Bus Driver

I've been thinking about it. All my driving life, I have enjoyed driving. When I first got my licence and my first car, which was a spunky bright blue 1969 Ford Escort coupe, I would pick up my sister early on a Saturday morning, we would hit the highway and just drive until lunchtime, to wherever the road led, then turn around and drive home. From my several trips to the USA I have driven many times between SLC and LA. There was one time I was up in Idaho Falls with a jerky friend. I decided to leave him in the hotel there, one morning about 2am and drive back to my safety net in Salt Lake City. An easy 4 or so hour drive aye :-). Then a few days later he caught the bus to SLC and proceeded to be sick as a dog, so it was left up to me to drive all the way to San Francisco. Which I did, and dropped him off at the SF Airport on the way. Then I proceeded to call my friends in Seattle, who said "come visit!" - so I jumped in the car again and drove and didn't stop (except for petrol) until I got there. This past easter we had a SA convention in New Castle, about 10 hours away. A friend and I shared the driving home, we wanted to get home pronto ! and WE did, without stopping.

Even now many a weekend if I have nothing better to do, I will jump in my car and drive and drive and see where the road goes. Give me good music and a set of wheels and I am in heaven.

So I have been contemplating the thought, well it's one of my childhood dreams. To drive a bus. I met up with my friend last night who drives buses for the City. There's many perks to be had ! - such as uniforms paid for. I just looked up the website and these lovely perks were also listed.



Benefits of working as a bus operator
full training in driving, ticketing and procedures
uniforms provided at no cost to you
Council contributes 9% superannuation for trainees and casuals (you can also make voluntary contributions)
weekly wages paid directly into your nominated bank account

Sounds pretty good huh. Of course as I was looking through the websites images of busdrivers. I remembered this one - and personally if there is even a smudgeon of getting a passenger like this, I'M GONNA BE A BUS DRIVER !

LEGOS !!

Who doesn't love Legos. I was also very jealous of anyone who had legos, still am. If only our world leaders could act like legos, we would be so much better off.

Thriller Lego .. it's a long one.



Ever wondered how the OK Go guys practiced all their dance steps ?

OK Go A Million Ways to be Cruel


OK Go Here it goes Again

Chocolate anyone ?

Wanna know how bad my day was yesterday ? really you do ? great ! cause I'm ready to spill it.

First I wake up as per usual, well not as per usual because I woke up at 7.00am instead of 5.30am which meant I didn't get to go for my jog. But that's okay because I can go for my jog after work instead right .. no not right. I get rush and get ready plug in the iron to iron my work shirt, and bam, the electricity blows. I really should be thankful, it was a safety thing, there was actually water on the iron wire, so really my life was saved .. yay ! So I just decide to wear my unironed shirt to work, like anyone cares anyways.

So off I go and get in my car to go to work .. turn the key .. no go .. turn the key again .. no go again .. my car is busted ! great .. and its 7.40am and I start work at 8am .. grrr .. Luckily I live with my brother who can give me a lift to work, well after he drops off his daughters to school that is. But that's all cool, I decide I will walk home from work, it's a lovely 13k walk, I do it twice a week anyways. So I take my gear (which I had ready because I was going to golf lessons after work anyways). I end up getting to work about 20mins late .. but it's okay ! The boss is on holidays the other boss is sick and the other jerk doesn't start until 9.00am ..woo noone will know ;-)

So I happily work away .. work work work .. have a few heated discussions with vendors who are looking for payments for bills we have paid months prior, it's just their illustrious accounts receivables sections have misallocated funds, so I have to go through reconciliations on their accounts for them to work out their messes .... hard working until 4pm yikers ! I gotta go .. I need to get to my golf lesson pronto .. So I quickly change, well I thought quickly. I didn't leave the office until 4.15pm. Only 15 mins to get to Bill the Golf Pro. I think I can walk that easily .. At 4.30pm enroute I call Bill and let him know I'm going to be another 10mins. I'm late !!!

Finally I get to my golf lesson. It's fun ! I am learning to swing that golf thing really really well .. OH Bill told me it's a CLUB a golf CLUB, because I asked him. The swing is great ! the connecting the club to the ball not so great, but hey he reckons we'll be on a 9 hole golf course in 4 weeks ... hah ! So as I'm swinging away .. I faint .. ahem .. yeah you heard me .. I FAINTED TRYING TO HIT A GOLF BALL. holy heck I have never been so embarassed in all my life except for that one time that I will not ever divulge ever. So Bill gets me water and his next lesson a lovely older lady comes and gives me a lecture on how I need to drink water and asks how much water I have had that day .. and when I indicate nothing and Bill indicates that I had just walked to my lesson, she starts to lecture me on being dehydrated and drinking more water again .. and proceeds to stand in front of me as I gulp down some water, I personally think she wants me to drown. So my golf lesson continues after about 20mins of rest .. that game really takes it outta ya doesn't it.

Then there's the dilemma of me having to walk home. Another 1.5 hours. I am all for it! I love walking .. Bill and the kind old lady who likes to lecture are not so keen. She insists that she will drive me home, as does Bill. Straight away what my mum always taught me about stranger danger comes into effect .. DON'T GET IN THE CAR ! So I politely refuse their offers of help. The kinds lady who likes to lecture finally leaves and Bill goes to his next lesson but tells me I have to wait for him to take me home. As he is at his next client I hastily call my brother and ask him to pick me up (well it is dark too, did I mention that). I yell out to Bill my brother is picking me and proceed to walk part way home, to make it easier for my brother, I'm good like that. I get at least 3 offers from kindly gentlemen as I walk along the darkest street with no street lights or pathway, for a lift home. I respectfully decline their offers and retreat to the other side of the street from whence they are driving .. Because that would make it harder for them to get out of their cars and ambush me you know. Anyways after about 10mins of walking my brother arrives and takes me home. Yay for baby brothers.

When I get home my sisters husband turns up to jump start my car, yeah it was only the battery. Then my mate calls to confirm the movies for tomorrow night. As soon as he says hello his phone goes dead. I try ringing a couple of times but it goes straight to his message bank. And I haven't heard from him since, I wanna see Hairspray !!! grrr ...

So I do the only thing I can do after a horrid day .. go to bed .. Well after I fold the 2 loads of washing that are dumped on it.

I want chocolate..

Whilst on the subject of dreams .. and Elvis

One of my favourite Elvis songs ever ... doesn't it just bring a tear to your eye .. it does to mine.

I haven't posted much from my Elvis book lately ..

"I really get tired of being Elvis"
"Love and warmth-that's what everyone is looking for"
"press:You're thirty-seven now. Do you disagree that everyone over thirty is finished? Elvis:I'd like to believe they are wrong"
"Everything is going so fine for me that I can't believe it's not a dream. I hope I never wake up."

We wish England was Australia

For my pommy mates, It's a Bundaberg Rum Ad .. but I think it's hilarious !

I had a vision, Danny made it possible

Just wanted to share this with you all. I was having lunch with my friend Danny the other day (actually before I went to New Zealand). Danny and I have a bit of history. But he's a great artist, always has been. I had a dream of being able to paint a picture of my mum and myself, together, for her birthday. I tried very hard to accomplish it, but errrrr, the best I can paint are stick figures. Anyways as Danny and I were talking I told him what I wanted to do and asked him if he could do it for me. He said sure ! All I had to do was email him pics and he'd work on it. He also told me it might take a while, might be done about Christmastime. That was fine by me, it could turn into a Chrissy present :-) .. Well today he finished the painting. Wanna see it ???? OKAY !!!! I can't get it just yet, he is putting it in one of his exhibitions. gulp.

These are the pictures I gave Danny to paint from.

Why didn't I think of this before !

I have started a new chapter in my life.

A little while ago I started to learn tap dancing, which is going along very nicely thanks. We are currently learning a sequence to Christine Aguillera's - Candy Man. My gosh ! that song is so freaking fast ! tap dancing to it is a really good workout !

Anyways that's not the new chapter in my life, that's old news. NO NO NO the new chapter is even more fun !

Whilst in New Zealand I went out with a fella, I thought we were going putt putt golfing, instead we ended up at a golf driving range. I had the time of my life ! Couldn't hit the ball for peanuts. He was very encouraging mind you, such as rolling on the ground in laughter and thanking me for giving him the best laugh he's had for $5 (which was the cost of the bucket of balls). But heck I really enjoyed swinging that stick, it was like some kind of release of something .. hah. So I decided, I am not going to let this game beat me. I am now the latest golf student under the ever masterful tutorledge (is that a word?) of Bill the pro at the Marsden Golfing Range ! yaya ! and I came away from my first lesson being able to swing that stick (what is it called anyways) and having it connect to the ball and having the ball get some air and trail off into the distance, 5 metres is good ! believe me.

But you know that is not the cause of my full joy in taking golfing lessons. I never realised this before, but alot of men like to go to the driving range. Alot of men .. and some of those men are very good eye candy. And if you are in the right spot, the whole time you are there you are looking at their butts as they bend over concentrating on hitting their balls with their stick .. AND you would be surprised how many of them know the local pro (Bill) and will stop to say g'day to him as he is teaching. hahaha .. so girls !! actually I don't know many of you who are single .. tell your single girl friends ! get down to the local driving range pronto ! you just never know who you might meet :-)

HAPPY FATHERS DAY !

I'd just like to let everyone know that I love my dad and miss him immensely, especially at this time of the year. He passed away 15 years ago.My dad let me know he loved me and all of us kids.

He wasn't very wealthy in a worldly sense, but he still gave us all that he had.

I have many good memories of my dad. Like that one time when he my brother Clayde and I lived in Loganlea. One day I was watching tv and Clayde and Dad were down in the room. All of a sudden I heard girly squealing and pleads for me to come help. I ran into my room to see Clayde and my dad on my bed jumping up and down because there was a huntsman spider in the opposite corner of the room. I don't know who was more scared, them or the spider. They ordered 'me' to go get a broom and kill it.

Then there was that one time, I got home from school and went to do my washing. Dad informed me he did it and I just needed to hang it out. Awesome. I went to hang it out - unfortunately being newly single and not knowledgeable in the art of seperating laundry, dad had mixed all of my clothes together, including some newly bought red jumpers. My washing turned out all pink. Awwww. But hey, I got to go shopping to get new clothes !

I remember as kids. We lived in Mangere, Favona. Down the road from our house was this round about (on the way to the shopping centre). Whenever we went to that roundabout dad would drive around it 4-5 times, yahooing. Yeah, to us kids that was better than the giant drop at Dreamworld ! Used to drive mum nuts though. But us kids loved it.

I will never ever forget the last time my father spoke to us kids. He was in his hospital bed and gave us all individually a Fathers blessing. I am forever grateful that we got to be with our Father at that time and to share in that beautiful experience before he moved on. The next morning we were all called to his bedside as he passed away.

I remember lots about my dad, both good and bad, happy and sad. but he's my dad and always will be forever, and I'm glad for that.