Xmas Day All Over

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

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!!

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!

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!!

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