It's Christmas morning and I'm listening to Macca - makes me feel a bit of a dag....but gives me a good dose of Australiana, too!
On Friday we rec'd the Xmas Hampers from the employer - I now have enough cake, pudding, mince tarts and shortbread to sink a battleship.
I've bought all the presents that are going to be bought, nothing else I can do now....
I'll pick my mother up and go to my sisters place later on for a "too much seafood" lunch. (prawns, crayfish, smoked salmon) Mum's making her parfaits, and we'll probably end up eating way too much. Boxing day holds the the annual picnic by the river with my brother and his kids....
Wishing everyone a happy Festive Season!
Cheers,
Kit
30 November 2005
Love the new job!!
Well today was my first experience of event management (with a lot of direction) at the new Library. An ikebana exhibition..... Lots of beautiful flower arrangements transformed the library and made me appreciate the time, judgement and skill that goes into these creations....
The day started with a visit to "the exchange", a public library ritual that feels a bit like a free buying spree.......................I bumped into my frend S who works at the State Referece Library who invited me to stay at her folks Mandurah beachhouse weekend after next.....(after she told me to get away - she was with friends)
Went for a coffee in Northbridge and B bumped into the guy from the old Caffe Sport coffee bar, and was told that he's about to start up again in te coffee bar business. I have such fond memories of slightly shabby Sunday mornings, reading Sunday papers, drinking such good coffee there!!! (enough to make me feel human again).
The day ended with champagne at the local drinking establishment....how good can this get!!
The day started with a visit to "the exchange", a public library ritual that feels a bit like a free buying spree.......................I bumped into my frend S who works at the State Referece Library who invited me to stay at her folks Mandurah beachhouse weekend after next.....(after she told me to get away - she was with friends)
Went for a coffee in Northbridge and B bumped into the guy from the old Caffe Sport coffee bar, and was told that he's about to start up again in te coffee bar business. I have such fond memories of slightly shabby Sunday mornings, reading Sunday papers, drinking such good coffee there!!! (enough to make me feel human again).
The day ended with champagne at the local drinking establishment....how good can this get!!
21 November 2005
New Job - Week Two
Well the new job is going pretty well.....everyone is pretty amicable and helpful. Also the staff have quite a different demographic, and the vibe is to "be helpful and friendly" to the clients.
Working for a local council seems pretty cushy too; I think I started at the right time because of all the socializing that will go on. The Xmas party is on this weekend...
We share the office space with the council's sustainablity section - all of whom are interesting and attractive people ....the Sus People have lots of good ideas about eco friendly solutions for housing and life in general. They've built a "sustainable house" which they will sell next year... the next project is to buy a weatherboard house and retrofit it....I wonder if they'll buy mine, then let me buy it back from them when they've done all the work..???
In the meantime, they'll do a free "sustainability audit for me, where they come to my house and make suggestions as to how I can save money on water and energy bills. All very green.....
Yesterday, one of the "clients" came in and started shouting and raving about John Howard (the PM) and Hitler in a very loud voice. The other girl on the desk with me quickly turned her back on him, and feigned interest in the nearest computer screen, muttering "no eye contact, no eye contact". One of the male staff joined us, but the chap seemed pretty happy once he'd been told that he need to be a bit quieter - the headphones with German marching music added to the problem.. After he borrowed some more CDs, and with a couple of quick Nazi salutes and a Ja Wohl, (with a slight twinkle in his eye, I think), he was on his way......I still have a lot to learn about the regulars.......
Today we went shopping!! Along with two other librarians we went into town and browsed and selected stock from Boffins and then visited some of the comic book stores, also Fantastic Planet in central Perth. The range of graphic novels and Sci Fi is amazing - quite expensive, too.
The only downside is that I'm responsible for doing the rosters. nuff said. Also, my boss will be going on leave after Xmas and I'll be standing in for her for six weeks, so I have to try and get a handle on my own new job and hers as well....what's the worst that can happen?
My new replacement Ipod Shuffle has arrived, too - life is good!
Working for a local council seems pretty cushy too; I think I started at the right time because of all the socializing that will go on. The Xmas party is on this weekend...
We share the office space with the council's sustainablity section - all of whom are interesting and attractive people ....the Sus People have lots of good ideas about eco friendly solutions for housing and life in general. They've built a "sustainable house" which they will sell next year... the next project is to buy a weatherboard house and retrofit it....I wonder if they'll buy mine, then let me buy it back from them when they've done all the work..???
In the meantime, they'll do a free "sustainability audit for me, where they come to my house and make suggestions as to how I can save money on water and energy bills. All very green.....
Yesterday, one of the "clients" came in and started shouting and raving about John Howard (the PM) and Hitler in a very loud voice. The other girl on the desk with me quickly turned her back on him, and feigned interest in the nearest computer screen, muttering "no eye contact, no eye contact". One of the male staff joined us, but the chap seemed pretty happy once he'd been told that he need to be a bit quieter - the headphones with German marching music added to the problem.. After he borrowed some more CDs, and with a couple of quick Nazi salutes and a Ja Wohl, (with a slight twinkle in his eye, I think), he was on his way......I still have a lot to learn about the regulars.......
Today we went shopping!! Along with two other librarians we went into town and browsed and selected stock from Boffins and then visited some of the comic book stores, also Fantastic Planet in central Perth. The range of graphic novels and Sci Fi is amazing - quite expensive, too.
The only downside is that I'm responsible for doing the rosters. nuff said. Also, my boss will be going on leave after Xmas and I'll be standing in for her for six weeks, so I have to try and get a handle on my own new job and hers as well....what's the worst that can happen?
My new replacement Ipod Shuffle has arrived, too - life is good!
14 November 2005
Day one at the new job
Well yesterday was my first day - it felt very fragmented what with meeting so many people whose names I don't remember....and then being left to my own devices to read the employee manual - errggghhhh!
However, my first impressions of the job are good - the emphasis in the public library seems to be on reading and literacy, rather than the academic library's emphasis on information. I've been told that the library's readers are quite discerning and that a lot can be learned by the borrowing and request patterns. Booker Prize finalists are popular, as is anything mentioned on Radio National.
I've already seen so many books that I want to read, and will probably never get around to..... Still, my choices today were Mirror Mirror: A History of the Human Love Affair with Reflection and Succulents: Propagation. Think I'll have to start using Library Thing to keep track....
Still the good news is that we'll each get a Xmas Hamper from the Council!!
However, my first impressions of the job are good - the emphasis in the public library seems to be on reading and literacy, rather than the academic library's emphasis on information. I've been told that the library's readers are quite discerning and that a lot can be learned by the borrowing and request patterns. Booker Prize finalists are popular, as is anything mentioned on Radio National.
I've already seen so many books that I want to read, and will probably never get around to..... Still, my choices today were Mirror Mirror: A History of the Human Love Affair with Reflection and Succulents: Propagation. Think I'll have to start using Library Thing to keep track....
Still the good news is that we'll each get a Xmas Hamper from the Council!!
Evening wildlife
Last Friday I went to Karakamia Sanctuary in the hills - it's a privately owned wildlife sanctuary that was set up in the hope that it might save some of our species from extinction. It's such a great idea - they are doing great things there and it's a shame that the government doesn't take this progressive approach in regard to conserving our wildlife.
They take nocturnal spotlighting tours through - I saw woylies , Southern Brown Bandicoot (Quenda), Brushtail Possums and Western Brush Wallabies. The Woylies are everywhere...so cute, and so unafraid - no wonder that they are so easily picked off by foxes and cats.
In the reception hut, they had a very graphic display of a feral cat eating a poor little Woylie. It makes me a tad ashamed about owning a cat......
For more info see: http://www.australianwildlife.org/karakamia.asp
They take nocturnal spotlighting tours through - I saw woylies , Southern Brown Bandicoot (Quenda), Brushtail Possums and Western Brush Wallabies. The Woylies are everywhere...so cute, and so unafraid - no wonder that they are so easily picked off by foxes and cats.
In the reception hut, they had a very graphic display of a feral cat eating a poor little Woylie. It makes me a tad ashamed about owning a cat......
For more info see: http://www.australianwildlife.org/karakamia.asp
26 October 2005
Card from the Kalgirls
I just had two days at the remote site where I used to work. The girls there gave me this card
22 October 2005
20 October 2005
Got a new job!!
It's a great feeling - when you think you've got it but don't want to get your hopes up by thinking too much about it..
However, last Friday I got a call from my new boss-to-be, and she asked me if I'd like to come and work with them.....I was smiling all weekend. I now have only about two weeks left at the current job.
And then I thought - my current job must have been getting me down quite a lot...don't get me wrong - it's a great job - academic librarians do a lot of interesting stuff. And I've learnt a lot since I've been back at the mother ship after a spending 4 years at our "Red Dwarf" library on the edge of the desert. (We used to call ourselves "the ferals"...)
However, I think to be happy, you should feel valued by the people that you provide the service for - and I'm not getting that. My peers - the other Librarians here, see their own jobs as important, and I'm quite in awe of the total knowledge bank of our group - but somehow their enthusiasm hasn't rubbed off on me.
So now - it's onward and sideways - a new direction for me and hopefully new challenges.
However, last Friday I got a call from my new boss-to-be, and she asked me if I'd like to come and work with them.....I was smiling all weekend. I now have only about two weeks left at the current job.
And then I thought - my current job must have been getting me down quite a lot...don't get me wrong - it's a great job - academic librarians do a lot of interesting stuff. And I've learnt a lot since I've been back at the mother ship after a spending 4 years at our "Red Dwarf" library on the edge of the desert. (We used to call ourselves "the ferals"...)
However, I think to be happy, you should feel valued by the people that you provide the service for - and I'm not getting that. My peers - the other Librarians here, see their own jobs as important, and I'm quite in awe of the total knowledge bank of our group - but somehow their enthusiasm hasn't rubbed off on me.
So now - it's onward and sideways - a new direction for me and hopefully new challenges.
22 September 2005
Procrastination will always catch up with you
You know that feeling when you've been neglecting your studies, work's getting on top of you and then you bump into the lecturer getting lunch....Caught between a rock and a hard place - it's rude not to acknowledge him - but if he recognises you he'll remember that you haven't been coming to class, haven't been posting on the unit's bulletin board, and haven’t submitted the assignment.And all he wants to do is get some lunch in peace……………….
Well that happened yesterday....I sent him an email (crawling, beggin, etc) and now I'm starting a regime of reading two articles per night.
I'll have to put a cloth over the TV, like a budgie......
Well that happened yesterday....I sent him an email (crawling, beggin, etc) and now I'm starting a regime of reading two articles per night.
I'll have to put a cloth over the TV, like a budgie......
08 August 2005
I'm not sure if I'm very busy - or just very disorganised....
I think these posts are going to turn into a "what I did on my weekend"....
A foodie weekend!
Went to dinner at my siste's place Saturday - prawns and gremolata with baked vegetables - yum!
She'd made a baked orange and date custard for dessert, which was extremely yumalicious, too!! So the creme caramels I'd picked up from Barretts bakery she didn't want, and I took them home for a treat for myself on Sunday......I think I've discovered another addiction!
I finally attacked my weed infested front garden so that I can plant the honey gem grivillea and geraldton wax plants that I bought with my birthday garden voucher. I hate onion weed!!!
I think these posts are going to turn into a "what I did on my weekend"....
A foodie weekend!
Went to dinner at my siste's place Saturday - prawns and gremolata with baked vegetables - yum!
She'd made a baked orange and date custard for dessert, which was extremely yumalicious, too!! So the creme caramels I'd picked up from Barretts bakery she didn't want, and I took them home for a treat for myself on Sunday......I think I've discovered another addiction!
I finally attacked my weed infested front garden so that I can plant the honey gem grivillea and geraldton wax plants that I bought with my birthday garden voucher. I hate onion weed!!!
28 July 2005
My first proper blog.
I'm hoping that this will encourage me to write more, and "weller".
Not much to say today as I'm off to Book Club tonight and have to pick up some comestibles.
I haven't read the book - it's The Last Family in England but I'll get a copy of the review and try to make some intelligent comments in the discussion. My Bookclub members are very forgiving....
I used to to that a lot at school too - never read the set novel, but got hold of the Brodies Notes so that I was able to answer the questions...(bad student!!)
I'm hoping that this will encourage me to write more, and "weller".
Not much to say today as I'm off to Book Club tonight and have to pick up some comestibles.
I haven't read the book - it's The Last Family in England but I'll get a copy of the review and try to make some intelligent comments in the discussion. My Bookclub members are very forgiving....
I used to to that a lot at school too - never read the set novel, but got hold of the Brodies Notes so that I was able to answer the questions...(bad student!!)
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