A New 'Dawn' begins...

Ok, I have not 'disappeared' nor have I fallen off the planet, I have just been busy and also not particularly in the 'mood' or 'zone' for blogging… As you may know, there has been an 'air' of uncertainty at work, well that 'air' has now gone, and I am now, as of TODAY, unemployed! The environment at work was such that I am now, happy to be OUT of it! I had asked a management person for a 'personal' reference, and gave him a dozen or so point to form one up. I also said that I felt 'uncomfortable' and it was 'inappropriate' for me to wrote my own for his signature! His reply not only left ME, but also another manager, gobsmacked, as he STILL wanted me to form the 'personal' reference for him to then 'personalise'! Can someone please tell me how this is a personal reference?? BUT, this is how he rolls, and I am happy to be free from him and the environment to which it has become, as the 'heart and soul' has not only gone from what once was a great place to work, but its been ripped out from within! So, now, its onwards and upwards from here...

So, whats been happening? I have been busy with photography, I have a news lens, and I am about to head overseas for a conference; and I will be heading to the 'spotters mecca, St Maarten in the Dutch Antilles! My car purchase is on hold, in fact, my current car is in for a service now!! I am off to Melbourne on Thursday for the opening of a friends exhibition as well, so busy days ahead before I leave in three weeks!

Hoo roo for now...

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Bronty turns TWO!!!

Yesterday, Bronty turned two!! YAY?? no... She was a little bitch!! I say this in every sense of the word as well, not just because she is, well, a she!! Let me explain...

Bronty with her new toys

I stopped on my way home, to get her some new toys, some treats, and groceries for me. When I got home, she was really happy to see me, as she had been inside all day (first time)! Anyway, I let her outside for about 30 minutes or so, and when she came back in, she went to her bed whilst I mad a cuppa (coffee). Anyway, I hat a hat for her to wear, and she had this on without a problem!! BUT, she was excited for her 'cake', and in her excitement, her tail whipped of my cup from the coffee table, and flung it over towards my Macbook Pro and lounge... Yes, coffee and laptop are never a good mix. I literally SCREAMED, and she went straight to the back door, whilst I powered the laptop down. She went out, and came nowhere NEAR the back door wanting back in! I then started to clean up the mess, but guess who was getting stuck into the muffin that was to have been Bronty's birthday cake?? the bloody cat!! I was not in a good mood...

About 45 minutes later, I let her in, and she sheepishly went straight to her bed, and although I had her dinner treat ready, a meat pie, she was hesitant to come near me! She wanted to, but thought I was still angry... Poor thing, she was really excited to get her pie!

Birthday Hat

Birthday Pie

Luckily enough though, I had another muffin, and it was time for her to have her birthday cake!!

Is THAT cake?

Lemme see...

JUST a little bit closer...

It IS CAKE!!!!

Happy Birthday Bronty - you're the best!!

Hoo roo for now...

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Bloody car... (and WORK too for that matter)

I have been wanting to upgrade my car for a little while now, actually, since January this year to be precise! But, with work deleting my position (and YES, it has been going on THAT long) I have been in somewhat of a limbo land, so I have put it off. Back in January, I was looking at a Toyota Prado and a Mitsubishi Pajero, both are about the size I am looking at. Simply put, Bronty has out grown my car, a Suzuki Vitara!

now, I have still been looking as the months have rolled on, and now that the redundancy is looming closer, I am now a little more anxious as to what is going to happen. Additionally, come September, I will no longer have to pay a bill that I have been paying for the past few years, so that is also good, but without a job, there is an added pressure. I am still thinking a Prado or a Pajero is the ideal car for me...

Well, the other day, whilst driving along on a VERY BUSY peak hour M4, the inevitable happened; I broke down again, it was the clutch. You may remember from THIS POST a few weeks back that the clutch went, but in fact, it was just the Slave and Master Cylinders that needed replacing. The mechanic also mentioned to me that the 'Pressure Plate' is looking as though it is also on the way, but considering that I am looking at getting rid of the old girl, they made adjustments to it, and we were on our way again. Brakes were also done at the same time!

Anyway, I am driving in the fast lane, very inside lane, and as the traffic was crawling along, it wanted to keep going even though my foot was ON the clutch pedal. I simply put it into neutral, and rolled to a stop. BUT, I was in the inside fast lane, and I had to cross over a lane to get into the breakdown area. I let the traffic move a little bit, put it into first gear, and started the car and put the hazard lights on, turned them off with my left blinker ON, and managed to get across pretty easy actually! I then called the NRMA (roadside service). initially, it was a discussion, but when I said what the problem was, rather than send a serviceman out and THEN a towie, they just sent a tow-truck to pick me up and take me to my mechanic (which is within the 20klm area I get free towing).

in the end, it was a linkage problem between the clutch pivot point, and the slave cylinder, and it was a cheap repair at $190, but needless to say, the search begins, in earnest, for a new car!!

Hoo roo for now...

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Wordless Wednesday N0.87 - Airport Sunrise

Good Morning Sydney ATC… Open for arrivals and departures!

Sydney ATC Tower

DHL B767 Freighter

Hoo roo for now...

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Wordless Wednesday No. 86 - Instagram

JUST getting into this 'Instagram' stuff, and so far, the pets have been copping a battering!!

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In other news, I have been busy this past week tending to Miss Bronty, who was desexed last Tuesday. She was very good, and up until Monday morning, was excellent in NOT touching her wound. BUT, an emergency trip to the hospital caused an extra few stitches to be put back in...

As for 'work', the goal post's keep changing, and whilst I have been made 'redundant' and unsuccessful in ataing a new position in a new structure here at 'work', I was given a date ("sometime in July") that the new structure would come into place... This has changed to "the 'end' of August (at least)"! Nothing quite like being in limbo land, hey?

Hoo roo for now...

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Wordless Wednesday No. 85 - Pelican

Pelican on a light - about to take flight

Pelican - in flight

Pelican - in flight

Pelican - in flight

Pelican - off into the distance...

Hoo roo for now...

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Newnes State Forest Glow Worms and Sunsets

This weekend, being a long weekend (Queens Birthday Weekend), means a lot of people get out of the city for the bush for a bit of camping. I use to do the same, and want to get back into some more camping! BUT, on the weekend, we did two things; one was to go to the HARS (Historical Aviation Restoration Society) on the Saturday, whilst on the Sunday, it was to head to the bush in the Newnes State Forest!

the task for the day, was to visit the Glow Worm tunnel, and to try and get a sunset photo against the sandstone walls behind the Katoomba/Blackheath area! So we drove up to to where the Zig Zag Railway 'TOP Station' was (recently closed operations) and waited for a mate to arrive, before heading into the tunnels! When we arrived, I was SHOCKED to see, SO many cars!! there would have to have been 40-50 cars (mostly 4WD's)! The walk through was, well, 'interesting, as there was a lot of kids, with torches, shining up onto the tunnel where the little glow worms are :(. However, we all saw some on the way through. Upon exiting the tunnel into the 'Valley of the Ferns', everyone seemed amazed at all of the tree ferns!

Valley of the Ferns

Tree Fern

Valley of the Ferns

After walking back through the tunnel, time was running short to where we wanted to get to for the sunset, and whilst driving, the sky didn't look as though we would get anything anyway. As we got closer to the carpark, we decided to head back to the top of a hill, and see what we get. A great decision, as we had all of 10-15 minutes, of which, I was very pleased we got...

Newnes Sunset

Catching the last rays of sunlight

I am SO glad to have turned around…

Hoo roo for now...

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Wordless Wednesday N0. 84 - Autumnal Colour in Winter!

Late Autumnal Colour In Winter

Hoo roo for now...

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Three Sisters - Katoomba

On Sunday, I went for a drive up into the Mountains, the Blue Mountains to the west of Sydney. In some parts of the world, it may seem more of a 'hill' as the overall height isn't really that high!! :p

When we left, it was cool, and VERY wet and the forecast was for it to get wetter (which we heard through social media and the news reports). However, once we got to the top of Glenbrook, the rain seemed to have eased somewhat. I was taking a German friend up into the Glenbrook National Park, and down to Euroka Clearing, as there has almost ALWAYS been a mob of Kangaroo's there when I have been up in the past. That was NOT the case on Sunday, grrr :(, so we continued up to Katoomba to visit the Three Sisters since the weather was easing...

As we climbed up into the Mountains, the cloud base lowered, and by Leura, we were in a thick fog, and this was how it was to be all the way through to Katoomba! We opted for lunch in the main street, and when walking back to the car, it looked to be clearing! So I drove out to the Three Sisters, and thankfully, it was clear as; both weather and visitors! It was though, very cold, and the wind was bitter!

So I took a series of NINE photos, and when we got home (eventually) I ran them through a 'photo-stitch program, edited the panorama, and here is the result (click HERE to see its FULL size (6000 pixels)).

Three Sisters Panorama

Hoo roo for now...

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Wordless Wednesday No. 83 - Vivid Sydney Colouful!

Sydney Harbour Bridge - Vivid Sydney

Sydney Opera House - Vivid Sydney

Sydney Opera House - Vivid Sydney

Sydney Opera House - Vivid Sydney

Sydney Opera House - Vivid Sydney

Pacific Pearl - Vivid Sydney

Pacific Pearl - Vivid Sydney

Sydney harbour Bridge - Vivid Sydney

Hoo roo for now...

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