Yulara, where the population of rabbits exceeds the population of people!! By Kristy Baeffel (aka Baeffy)
Well hello there fellow blog readers!
Thought it was time for me to have a crack at doing some writing for the blog, I know my grammar isn't all that good but i will have a crack. And you can have a crack at me later i'm sure LOL.
For those of you who don't know, Linda and I have decided to Leave Yulara and continue on with our travels. How exciting for us. We have enjoyed our stay in Yulara, Not many people could say that they have lived and breathed The Beautiful Ayers Rock. I have become quite popular with the small population here, purely from driving the night shuttle bus (Aka the party bus as the young ones tell me). It also becomes quite obvious when walking in the 5 aisle supermarket, everybody says hello, ah small population towns when your business is everyones business! I thought being popular, or one of the cool kids would be fun, but i'm soon realising it's not all its cracked up to be LOL.
Driving the party bus at night has been a lot of fun. I have seen many wild and native Animals and also People LOL. Just the other night I saw an Echidna, Yes it was an Echidna and not just a small bush on the side of the road. I had Four Tourist passengers on, it was 11pm at night and I Reversed the bus back to double check, just to be sure, to be sure. Nobody I know has witnessed seeing an Echidna here so I'm thinking I'm pretty damn lucky.
One of the most popular animals out in Yulara would be the Rabbit. Every night as I'm driving around they run across the road, and now there are babies that run across the road, the babies are really fast, faster then the parents LOL. I haven't yet hit one, although I have seen many Deceased, Flattened, Run over ones on the road. I don't like to run any animal over if i can help it.
Many other animals I have seen Late at Night are Brown Snakes, Baby Brown Snakes, Sand Goanna's, Blue Tongue Lizards, Ghost Bats, Dingoe's ( and no a Dingoe didn't steal my baby ), Gecko's, Desert Mice, Flying Crickets, Bugs unsure what type. Plenty more that I can't think of right now.
Ok, so moving on, Linda and I are in Preparation Time to move on Mode at the moment. Starting to re-pack the van. I have been busy making sure the Van can now Reverse and Yes we have 5th Gear again Lol. Thanks to our wonderful Mechanic Pete from my Work aka AATKings, we spent three hours putting two little parts back on the gear shaft all for the cost of a 30Pk of XXXX beer. Linda and I are very grateful.
Funny thing happened, i dropped the beer off to pete on Friday, went to the shops, drove back to our carpark of where we live, opened the sliding door only to realise we had a minnie melt down, smoke, fire coming from out of the dual battery. Our dual battery is in a protective case, which I had to rip open. Smoke filled the van up. I was on the phone to my dad ( Mark the spark ), dad said something must of shorted out the wire that had burnt and melted. So here I was thinking great, just fixed one thing and another one appears Ahhhhh. Anyways, so off I was to see pete again as the dual battery was inactive, therefore Linda and I would not have any cold food or drinks when we hit the road again next week. Thankfully Pete made us up another cable to reconnect the circuit on the battery again and now we can have cold food and drink when we leave. P.s the battery had shorted from the outside terminals on the battery casing hitting the steel post on our bed, so pete has put some rubber around the leg of the bed to stop this occurring again.
Later Bloggers
Kristy aka Baeffy
LINDA'S TURN NOW....
Yes, it is true, Kristy and I are finally leaving Yulara. I am happy about this, especially as Megan and Nicole may be road tripping with us to Perth!! Yay!!! Come on girls - it will be fun!!!
The heat is outrageous here at Uluru -- over 40 degrees Celsius every day. Even the air conditioners have a hard time battling that kind of heat (yet they persist, plucky little buggers). After work at the Spa today, Logan and Darren came with me to the pool, to cool down a little. Also, one of my aims in life has been to do a water bomb (jump) in the pool, and I thought that I could do one at Yulra before I left. So, Logan was teaching me how to do it (Kristy tried to teach me, but her teaching involved a lot of "Come on you chicken shit, just jump..." which, needless to say, did not help me one iota!). So with Logan's tuition, I have learnt to ALMOST bomb. Thus far, I can jump in the pool from the edge and enough that my head is submerged for 2 milli-seconds. All I have to do is learn to hold my legs, and hit the water on my ass, and I will have done it! One of the things that stopped the water bomb education, aside from the night descending, was the appearance of two baby ghost bats. They fully swooped us in the pool! I screamed like a girl (cos I am one) and Darren ducked and cringed like a gay boy (cos he is one) and Logan sat there trying to look unfazed (which I think was a show, but with Darren and I being two sookie la la's, someone needed to act tough). In the end, I couldn't stand it, and my throat had become dry from the screaming (they really were swooping us, the little varmits!) so we left the pool (and the bombing) and went home to food and air conditioners.
I have sprained my thumb. It hurts, and now pain is radiating up my arm. I think what made it worse was that I massaged a guy today who wanted a really, really firm massage, so I dug my thumbs, fingers and elbows into him a lot, which helped him, but aggravated my injury. To be fair, it was sore before then anyway, it wasn't just because of the massage. In the end the thumb was so sore, that Sohee (another massage therapist) had to take on my last client, because my thumb was too inflamed. Dustey said that now I would not be able to twiddle, and that is true. Sigh. Not that I was ever a twiddler, but one does like to have the option!
At the pub the other night, someone asked how much a one hour massage cost at the Day Spa. I told them it was $125.00, and they had a shocked look on their face, and said, "For that price, it would want to include sex!" I said, "Not on my shift." Although, I must say, although I am totally worth it, and am a good massage therapist, $125.00 is pretty steep.
There are so many things are breaking down here for us, the car being a prime example (OMG, can you believe we had a fire on the dual battery!!!!). Aside from the car, our TV no longer plays DVD's (I think that was my fault), and then the DVD/CD player in Kristy's laptop broke, so we couldn't use that. So....we had to pull out my laptop, which was still un-recovered from Kristy knocking a can of coke over the keyboard, and the DVD player in that worked, however, the keyboard won't work, so it is totally mouse or nothing! And even then, it won't rewind, pause or fast forward. Sigh, and and were up the last season of Sex and the City (Wow! Are we loving that series!!!). Anyway, we are muddling through - NOTHING will stop us with our Sex and the City!!
Oh, funny thing I heard, a couple from Denmark were chatting to me the other day, and she was telling me about something that was due to happen in 2 days time, so she said... "Not tomorrow, but the next morrow". I just loved it, because while it was something that we would never say, it still made perfect sense!
My friend, Jake, and I had a question in regards to cows - yes, a cow question... She said that she had always wanted a cow, but the one things that stopped her was that she couldn't handle the constant milking. I said that I was sure that cows only needing milking if they had a calf (like most animals - right???). She believed that cows always gave milk. Anyhoo, to cut a long (and probably boring story to anyone else except Jake and me) story short, Jake checked with Yvette, her vet (yes, you read that right, Yvette the vet) and Yvette confirmed that cows only give milk when they are feeding a baby cow. Woo hoo - Jake can now get a cow and not worry about milking. She has already decided that the cow's name shall be Lola (obviously, because she had yellow feathers in hair, and a dress cut down to there...).
Which reminds me, I had a nudge to my (Mature - not old) age yesterday. I was randomly singing the words to "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Old Oak Tree," and Kristy did not recognize the song, in fact she had never heard it, EVER!!!!! Isn't it a classic? Doesn't everyone know it????? Come on people... Barry Manilow!! Google it!
Karen and Nardie arrive here soon, in a couple of days - YAY!!! Will be good to see other friendly faces from Melbourne!
Kristy and I will be back in Melbourne soon. We are going to Pride march on the 6th, so if anyone is interested in meeting us there, then email me on lindawilson333@hotmail.com and we can arrange a meet up time and place.
Think of us on Friday, it is scheduled to be 46 degrees Celsius. I am sweating profusely at the thought of it. Wait a minute, ladies don't sweat, they perspire. Hang on, wait another minute... ladies don't perspire, they glow! I think, though, even though I am a lady (mostly), at 46 degrees, I am entitled to sweat a little.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Happy New Year!
2011 is here! Yay! Hurray! Woot!
On NYE Kristy, Logan (son) and I celebrated at the Outback Pioneer Hotel (the Outie). It was sooo good, the music was great and there wasn’t a mega wait at the bar. Unfortunately, as we were walking to the Outie, a bug flew into Kristy’s eye and then, just for the fun of it, decided to sting her on the eyeball (because clearly it had to do something while it was there buzzing in her eye), so poor Kristy spent much of the night rubbing her eye and then pulling down the lower lid saying, “Is it still in there? Can you see it?”
Talking of strange injuries, I worked with Beck the other night (on the 2nd job) and she told me that her sister recently had a 3rd degree meatball burn. Yes, you heard (read) it right, it does say a “meatball” burn. Apparently Beck’s sister works at Subway and she accidently dropped a tray of meatballs down her leg. Ouch! But on the bright side, what a fun story to tell when people ask about the scar!
The night I worked with Beck was New Years Day. We arrive at the sunset viewing area at about 5.45pm and it was fully hot hot hot. I don’t mean just the usual Rock hot, I mean it was a stinker, and there was only the faintest whisper of a breeze. I set up as much as I could, which means I put up tables, cover them with heavy white table clothes, arrange the champagne flutes and the orange juice glasses in a nice way (which changes depending on the number of people I will be serving). I don’t pour the sparkling wine or OJ until I get the call that the bus is on it’s way (which, by the way, is via radio as we have no phone reception out there, and yes, I do get to say “Copy that.”). The group arrived just after 7pm, and it was still stifling hot, and I had been out in the full sun from 5.45 by that time). About 10 minutes into the guests eating the canapés and drinking the sparkling wine, a thunder storm sweeps in and soaks us all to the skin! Some of the tourists got back on the coach, but most of them stayed in the rain, continued to eat and I continued to pour them beers and sparkling wine, all, of course, with a smile! I was saturated, and I wish I had worn a better bra because my shirt was very wet and sticking to me and you could see the outline of my crappo bra through it. It could have been worse I suppose. At least I was wearing a bra.
Do any of you remember the recipe for Beer Bread that I posted on one of the blogs? Well... my friend Rachel actually made it! And she said it is the best and easiest bread to make! She said that her husband, Wazza, said that now they have no need to buy bread anymore, because this Beer Bread is so easy, and so cheap! So you must give it a try!
Rachel is at the Rock at the moment, with her two chitlens – Oscar and Lily (she is taking advantage of the discount on accommodation!). She came swimming with us today (kids stayed in hotel room and watched TV – ahhh, teenagers!) Then we all went to the Residents Club for the $10 roast meal (which was roast turkey – apparently there is an over abundance of turkey in Yulara at the moment due to over-ordering at Christmas). It is so nice to have a friend from Melbourne here, and it’s fun to show her and the kids around.
I sent an email to my friend Mandy a few days ago. She sent us a Christmas present (which we LOVE you for Mandy – you’re the best!). I sent Mandy the text to say thankyou, and so the text was MEANT to go something like,
“Hey Mandy, thanks so much for the Christmas present, we love it. Linda and Kristy xxxx oooo”
However, predictive text on my phone jumped in just as I hit the ‘send’ button, so the text arrived to Mandy saying,
“Hey Mandy, thanks so much for the Christmas present, we love it. Linda and Kristy xxxx Poop”
POOP!!!!! How does my phone even know the word POOP??????
On a completely different subject to poop (or is it?????) I am back at the Spa this week. I have had some time off from the Spa recently but I am very much looking forward to going back there and working with the girls again. I wish Erin was still working with us, but I am sure to see her again (when we travel to QLD). PS: Hi Erin and welcome to my blog!
Logan is having a good time here in Yulara. He really enjoys his handyman job at Sails in the Desert, and is apparently quite good at it. Everyday Logan tells me what he had for lunch. When you work here, you are provided with one meal a day when you are working. Logan totally LOVES his free daily free meal. One day he had a plate of Oysters Kilpatrick and Hotdogs with onion (on the same plate). Weird combo, but as there is no Macca’s or KFC I guess that we adjust.
Oh, and I almost forgot to mention the Van. Kristy backed our van into a tree and shattered the back window. Yes, she really does have her H endorsement licence. The tree didn’t completely smash the window as the window had been tinted (cost us about $80 before we left Melbourne to tint that window, sigh), but the tint kinda held the shattered glass in place. Anyhoo, we had to get this fixed, because it was only a matter of time before the glass did smash. So, we needed to go to Alice Springs to get this fixed. We decided to stay a couple of days in Alice, to also do some shopping. The petrol to Alice and back cost us about $180. The accommodation (cheapest I could find) was $100 for the 2 nights. The back window, with new tinting, cost us $495. So really, all up, smashing that back window ended up totalling about $775. Sheesh!! However, it was good to get a load of shopping done (mainly alcohol, because the booze is way too expensive in Yulara). We also got to eat Thai food, and Chinese food, which tasted fabulous, but unfortunately our bodies are no longer accustom to this food and we both had a bit of a Bali belly for a day or so. Even so, despite the $775 and the sore tummies, we drove back to Yulara feeling like we had achieved something good (except that Kristy’s road kill probably did not feel good about us being on the road – Kristy managed to hit 1 goanna, 1 lizard, 3 small birds, a wasp and a butterfly).
We pulled into Yulara at about 4.30pm on 24th December, after being away for two nights, and discovered that the van no longer has reverse gear or 5th gear. I am serious, we do not have these gears. And it was now Christmas. And everything was going to be shut for the xmas, new year period. We can live without 5th gear for a while (top speed here is 40kms), however having no reverse gear is proving very interesting. Often I have to get out and PUSH the van (and sometimes that bullbar is damn hot!), if Kristy has stopped somewhere and she needs to back up. I am feeling very “Little Miss Sunshine” (remember how they couldn’t get 1st or 2nd gear and they had to always push their van and then run to get into it). Kristy always tries to stop or park where no reverse is needed, but this is not always possible. So, we are now back from having the van fixed, and it needs more fixing. And I think the Air Conditioning also needs re-gassing. It doesn't matter, we love our van and it is serving us well, all cars (like people) have their mini meltdowns at some time or another.
For my metaphysical friends – I think that the Universe is using the van to materialise to me that there is no going back, that I can't go backwards at the moment, and that I also need to go forward in a slow manner.
Christmas is over for another year and I was very spoilt by Kristy. Thank you to everyone who sent us Christmas cards and Christmas presents. It can be a bit lonely being so far away from everyone, so receiving word from home is always so lovely. Kristy and I are always very excited when we go to the Post Office and they say we have mail. Hugs to everyone who sent us Christmas cards, we put them all up in our little unit. And special thanks to my Mumma, Mel and Mick, Anita and Mark, Sarah and Mick, Sharon and Shadow, Mandy and Helen who sent Chrissy presents all the way to the Red Centre. xxxx Poop.
Some of you know that the end of 2010 has been a bit of a tough one for me, so I am very excited to be starting up a fresh, new year (Jake, thank you for your support and for always checking on me).
Tanoshindene! (enjoy/have fun).
PS: The big meteorite shower that I mentioned in the last blog was a bust. A group of us walked 15 minutes into the desert to find a sand dune with minimal light pollution. It was a cloudy night, however I was SURE the clouds were going to clear. We set ourselves up at 1.30am, laying on towels, esky close by,looking up at the sky. The clouds didn't clear, but the rain did come. A lot of rain. We packed up and went home, quite bedraggled and feeling a bit sad that all the meteorite action happened but we were unable to see it. We can do lots of things in this world, even fly to the moon, yet we are still at the mercy of mother nature. Well... not that I can actually fly to the moon, although I have heard you can feel like you are going to the moon when ingesting certain fungi or cactus-type plants!
On NYE Kristy, Logan (son) and I celebrated at the Outback Pioneer Hotel (the Outie). It was sooo good, the music was great and there wasn’t a mega wait at the bar. Unfortunately, as we were walking to the Outie, a bug flew into Kristy’s eye and then, just for the fun of it, decided to sting her on the eyeball (because clearly it had to do something while it was there buzzing in her eye), so poor Kristy spent much of the night rubbing her eye and then pulling down the lower lid saying, “Is it still in there? Can you see it?”
Talking of strange injuries, I worked with Beck the other night (on the 2nd job) and she told me that her sister recently had a 3rd degree meatball burn. Yes, you heard (read) it right, it does say a “meatball” burn. Apparently Beck’s sister works at Subway and she accidently dropped a tray of meatballs down her leg. Ouch! But on the bright side, what a fun story to tell when people ask about the scar!
The night I worked with Beck was New Years Day. We arrive at the sunset viewing area at about 5.45pm and it was fully hot hot hot. I don’t mean just the usual Rock hot, I mean it was a stinker, and there was only the faintest whisper of a breeze. I set up as much as I could, which means I put up tables, cover them with heavy white table clothes, arrange the champagne flutes and the orange juice glasses in a nice way (which changes depending on the number of people I will be serving). I don’t pour the sparkling wine or OJ until I get the call that the bus is on it’s way (which, by the way, is via radio as we have no phone reception out there, and yes, I do get to say “Copy that.”). The group arrived just after 7pm, and it was still stifling hot, and I had been out in the full sun from 5.45 by that time). About 10 minutes into the guests eating the canapés and drinking the sparkling wine, a thunder storm sweeps in and soaks us all to the skin! Some of the tourists got back on the coach, but most of them stayed in the rain, continued to eat and I continued to pour them beers and sparkling wine, all, of course, with a smile! I was saturated, and I wish I had worn a better bra because my shirt was very wet and sticking to me and you could see the outline of my crappo bra through it. It could have been worse I suppose. At least I was wearing a bra.
Do any of you remember the recipe for Beer Bread that I posted on one of the blogs? Well... my friend Rachel actually made it! And she said it is the best and easiest bread to make! She said that her husband, Wazza, said that now they have no need to buy bread anymore, because this Beer Bread is so easy, and so cheap! So you must give it a try!
Rachel is at the Rock at the moment, with her two chitlens – Oscar and Lily (she is taking advantage of the discount on accommodation!). She came swimming with us today (kids stayed in hotel room and watched TV – ahhh, teenagers!) Then we all went to the Residents Club for the $10 roast meal (which was roast turkey – apparently there is an over abundance of turkey in Yulara at the moment due to over-ordering at Christmas). It is so nice to have a friend from Melbourne here, and it’s fun to show her and the kids around.
I sent an email to my friend Mandy a few days ago. She sent us a Christmas present (which we LOVE you for Mandy – you’re the best!). I sent Mandy the text to say thankyou, and so the text was MEANT to go something like,
“Hey Mandy, thanks so much for the Christmas present, we love it. Linda and Kristy xxxx oooo”
However, predictive text on my phone jumped in just as I hit the ‘send’ button, so the text arrived to Mandy saying,
“Hey Mandy, thanks so much for the Christmas present, we love it. Linda and Kristy xxxx Poop”
POOP!!!!! How does my phone even know the word POOP??????
On a completely different subject to poop (or is it?????) I am back at the Spa this week. I have had some time off from the Spa recently but I am very much looking forward to going back there and working with the girls again. I wish Erin was still working with us, but I am sure to see her again (when we travel to QLD). PS: Hi Erin and welcome to my blog!
Logan is having a good time here in Yulara. He really enjoys his handyman job at Sails in the Desert, and is apparently quite good at it. Everyday Logan tells me what he had for lunch. When you work here, you are provided with one meal a day when you are working. Logan totally LOVES his free daily free meal. One day he had a plate of Oysters Kilpatrick and Hotdogs with onion (on the same plate). Weird combo, but as there is no Macca’s or KFC I guess that we adjust.
Oh, and I almost forgot to mention the Van. Kristy backed our van into a tree and shattered the back window. Yes, she really does have her H endorsement licence. The tree didn’t completely smash the window as the window had been tinted (cost us about $80 before we left Melbourne to tint that window, sigh), but the tint kinda held the shattered glass in place. Anyhoo, we had to get this fixed, because it was only a matter of time before the glass did smash. So, we needed to go to Alice Springs to get this fixed. We decided to stay a couple of days in Alice, to also do some shopping. The petrol to Alice and back cost us about $180. The accommodation (cheapest I could find) was $100 for the 2 nights. The back window, with new tinting, cost us $495. So really, all up, smashing that back window ended up totalling about $775. Sheesh!! However, it was good to get a load of shopping done (mainly alcohol, because the booze is way too expensive in Yulara). We also got to eat Thai food, and Chinese food, which tasted fabulous, but unfortunately our bodies are no longer accustom to this food and we both had a bit of a Bali belly for a day or so. Even so, despite the $775 and the sore tummies, we drove back to Yulara feeling like we had achieved something good (except that Kristy’s road kill probably did not feel good about us being on the road – Kristy managed to hit 1 goanna, 1 lizard, 3 small birds, a wasp and a butterfly).
We pulled into Yulara at about 4.30pm on 24th December, after being away for two nights, and discovered that the van no longer has reverse gear or 5th gear. I am serious, we do not have these gears. And it was now Christmas. And everything was going to be shut for the xmas, new year period. We can live without 5th gear for a while (top speed here is 40kms), however having no reverse gear is proving very interesting. Often I have to get out and PUSH the van (and sometimes that bullbar is damn hot!), if Kristy has stopped somewhere and she needs to back up. I am feeling very “Little Miss Sunshine” (remember how they couldn’t get 1st or 2nd gear and they had to always push their van and then run to get into it). Kristy always tries to stop or park where no reverse is needed, but this is not always possible. So, we are now back from having the van fixed, and it needs more fixing. And I think the Air Conditioning also needs re-gassing. It doesn't matter, we love our van and it is serving us well, all cars (like people) have their mini meltdowns at some time or another.
For my metaphysical friends – I think that the Universe is using the van to materialise to me that there is no going back, that I can't go backwards at the moment, and that I also need to go forward in a slow manner.
Christmas is over for another year and I was very spoilt by Kristy. Thank you to everyone who sent us Christmas cards and Christmas presents. It can be a bit lonely being so far away from everyone, so receiving word from home is always so lovely. Kristy and I are always very excited when we go to the Post Office and they say we have mail. Hugs to everyone who sent us Christmas cards, we put them all up in our little unit. And special thanks to my Mumma, Mel and Mick, Anita and Mark, Sarah and Mick, Sharon and Shadow, Mandy and Helen who sent Chrissy presents all the way to the Red Centre. xxxx Poop.
Some of you know that the end of 2010 has been a bit of a tough one for me, so I am very excited to be starting up a fresh, new year (Jake, thank you for your support and for always checking on me).
Tanoshindene! (enjoy/have fun).
PS: The big meteorite shower that I mentioned in the last blog was a bust. A group of us walked 15 minutes into the desert to find a sand dune with minimal light pollution. It was a cloudy night, however I was SURE the clouds were going to clear. We set ourselves up at 1.30am, laying on towels, esky close by,looking up at the sky. The clouds didn't clear, but the rain did come. A lot of rain. We packed up and went home, quite bedraggled and feeling a bit sad that all the meteorite action happened but we were unable to see it. We can do lots of things in this world, even fly to the moon, yet we are still at the mercy of mother nature. Well... not that I can actually fly to the moon, although I have heard you can feel like you are going to the moon when ingesting certain fungi or cactus-type plants!
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Logan lives in Yulara
I have been told that there are about 700 people living in Yulara at the moment, and now Logan can be counted among us. Woot Woot! Loges arrived last Sunday, had a job confirmed on Friday and he starts on this coming Wednesday. Logan will be one of the new handymen at the “Sails in the Desert” hotel (the 5 star hotel here). We are all very excited for Logan, and very proud of him for getting a job so quickly.
Logan has made lots of friends already, his newest best friend being Darren. Logan has been going to the pool, the pub, socializing at different people’s houses (lots of house parties up here), playing cards, etc. The young women in Yulara are clearly quite interested in him, and of course Logan is loving that.
Kristy and I are taking Logan to the Residents Club tomorrow night for dinner because it is FIVE DOLLAR BURGER NIGHT! Kristy usually works on Monday nights, so she doesn’t get to experience this cheap burger-in-a-bun event, but tomorrow she has taken the night off because... we have the BIG METEORITE SHOWER OF DECEMBER 2010 tomorrow night.
If you are anywhere in Australia you should be able to see this meteorite shower. If you go out and look at the sky around midnight or so, chances are that you will see a meteorite. They are predicting about 50 meteorites an hour! We are all going to a big hill in the desert to watch the meteorite shower – it should be amazing. With the stars being totally unreal here every night, the meteorite shower will be wow!
Last Wednesday was the Resorts big Christmas party. It cost $25 pp to attend, and each person got a stubby holder (I gave mine away), a t-shirt (someone will be getting this sent to them for Christmas), food all night (hamburgers, cinnamon donuts, fairy floss, and something called dagwood dogs – uggg) and alcohol all night. Logan had a very good time with the free alcohol. Oh there was also rides! Dodgem Cars and some other scary whirly thing. I am not a ‘carnival-ride’ person, but Logan was on the Dodgem Cars until they closed them at 10pm (re-living his childhood?). Logan and I also had lots of dances on the VERY sticky, booze-soaked dance floor. And tell me this... why... after a number of drinks, does John Farnham’s “Your the Voice” feel sooooo good to dance to? Surely alcohol does not distort the senses THAT much!!!??!!
I won a prize in one of the competitions I have been entering! It was Take 5, or That’s Life (the prize and accompanying letter was sent to my mumma’s house so I am not sure exactly which magazine it was from). The prize is only a small one – a makeup set, but it is a beginning! Bring on the rest!! I was so excited!
Speaking of winning, I won the retail again this month at the Spa. Unfortunately (and unexpectedly, and unexcitingly) I was not given the dinner as the prize (as per last month). I must say, I was pretty disappointed, as I was truly under the impression that the dinner voucher was again the prize for selling the most Spa products. Oh well. So much for regular incentives.
Oh, and I have just finished watching the first season of Underbelly, on DVD. I know, I know, everyone else in Australia has already seen it years ago, but I hadn’t until now. It was a lot better than I thought it would be.
Latest Japanese word/phrase: “Garusu Irrimaska”, which translates to “Do you want a glass?” Also, “Me Tay”, which means “Look”. Oh, and also “Rakuda” which means “camel” (this is a good one to know in the desert, but not sure it will help me in any other place – I mean how often will I need to say “Rakuda Me Tay” when I am away from here?). Interestingly, I have have been speaking my Japanese with an Italian accent – not sure why this weird phenomena is occurring, but I’m putting it down to a past life thing (of course I am). Although, in spite of this, many of the Japanese tourist tell me that I do speak my small amount of Japanese very well and that I am very understandable.
Karen and Nardie – welcome back from your Europe Invasion – Yay you are both back safe and sound!
Happy birthday for yesterday Gayle!
Kristy and I are sending our thoughts and love to Annie. xxx
Arigato (thank you) for reading the blog.
Logan has made lots of friends already, his newest best friend being Darren. Logan has been going to the pool, the pub, socializing at different people’s houses (lots of house parties up here), playing cards, etc. The young women in Yulara are clearly quite interested in him, and of course Logan is loving that.
Kristy and I are taking Logan to the Residents Club tomorrow night for dinner because it is FIVE DOLLAR BURGER NIGHT! Kristy usually works on Monday nights, so she doesn’t get to experience this cheap burger-in-a-bun event, but tomorrow she has taken the night off because... we have the BIG METEORITE SHOWER OF DECEMBER 2010 tomorrow night.
If you are anywhere in Australia you should be able to see this meteorite shower. If you go out and look at the sky around midnight or so, chances are that you will see a meteorite. They are predicting about 50 meteorites an hour! We are all going to a big hill in the desert to watch the meteorite shower – it should be amazing. With the stars being totally unreal here every night, the meteorite shower will be wow!
Last Wednesday was the Resorts big Christmas party. It cost $25 pp to attend, and each person got a stubby holder (I gave mine away), a t-shirt (someone will be getting this sent to them for Christmas), food all night (hamburgers, cinnamon donuts, fairy floss, and something called dagwood dogs – uggg) and alcohol all night. Logan had a very good time with the free alcohol. Oh there was also rides! Dodgem Cars and some other scary whirly thing. I am not a ‘carnival-ride’ person, but Logan was on the Dodgem Cars until they closed them at 10pm (re-living his childhood?). Logan and I also had lots of dances on the VERY sticky, booze-soaked dance floor. And tell me this... why... after a number of drinks, does John Farnham’s “Your the Voice” feel sooooo good to dance to? Surely alcohol does not distort the senses THAT much!!!??!!
I won a prize in one of the competitions I have been entering! It was Take 5, or That’s Life (the prize and accompanying letter was sent to my mumma’s house so I am not sure exactly which magazine it was from). The prize is only a small one – a makeup set, but it is a beginning! Bring on the rest!! I was so excited!
Speaking of winning, I won the retail again this month at the Spa. Unfortunately (and unexpectedly, and unexcitingly) I was not given the dinner as the prize (as per last month). I must say, I was pretty disappointed, as I was truly under the impression that the dinner voucher was again the prize for selling the most Spa products. Oh well. So much for regular incentives.
Oh, and I have just finished watching the first season of Underbelly, on DVD. I know, I know, everyone else in Australia has already seen it years ago, but I hadn’t until now. It was a lot better than I thought it would be.
Latest Japanese word/phrase: “Garusu Irrimaska”, which translates to “Do you want a glass?” Also, “Me Tay”, which means “Look”. Oh, and also “Rakuda” which means “camel” (this is a good one to know in the desert, but not sure it will help me in any other place – I mean how often will I need to say “Rakuda Me Tay” when I am away from here?). Interestingly, I have have been speaking my Japanese with an Italian accent – not sure why this weird phenomena is occurring, but I’m putting it down to a past life thing (of course I am). Although, in spite of this, many of the Japanese tourist tell me that I do speak my small amount of Japanese very well and that I am very understandable.
Karen and Nardie – welcome back from your Europe Invasion – Yay you are both back safe and sound!
Happy birthday for yesterday Gayle!
Kristy and I are sending our thoughts and love to Annie. xxx
Arigato (thank you) for reading the blog.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Best Hump at Ayers Rock
Kristy and I had a camel ride last night, courtesy of Uluru Camel Tours and it was FANTASTIC!!! (contrary to my previous camel ride that I had elsewhere). The Uluru camel farm has just been taken over by two great guys, Chris and Mark and they are making lots of positive changes to the place. For starters they have brought from Broome many of their own camels, who have been like pets and are loved and spoilt. These camels just luuuuved to be cuddled (after we finished the ride, Kristy couldn’t stop cuddling our camel).
We were on the sunset camel tour. It was only a small tour, there was 6 of us all up, and the cameleer, Chris (he had a very dry sense of humour, which made it all the more fun). Our camel was Ned Kelly (he is a famous camel, as he was in the movie ‘Australia’ – you know the one, with Nicole Kidman). The next camel in line was Lazy Daisy (who is a male camel, and who is one of the fastest camels in Australia (an example of Chris’s dry sense of humour). The third camel was Connor, and he was named as such because he was caught at the base of Mount Conner (remember Mount Connor? It is the mountain that Kristy and I first thought was Ayers Rock – refer an earlier blog). Anyway, Connor is the most handsome camel I have ever seen (I know that it not saying a lot, as I have not seen a whole lot of camels, but I believe I can confidently say that he is one good looking dude for a camel). Lastly, there was Raji Red, but I don’t really know much of his story.
It was so grounding (is the closest word I can think of to describe the experience) to be sitting astride a camel, in the middle of the desert, in front of Uluru, at sunset. The desert is so quiet (well it was after I shushed up Kristy). I don’t think I have experienced quietness like that – the quietness of nature. The camel ride is probably one of the most spiritual-like tours I have experienced here in the NT, it was so earthy and real (I can’t find the exact adjectives to describe the experience, but I hope you get the picture anyway).
Chris and Mark also have an ‘old man’ camel. He is little and white and about 40 years old, and they have had him and loved him as a pet for over 20 years. 40 is quite an age for a camel, because most wild camels do not live beyond 30 years old (strangely enough, wild desert camels eventually die of obesity because there is so much for them to eat in the desert!).
I highly recommend if you come up here to go and have a sunset (or sunrise) camel tour with Uluru Camel Tours. You can ring them directly on (08) 8956 2444 to book your tour.
We finished up the tour with wine and snacks and chatted to the owners for ages. By the way, one of the snacks provided was Beer Bread, and it was delicious... here is the recipe:
Beer Bread(makes 2 loaves)
3 cups of self raising flour
1 can of beer
Pinch salt and sugar
Quarter cup water
Mix ingredients in a bowl (don’t knead)
Grease loaf tins and pur dough (should be sloppy, not dry) into tins.
Sprinkle with grated cheese, bran or sesame seeds (all are optional).
Bake in hot oven 375 degrees for 45 minutes or until golden.
Let it cool a little before cutting.
This bread was so yum! It is a bit damper like, and seems so easy to make. I am going to try making it tomorrow night. I will let you know how it goes.
Yesterday I stood on grass. There is no grass at all where we live here in Yulara, but grass has been planted for the tourists at some of the hotels here. So yesterday, when no guests where around, I took off my shoes and stood in grass. Ahhhhh... it was so so lovely to wiggle my toes in the cool, spongey greenness. I never really appreciated grass before.
Kristy and I had our free dinner late last week – my prize for selling the most products at the Spa. It was YUM YUM YUM!!! We don’t go out for dinner very much (for 2 reasons: 1, I can usually cook better than we get when we eat out, and 2, we are trying to save as much money as we can). But this meal was really, really nice. For entree I had Duck Wontons and Kristy had a Sushi platter. For main I had Chicken green curry and K had honey chicken. For desert Kristy had a fruit platter and I had banana spring rolls (there was no pastry in this meal, but the banana rolls were coated in a type of sweet breadcrumb with chocolate dipping sauce). And we had cocktails! Instead of ordering a bottle of wine, or any beer, we had 3 cocktails each. My last cocktail was a Toblerone cocktail – and I put on 4 kilos just ordering it (the other 10 kilo’s came after I drank it!). Gotta say though, it was worth it! Thank you Tali Bar! Thank you Spa for the prize!
We have a new friend Darren, and he has taught us a new card game, called ‘Frustration’. We luv it! Has Kristy won a game yet? No... not yet. Kristy stayed up last Wednesday with Darren, drinking until 5am! There were not many beers left in the fridge after that drinking session. There were 2 very hung-over people in Yulara the next day.
Kristy, in her job as Shuttle Driver, is making many friends (she meets people on the bus, and then brings them home... and I am not kidding). One of her new friends, Gracie, gave Kristy some banana cake (which we know is totally the way to Kristy’s heart!) and Kristy loved it so much that 2 nights ago, Gracie brought over some carrot cake for Kristy to try. I have to say it was the bestest carrot cake I have ever tasted. It is so good that I have paid Gracie to make us another carrot cake.
I am still working on learning basic Japanese, and can now say about 8 words, plus I can count to 5 in Japanese (Icki, Ni, San, Yon, Go).
Thank you to those who have sent us things through the post, it makes us happy to receive mail. Dave and Sarah sent us a lovely ‘thank you’ card, Suzie and Theo sent us a Christmas card, Tracy, Ben and baby Alex sent us a Christmas card, and Kristy’s mother sent us a Christmas parcel – yay!!!!
Logan is here on Sunday!!! Woot!!!! Yay Logie Bear!!!
Oh, and really... Victoria!?! You are now a Liberal state??? We leave and that’s what you do?????
Sayonera! (not really, because I will see you all again).
We were on the sunset camel tour. It was only a small tour, there was 6 of us all up, and the cameleer, Chris (he had a very dry sense of humour, which made it all the more fun). Our camel was Ned Kelly (he is a famous camel, as he was in the movie ‘Australia’ – you know the one, with Nicole Kidman). The next camel in line was Lazy Daisy (who is a male camel, and who is one of the fastest camels in Australia (an example of Chris’s dry sense of humour). The third camel was Connor, and he was named as such because he was caught at the base of Mount Conner (remember Mount Connor? It is the mountain that Kristy and I first thought was Ayers Rock – refer an earlier blog). Anyway, Connor is the most handsome camel I have ever seen (I know that it not saying a lot, as I have not seen a whole lot of camels, but I believe I can confidently say that he is one good looking dude for a camel). Lastly, there was Raji Red, but I don’t really know much of his story.
It was so grounding (is the closest word I can think of to describe the experience) to be sitting astride a camel, in the middle of the desert, in front of Uluru, at sunset. The desert is so quiet (well it was after I shushed up Kristy). I don’t think I have experienced quietness like that – the quietness of nature. The camel ride is probably one of the most spiritual-like tours I have experienced here in the NT, it was so earthy and real (I can’t find the exact adjectives to describe the experience, but I hope you get the picture anyway).
Chris and Mark also have an ‘old man’ camel. He is little and white and about 40 years old, and they have had him and loved him as a pet for over 20 years. 40 is quite an age for a camel, because most wild camels do not live beyond 30 years old (strangely enough, wild desert camels eventually die of obesity because there is so much for them to eat in the desert!).
I highly recommend if you come up here to go and have a sunset (or sunrise) camel tour with Uluru Camel Tours. You can ring them directly on (08) 8956 2444 to book your tour.
We finished up the tour with wine and snacks and chatted to the owners for ages. By the way, one of the snacks provided was Beer Bread, and it was delicious... here is the recipe:
Beer Bread(makes 2 loaves)
3 cups of self raising flour
1 can of beer
Pinch salt and sugar
Quarter cup water
Mix ingredients in a bowl (don’t knead)
Grease loaf tins and pur dough (should be sloppy, not dry) into tins.
Sprinkle with grated cheese, bran or sesame seeds (all are optional).
Bake in hot oven 375 degrees for 45 minutes or until golden.
Let it cool a little before cutting.
This bread was so yum! It is a bit damper like, and seems so easy to make. I am going to try making it tomorrow night. I will let you know how it goes.
Yesterday I stood on grass. There is no grass at all where we live here in Yulara, but grass has been planted for the tourists at some of the hotels here. So yesterday, when no guests where around, I took off my shoes and stood in grass. Ahhhhh... it was so so lovely to wiggle my toes in the cool, spongey greenness. I never really appreciated grass before.
Kristy and I had our free dinner late last week – my prize for selling the most products at the Spa. It was YUM YUM YUM!!! We don’t go out for dinner very much (for 2 reasons: 1, I can usually cook better than we get when we eat out, and 2, we are trying to save as much money as we can). But this meal was really, really nice. For entree I had Duck Wontons and Kristy had a Sushi platter. For main I had Chicken green curry and K had honey chicken. For desert Kristy had a fruit platter and I had banana spring rolls (there was no pastry in this meal, but the banana rolls were coated in a type of sweet breadcrumb with chocolate dipping sauce). And we had cocktails! Instead of ordering a bottle of wine, or any beer, we had 3 cocktails each. My last cocktail was a Toblerone cocktail – and I put on 4 kilos just ordering it (the other 10 kilo’s came after I drank it!). Gotta say though, it was worth it! Thank you Tali Bar! Thank you Spa for the prize!
We have a new friend Darren, and he has taught us a new card game, called ‘Frustration’. We luv it! Has Kristy won a game yet? No... not yet. Kristy stayed up last Wednesday with Darren, drinking until 5am! There were not many beers left in the fridge after that drinking session. There were 2 very hung-over people in Yulara the next day.
Kristy, in her job as Shuttle Driver, is making many friends (she meets people on the bus, and then brings them home... and I am not kidding). One of her new friends, Gracie, gave Kristy some banana cake (which we know is totally the way to Kristy’s heart!) and Kristy loved it so much that 2 nights ago, Gracie brought over some carrot cake for Kristy to try. I have to say it was the bestest carrot cake I have ever tasted. It is so good that I have paid Gracie to make us another carrot cake.
I am still working on learning basic Japanese, and can now say about 8 words, plus I can count to 5 in Japanese (Icki, Ni, San, Yon, Go).
Thank you to those who have sent us things through the post, it makes us happy to receive mail. Dave and Sarah sent us a lovely ‘thank you’ card, Suzie and Theo sent us a Christmas card, Tracy, Ben and baby Alex sent us a Christmas card, and Kristy’s mother sent us a Christmas parcel – yay!!!!
Logan is here on Sunday!!! Woot!!!! Yay Logie Bear!!!
Oh, and really... Victoria!?! You are now a Liberal state??? We leave and that’s what you do?????
Sayonera! (not really, because I will see you all again).
Monday, November 22, 2010
Full moon tonight - awesome!
Tonight I saw a full moon rise up over Ayers Rock. It was spectacular. I was working as a BBQ Assistant (3rd job) which is a BBQ given next to Uluru, and people pay something like $99 to come and eat and drink by the Rock. The night is quite good value and includes a pretty good BBQ, dessert and wine/beer. The main meal consists of a variety of salads, and barbecued meat, including beef steaks, chicken skewers, lamb sausages, marinated kangaroo fillets and garlic prawns. As staff, we also were provided with a meal, and I can tell you – the food was really good, the chicken was perfect, the garlic prawns were excellent (it has been a while since I have had a prawn) and the kangaroo melted in my mouth.
But the total highlight of the night was seeing that big full moon start to peek over the Rock, and slowly rise in the night sky. The moon was so bright that we could hardly see any stars in the sky. And, when we were driving home after the night was over, our driver turned off the car lights to show us that the moon was so bright we really didn’t need car lights (as it was after 11pm at night, I did say that, despite the glorious moon, it may still be a good idea to turn those car lights back on).
When the moon started to show over the Rock, the guests at the BBQ stopped eating their dessert and started snapping photo after photo. I wish that I had my iPhone or camera on me, so I could have taken some photo’s too. But even though I don’t have a photo, I will always have the memory.
Also, tonight, I saw my first wild dingo. After the guests had left and we were packing up all the tables, chairs, glasses, food, etc, the dingo was circling us, and sniffing around for food. He was the colour of a golden Labrador, and he was not shy at all. Nor was he scrawny, so I figure he must be picking up scraps of food every night from the BBQ.
Kristy is still enjoying driving the shuttle, and she sees many an interesting thing, some of which are quite x-rated and I cannot discuss here. Suffice to say she sees a lot, sometimes too much.
I now know 2 Japanese words – Kon-neat-she-wa ... wrong spelling, but that is how it sounds (means hello) and Arigato (which means thank-you). Which reminds me... Kristy was driving the shuttle bus and when the Japanese tourists would get off, they would say “Arigato” (they are so lovely, and so very polite). Kristy, however, does not know the Japanese language, and so she assumed that they were saying ‘goodbye’ to her, so then she started saying it back to them, thinking she was saying “goodbye” in return. So, the upshot was that they were saying thank-you” to her (for driving the shuttle bus), and she was saying “thank-you” back to them! Ahhh, i guess there are worse things she could have said. Oh, I also know another Japanese word, and it sounds like this – “Camp–Pie”. Basically, it means “Cheers” and the Japanese say it when they are giving a toast to something.
At the Spa this week, I have massaged 2 pregnant women! It is so beautiful doing pregnancy massages, because you have to be so light with your touch (no deep tissue or remedial massage at all) and it is just the most relaxing and beautiful experience. The mothers-to-be lay there, on their sides on the massage table, they are so serene, holding their bellies, soft music is playing, oil is being rubbed lightly on their backs, the blinds are down, the room is dim and it almost feels magical.
I gave Kristy her first facial the other day. I think she liked the experience, but she said that she didn’t notice any difference in her skin, but I defiantly noticed her face looking better. It just looked a little more glowing and uplifted. I am one of those people who think everyone and their dog should have at least one facial in their life (alright, maybe not the dog, unless you are Paris of course).
The most exciting news this week, though, is.... (please hear a drum roll in your head), my son, Logan, is coming to live at Yulara with us!!!! Logan feels like a change of scenery, and a bit of an adventure, and so he is going to try living out here for a while. Now is a good time to do it because it is easier to come out here if you know someone. Kristy and I are still planning to leave in a few months, and if Logan likes it here, he can stay longer (because by that time he will be established and set up) or if he doesn’t like it, then no harm done and he can head back to civilisation when we leave. Either way, good on him, at least he is being brave and doing something different. And of course I am VERY excited to be having him here. I have put his resume out there, and I am crossing my fingers that he picks up work quickly. Once he gets work, he will then get his own accommodation, and while it will be lovely to have him staying with us in the short-term, in the long-term we will all want to have our privacy.
I spoke to someone in the newsagency today, as I was buying my usual buddle of puzzle books. She told me that she has won three prizes from That’s Life and/or Take 5 magazines – the prizes being 1: A car!!!! 2: $1,500!!!! 3. Big screen TV!!!!! I felt that this news was a good omen and that I may soon hear about a big win from one (or more) of the competitions that I have entered. Winning something big means that Kristy and I can spend more time travelling and exploring, and less time working - YAAAAYYY!! So, everyone, take a big breathe and manifest me winning much $$$$$$ and big prizes (cars, TV’s, etc). Remember, everything that you wish for someone else, you get back tenfold for yourself.
And to finish off, as Kristy would say... arigato.
But the total highlight of the night was seeing that big full moon start to peek over the Rock, and slowly rise in the night sky. The moon was so bright that we could hardly see any stars in the sky. And, when we were driving home after the night was over, our driver turned off the car lights to show us that the moon was so bright we really didn’t need car lights (as it was after 11pm at night, I did say that, despite the glorious moon, it may still be a good idea to turn those car lights back on).
When the moon started to show over the Rock, the guests at the BBQ stopped eating their dessert and started snapping photo after photo. I wish that I had my iPhone or camera on me, so I could have taken some photo’s too. But even though I don’t have a photo, I will always have the memory.
Also, tonight, I saw my first wild dingo. After the guests had left and we were packing up all the tables, chairs, glasses, food, etc, the dingo was circling us, and sniffing around for food. He was the colour of a golden Labrador, and he was not shy at all. Nor was he scrawny, so I figure he must be picking up scraps of food every night from the BBQ.
Kristy is still enjoying driving the shuttle, and she sees many an interesting thing, some of which are quite x-rated and I cannot discuss here. Suffice to say she sees a lot, sometimes too much.
I now know 2 Japanese words – Kon-neat-she-wa ... wrong spelling, but that is how it sounds (means hello) and Arigato (which means thank-you). Which reminds me... Kristy was driving the shuttle bus and when the Japanese tourists would get off, they would say “Arigato” (they are so lovely, and so very polite). Kristy, however, does not know the Japanese language, and so she assumed that they were saying ‘goodbye’ to her, so then she started saying it back to them, thinking she was saying “goodbye” in return. So, the upshot was that they were saying thank-you” to her (for driving the shuttle bus), and she was saying “thank-you” back to them! Ahhh, i guess there are worse things she could have said. Oh, I also know another Japanese word, and it sounds like this – “Camp–Pie”. Basically, it means “Cheers” and the Japanese say it when they are giving a toast to something.
At the Spa this week, I have massaged 2 pregnant women! It is so beautiful doing pregnancy massages, because you have to be so light with your touch (no deep tissue or remedial massage at all) and it is just the most relaxing and beautiful experience. The mothers-to-be lay there, on their sides on the massage table, they are so serene, holding their bellies, soft music is playing, oil is being rubbed lightly on their backs, the blinds are down, the room is dim and it almost feels magical.
I gave Kristy her first facial the other day. I think she liked the experience, but she said that she didn’t notice any difference in her skin, but I defiantly noticed her face looking better. It just looked a little more glowing and uplifted. I am one of those people who think everyone and their dog should have at least one facial in their life (alright, maybe not the dog, unless you are Paris of course).
The most exciting news this week, though, is.... (please hear a drum roll in your head), my son, Logan, is coming to live at Yulara with us!!!! Logan feels like a change of scenery, and a bit of an adventure, and so he is going to try living out here for a while. Now is a good time to do it because it is easier to come out here if you know someone. Kristy and I are still planning to leave in a few months, and if Logan likes it here, he can stay longer (because by that time he will be established and set up) or if he doesn’t like it, then no harm done and he can head back to civilisation when we leave. Either way, good on him, at least he is being brave and doing something different. And of course I am VERY excited to be having him here. I have put his resume out there, and I am crossing my fingers that he picks up work quickly. Once he gets work, he will then get his own accommodation, and while it will be lovely to have him staying with us in the short-term, in the long-term we will all want to have our privacy.
I spoke to someone in the newsagency today, as I was buying my usual buddle of puzzle books. She told me that she has won three prizes from That’s Life and/or Take 5 magazines – the prizes being 1: A car!!!! 2: $1,500!!!! 3. Big screen TV!!!!! I felt that this news was a good omen and that I may soon hear about a big win from one (or more) of the competitions that I have entered. Winning something big means that Kristy and I can spend more time travelling and exploring, and less time working - YAAAAYYY!! So, everyone, take a big breathe and manifest me winning much $$$$$$ and big prizes (cars, TV’s, etc). Remember, everything that you wish for someone else, you get back tenfold for yourself.
And to finish off, as Kristy would say... arigato.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Helicopters, pool parties and macaroons.
I went up in a helicopter – OMG OMG OMG!!!! It was amazing! We did a sunset helicopter trip over the Rock and Kata Tjuta. It really was awesome. My first helicopter ride! For those who saw the pictures, you will see from the HUGE grins on our faces how exciting it was! I am sending the guys from Professional Helicopter Services (PHS) a big, big thank you. It has given me a really precious memory that I will always have, and will make me smile whenever I think about it. Kristy, of course, took a zillion photographs because (as you all know) we needed some more sunset pictures --- I am kidding Kristy, your photos are fab :)
The Spa is going well, although the tips have eased off (damnation!). It goes that way sometimes I guess. But, Karen is back in action (her hand/arm is better) and she is waxing and massaging everything in sight – Yay! And Kerrie is back in town (literally) – Yay!, and Erin has started work with us - Yay, so there is a full staff load at the Red Ochre Spa (which means I am back to 3 days a week).
Of course, I couldn’t just work the 3 days a week, and my 2nd job starts this Wednesday – working with the Japanese tours on the sunset champagne drinks. I am very excited and can’t wait to get started.
And my old place of work rang me! The place that was my original 2nd job (and will now be my 3rd job), and have asked if I can help them out a bit, so of course I said yes. So that is 3 part-time jobs now – fun!!!! And no- that wasn’t sarcasm, I really see that this will be fun!
Oh... our garden has expanded. I introduced Kristy to Donald - he has set up the most amazing garden, like it is majorly wow (he even has goldfish!!). And he gave us one of his hanging plants! It looks great out the front of our place, as do the solar powered, coloured, fairy lights that now adorn our veranda area (e-bay purchase from Ms Kristy!). She keeps assuring me that it is not a “permanency” thing.
There is a meteorite-shower party happening here on December 13th. It is going to be spectacular (providing of course that there is no cloud, rain, etc). At about 10.30 pm or so on the night of 13-12-10 a group of us are going up to a hill (probably with some esky’s, which will, of course, only contain soft-drinks) and will stay up on afore mentioned hill to watch the meteorites. This is going to be another amazing memory. I would never have done this in Melbourne!
There was a power outage in Yulara last Thursday. Both Kristy and I weren’t working, so we thought we would head down to one of the pools. It was a pretty hot day and it is no fun being inside without air-conditioning. A lot of people closed up shop for the afternoon here at Yulara (what did we do with the tourists?). Anyway, sooooo many people came to the pool – and it ended up being an impromptu pool party, and it was a hoot! I am not really much of a pool person usually, but this was different – very social, very relaxed, very easy. Although, because the power wasn’t on, that meant that the pool filter wasn’t working, so after a while, the pool became a bit grubby. As soon as that happened (the obvious grubbiness), I left the water, because I have an issue with germs and I didn’t want to be sitting in a huge petri-dish filled with mucky people bacteria and floating skins cells (yes, yes, I appreciate the irony! I know I touch people’s naked bodies all day, but somehow it is different – this time the germs were floating in water!). Anyway, it was still fun sitting beside the pool, reading my book and chatting to people. For those who are wondering, yes, Kristy stayed in the pool the whole time. She doesn't let a germ or 2 (or a 1,000) bother her!
My cooking experimentation continues, and this week I made home-made spring rolls (I don’t think the bacon made them authentic, but it did make them tasty). I also made coconut macaroons, and they were a big hit with Kristy. I found them to be a little too coconutty, but I will try to make them again – I need to perfect the recipe. Yes Mel – I will make them for you when I see you next (even though I know said you wanted a store-brought macaroon).
And... this was very exciting... this week I found out that people I DON’T EVEN KNOW are reading this blog – is that not Oh My God!!!!???? I was speaking to someone who works at the Resort here, and he asked me if I am writing a blog, and I said yes (first I asked him “Why are you asking?” I think I thought I might have been in trouble or something! Well, you know my motto – “When in doubt, panic.”) Anyhoo, I just want to say HI to Grant, and to all the crew at Longie and thank you so much for reading the blog. I feel a bit special about it! And, when are you guys coming in for a massage? I want to meet you all!
Kristy is LOVING being the night shuttle bus driver, and I mean LOVING it! She is able to meet people, chat, listen to music, stay clean, have air conditioning – it is all good! And she looks very cute in her uniform, especially now that she has peroxided her hair again.
Gotta go now, the little unit is a total mess, dishes everywhere, (all plates are dirty), clothes are on the floor, bottles, cans, etc. Sigh. I must clean up before Kristy gets home. Or maybe I shall go to bed and clean up tomorrow before I go to work. Choices, choices. To sleep OR to clean (ah yes, that age old question). Which one will I choose?
The Spa is going well, although the tips have eased off (damnation!). It goes that way sometimes I guess. But, Karen is back in action (her hand/arm is better) and she is waxing and massaging everything in sight – Yay! And Kerrie is back in town (literally) – Yay!, and Erin has started work with us - Yay, so there is a full staff load at the Red Ochre Spa (which means I am back to 3 days a week).
Of course, I couldn’t just work the 3 days a week, and my 2nd job starts this Wednesday – working with the Japanese tours on the sunset champagne drinks. I am very excited and can’t wait to get started.
And my old place of work rang me! The place that was my original 2nd job (and will now be my 3rd job), and have asked if I can help them out a bit, so of course I said yes. So that is 3 part-time jobs now – fun!!!! And no- that wasn’t sarcasm, I really see that this will be fun!
Oh... our garden has expanded. I introduced Kristy to Donald - he has set up the most amazing garden, like it is majorly wow (he even has goldfish!!). And he gave us one of his hanging plants! It looks great out the front of our place, as do the solar powered, coloured, fairy lights that now adorn our veranda area (e-bay purchase from Ms Kristy!). She keeps assuring me that it is not a “permanency” thing.
There is a meteorite-shower party happening here on December 13th. It is going to be spectacular (providing of course that there is no cloud, rain, etc). At about 10.30 pm or so on the night of 13-12-10 a group of us are going up to a hill (probably with some esky’s, which will, of course, only contain soft-drinks) and will stay up on afore mentioned hill to watch the meteorites. This is going to be another amazing memory. I would never have done this in Melbourne!
There was a power outage in Yulara last Thursday. Both Kristy and I weren’t working, so we thought we would head down to one of the pools. It was a pretty hot day and it is no fun being inside without air-conditioning. A lot of people closed up shop for the afternoon here at Yulara (what did we do with the tourists?). Anyway, sooooo many people came to the pool – and it ended up being an impromptu pool party, and it was a hoot! I am not really much of a pool person usually, but this was different – very social, very relaxed, very easy. Although, because the power wasn’t on, that meant that the pool filter wasn’t working, so after a while, the pool became a bit grubby. As soon as that happened (the obvious grubbiness), I left the water, because I have an issue with germs and I didn’t want to be sitting in a huge petri-dish filled with mucky people bacteria and floating skins cells (yes, yes, I appreciate the irony! I know I touch people’s naked bodies all day, but somehow it is different – this time the germs were floating in water!). Anyway, it was still fun sitting beside the pool, reading my book and chatting to people. For those who are wondering, yes, Kristy stayed in the pool the whole time. She doesn't let a germ or 2 (or a 1,000) bother her!
My cooking experimentation continues, and this week I made home-made spring rolls (I don’t think the bacon made them authentic, but it did make them tasty). I also made coconut macaroons, and they were a big hit with Kristy. I found them to be a little too coconutty, but I will try to make them again – I need to perfect the recipe. Yes Mel – I will make them for you when I see you next (even though I know said you wanted a store-brought macaroon).
And... this was very exciting... this week I found out that people I DON’T EVEN KNOW are reading this blog – is that not Oh My God!!!!???? I was speaking to someone who works at the Resort here, and he asked me if I am writing a blog, and I said yes (first I asked him “Why are you asking?” I think I thought I might have been in trouble or something! Well, you know my motto – “When in doubt, panic.”) Anyhoo, I just want to say HI to Grant, and to all the crew at Longie and thank you so much for reading the blog. I feel a bit special about it! And, when are you guys coming in for a massage? I want to meet you all!
Kristy is LOVING being the night shuttle bus driver, and I mean LOVING it! She is able to meet people, chat, listen to music, stay clean, have air conditioning – it is all good! And she looks very cute in her uniform, especially now that she has peroxided her hair again.
Gotta go now, the little unit is a total mess, dishes everywhere, (all plates are dirty), clothes are on the floor, bottles, cans, etc. Sigh. I must clean up before Kristy gets home. Or maybe I shall go to bed and clean up tomorrow before I go to work. Choices, choices. To sleep OR to clean (ah yes, that age old question). Which one will I choose?
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Tired, Tips and Trying new things.
This coming Wednesday we will have been back here at the Rock for 24 days. I will have had only 4 days off in that time (Mandy, I know this is typical of you, but remember, I am a LAZY girl)! And... at work for almost 9 hours per day sometimes! I am getting tired!!!!! My head is kind of spinning. Yet, I am still having trouble sleeping (you think I would just be crashing unconscious every single night.... but noooo!)
The reason I am working so much (remember, this is the job I was suppose to be working only three days a week, because, yes it is true, I AM a lazy girl) is because:
a) the gorgeous Karen (Spa Therapist colleague) has RSI (or something similar) in her wrist, so she cannot do any treatments (however she is doing a super trooper job of reception at the Spa - Go Karen!)
b) the gorgeous Kerrie (another Spa Therapist colleague) is on holidays, attending a family wedding
c) the gorgeous (I am assuming gorgeous, because I haven’t met her yet, but I feel she is going to be gorgeous) Erin, was meant to start last week at the Spa, but she has an ear infection and she cannot fly (fly to Yulara, not fly in general!!!!).
Therefore, I am helping out the Spa, taking on extra hours in the short term, to help them through this rough-ish, low-on-therapist's patch.
Yes, on the negative side, I am very tired, but on the positive side, I am getting even better at massage and facials! Also, the tips are rolling in this week (just over $100 for this week), AND I won the October ‘retail’ competition (although this happened before we went back to Melbourne, so doesn’t really have anything to do with the extra hours I am now working, but it is still EXCITING because I get a majorly good prize for selling the most beauty products).
I have found it ethically hard to compete against my gorgeous colleagues to see who sells the most retail products, as I don’t like winning at the expense of someone else losing. I spoke to my manager about this, and she was really open to including an incentive to the person who comes second in the selling.
Kristy (the girl that loves a good meal, and even better if it is free!)is mega happy that I won the dinner prize, because it means that her and I get to go to a fancy restaurant, and the prize includes dinner, AND all drinks, and there is NO $$$$ limit (although I have been told that it won’t be looked on favourably if I order a 10 bottles of the $500 champagne). Personally, I am looking forward to oysters and cocktails. And whatever else takes my fancy at the time. My mum has advised Kristy to not eat the bread rolls, as they are ‘fillers’ and they take away from the ‘real’ (= expensive) food.
Another exciting event is about to occur - Kristy, God bless her, has secured us an excellent discount (approx 20%) on a helicopter trip over Ayers Rock. So that is what we are doing next Thursday. I have never done a helicopter flight, and to do the first one over the Rock will be mind-blowing!! I am hyperventilating at the thought of it!!!!
Last Thursday, Kristy and I went to the Sounds of Silence dinner. I sent a number of people some photographs from that night, however due to size restrictions, some of you didn’t get the pics, or the email!! Sounds of Silence is a dinner, in the desert, with the Rock in view. It also involves a Star Talker, who points out the night sky constellations. Kristy and I felt so special on that night! We were firstly greeted with champagne, beer, wine and canapés. Then we all walked down to the dining site, where we ate and were topped up with wine and beer all night long. We were at a table with a honeymooning couple from Germany they were very funny AND they kept disappearing into the night (and the toilets!!!!) to do ‘you know what’), and another couple from Holland (she was terrified of bugs, which was interesting to watch her cringing as the desert bugs came out at dusk), and another couple from Malaysia (he set up a BIG camera on a tripod and snapped pics of us all night – of us at the dining table, not the naughty German couple!!). As usual, I ate waaaaay too much (it was there, what else would I do??) but this time I did stop myself before I wanted to vomit. AND... I got to see 4 of Jupiter’s moons through a telescope!
On one of my days off this week, K and I went to the closest pool (there are about 5 pools in very close walking distance) for about an hour. God, it was nice to submerge in water, to drink wine by the pool edge, to listen to music while basking in the sun. I need another day off! By the way, if you are wondering, yes, Kristy is still obsessed with the weather (mind you, that worked out very well for booking Sounds of Silence, because it is not very good to do on a cloudy night - no stars!).
Tonight, after my last client left the Spa, the gorgeous Karen layed me down on a massage table and tinted my eyebrows and my eyelashes. Now it looks like I am wearing mascara even when I don’t have any on! I love these little extra bits of this job! Ta Karen - you're a doll!
Kristy has changed jobs (thank goodness!!!) and she is now driving the Night Shuttle Bus. This is a free bus service for all guests and staff around the resort. Basically, Kristy now picks up very happy (which translates to drunk) people from whichever pub they are at, and drops them at their accommodation (or the next pub they are going to). She tells me that there is sometimes lots of singing on the bus (I am not sure it is worthy of Australian Idol, but I am sure that whatever it lacks in talent, is more than made up for in volume). And, Kristy even got a $10 tip on the Shuttle Bus the other night – which is very rare to get on the bus!
I made chocolate chip cookies last night. They were a disaster. One batch was very over-cooked (let’s be honest, quite, quite burnt) and the next batch had too much flour. They were all meant to be thrown away, but Kristy took them to her work, and all the bus drivers ate them within 2 hours! Greedy Gus’s!
Poor Kristy, she has been doing most of the housework for the last 3 weeks. I am working so much that I am just not home a lot. There are many days when I leave for work before she gets up, and I get home after she has left for work. K does have a 45 minute break on this new job, so she ducks back to see me then. And then we talk 100 to the dozen to get all of our news out to each other before she heads off again to work! Each night, I try to make her something to eat (tonight was pikelets with jam) so she has a snack for when she comes home... although there is an ulterior motive to this – because while she is eating, I get the chance to talk! We just have so little time for catch up, and K has lots to say, so I have to make sure that I get my 2 cents worth in too!
Kristy has made us a garden, outside of our apartment. To me, it reeks of permanency, which is very scary, because (while there is lots of great things about Yulara) I don’t want to live here permanently. However, the garden does look nice, and even the sharp sticks surrounding every plant kind of look cool (K put them there to stop the rabbits eating the succulents). Aside from a truck load of Aloe Vera, we also have Jade, chillies, spearmint, parsley and some other red leaf thing.
Tonight was another big storm in the desert. I sat outside, so I could ‘experience’ the fullness of the storm, in all its glory. The wind was severely whipping up all the red dust, the lightening was flashing at 360 degrees. The rain started coming down and it smelt delicious. By the time I got back inside, I was cold, wet, and covered in red dust. Seriously, I am still picking out the dust from my ears – true!
I like it here, which is lucky, because we are planning to be here until at least the end of Jan 2011, and it will be fun to do NYE at Ayers Rock, however I am REALLY looking forward to the West Coast, Perth, Coral Bay, Exmouth, Broome, Darwin, and all the other places here and there and in between that have sea and beach (and maybe shops every now and then would be good too).
Also there were two big weddings this month in Melbourne. Congratulations to Peter and Katrisse Wilson, we can't wait for your Thailand photos. And also a friend of Kristy's - congratulations to Kate and Paul! We can't wait to see your photos also. May you guys all have many years of happiness and love together.
The reason I am working so much (remember, this is the job I was suppose to be working only three days a week, because, yes it is true, I AM a lazy girl) is because:
a) the gorgeous Karen (Spa Therapist colleague) has RSI (or something similar) in her wrist, so she cannot do any treatments (however she is doing a super trooper job of reception at the Spa - Go Karen!)
b) the gorgeous Kerrie (another Spa Therapist colleague) is on holidays, attending a family wedding
c) the gorgeous (I am assuming gorgeous, because I haven’t met her yet, but I feel she is going to be gorgeous) Erin, was meant to start last week at the Spa, but she has an ear infection and she cannot fly (fly to Yulara, not fly in general!!!!).
Therefore, I am helping out the Spa, taking on extra hours in the short term, to help them through this rough-ish, low-on-therapist's patch.
Yes, on the negative side, I am very tired, but on the positive side, I am getting even better at massage and facials! Also, the tips are rolling in this week (just over $100 for this week), AND I won the October ‘retail’ competition (although this happened before we went back to Melbourne, so doesn’t really have anything to do with the extra hours I am now working, but it is still EXCITING because I get a majorly good prize for selling the most beauty products).
I have found it ethically hard to compete against my gorgeous colleagues to see who sells the most retail products, as I don’t like winning at the expense of someone else losing. I spoke to my manager about this, and she was really open to including an incentive to the person who comes second in the selling.
Kristy (the girl that loves a good meal, and even better if it is free!)is mega happy that I won the dinner prize, because it means that her and I get to go to a fancy restaurant, and the prize includes dinner, AND all drinks, and there is NO $$$$ limit (although I have been told that it won’t be looked on favourably if I order a 10 bottles of the $500 champagne). Personally, I am looking forward to oysters and cocktails. And whatever else takes my fancy at the time. My mum has advised Kristy to not eat the bread rolls, as they are ‘fillers’ and they take away from the ‘real’ (= expensive) food.
Another exciting event is about to occur - Kristy, God bless her, has secured us an excellent discount (approx 20%) on a helicopter trip over Ayers Rock. So that is what we are doing next Thursday. I have never done a helicopter flight, and to do the first one over the Rock will be mind-blowing!! I am hyperventilating at the thought of it!!!!
Last Thursday, Kristy and I went to the Sounds of Silence dinner. I sent a number of people some photographs from that night, however due to size restrictions, some of you didn’t get the pics, or the email!! Sounds of Silence is a dinner, in the desert, with the Rock in view. It also involves a Star Talker, who points out the night sky constellations. Kristy and I felt so special on that night! We were firstly greeted with champagne, beer, wine and canapés. Then we all walked down to the dining site, where we ate and were topped up with wine and beer all night long. We were at a table with a honeymooning couple from Germany they were very funny AND they kept disappearing into the night (and the toilets!!!!) to do ‘you know what’), and another couple from Holland (she was terrified of bugs, which was interesting to watch her cringing as the desert bugs came out at dusk), and another couple from Malaysia (he set up a BIG camera on a tripod and snapped pics of us all night – of us at the dining table, not the naughty German couple!!). As usual, I ate waaaaay too much (it was there, what else would I do??) but this time I did stop myself before I wanted to vomit. AND... I got to see 4 of Jupiter’s moons through a telescope!
On one of my days off this week, K and I went to the closest pool (there are about 5 pools in very close walking distance) for about an hour. God, it was nice to submerge in water, to drink wine by the pool edge, to listen to music while basking in the sun. I need another day off! By the way, if you are wondering, yes, Kristy is still obsessed with the weather (mind you, that worked out very well for booking Sounds of Silence, because it is not very good to do on a cloudy night - no stars!).
Tonight, after my last client left the Spa, the gorgeous Karen layed me down on a massage table and tinted my eyebrows and my eyelashes. Now it looks like I am wearing mascara even when I don’t have any on! I love these little extra bits of this job! Ta Karen - you're a doll!
Kristy has changed jobs (thank goodness!!!) and she is now driving the Night Shuttle Bus. This is a free bus service for all guests and staff around the resort. Basically, Kristy now picks up very happy (which translates to drunk) people from whichever pub they are at, and drops them at their accommodation (or the next pub they are going to). She tells me that there is sometimes lots of singing on the bus (I am not sure it is worthy of Australian Idol, but I am sure that whatever it lacks in talent, is more than made up for in volume). And, Kristy even got a $10 tip on the Shuttle Bus the other night – which is very rare to get on the bus!
I made chocolate chip cookies last night. They were a disaster. One batch was very over-cooked (let’s be honest, quite, quite burnt) and the next batch had too much flour. They were all meant to be thrown away, but Kristy took them to her work, and all the bus drivers ate them within 2 hours! Greedy Gus’s!
Poor Kristy, she has been doing most of the housework for the last 3 weeks. I am working so much that I am just not home a lot. There are many days when I leave for work before she gets up, and I get home after she has left for work. K does have a 45 minute break on this new job, so she ducks back to see me then. And then we talk 100 to the dozen to get all of our news out to each other before she heads off again to work! Each night, I try to make her something to eat (tonight was pikelets with jam) so she has a snack for when she comes home... although there is an ulterior motive to this – because while she is eating, I get the chance to talk! We just have so little time for catch up, and K has lots to say, so I have to make sure that I get my 2 cents worth in too!
Kristy has made us a garden, outside of our apartment. To me, it reeks of permanency, which is very scary, because (while there is lots of great things about Yulara) I don’t want to live here permanently. However, the garden does look nice, and even the sharp sticks surrounding every plant kind of look cool (K put them there to stop the rabbits eating the succulents). Aside from a truck load of Aloe Vera, we also have Jade, chillies, spearmint, parsley and some other red leaf thing.
Tonight was another big storm in the desert. I sat outside, so I could ‘experience’ the fullness of the storm, in all its glory. The wind was severely whipping up all the red dust, the lightening was flashing at 360 degrees. The rain started coming down and it smelt delicious. By the time I got back inside, I was cold, wet, and covered in red dust. Seriously, I am still picking out the dust from my ears – true!
I like it here, which is lucky, because we are planning to be here until at least the end of Jan 2011, and it will be fun to do NYE at Ayers Rock, however I am REALLY looking forward to the West Coast, Perth, Coral Bay, Exmouth, Broome, Darwin, and all the other places here and there and in between that have sea and beach (and maybe shops every now and then would be good too).
Also there were two big weddings this month in Melbourne. Congratulations to Peter and Katrisse Wilson, we can't wait for your Thailand photos. And also a friend of Kristy's - congratulations to Kate and Paul! We can't wait to see your photos also. May you guys all have many years of happiness and love together.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
.jpg)