Monday 30th March '09

The Lovely Samantha picked me up early on Friday to beat the traffic to an area NW of Sydney called Wheeny Creek. No mobile coverage laid the perfect tarp for a camping weekend of grit, grime, grunge and all. If I’d known how much equipment our friends were going to buy, I’d have bought shares in the camping store. Still, I wasn’t complaining as it was all put to good use.

The kids were in typical terrible-two states which made it a far more demanding weekend than anticipated. With a creek, an open fire and gas cook tops to touch, they were on temptation island. Tieing them on a leash has never sounded more appealing. Sam packed her “I-dont-like-camping” frown which she brought out from time to time, but the weather couldn’t have been better so the frown didn’t last long.

Goannas came to visit, snatched food and left. Kookaburra’s sang, and the sounds of the bush were everywhere for the kids to soak up. However, the legendary ghost of Wheeny Creek was a noted absence, no doubt warded off by the pastey white glow of city-slickers frolicking in the creek.

When it came time to leave, I had our camp site cleared within the hour but It took a small army to pack up the McKerlie’s palatial spread. We were all on the road and asleep by mid afternoon. Home in time to watch the Dragons beat the Sharks.

Earlier last week we went along to the AGM for Bodhi’s daycare. Quiet descended when the call came to form the new committee so yours truly has volunteered for the position of Committee Convener (chairperson) for 2009. Upon returning home, Sam and I gave this committee thingamejig a crack. It’s a good thing the chairperson has the deciding vote as my first ever motion (to henceforth be addressed by my new title) would have otherwise ended in a 1-1 deadlock.

Chairman Min.

Monday 16th March '09

Hey Gang;

Friday had me in two minds. A friend’s birthday dinner clashed with the NRL season double header kick-off (pardon the pun). As any good mate should, I opted for the dinner and didn’t realize the time until I stumbled into bed the wrong side of midnight. Come the next morning though, when I read how close the games were (Storm 17 –Dragons 16, Broncos 19 – Cowboys 18), I was ruing our broken PVR (a VCR without tapes).

The Lovely Samantha had been planning a market day for a while and Saturday turned out to be that day. Which would have been fine…if I not for all the wines the night before. I’m such a light weight these days it’s almost a waste of a designated driver. Anyway, Bodhi kindly looked after me and nursed me back to the land of the living. The proceeds from the market were put to good use at a local sushi restaurant.

I got up early on Sunday morning to take some photos at a nearby wetlands rejuvenation park. Creepy crawlies aplenty, especially spiders (or as Bodhi calls them, Incy Wincies). The other highlight of the day (aside from neighbours over for dinner) was a trip to Bunnings. There's something about those green and red super centers. They have a strangely calming influence on me, transforming me into a nomadic handyman wandering the aisles in a zen-like trance. As I got home though, the calm rapidly abated and the red mist descended upon discovering that the storage cabinet I bought had been designed by complete muppets.

Two weeks to go till my contract finishes. Woohoo!

See ya,
Minas.

Monday 9th March '09

I was supposed to be visiting a client on the mine site this week but a little cyclone off the Queensland coast has decided that my travel should be put on hold. Who am i to argue with that?

The three of us had a family night in on Friday. Bodhi went to bed at the usual time while The Lovely Samantha and I stayed up and watched Guy Ritchie’s “RocknRolla”. There were flashes of brilliance but sadly it was too long and just didn’t have the same energy as his previous masterpieces.

Saturday started with a trip to my uncle’s surgery for some vaccinations for my upcoming India trip (did i mention i've handed in my notice at work...again?). Blood tests, Tetanus, Typhoid and Diphtheria jabs left my shoulders feeling like they’d just hosted a high school dead-arm convention. Back home for a spontaneous lunch with friends where i could hardly lift my arms but was a very pleasant affair none the less. I must make a point to organise more spontaneous visits in future.

Saturday evening was mardi gras so we donned our rosy colored glasses and took Bodhi in to see the parade. I sat him atop my shoulders where he had an uninterrupted view over heads while i just watched the back of one. He witnessed first hand the power of dykes on bikes the glitter of sequins, balloons and all the other colours and sounds of the festival which he absolutely loved. Pink singlets and tiaras will be de rigueur for the next week i think.

On Sunday we sat through five hours of round trip traffic to take Bodhi to the Zig Zag railway in Lithgow. Two steam engines are in operation, one of which is painted Thomas-the-tank-engine blue which had our little man’s eyes the size of saucers while his grin stretched from ear to ear. I was standing right beside the engine taking photos just as it vented its excess steam and it's without a doubt the loudest sound I’ve ever heard…or will ever hear again for that matter.

See ya,
Minas.

Monday 2nd March '09

Hey Gang;

The inner tube on my bike burst so I started Friday afternoon changing tires. It’s the third one in a short space of time so I’ve honed it down to a 10 minute turnaround. Sadly though, it was a precursor to another bubble of mine bursting – that of my dream job. I’ve technically jumped the gun by saying that I didn’t get the Hamilton Island caretaker gig (the shortlist is announced tomorrow), but my alter ego would have been contacted to do schizophrenic testing by now if I was being considered. They say you should learn from your mistakes and what I’ll take from this one is that they must have been after someone far less humorous, intelligent and much less attractive than myself. I wonder if the McClaren pit crew are looking for a new wheel man?

Saturday was a nice enough day but we spent it lounging around the house reading the paper from cover to cover (except the Drive section which always goes straight in the recycle bin). The afternoon and evening were spent at the McKerlie’s house warming/daughter’s birthday party. We were literally the last ones standing at 11:30pm and to our surprise, Bodhi was still dancing. Sugar will do that to you although he's probably also inherited his mother’s partying stamina as I would have pulled the pin a few hours earlier.

Sunday was basically taken up with a family BBQ at my uncle’s place on the George’s river. Stunning views from the balcony, but exposed to the wind. My grandmother was as caustic as ever, my grandfather asleep within the hour but the rest of us were in fine form and shared a few laughs.

A late afternoon bike ride around Blackwattle bay then home to watch the Tropfest short film finalists, most of which left me scratching my head wondering just one thing….why?

See ya,
Minas.