I thought that this week would go really slow until I joined Dad in Perth, but the days actually went quickly (although the evenings when I was alone were boring).
Dad said that the course in Adelaide went really well. The guys on the course were really keen and interested in learning about the engine Dad was sent to teach them about. All of them passed Dad's portion of the course, so he was happy about that. On Thursday afternoon, Dad flew to Perth and on Friday, he began teaching his next course with a new bunch of guys. On Friday, they spent the day at the airport on the airplane doing various tasks - this course is a practical one, although there is going to be some classroom instruction involved.
My week in HB was spent eating healthy and exercising: walking on Monday and Wednesday and swimming on Tuesday (on my own) and Thursday (with my adult swim class). When I went to the class on Thursday, there were only two of us, but we still had the class which I was really happy about. The instructor told me that my front crawl technique was really good which I was really happy to hear. Now, she says, I need to work on my breathing. One of the way to build on that is trying to swim as far as we can in a rocket position (hands clasped and arms out straight in front of me and kicking like crazy while holding my breath) - my goal was to get to the middle point of the lane and this week I made it three out of six times so I am improving.
On Thursday, Robyn and I got together to spent the day hanging out. We went to the beach to have a swim and read our books while sitting on the shore. Well, we ended up doing neither. The wind was really blowing fiercely, so we gave the swim a miss. We set up our beach chairs on the sand and started chatting - two hours later, we still hadn't opened up our books. :-) Robyn invited me back to her place for lunch, after which I treated her to an iced chocolate at a local cafe (an iced chocolate is like a chocolate milk with a scoop of ice cream on it and topped with whipped cream - they are so yummy). :-) Robyn and Geoff invited me back to their place for dinner after my swim lesson - good food and good friendship is a great combo.
On Friday, I had my doctor's appointment. He wants to keep track of how I am doing on my weight loss - when he saw the number of kilograms I have lost, he got a big smile on his face and said 'Magnificent'. :-) I love that word! :-) He was very pleased and told me to keep it up - he also told me that I had motivated him to get back to his weight loss. I was very pleased at how well I had done, as well - so, I need to keep it up.
My flight to Perth on Saturday was long and I was happy to finally arrive here. I was met by Dad and our friend, Rosalea. Rosalea and her husband, Rob used to live in HB - they were the first ones in our ward to invite us over for dinner to welcome us to HB. Rob works in the mines and so he was not home - it was really good to see Rosalea again. After church, Rosalea invited us to her place for dinner - she invited her son, daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter to join us. She made a feast for us (steak, lamb, salad) and we enjoyed the food and the time with Rosalea and her family.
The condo which Dad's company is renting here in Perth is very nice - and wonderfully decorated. It's a two-bedroom, two bathroom condo with beautiful furniture and great decor. It's about a ten minute drive to the downtown area of Perth and about a ten minute drive to the airport. The only thing within walking distance from the condo is a casino and a large park. At the condo, however, they do have a gym and a pool - the pool is not heated at the moment, but will be starting on Friday. I plan on trying it out on Tuesday - not sure how cold it will be, so not sure how long I will last. :-)
Sunday, 20 October, 2013
A week at home has been nice - some relaxing time and some busy time. :-)
It turned out that Dad didn't go to Melbourne this week. His boss was able to get an airplane down there for them to do some training on, but most of the guys couldn't get the time off work, so they are going to do it at a later date. Dad spent a lot of this week prepping for the course in Adelaide and then for the Perth course. He spent a lot of time organizing his pictures of the different airplanes, so that it's faster to access them as he is talking about them. He also spent a lot of time organizing how he will use his time in Perth as he will have to share the time with another instructor.
On Tuesday, my friend, Maureen took me out for morning tea to a cute little cafe in River Heads which is about a fifteen minute drive from HB. We sat on the patio and had an amazing view of the Mary River (pics below). We had a slice of cake (I had a Mars bar slice) and a hot chocolate and just sat and chatted. We ended up talking for over three hours. :-) When I got home, I went off to the pool so that I could get in another 30 lengths. I was still tired after I was done, but it felt good as usual. :-)
On Wednesday, Dad and I met up with Robyn and Geoff down at the beach. We had a barbecue (steak, salad, fruit) and then went for an hour long walk along the beach. The day was perfect and we had a great time catching up with our friends.
On Thursday (at 5:30pm), I went to the pool for my first time at the 'Adult Swim Class'. Jo (a woman) is our instructor and she is really good. She actually teaches swimming as her job, including teaching a swim club after school. There were five of us at the class and basically Jo told us what to swim and we did it. We started off by 'warming up' - swimming six lengths (that was more than just a warm-up for me, I can tell you :-) We continued to swim lengths for the rest of the hour (some with legs only, some like a 'rocket', some using a flutterboard to practice breathing alternately to the right and left). As Jo watched us swim, she gave us suggestions on how to better our stroke technique. It was a great workout and I was exhausted by the end of it - and I am looking forward to next week's class. :-)
On Friday, Dad and I went out for lunch to celebrate our anniversary - we decided to go to the same cafe which Maureen took me to on Tuesday. We sat out on the patio and Dad loved the view as much as I did. Dad had the seafood basket (which he really liked) and I had the quiche (pretty ordinary) and we decided to buy a mud cake (chocolate cake) from the grocery store to have for dessert. The mud cakes here are just so yummy - we hadn't had one for over three months (the whole time we were away in Melbourne and Brisbane) and I just relished each bite. :-)
We didn't get to stay too long at the cafe as Dad had to get home to put a warm pack and a cold pack (alternately) on his shoulder/neck. He had gone to the chiropractor on Tuesday for a regular check-up and she asked him to come back on Friday. When he went in Friday morning, she did the regular routine and then asked Dad if he minded her doing some acupuncture on him because he had a really tight knot in his neck. After his session, the chiropractor asked him to go home and put a warm pad on his shoulder/neck for 20 minutes and then a cold pack for ten minutes and to continue doing this all afternoon and then to return to her office again at 5pm. At that time, she massaged out his neck a little more and he finds it is a lot better now.
While Dad was at the chiropractor's, I went into Kawungan State School to see the grade one teachers. I especially wanted to see Fiona again (the teacher whose class I was supposed to cover) to apologize again for not taking her contract. She told me that she was actually happy that I didn't take it - she said that she was really glad that I decided to take care of myself - she thought that was way more important than teaching her class. I was so happy to hear that - everyone was happy to see me - they are such a lovely group of women - and it was so nice. I asked Fiona how the teacher coped who did take her contract and she said that she did not have a good time - in fact, she told Luise (another grade one teacher) that she would not come in for any of the grade one teachers at Kawungan for the rest of the year. When I heard that, I was VERY glad that I did not take the contract. Luise also told me that she will be teaching only half-time in two years and asked me if I would be interested in teaching with her. I would LOVE to do that as she and I get along really well and teach in a very similar style - and, even more importantly, discipline in a very similar style. I don't know if it will work out, but it was very nice to be asked. :-)
On Saturday, Dad needed to do some more prepping (just making sure that he was ready for both Adelaide and Perth) - he will be in Adelaide from today until Thursday (exam day for his students) and then will fly to Perth that evening and begin teaching the new course there on Friday - so he will have no time to prep for that Friday before he gets there. While he was busy doing that (and packing for his trip), I went to the pool again. Jo (the adult swim teacher) suggested that I get a swim cap, so I bought one on Saturday. I couldn't believe how much further I could swim before getting tired out. I guess having to deal with hair in my face every time I breathed was taking it out of me. I tried to remember all the different things which Jo had had us do on Thursday - I ended up swimming for 50 minutes and got a very good workout. I was very tired and worn out, but it felt great! :-)
Dad headed out to Adelaide this morning - he emailed me once he got to Sydney safe and sound and then skyped with me once he arrived in Adelaide. The flight from Sydney to Adelaide was delayed because an airplane blew some tires on the landing and so one runway was closed until it could be cleaned up. Dad said that everyone had to sit in their airplane for an hour until they were given the clearance to take off. He was happy to arrive in Adelaide finally. :-) He picked up his rental car at the airport and drove to his hotel (a very nice large room, he said) and was heading out to get some supper (by the time he got to his hotel, it was 8pm and he was starving! :-) We both wish that I was in Adelaide with him, but I am sure that this week will go fast and he will be picking me up in Perth on Saturday evening. :-)
It turned out that Dad didn't go to Melbourne this week. His boss was able to get an airplane down there for them to do some training on, but most of the guys couldn't get the time off work, so they are going to do it at a later date. Dad spent a lot of this week prepping for the course in Adelaide and then for the Perth course. He spent a lot of time organizing his pictures of the different airplanes, so that it's faster to access them as he is talking about them. He also spent a lot of time organizing how he will use his time in Perth as he will have to share the time with another instructor.
On Tuesday, my friend, Maureen took me out for morning tea to a cute little cafe in River Heads which is about a fifteen minute drive from HB. We sat on the patio and had an amazing view of the Mary River (pics below). We had a slice of cake (I had a Mars bar slice) and a hot chocolate and just sat and chatted. We ended up talking for over three hours. :-) When I got home, I went off to the pool so that I could get in another 30 lengths. I was still tired after I was done, but it felt good as usual. :-)
On Wednesday, Dad and I met up with Robyn and Geoff down at the beach. We had a barbecue (steak, salad, fruit) and then went for an hour long walk along the beach. The day was perfect and we had a great time catching up with our friends.
On Thursday (at 5:30pm), I went to the pool for my first time at the 'Adult Swim Class'. Jo (a woman) is our instructor and she is really good. She actually teaches swimming as her job, including teaching a swim club after school. There were five of us at the class and basically Jo told us what to swim and we did it. We started off by 'warming up' - swimming six lengths (that was more than just a warm-up for me, I can tell you :-) We continued to swim lengths for the rest of the hour (some with legs only, some like a 'rocket', some using a flutterboard to practice breathing alternately to the right and left). As Jo watched us swim, she gave us suggestions on how to better our stroke technique. It was a great workout and I was exhausted by the end of it - and I am looking forward to next week's class. :-)
On Friday, Dad and I went out for lunch to celebrate our anniversary - we decided to go to the same cafe which Maureen took me to on Tuesday. We sat out on the patio and Dad loved the view as much as I did. Dad had the seafood basket (which he really liked) and I had the quiche (pretty ordinary) and we decided to buy a mud cake (chocolate cake) from the grocery store to have for dessert. The mud cakes here are just so yummy - we hadn't had one for over three months (the whole time we were away in Melbourne and Brisbane) and I just relished each bite. :-)
We didn't get to stay too long at the cafe as Dad had to get home to put a warm pack and a cold pack (alternately) on his shoulder/neck. He had gone to the chiropractor on Tuesday for a regular check-up and she asked him to come back on Friday. When he went in Friday morning, she did the regular routine and then asked Dad if he minded her doing some acupuncture on him because he had a really tight knot in his neck. After his session, the chiropractor asked him to go home and put a warm pad on his shoulder/neck for 20 minutes and then a cold pack for ten minutes and to continue doing this all afternoon and then to return to her office again at 5pm. At that time, she massaged out his neck a little more and he finds it is a lot better now.
While Dad was at the chiropractor's, I went into Kawungan State School to see the grade one teachers. I especially wanted to see Fiona again (the teacher whose class I was supposed to cover) to apologize again for not taking her contract. She told me that she was actually happy that I didn't take it - she said that she was really glad that I decided to take care of myself - she thought that was way more important than teaching her class. I was so happy to hear that - everyone was happy to see me - they are such a lovely group of women - and it was so nice. I asked Fiona how the teacher coped who did take her contract and she said that she did not have a good time - in fact, she told Luise (another grade one teacher) that she would not come in for any of the grade one teachers at Kawungan for the rest of the year. When I heard that, I was VERY glad that I did not take the contract. Luise also told me that she will be teaching only half-time in two years and asked me if I would be interested in teaching with her. I would LOVE to do that as she and I get along really well and teach in a very similar style - and, even more importantly, discipline in a very similar style. I don't know if it will work out, but it was very nice to be asked. :-)
On Saturday, Dad needed to do some more prepping (just making sure that he was ready for both Adelaide and Perth) - he will be in Adelaide from today until Thursday (exam day for his students) and then will fly to Perth that evening and begin teaching the new course there on Friday - so he will have no time to prep for that Friday before he gets there. While he was busy doing that (and packing for his trip), I went to the pool again. Jo (the adult swim teacher) suggested that I get a swim cap, so I bought one on Saturday. I couldn't believe how much further I could swim before getting tired out. I guess having to deal with hair in my face every time I breathed was taking it out of me. I tried to remember all the different things which Jo had had us do on Thursday - I ended up swimming for 50 minutes and got a very good workout. I was very tired and worn out, but it felt great! :-)
Dad headed out to Adelaide this morning - he emailed me once he got to Sydney safe and sound and then skyped with me once he arrived in Adelaide. The flight from Sydney to Adelaide was delayed because an airplane blew some tires on the landing and so one runway was closed until it could be cleaned up. Dad said that everyone had to sit in their airplane for an hour until they were given the clearance to take off. He was happy to arrive in Adelaide finally. :-) He picked up his rental car at the airport and drove to his hotel (a very nice large room, he said) and was heading out to get some supper (by the time he got to his hotel, it was 8pm and he was starving! :-) We both wish that I was in Adelaide with him, but I am sure that this week will go fast and he will be picking me up in Perth on Saturday evening. :-)
View of the ocean from our picnic table on our barbecue with Robyn and Geoff
On our walk with Robyn and Geoff (Dad is on the left)
Robyn and me
View of the ocean (on our walk)
Dad working in his 'office'
Me working hard :-)
View from our table on the patio at the cafe
Dad and his seafood platter
Me and my anniversary lunch
Sunday, 13 October, 2013
Another week gone by - I think the time needs to slow down. :-) Dad's course in Brisbane went really well - he spent a lot of time studying every night and it certainly paid off. On Thursday, he took the exam marking the end of the course - when the exams were all completed and marked, the instructor put a piece of candy on the desks of those who received 100% - Dad was pleased and relieved to find a piece of candy on his desk. :-) He sure didn't want to get any ribbing from the guys on the course if he didn't get a perfect mark. :-) So, now Dad has one more course to add to his very long resume. :-)
It was so nice to be back at church today and we received such a nice warm welcome home from everybody - lots of hugs and smiles all around. It was great to see everyone again and to get caught up on what people have been doing while we have been away. By the end of the day, I had three social events on my calendar: morning tea with my friend on Tuesday morning, lunch with another friend and supper with another friend. Not bad, eh? :-) It was General Conference Sunday here as we obviously don't watch it when it's being broadcast from Utah as that would be 2am Monday here in Australia, so they download it from the internet here and then replay it the following Sunday. The two phrases that touched me the most from this conference were "Look Up" (Today is the time to look to the Source of truth and ensure that our testimonies are strong) and "Decisions Determine Destiny" (The wise use of your freedom to make your own decisions is crucial to your spiritual growth, now and for eternity). I LOVE General Conference - so uplifting! :-)
While Dad was busy with studying, I continued to do my exercise routine going for walks and swimming - I am feeling better each time I swim and I can tell that it's making a difference in my fitness even after doing it for only a short time.
We drove home to HB on Thursday afternoon - very uneventful - and, after dropping off some stuff at home, went downtown to grab some groceries. When we returned home, the excitement began as there was a visitor in our house - a very UNWELCOME visitor. Dad had just taken his shoes off when he looked up the hallway and exclaimed "Whoa, what's that?" I turned to look and just about jumped out of my skin. It was a SNAKE! EEEEEEK! I am deathly afraid of snakes, as you all well know! The first thing I did was call our friends, Robyn and Geoff, to see what they thought we should do and Robyn suggested we call the police to find out who would do snake removal in HB. Thankfully, Dad had had the foresight to put the names/phone numbers of three snake removalists into his phone. While Dad kept an eagle eye on the snake (who was barely twitching), I called the snake guy and asked him to come over IMMEDIATELY! Mick, the snake guy, was brilliant! He was there within twenty minutes of me calling him and removed the dreaded creature - I didn't watch it happening - I was out on the driveway (shaking). But, I did come in the house once the snake was caught. Dad watched the whole thing (yuck) and said that Mick just put this contraption over the snake's head to hold it to the ground while he checked out what kind of snake it was (it was a harmless tree snake) and then he picked it up and held it by it's tail (it was very very skinny and about 18" long) - the snake just hung there. Dad paid Mick the $80. fee and then Mick took the snake away (he said he would release it somewhere away from people). That was too much excitement for my blood!
The next morning, Dad and I went to Bunnings (like Home Depot) and got some foam door seal which Dad put around the sliding door between the house and the garage. We figure that the snake got into the garage when we opened it when we came home from Brisbane. When we were bringing our luggage in, we had removed the towel which went across the bottom of the door so no spiders could get in the house from the garage. When we had gone grocery shopping, we had forgotten to put the towel back, so we think that's house the snake got in. Dad did a great job of sealing that door, so there is no way that anything can get inside the house now. :-) Although, having said that, we did find a baby gecko (about 3" long) in our house last night, but him I can live with. :-)
Yesterday, Dad spent the day getting ready for a course he was going to be teaching in Kuala Lumpur and I spent the day cleaning up the house and I also went for a swim at our local pool. On Friday, I had bought a 20 pass card to the pool here which has no expiry date. There were quite a number of people swimming lengths which I was surprised at. I was, however, able to get a lane of my own to swim in. After doing my 30 lengths, I spoke with the girl at the kiosk about which swim clubs might be available for me to join (it's not that fun swimming on your own) - she told me about a few and I have decided to check out the one on Thursdays which is for adults who want to improve their stroke techniques. I actually want to focus on what I can do to improve my ability to swim more lengths of front crawl before I get winded. :-)
Today, about 90 minutes before we were to leave to go to the airport (Dad's flight to Kuala Lumpur departed at 5:30pm), Dad got a call from his boss to tell him that the course was cancelled. Apparently, the plane they were going to be training on had received some damage and there was going to be an investigation into the incident - while this was happening, no-one was being allowed to work/train on the plane. As you can imagine, everyone who was going to be doing the training with Dad was very upset (as was Dad's boss), but there was nothing that could be done, even though Dad's boss had made a ton of calls to see if there was another possible solution. Late last night, Dad got a call from his other boss to tell him that there was a possibility that they would be able to do the course in Melbourne instead. So, now, Dad's just waiting to find out if he will be headed off to Melbourne on Thursday - he is already scheduled to fly to Adelaide on Sunday and then directly on to Perth the following Thursday. I told Dad that his company is very fortunate that Dad is so flexible. :-)
Sunday, 6 October 2013
Here it is, Sunday again - where does the time go? Well, they do say that time flies when you're having fun, so I guess that's what it must be. :-)
Dad has now finished teaching this course - he just has to give the students one more exam on Monday morning. He is very happy to be finished the course - the prepping took up so much time and he's quite tired from the week. Dad says that he learned a lot while teaching the course as it's not an airplane that he has a lot of experience working with. He was teaching about the Airbus A330 - he has a lot of Airbus experience, but not with this particular model. He really enjoyed teaching this group of students - they were very inquisitive and asked tons of questions - that makes the teaching/learning more interesting for everybody. After Dad gives the exam out and marks it on Monday, he then becomes the student until Thursday when he will have to take an exam of his own about an airplane engine which he has never worked on.
I went swimming again this week on Tuesday, Thursday and yesterday. When I went on Tuesday, it had been six days since I had gone (since I didn't go the Friday before last) and I found it much harder than going two days after the last time I had gone. So, I decided that it was better if I go three times a week. I am finding that my arms are starting to hurt a little (I guess from the consistent exercise), but it's a good hurt. :-) Dad told me that there is a pool in the complex we are staying in in Perth the week after next. I hope it's a long pool and not just a dipping pool (if you know what I mean). It's an outside pool, so I'm not sure if it will be heated or not. Dad's boss and his wife were just out there the week before last and they said that they did not use it as the weather was too cold. Hopefully, it will be nicer when we are there. If not, I will look for a community pool nearby and either walk there or get Dad to drive me there after work. They say that it's important to find some kind of exercise that you enjoy doing or you will likely not keep it up - I really am enjoying swimming (even if it's hard work) - I think it's quite appropriate that I was born a Pisces. :-)
On Wednesday, I walked down to the pier (about a fifteen minute walk from the apartment) and caught the free ferry which goes up and down the Brisbane River. It was a beautiful day (sunny with a cool breeze) - I was able to sit on the top deck and enjoy the sun and breeze while I checked out what was on either bank of the river. Although it was a nice day for 'sailing', I found it a bit boring to be doing it on my own. I have decided that I am not a good solo traveller - I would have much preferred that Dad was with me so that we could have talked along the way.
On Friday, I walked downtown again and met up with my Aunt Beth and Aunt Janet - they are Poppy's younger sisters (they both live in the Brisbane area). We met up at 10am and found a cafe to have a coffee/tea/hot chocolate in. We found two really comfortable couches across from each other and spent the morning catching up with each other about what had been going on in our lives since we last saw each other (which was in January when Nana and Warren were here). Aunt Beth's son, Adam and his partner just had twin girls in July who were eleven weeks premature and so she was showing us lots of pics of them. When lunch time came, we were still at the cafe and so we ordered lunch and continued to chat - we ended up spending over five hours together and it was great! I hope to be able to get together with them again next time we are in Brisbane in November.
Today was a really restful day - I love Sundays! :-) This afternoon, Dad and I spent two hours walking around the downtown area of Brisbane. We walked on the boardwalk beside the river until we got to the Botanic Gardens. When we were walking through the gardens, we saw a lovely little goanna (like an iguana) on the footpath (picture down below). He was as still as still could be, but we just knew that he was quite aware that we were there. After walking through the gardens, we walked up Queen Street Mall and sat down on a bench to people watch and chat. It was such a nice way to spend a Sunday afternoon. :-)
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