Back at good ol' strange Yulara

Life has been so busy that the Blog has been on the backburner for a while! Damn those backburners – too convenient. Opps, that reminds me - I have garlic bread in the oven (I really do!)

We are now back in good ol’ Yulara. Good ol’ strange Yulara. We left Victoria on a Sunday morning, flew to Alice Springs and did a BIG grocery shop. I then had a little mini breakdown (Kristy will say that it was a BIG breakdown) because I had forgotten that the cheaper liquor stores (i.e. Coles Liquor, Woolworths Liquor) are not open on a Sunday due to the strict Alice Springs Liquor Laws, and, you know, I really, really needed some wine to take back to good ol’ strange Yulara. So, I was forced to go and buy my wine at the more expensive drive-through bottle-o’s (I am not kidding, there are only 2 bottle-shops open in all of Alice Springs on Sundays). However, while it was not all that cheap, it was still cheaper than buying alcohol in Yulara.

Once we got back to good ol' strange Yulara, Kristy very quickly (and very kindly) arranged for wine to be delivered here via internet ordering (I think she wanted to avoid dealing with me having another breakdown. Who can blame her?).

After the afore mentioned breakdown, and the grocery shopping, we drove 4 and ½ hours back to Yulara. I had to start back at work the next day, and we didn’t want to be driving at Kangaroo hour (which begins at approx 4pm), so we left as soon as possible. I had been hoping for some Pad Thai from Thongs (or maybe it is called Tongs) in Alice Springs before we left (there are no such Thai eateries at Yulara and I miss Asian food a lot), but of course Thongs (or Tongs)was closed. More tears from me --- remember, I WAS tired from being up before dawn to fly back to N.T.(that is my excuse and I’m sticking to it).

On the drive back to good ol’ strange Yulara, two exciting-ish events occurred. 1: I saw a baby camel (wild one) eating the leaves from a burnt tree on the side of the road, and 2: An eagle pooped on the van (it was kinda yellow in colour, just in case you were wondering). In the 4 and ½ hours of driving, the exciting events accounted for under 5 minutes. The rest of the drive was listening to Lady Gaga (love it), listening to K D Lang (very soothing), and listening (reluctantly on my part) to some screechy music that Kristy had newly purchased.

It was great to have been back in Victoria and see the family. Mel and Mick’s wedding was lovely. Mel looked beautiful, as did little Elle. It was a night of celebration and fun, with lots of laughing and dancing. My mum and Kristy and I then looked after Elle while Mel and Mick went on their honeymoon. Elle is such a beautiful little girl - she is pretty, curious, cheeky and very intelligent. It was lovely to spend a good amount of time getting to know Elle and enjoying her company. My mum and I loved it, not to mention Kristy (she is very clucky at the moment!)

While we were in Melbourne, we also did manage to catch up with a few people on Friday night at Jody’s house (thank you so much Jody for opening up your house for a group of rowdy women + Ryan). And thank you to Tara, Dustey, Ronnie, Debbie, Jodi, Fee, Caroline, Lisa, Casey, Karen, Nardie and Ryan for coming out to see us in Newport on a very cold and rainy Melbourne evening. Vik... next time! Jake ... next time!

Oh, and we saw The Twins! Debbie and Kylie have just brought little twinnies into the world – Georgie and Ryder! OMG! They are just the cutest little bubbies! Congratulations girls! Well done on such beautiful babies. And you know it made Kristy even more clucky!

Was also wonderful to catch up with the jestsetter – Ronnie. What luck that we were in Melbourne at the same time that you were Ronnie! And Ronnie... when are you and the kids coming to the Rock???? We are waiting...

Kristy also went to see her Nan whilst in Melbourne – her Nan is 90 years old, can you imagine everything that she has seen happen to the world in 90 years? PS: Hi Uncle Charlie, it was really nice to hear that you like reading the blog!!

We are having visitors come to Yulara while we are here. Woooo Hoooo!!!! Rachel and her children are coming up, and Karen and Nardie are coming up also. Remember everyone, if you have ever wanted to see Uluru or Kata Tjutua – now is the time... because of the discounts on accommodation that I can get you. Kristy and I miss our friends and family so come see us!!!!

My job at the day Spa is going well. I am still expanding my skills and now can include anti-aging facials (they really do make a difference) and full body scrubs as well as Hot Stone Massage and Cool Hot Stone Massage (this is basically massaging with hot stones over a dencorub type substance). The first hot stone massage I gave to a client, the feedback he gave to my manager was, “That was something else!” and he then gave me a $30 tip (I think the wine he had consumed before entering the spa helped get me the tip, but I am not saying that too loudly. Shhhh).

I am also selling lots of product at the Spa - moisturizers, scrubs, exfoliants, face masks, etc. Who knew I was so good at selling??! I am even amazing myself! The staff member that sells the most product each month gets a free dinner. Kristy REALLY wants me to win the dinner (ahhh, she loves a freebie!). But I am having trouble with the whole concept of competing against my colleagues. I am going to try and sell enough products so that all of us at the Spa can get a free dinner, not just me.

Speaking of food, yesterday Kristy said to me that she felt like a Red Rooster meal. I said no, because it is a 4 and ½ hour drive, one way, to any fast food outlets, and there just wasn’t enough time to drive there and back before starting work the next day. I know, I know, how unreasonable of me. If I could have ordered it online, I would have.

The weather is great here, lovely and warm. Even when we had the rain and thunder storms the other night, it was still warm. Thunder storms in the desert – very exciting (although Kristy once nearly got struck by lightening - when she was little - so she is not as keen on the storms as I am). On the topic of weather, one of Kristy’s biggest hobbies is googling what the weather is at Yulara. Seriously, if I am home, she tells me 4 times a day all about the maximum temperatures, rain fronts, wind velocity, cloudiness, etc that are happening and that we can expect. Personally, I find it so much simpler to just open the door and see if it is raining, or feel if it is hot!

Oh, I also have a hobby, which is bordering on obsession, like all good hobbies should (like Anita and her garden - come on Anita, admit that you are obsessed with the garden!!! I mean, it is looking gorgeous, but is totally your current obsession!). My hobby/obsession, however, is that I am addicted to competitions, like That’s Life, Take 5 and other Puzzle Books that have cash prizes (my brain is clearly seeking stimulation and exercise). I religiously complete any puzzles that I can and send them off. Now, I am waiting for the prizes to start rolling in. Everyone, cross your fingers and toes for Kristy and me, because the more money I win, the quicker we can resume our travels ( I am now HANGING OUT to do the West Coast, because I saw the photos that Gen and Trent sent through --- OMG!! Sooooo beautiful!!!!)

In the meantime, Kristy has got us another pot plant (and by this I mean a "plant in a pot" not a "pot" plant). That makes three now. The newest arrival is a bucket of mud in which Kristy has put in parsley seeds. We are hoping to grow some before we leave, but I have a feeling we will be feeding the rabbits, instead of us. The rabbits come out at night and eat the plants and flowers that people try to grow. I have seen rabbits, at midnight, stretching up on hind legs to reach the tastiest leaves on a pot plant.

The ants are something else out here! As we walk along the path from our van to our home, the ants crawl quickly up the feet and legs and then nip at the skin. The ants are really fast here. If there was an Olympic event for ants, these ants would win! Perhaps I should enquire about ant races. Someone, somewhere in the world must race ants. I could get some Yulara ants and save them, and put them in a world-wide ant race! And win! I wonder how long ants live. I wonder what ants eat? Bread crumbs? Ummm, I have just read back through this paragraph and have realized how much I digressed. JeeeeeeSUS! I HAVE become a strange Yulura person! (some people will argue that I was strange before I got here, but that's just mean!!). Anyhoo, as we walk along the path from our van to our home (yes, I AM continuing on with the story) Kristy spends most of the time jumping up and down, smacking the ants off her calf muscles, and swearing --- too funny!

Kristy is sooooo over her job at the moment. It is very physically demanding, and she does not like working nights. She is going to ask about her “options”, and see if she can do something else, or perhaps lessen the hours she does at night. Poor Kristy, she really thought this job would be a good one.

I, on the other hand, am about to take on a 2nd job. The other 2nd job I had, I ended up leaving and now I have been offered another one. It is doing something similar, serving champagne and canapés at sunset at the Rock, but this time I will be working exclusively with the Japanese tourist. So... konnichiwa. (That is “Good afternoon” in Japanese). With this job, I get to wear a Akubra hat - very Aussie, and you would think, very good. But no. I am not a hat person. Unfortunately when I put on a hat, my forehead looks huge (and do NOT tell me that is because I have a huge forehead, because I DON'T want to hear it). No, let's just say, for no particular reason, I am just not a hat person.

On a more serious, and political, note, today was the 25th anniversary of the handback of Uluru to the traditional aboriginal owners. This was quite a monumental event, but I couldn’t go to the celebrations as I was working. Still, it was good to be close to this event, even if I couldn’t attend.

Moving away from the serious note... two nights ago, I dreamt I kissed Oprah, and she was dressed as a man. I am not going anywhere near analysing this dream.

To finish, a little saying.... "everyday can be confetti day".

PS The garlic bread was burnt to a cinder and unable to be eaten. So I ate chocolate instead.

Beaming back to Victoria

The errant (I wish! – We have been working waaay too much to be errant!) travellers return to sunny (?) Melbourne tomorrow. Our journey back begins at 4.45am tomorrow morning, with a four and half hour drive from Yulara to Alice Springs. We will then pass the van over to Amanda (God bless her) and hop onto a shuttle bus which takes us to the airport. We board the plane to Melbourne at approximately 11.00 am. We arrive Melbourne at 3.05 pm. My mumma is picking Kristy and I up from the airport and taking us back to her place, where, after travelling for over ten hours, we will be able to relax. I am assured by my mother that wine is chilling in the refrigerator (I will need it). She has chocolate for Kristy (I may have some of that too). Please explain to me again WHY we are not flying directly from Yulara to Melbourne???

There was an amazing storm here today. I was massaging a guest, and was looking outside as the storm raced through. Lightening, thunder, wind whipping the trees, torrents falling from the sky, the works! That guest had a very memorable experience – getting a one hour massage while a storm raged through the desert!

Ummm... have just thought... hope there is road access to Alice Springs, so we make our flight. Perhaps we won’t be beaming back to Vic tomorrow after all! Nah, it IS the desert! The rain on the road will dry up quickly. All will be fine.

I am soooooo excited about Mel’s wedding. And seeing little Elle! It is going to be the best!

It will also be good to spend some time with Kristy, well I hope I can anyway. Between us, with our jobs, we are just not seeing each other. We leave notes to communicate now! Although K did come in and have lunch with me today, and it was great to see her, if only for half an hour. Both of us, though, have a lot to do when in Victoria, so even then we may not spend heaps of time together. Perhaps after the ten hours of travelling together, this will be a good thing??? Just kidding – Kristy and I actually travel really well together. We sing, play cards (sometimes both together!), do puzzles, eat, chat and drink lots of diet coke!

Oh I am back in Melbourne tomorrow! I get to see shops! Lot’s of shops! I get to eat Thai food! I get to order a pizza and have it delivered! I get to walk down the street and no-one will know me, or will wonder who I am! I get to see tame dogs and cats! I get to watch a BIG TV screen! I know I will miss the heat and quietness of Yulara, but it will be good to see civilisation again, even if it only for a short time.