Suprise Visitors

So today I was preparing for a telephone interview when this little fella turned up for a chat.
Apparently cockys like brown bread. But have an aversion to cashews and dried fruit.
Later on, there was four of them on the balcony, and they're not small, nor bashfull. I was standing less than one meter from them, and I have the feeling they could have very easily mugged me for my bread supplies if they had wanted to.
Still, by australian standards these animals are quite courtious.
I'd rather have to deal with a cocky than an australian magpie.

On a Geek High...

The firefox 3 plugin for delicious is out!
Thank god, my bookmarks were getting really messy.

Ireland in the Euro Final

We nearly managed it!! Thank god we didn't have to qualify!!

Another defeat, must be setting up for a great win!

Damn you Kiwi's!


Unfortunatly I didn't know about the match until it was half over. And obviously not hearing me roar had a bad effect on the result.
You can be sure I'll be watching the next match.

And in other new, the Ingolstadt baboons have won the beer cup in milan

Yes Oz has a Winter

The sky is pregnant with a swelling belly full of southern hemisphere storms.
It's been raining for 3 days now.
In his book on australia, bill bryson comments on how no one knows why Captain Cook decided to call this part of australia new south wales.
I think i've figured it out, it's wet, it's hilly and most of the people on the road drive as if they're drunk.

So, while the weather has once again spoiled my plans to actually leave the house and see some of the many sights in Sydney... I've had to find other ways to amuse myself.
What better way to do so, than to prepare myself for my next meeting with one of Australias poisionious animals. So I got out the "St Johns Ambulance, Australian First Aid" book, from the library.

Don't be scared by the list, in most of the cases the treatment is the same. Death. Slow and agonising.
Unless of course you happen to get bit/stung/impaled next to a St Johns Ambulance.

Medical Knightmares

Today I have been prodded, poked, injected, inspected, irradiated and left waiting.. all in the name of "Form 26, Medical examination for an Australian Visa".

All things considered, it went quite smoothly. I booked the medical online on the previous friday, and recieved an appointment for 8am the following monday. They charged about $250 to my card.
When I turned up at 7:45, the shutters were down and no-one was home, and there was a queue. It takes a special kind of government based institution to achieve queues while not even open.
They opened the doors at 7:59 and 61 seconds, and I proceeded to the next queue.
Then 10 minutes later I handed my forms to the receptionist, and was allowed to sit.
I'm from the UK, I'm used to waiting. My way of dealing with it is, have no expectations when you get there. Oh, and then they turned on the tele in the waiting room... morning TV, if there was anything to make the waiting seem longer...
Still, after waiting I was called up by a very polite doctor or assistant, weighed, measured, given a cup to pee in, left to sit, called back, had my veins pierced, blood taken, left to sit, called back to the (grumpy - not a morning person) doctor, ignored, stripped, poked, prodded, told to sit, called back X-ray'ed, and then shoved out the door onto the street.
And looking at my watch I was suprised to find that only an hour of my life had been stolen. I could have sworn that I'd been in that tardus of a waiting room for a few days. I have no idea how the poor Iranian parents with triplets managed to keep their children quiet the whole time, what heroes!
Still I survived, and apart from some brusing due to a pierced blood vessel, and a feeling of empathy for cattle at the slaughterhouse, I am unscathed. Still, now I'm waiting again.. on the results of all the AIDs, Heppatitus, TB tests!
Hopefully I'll be given the all clear, and then I can attempt to start remaining in this country long enough to convince someone to give me a Job.

More to come... D.

Quick turn on the lights.

Isn't it funny how the polticians all come out when they want something from you.

And on this occasion, they forget their differences for a cup of manky coffee in dundrum shopping centre.
I'm sure I could quite easily relate this to meeting the Leader of the opposition walking down the main street in Goulburn the other day. It was the opening of the largest waste incinerator in Australia that day.
Rubbish!