has enough time to see me. I hope so! There's a little point just to the right side of my spine between my shoulder blades that hurts. I can feel the pressure there... I just can't seem to ease it though. Anyhow, I did that and listened to the soothing sounds of the Baraka soundtrack.
Twenty minutes of meditation finished my relaxation for the night and I crawled in to bed and dozed off within seconds. Can I just say that I've never had so much trouble focusing on one thing for twenty minutes before? I think the meditation is a good thing. I've woken up feeling really good this morning.
Speaking of waking up... I woke up this morning, rolled over to give Gene a hug and was shocked to see a huge, okay rather large, bandage on his left hand. It held his middle and ring finger together and went down across his palm to his wrist. He was asleep though so I didn't want to wake him up but I was alarmed never the less. I went to open a packet of tissues and woke him up doing so and he explained that it wasn't as bad as it looked (typical boy style I thought). His finger (middle) had gotten caught between two bits of steel and there was a cut and some bruising but he didn't think it was broken (he can still move it). Apparently he woke the nurse up so he thinks that's how he ended up with the large bandage instead of the bandaid he was after. Phew! Shall monitor it just incase he is just being a boy about it, but I think he'll be fine.
This brings me to the unexpected part of the twenty-four hours. After fussing over Gene while trying to get ready for work I realised I was going to need to run for the shuttle (nothing new there). I trooped off down the stairs and opened the front door to see... rain. I was stunned. I watched it for a moment with the grin of a cheshire cat on my face before heading upstairs to get a cardigan/jackety thing to cover up so that I didn't have to sit in the office with damp clothes all day. The rain was light but it was actual rain as opposed to the odd drop of water. It's starting to ease now but it's possibly going to continue lightly through the day.
I love it!
Sunday, November 19, 2006
Really
Today was the first day in a few weeks that I was at work at 0900. It's funny how you know that you need to be awake "early" the next day and yet the night before you just can't seem to convince yourself to be asleep any earlier, even if you try.
So in an attempt to relax and have a clear head ready for bed I listened to the Learn to Meditate podcast that I'd downloaded recently. There were two things that I really loved about it. Firstly it was a podcast from the Meditation Society of Australia which meant that there were Australian voices narrating. I've forgotten the second... clearly it wasn't that important to me... It was really good though. Certainly cleared my head and made me ready for bed. They advise you not to lie down while meditating as you're more likely to fall asleep. Good advice!
Gene & I played tag at the front door this morning. He ended up working about 14.5 hours last night. Just as I was reaching for my keys to open the front door from inside the villa he opened it. A quick hug and kiss and it was time for him to go to bed and me to run for the shuttle bus. (Well, walk quickly, haven't had to run for a while).
The temperature has cooled in Doha to a pleasant sounding 23-26 degrees at the moment. I say "pleasant sounding" because in all our minds it should be pleasant. However having been in 40-50 degree heat for the last few months, 23-26 degrees seems a little on the cool side. A few jumpers and sweaters have come out of the wardrobe/suit cases and a couple of jackets too.
Everything's relative really...
So in an attempt to relax and have a clear head ready for bed I listened to the Learn to Meditate podcast that I'd downloaded recently. There were two things that I really loved about it. Firstly it was a podcast from the Meditation Society of Australia which meant that there were Australian voices narrating. I've forgotten the second... clearly it wasn't that important to me... It was really good though. Certainly cleared my head and made me ready for bed. They advise you not to lie down while meditating as you're more likely to fall asleep. Good advice!
Gene & I played tag at the front door this morning. He ended up working about 14.5 hours last night. Just as I was reaching for my keys to open the front door from inside the villa he opened it. A quick hug and kiss and it was time for him to go to bed and me to run for the shuttle bus. (Well, walk quickly, haven't had to run for a while).
The temperature has cooled in Doha to a pleasant sounding 23-26 degrees at the moment. I say "pleasant sounding" because in all our minds it should be pleasant. However having been in 40-50 degree heat for the last few months, 23-26 degrees seems a little on the cool side. A few jumpers and sweaters have come out of the wardrobe/suit cases and a couple of jackets too.
Everything's relative really...
Friday, October 27, 2006
Tick Tock
Dozing on the bus to work today I discovered the name of a character for my (probably not so good) attempt at a novel to commence in four day. I figured that my number of blog posts in February and March were pretty good so maybe I'll hit the quarter-way mark this year. We'll see. :)
I had a wonderful time reading six word short stories yesterday. It would seem that my online entertainment springs from reading the blogs listed on the right and perhaps the Age website for a bit of entertainment. Anything email is a bonus!
We seem to have made it through the bulk of the holiday season in Doha which is a relief. Everything can crawl back to normality now.
The intersection that I was excited to discover had opened a few weeks ago (meaning a 5-10 minute travel to and from work) has been closed again extending travel times to 15-25 minutes. It's important not to miss your turn off in Doha... you may have to travel a fair way until the next roundabout or place where a frustrated driver has managed to move the concrete blocks and barricades.
My dislike of fluorescent lights inspired a desk lamp purchasing trip to Carrefour the other day. I returned with two "duck lamps" (Dave's is called Edward, and Lisa's is Lucy) and one ummm.... curvy metal stick with a folded bit of material. It's prettier than it sounds (and nameless). Perhaps I should try and build this into my story...
Gene's managed to get in touch with his French family so they know we'll be over there soon. Hopefully we'll be able to give them a call soon. By "we" I mean Gene. I think it'll be a Monday thing because of the time difference and the shifts he's working.
The tracking information from Australia Post tells me daily that it was cleared for dispatch from Sydney on 18th October. I wish it would give me some new information. I suppose it's still in transit? Until now I thought I was a patient person. Perhaps I need to start knitting more... that always helped distract me!
I had a wonderful time reading six word short stories yesterday. It would seem that my online entertainment springs from reading the blogs listed on the right and perhaps the Age website for a bit of entertainment. Anything email is a bonus!
We seem to have made it through the bulk of the holiday season in Doha which is a relief. Everything can crawl back to normality now.
The intersection that I was excited to discover had opened a few weeks ago (meaning a 5-10 minute travel to and from work) has been closed again extending travel times to 15-25 minutes. It's important not to miss your turn off in Doha... you may have to travel a fair way until the next roundabout or place where a frustrated driver has managed to move the concrete blocks and barricades.
My dislike of fluorescent lights inspired a desk lamp purchasing trip to Carrefour the other day. I returned with two "duck lamps" (Dave's is called Edward, and Lisa's is Lucy) and one ummm.... curvy metal stick with a folded bit of material. It's prettier than it sounds (and nameless). Perhaps I should try and build this into my story...
Gene's managed to get in touch with his French family so they know we'll be over there soon. Hopefully we'll be able to give them a call soon. By "we" I mean Gene. I think it'll be a Monday thing because of the time difference and the shifts he's working.
The tracking information from Australia Post tells me daily that it was cleared for dispatch from Sydney on 18th October. I wish it would give me some new information. I suppose it's still in transit? Until now I thought I was a patient person. Perhaps I need to start knitting more... that always helped distract me!
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Awake
Well, so much for the daily writing eh! In my defense I did write in my journal, I just didn't blog.
Monday is my new day off and it feels much more normal. It was weird having Saturday as the start of a new week. At least Mondays is the theatre "weekend".
Much like our last day off together we didn't do much. In fact I think we did even less than we did last time. I carefully avoided the coffee table by spending most of the time in bed asleep or, in braver moments, mere centimetres away from it on the couch. The most productive part of the day involved making brownies (pecan fudge) which we proceeded to not eat because we weren't feeling well. We think that the gastro bug that's going around may have finally come to visit us.
Yesterday was shabby. Very shabby. I totally missed the shuttle bus and ended up calling a car to take me into work. We stopped by the supermarket so that I could get some yoghurt to try and settle my stomach and actually have something for breakfast as we didn't manage to stomach dinner the previous night. Happily the symptoms eased during the day. Well, mine did. Gene still wasn't 100% at dinner but he made a good go of it!
My dreams are full on spreadsheets and whiteboard markers at the moment. While it means that I'm sleeping in short bursts it means that I'm awake for a quick chat with Gene before he drifts off to sleep and I leave for work.
Plans for our Europe trip are slowly taking shape...
It's looking like we'll stay in a 3 star apartment about 20 minutes from central Paris when we arrive. Apparently the Metro is really close and Gene's confident he can get us around as he's had experience so I'll be making the booking soon. It allows us to stay in/near Paris for longer.
So far our Paris activities and London activities have had the most thought. We're planning to see Wicked, Cabaret and Spamalot while we're in London. It's probably going to cost us a fortune but I'm sure it'll be worth it!
More details are likely to follow on Monday when we've had some time to think about it a bit more and discuss. Gene got our copy of Europe on a shoestring back from his old villa so we'll be reading that a bit more in the next coming weeks for ideas!
Less thinking more sleeping for now!
Monday is my new day off and it feels much more normal. It was weird having Saturday as the start of a new week. At least Mondays is the theatre "weekend".
Much like our last day off together we didn't do much. In fact I think we did even less than we did last time. I carefully avoided the coffee table by spending most of the time in bed asleep or, in braver moments, mere centimetres away from it on the couch. The most productive part of the day involved making brownies (pecan fudge) which we proceeded to not eat because we weren't feeling well. We think that the gastro bug that's going around may have finally come to visit us.
Yesterday was shabby. Very shabby. I totally missed the shuttle bus and ended up calling a car to take me into work. We stopped by the supermarket so that I could get some yoghurt to try and settle my stomach and actually have something for breakfast as we didn't manage to stomach dinner the previous night. Happily the symptoms eased during the day. Well, mine did. Gene still wasn't 100% at dinner but he made a good go of it!
My dreams are full on spreadsheets and whiteboard markers at the moment. While it means that I'm sleeping in short bursts it means that I'm awake for a quick chat with Gene before he drifts off to sleep and I leave for work.
Plans for our Europe trip are slowly taking shape...
It's looking like we'll stay in a 3 star apartment about 20 minutes from central Paris when we arrive. Apparently the Metro is really close and Gene's confident he can get us around as he's had experience so I'll be making the booking soon. It allows us to stay in/near Paris for longer.
So far our Paris activities and London activities have had the most thought. We're planning to see Wicked, Cabaret and Spamalot while we're in London. It's probably going to cost us a fortune but I'm sure it'll be worth it!
More details are likely to follow on Monday when we've had some time to think about it a bit more and discuss. Gene got our copy of Europe on a shoestring back from his old villa so we'll be reading that a bit more in the next coming weeks for ideas!
Less thinking more sleeping for now!
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Sleep, work, fires and change
The good news is that I have developed the ability to sleep in over here in Doha. The bad news is this requires me to sprint for the bus in the mornings. Sprinting even the short distance to the bus from my door step hurts in 38-40 degree heat. That'll teach me for using the snooze button!
I've been working back late over the last week (09:00-22:30). Voluntarily as there's really not much to do once you get home from work. Maybe go visiting but then most of the people I know are either still at work or live at other accommodation places. I also find that I'm much more productive at night just because it seems cooler and quieter all round. Weird since much of our work happens at night due to the heat so it really shouldn't be that much quieter but it feels like it is. I'll definitely be home at my finish time of 19:00 on Saturday though because I'll have someone to come home to! (Can't wait till you get here babe!)
Yesterday the Carrefour at Villagio (the one closest to my work) caught on fire. Apparently they haven't had a good run since they opened. They had a bomb scare last week and this week well... there was a smokey haze in the sky all night. Not sure how much of it was affected by the fire but we're fairly sure we're going to need to find a different supermarket (say the one just across the road which is so-so for range) for awhile.
I got my first candy-instead-of-coins change the other day when I was at Landmark.
Well, I was amused.
I've been working back late over the last week (09:00-22:30). Voluntarily as there's really not much to do once you get home from work. Maybe go visiting but then most of the people I know are either still at work or live at other accommodation places. I also find that I'm much more productive at night just because it seems cooler and quieter all round. Weird since much of our work happens at night due to the heat so it really shouldn't be that much quieter but it feels like it is. I'll definitely be home at my finish time of 19:00 on Saturday though because I'll have someone to come home to! (Can't wait till you get here babe!)
Yesterday the Carrefour at Villagio (the one closest to my work) caught on fire. Apparently they haven't had a good run since they opened. They had a bomb scare last week and this week well... there was a smokey haze in the sky all night. Not sure how much of it was affected by the fire but we're fairly sure we're going to need to find a different supermarket (say the one just across the road which is so-so for range) for awhile.
I got my first candy-instead-of-coins change the other day when I was at Landmark.
Well, I was amused.
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Carrefour - City Centre
Wow. I though the shopping centre that's being constructed near the new Carrefour where we went on Saturday night was big. Tonight I got Mr G (one of the drivers who knows where our villas, office and major shopping centres are) to take me grocery shopping after my rather shoddy attempt on Saturday. City Centre's Carrefour was probably the same size if not marginally smaller but this time I had to navigate a live shopping centre (the other one is still under construction like most of Doha).
The drive there was like most of the drives I've been on here. In essence half build roads with no road rules and "assertive" drivers. I've decided to hold on to my drivers license unless they desperately need me to drive somewhere and even then I'll be strongly considering my options. As I may have mentioned earlier Doha feels like someone started a game of Sim City and currently the whole city is under construction.
I was in for my DAE induction (which has half the length of the M2006 one and to be honest more useful) and they mentioned several reasons that traffic is a bit chaotic. Firstly Doha is growing really rapidly. Doha also lacks a public transport system. Everyone seems to get around by ute. In fact the only buses I've seen are the work ones that shuttle us about and some run down American tv show school buses that ferry the labourers to their various work camps around the city. Walking is completely out of the question unless it's a very short distance and at night because (that's right) it's hot. So with the city rapidly growing and no transport there are more and more cars on the roads.
Did I mention the roads are still under construction? One day you can be travelling down the road and the next day it could be closed off. This is another reason I don't particularly want to drive. I've also noticed that if you miss your exit you're likely to have to drive a fair way in the wrong direction before cutting across several lanes of traffic while beeping your car horn in order to turn back in the correct direction.
Roundabouts deserve the half page paragraph in the guide to Doha that I read. The number of lanes changes at random as do the drivers trying to exit. Imagine the Wheel of Death (in Melbourne) as the standard round about. All in all it still doesn't feel quite as crazy as Malaysia but it's not far behind!
Anyhow I digress. My grocery shopping was far more successful this time. Armed with a list I managed to get everything on it (except for the mince because they ran out). I also managed to find a few gems like Mi Goreng (complete with Arabic labels) and Fox Glacier mints. A few pain au chocolate and a couple of kids picture books in French (because they were cheap and one of them's about penguins). Don't worry Mum & Dad, I did buy some healthy food too like fruits and bread etc. A possible point of interest, durians cost about AU$7 each. They still smell bad.
Well I think I've posted plenty for today. Time for bed.
The drive there was like most of the drives I've been on here. In essence half build roads with no road rules and "assertive" drivers. I've decided to hold on to my drivers license unless they desperately need me to drive somewhere and even then I'll be strongly considering my options. As I may have mentioned earlier Doha feels like someone started a game of Sim City and currently the whole city is under construction.
I was in for my DAE induction (which has half the length of the M2006 one and to be honest more useful) and they mentioned several reasons that traffic is a bit chaotic. Firstly Doha is growing really rapidly. Doha also lacks a public transport system. Everyone seems to get around by ute. In fact the only buses I've seen are the work ones that shuttle us about and some run down American tv show school buses that ferry the labourers to their various work camps around the city. Walking is completely out of the question unless it's a very short distance and at night because (that's right) it's hot. So with the city rapidly growing and no transport there are more and more cars on the roads.
Did I mention the roads are still under construction? One day you can be travelling down the road and the next day it could be closed off. This is another reason I don't particularly want to drive. I've also noticed that if you miss your exit you're likely to have to drive a fair way in the wrong direction before cutting across several lanes of traffic while beeping your car horn in order to turn back in the correct direction.
Roundabouts deserve the half page paragraph in the guide to Doha that I read. The number of lanes changes at random as do the drivers trying to exit. Imagine the Wheel of Death (in Melbourne) as the standard round about. All in all it still doesn't feel quite as crazy as Malaysia but it's not far behind!
Anyhow I digress. My grocery shopping was far more successful this time. Armed with a list I managed to get everything on it (except for the mince because they ran out). I also managed to find a few gems like Mi Goreng (complete with Arabic labels) and Fox Glacier mints. A few pain au chocolate and a couple of kids picture books in French (because they were cheap and one of them's about penguins). Don't worry Mum & Dad, I did buy some healthy food too like fruits and bread etc. A possible point of interest, durians cost about AU$7 each. They still smell bad.
Well I think I've posted plenty for today. Time for bed.
Monday, August 21, 2006
Doha Days
Right now I'm struggling for a way to start this post. I’m struggling with a few things really. Things like what day it is (Sunday I think), why I’m awake but my brain is not (jet lag), what day is it (oh hang on we've already done that) which brings me back to why my brain is like mush. This is my round-about way of apologising for any incoherent writing ahead.
Doha is pretty amazing. There’s a construction site everywhere you turn. There’s a lot of development happening here and I’m fairly sure it’s not just because of the upcoming Games
I’ve only been here two days and I’m still loving it. The weather isn’t too problematic for me as more often than not I’m in air-conditioning. It’s just when you step outside and have to stand there for more than five minutes that it starts to hurt. We’ve got a buddy system going where you don’t go anywhere by yourself because the heat can get to you really quickly. I must admit there’s still something odd about having a chart on the back of the toilet door that rates the colour of your urine from good to dehydrated. I’m probably sharing a little much but I felt it was necessary
The villa that I’m staying at is fabulous! Gene, you’ll be happy to know that they have gas stoves in the kitchen. My bedroom is a comfortable size and my bed even more so. A queen bed for such a small girl is such a wonderful luxury! I love my air-conditioner in the room. It makes it possible to sleep without being stifled by the heat. I really couldn’t be much happier with the accommodation! By the sounds of things Gene will be staying two villas down the road from me which is wonderful considering he could have ended up in one of the other two apartment/villa complexes. I’m looking forward to seeing him again in a week and a half, although I do
feel like I should explore the compound a little more so that I have some inkling of what’s about! There’s a pool here and apparently a gym as well. I really should get up early for a swim but having fallen asleep at about 02:00 last night and having to be at work at 09:00 I felt that I could be slack on my first day. We’ll see how I do tomorrow!
My first day of work yesterday was a whirlwind of information, as first days are. Today was better although I found my cotton-candy-brain frustrating. The air-conditioning is both a blessing and a curse. Without it you melt and sweat profusely, with it on it sucks all the moisture from your body. I don’t think I’ve drunk this much water since I did the Murray Marathon many years ago!
Yesterday being my first day in Doha I settled into my room and then headed to work (voluntarily, they did say I could stay at home but why would you when there are people to meet and catch up with!). After work AG took Mel and I shopping for supplies. As soon as we reached the Carrefour (imagine a big supermarket with a hint of k-mart and deli) my jet lag kicked in. Mel had a list. I had a sliver of an inkling that I should get some food to cook for dinner. I decided to work from Mel’s list figuring that she’d been here for a day or two more than I had so she knew where it was at. Sadly
that didn’t help me spend less than her or buy milk to eat my cereal with. On the latter observation, I even watched her pick which milk to buy and offered a non-committal opinion. Stupid brain! After a few hours of dodging trolleys, small children and getting lost we made it home with a variety of items including vegies, bananas for less than AU$1/kg, baklava, soy bread, vegemite (because as an Australian you have to buy it), beach towels, pegs and Aussie grown carrots. We also realised that we had enough food to cook about 1-2 meals.
So it was Nando's for dinner as none of us wanted to cook dinner. The food was good (as usual) but the hot tea with mint afterwards was odd but pleasant enough.
One thing I have noticed here is that many of the locals think that I’m Philippino. This is not a huge concern to me but it does mean that I’m right at the bottom of the expat pecking order. Unfortunately this doesn’t mean that I’m exempt from random men trying to pick me up. Apparently the faux wedding band trick doesn’t work so well without a guy there. Shopping was still fun though and I’m looking forward to braving it again when I’ve
settled in a bit more.
My sense of direction is completely lost here. I’ve been to the office
twice now by two different routes and back to the villas by three different routes. I’m just glad I don’t have to drive here because the roads are a little unfinished and lack street signs. Luckily there’s an hourly shuttle to the office.
Well, I’m absolutely zonked. It’s only quarter to eight in the evening but I think it’s time to curl up in bed with a good book.
Doha is pretty amazing. There’s a construction site everywhere you turn. There’s a lot of development happening here and I’m fairly sure it’s not just because of the upcoming Games
I’ve only been here two days and I’m still loving it. The weather isn’t too problematic for me as more often than not I’m in air-conditioning. It’s just when you step outside and have to stand there for more than five minutes that it starts to hurt. We’ve got a buddy system going where you don’t go anywhere by yourself because the heat can get to you really quickly. I must admit there’s still something odd about having a chart on the back of the toilet door that rates the colour of your urine from good to dehydrated. I’m probably sharing a little much but I felt it was necessary
The villa that I’m staying at is fabulous! Gene, you’ll be happy to know that they have gas stoves in the kitchen. My bedroom is a comfortable size and my bed even more so. A queen bed for such a small girl is such a wonderful luxury! I love my air-conditioner in the room. It makes it possible to sleep without being stifled by the heat. I really couldn’t be much happier with the accommodation! By the sounds of things Gene will be staying two villas down the road from me which is wonderful considering he could have ended up in one of the other two apartment/villa complexes. I’m looking forward to seeing him again in a week and a half, although I do
feel like I should explore the compound a little more so that I have some inkling of what’s about! There’s a pool here and apparently a gym as well. I really should get up early for a swim but having fallen asleep at about 02:00 last night and having to be at work at 09:00 I felt that I could be slack on my first day. We’ll see how I do tomorrow!
My first day of work yesterday was a whirlwind of information, as first days are. Today was better although I found my cotton-candy-brain frustrating. The air-conditioning is both a blessing and a curse. Without it you melt and sweat profusely, with it on it sucks all the moisture from your body. I don’t think I’ve drunk this much water since I did the Murray Marathon many years ago!
Yesterday being my first day in Doha I settled into my room and then headed to work (voluntarily, they did say I could stay at home but why would you when there are people to meet and catch up with!). After work AG took Mel and I shopping for supplies. As soon as we reached the Carrefour (imagine a big supermarket with a hint of k-mart and deli) my jet lag kicked in. Mel had a list. I had a sliver of an inkling that I should get some food to cook for dinner. I decided to work from Mel’s list figuring that she’d been here for a day or two more than I had so she knew where it was at. Sadly
that didn’t help me spend less than her or buy milk to eat my cereal with. On the latter observation, I even watched her pick which milk to buy and offered a non-committal opinion. Stupid brain! After a few hours of dodging trolleys, small children and getting lost we made it home with a variety of items including vegies, bananas for less than AU$1/kg, baklava, soy bread, vegemite (because as an Australian you have to buy it), beach towels, pegs and Aussie grown carrots. We also realised that we had enough food to cook about 1-2 meals.
So it was Nando's for dinner as none of us wanted to cook dinner. The food was good (as usual) but the hot tea with mint afterwards was odd but pleasant enough.
One thing I have noticed here is that many of the locals think that I’m Philippino. This is not a huge concern to me but it does mean that I’m right at the bottom of the expat pecking order. Unfortunately this doesn’t mean that I’m exempt from random men trying to pick me up. Apparently the faux wedding band trick doesn’t work so well without a guy there. Shopping was still fun though and I’m looking forward to braving it again when I’ve
settled in a bit more.
My sense of direction is completely lost here. I’ve been to the office
twice now by two different routes and back to the villas by three different routes. I’m just glad I don’t have to drive here because the roads are a little unfinished and lack street signs. Luckily there’s an hourly shuttle to the office.
Well, I’m absolutely zonked. It’s only quarter to eight in the evening but I think it’s time to curl up in bed with a good book.
Monday, July 24, 2006
Miscellaneous Blah
Well, the MySpace website is down so there is every possibility that this post won't get mirrored.
(insert long pause as Sarah gets distracted by another un-named blog)
Just discovered this fabulous site which I think all my wonderful procrastination loving friends could benefit from. dearinter.net - consensus life coaching. Check it out. It seems pretty new but I'm fairly sure it'll take off rapidly.
I'm currently less stressed about work as I've turned down two jobs in the last few days. It's nice to know that people remember I'm Melbourne-based. It's just unfortunate that I'm confusing them by being in Brisbane.
Last night we had an early night and decided to do a load of washing. I also decided it was a good time to watch The Talented Mr Ripley. I quite enjoyed the film. I just wasn't expecting it to be anywhere nearspan> as long.
Today I commented on Nick's blog with the quote Life is no fun when you're hunted by the things you feel from the Finn brothers' song I hope I never (which I also thought was called something else). Anyhow, I love that line. It's a definite favourite. In fact I love that song. It's just that I thought the line was Life is no fun when you're haunted by the things you feel. Which I much prefer... I guess I don't feel so much hunted by feelings. More haunted. I find they're less aggresive. My feelings just pop up when I least expect them to, out of nowhere. (I was going to elaborate on my thoughts but I the surrounding music of Beyonce is not conducive to my musings).
Life's tough isn't it?
(insert long pause as Sarah gets distracted by another un-named blog)
Just discovered this fabulous site which I think all my wonderful procrastination loving friends could benefit from. dearinter.net - consensus life coaching. Check it out. It seems pretty new but I'm fairly sure it'll take off rapidly.
I'm currently less stressed about work as I've turned down two jobs in the last few days. It's nice to know that people remember I'm Melbourne-based. It's just unfortunate that I'm confusing them by being in Brisbane.
Last night we had an early night and decided to do a load of washing. I also decided it was a good time to watch The Talented Mr Ripley. I quite enjoyed the film. I just wasn't expecting it to be anywhere nearspan> as long.
Today I commented on Nick's blog with the quote Life is no fun when you're hunted by the things you feel from the Finn brothers' song I hope I never (which I also thought was called something else). Anyhow, I love that line. It's a definite favourite. In fact I love that song. It's just that I thought the line was Life is no fun when you're haunted by the things you feel. Which I much prefer... I guess I don't feel so much hunted by feelings. More haunted. I find they're less aggresive. My feelings just pop up when I least expect them to, out of nowhere. (I was going to elaborate on my thoughts but I the surrounding music of Beyonce is not conducive to my musings).
Life's tough isn't it?
Saturday, July 22, 2006
Brisbane Update
The season has changed and the festival's going well. Yesterday was aptly proclaimed Horror Day and it was possibly the busiest we've had all festival. The morning was spent trying to flatten the rather horribly rolled tarquet in the sun and lay the stuff so we could rehearse. We fell a bit behind but we may not have been at 100% as most of the crew had been out drinking with the crazy Alaskans for their final night drinks the day before.
After a bit of lunch we were much better and we battled our way through three plots, three dress/tech rehearsals and opened the first show 20 minutes after the last tech run. I've called my first show in four years which was kind of exciting. I was calling the show blind because I hadn't seen it before and there were cues written on pages 4-8 but not on the first three or the last ten. It went well though and there were no obvious mistakes. All shows went smoothly and were not in one way disturbed by the brawl outside the pub next door or the rooftop running backpack person who the police were trying to catch.
Today was a much easier start at 13:00. We were woken this morning at 9:17 by a phone call from one of my shows but that was rapidly sorted out. We were then treated to a televised church sermon which thoroughly confused me as I've been having trouble working out what day it is. A Saturday sermon apparently.
Tomorrow we're going to visit Timea and her folks in Fern Gully (if there are not environmentally friendly forest folk I'm not going to be impressed). Then it's more shows and then three bump outs.
We're excited to find that Nick's coming up to Brisbane to visit us next week and have been speaking to our accommodation to work out beds so all's going well.
Work is rolling in all at the same time - as it does - which is a weight of my shoulders as I've been going through my usual nearly-the-end-of-my-current-gig stress.
There's a couple of hours left before we have to go back to work for our next shift so we're going to play some network games to pass some time. Geeky yay!
After a bit of lunch we were much better and we battled our way through three plots, three dress/tech rehearsals and opened the first show 20 minutes after the last tech run. I've called my first show in four years which was kind of exciting. I was calling the show blind because I hadn't seen it before and there were cues written on pages 4-8 but not on the first three or the last ten. It went well though and there were no obvious mistakes. All shows went smoothly and were not in one way disturbed by the brawl outside the pub next door or the rooftop running backpack person who the police were trying to catch.
Today was a much easier start at 13:00. We were woken this morning at 9:17 by a phone call from one of my shows but that was rapidly sorted out. We were then treated to a televised church sermon which thoroughly confused me as I've been having trouble working out what day it is. A Saturday sermon apparently.
Tomorrow we're going to visit Timea and her folks in Fern Gully (if there are not environmentally friendly forest folk I'm not going to be impressed). Then it's more shows and then three bump outs.
We're excited to find that Nick's coming up to Brisbane to visit us next week and have been speaking to our accommodation to work out beds so all's going well.
Work is rolling in all at the same time - as it does - which is a weight of my shoulders as I've been going through my usual nearly-the-end-of-my-current-gig stress.
There's a couple of hours left before we have to go back to work for our next shift so we're going to play some network games to pass some time. Geeky yay!
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