Lone Pine and Kelsey's Job

Kelsey got a job!!!! Yea!!!! She was getting rather discouraged with the whole job prospects situation and knowing the money for camp was going to be due very soon. She took her resume' down to Queen Street again and just went from store to store....and she got a call back less then 3 hours later asking her to come in for an interview. She did and they hired her later that afternoon. It's a place called Naked Fruit so she gets to make awesome fruit drinks....and she gets a fantastic discount. She still doesn't know what her schedule will be, how much she's getting paid or exactly how many hours she'll be getting.... But, he did say that she'll be getting full time hours starting next week. It's all very "No Worries". Today when she went to work, the manager had forgotten to let everyone know that she'd be coming in....but that was okay, "No worries". It sounds like she just started working and if she had questions, there was always someone willing to help.

Monday, we went to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. They are adorable. Just as cuddly as you've always imagined but I guarantee that you've never imagined quite how they smell. The males have a scent gland on their chest to attract females and they are...well....very musky to put it nicely. We fed lorikeets and kangaroos. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine that I'd get to pet a kangaroo. Wombats are much larger than I imagined. They look like something that should be in a science fiction movie. Cute faces but just oversize in some strange way. The dingoes look exactly like dogs and the Tasmanian devil is adorable. Ben was so funny. He was so excited to hold the crocodile that you'd have sworn he was twelve years old. Keep in mind that I'm talking about my husband here, not my son. I'm sure I was just as enthusiastic when I got to hold the koala but I'm the one writing the blog so I can only describe the rest of my family. The place is just small enough that you don't feel like you need to rush to see everything and just large enough to make it worth going to see. I'll post some photos soon.

Sunday we went to the Northey Street Farmer's Market and I nearly made myself sick eating a yummy rice dish that had cream, pistachios, raisins (sultanas), goji berries, orange zest and honey in it. Oh, and little pancakes filled with vanilla custard. And some of Ben's flat white. All of this after I'd had breakfast at home. But, it was just so good, I couldn't stop eating. I found a member of my tribe there and we had a passionate discussion about good food. It was divine.

Sunday night was stand-up comedy at the Powerhouse. It's very odd to be in a crowd of people who get the jokes when you have no freakin' idea what they comedian is talking about because it's stuff only a Queenslander would understand. It just reminds you that you are the foreigner. Not a big deal really, just an observation. And, the comedian had plenty to say that I did understand so it was a fun night for us all.

One of the families from the homeschool group met us at the Powerhouse. She has 4 boys and 1 girl. Her son was teasing her that she was starting to speak American when she was talking to me. She must have been picking up some of my accent but I didn't even notice. I told her that it didn't bother me because I noticed I was picking up some of the Australian accent. Ben had been teasing me earlier that day for the way that I said the word "tonight".

Today has been rainy and cold. The sky tries to trick you. When you wake up in the morning, it will be blue skies and sunshine.....then as soon as you get to your destination and walk inside a building the dark clouds come running in as fast as possible and just before you walk out....they let loose a torrential downpour. And, of course, you have to go out in it otherwise you'll miss your bus! Do you think I ever remember to bring an umbrella? No. I'm just happy if I remember to bring a jacket! The rain is a good excuse to duck into a cafe for a cup of something warm though....so it's not all bad:)

The bus routes are getting so much easier now. It's such a relief to have at least a general idea of where you're going and how to get there.