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Good Day Sunshine :)

Well I have some good news and than it follows with either good or bad news depending on how you look at it.

At the moment I am semi-busy applying for jobs as I find ones that a)interest me and b) I am semi-qualified for. Last Friday I sent off an application for a job. Monday I got a call back saying come in for an interview Tuesday arvo. Tuesday I hit the shops as I was shall we say lacking in the business suitable clothes department. Tuesday arvo I had the interview which went really well. Wednesday I got a call back saying I was on the shortlist and could I come in for an hour or so on Friday just to do a trial run of the job and have another chat. I went in and did the job for an hour or so, had a chat, met some more people and went home knowing that I had done my best and hopefully that was good enough for them. Friday arvo I get a call back saying I hadn’t got the job but could we keep your info on file as we are going to have a few vacancies in a couple of weeks that you may be interested in.

I didn’t get the job but I did get to the second round which is better than not passing the first round, the the beginnings of a business suitable work wear (and a pair of pretty killer shoes) and probably most of all experience in an interview and an idea of what questions they will ask in a the future.

I am still looking for that job ad which says “We are looking for Helen Palsson, are you here?” and then the job description of an job where I would utilise my degree and make a difference in the world in what ever way small or big.

Beatlemania

Tomorrow night, this is going to be a treat in The Valley and I do believe that all those of you are in the Greater Brisbane area should come along to a) hear some great bands doing some great songs and b) to support a great cause. I am going, Clare is going, Clare is dragging people along, I am trying to drag my brother and his mates along. The Beatles need I say more?

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Die Happy

Last night was a blast and I can now Die Happy (incidentally a pretty cool German band I saw at the Pumpwerk in Wilhelmshaven. In terms of live music venues, the Pumpwerk stands out as one of the best for me. Just the right size. Just the right atmosphere. Just the right everything. I would love it if the Pumpwerk were in Brisbane). Back to the topic at hand which was Sam and Helen’s semi-big night out.

The highlight of my night was of course when Women in Docs pulled Sally Dastey up on stage near the end to do Tin Roof. It went off. In case you haven’t realised Tin Roof is pretty high up in that handful of songs that make up my all time favourites. It sits up there with Marrakesh Express by Crosby, Stills & Nash (who are playing in Brisbane in 3 weeks but the tickets are waaaay to pricey for me), Ice Cream by Sarah McLachlan, Safari by The Breeders, The Waitress by The Waifs, You Sound Like Louis Burdett by The Whitlams, The 59th Street Bridge Song by Simon and Garfunkel, Lady Madonna by The Beatles, Adelaide by Old 97’s, You or Your Memory by The Mountain Goats and a handful of other songs. Classic songs. Of course going to a concert and hearing one of your all time favourite songs is just top shelf stuff.

Last night with Sam was fantastic. So was the night before with Andrea. Though how could it not have been fantastic? Great music and good friends always equals fun times.

After the show was over we made our way down to Eagle St where Sam works to see Cory and to munch down some wedges and fold cutlery bundles for the next days trade. I have to say at the start of the night I didn’t think I would spend part of it wiping cutlery dry and giving it to Sam so she could wrap it up in a serviette. A couple of hours out on the town, dancing, drinking, chatting, walking and generally having a good time. Then we made our way home and that takes me to where we are now.

If you are going to be in Melbourne, Nowra or Canberra between March 14 and 23, I reckon you should check out the Gig Guide on the Women in Docs website and get a few friends or family and plan an easy night out with good music and lots of laughs 🙂

fireworks

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new creations

Well I have actually done a little scrapbooking recently. In that time when Mum is on the computer or I have just spent too much time doing nothing on the ‘net.

My life at the moment is geared around one objective and that is do get a job, a real job. Not that working at a grocery store isn’t a real job. It just isn’t the real job I want for me.

Matthew likes to bait me by repeatedly asking “Do you have job yet?” and other questions/comments in that idea. I don’t have a job yet. Not all of us can be like my brother who was given a pretty cushy job in Silicon Valley before he had graduated. Though he of course didn’t do an arts degree like me did but a much more revered degree, an engineering degree. I know the jobs I want. I know that I don’t have the experience for a fair few of them. It’s just a matter of getting that experience, that foot in the door.

School went back this week and that means that I now have to start paying board. 20% of what ever I bring home for the week goes into Mum’s hand until I find my own place. Which is the first thing on the list when I find a job.

Back though to the where this post was going in the start. Scrapbooking. I have about 10 pages scanned and on the computer which means I should be able to post a couple every couple of days or so 🙂

1)
element

6 of the things that very much defined Helen at this stage in life.

A familiar photo some of you. This would be how I look part of the time when “in the bush”/”in the great outdoors”. All purpose shorts made from colorful fabric which serve as PJ shorts in summer at home. Thermals (stripy of course) to either keep warm or to form a mozzie suit.

The hat I am wearing in the photo was actually retired just before the canoe trip the other week as it was getting a wee bit small. In my ten years as a Brownie/Guide/Ranger Guide I had two Guide hats. One is the one I got as young Brownie and way too small for my head now and now has all my various camp name tags and crafts pinned onto it. The second one is the one in this photo. I now have a hat though which used to belong to Grandmum, so go having hats that have a memory 🙂

2)
Victoria Tower

I don’t know about you but how I explore a new town is to just start walking and hopping on and off public transport on a whim. I did this in San Fran, London, Jever, Wilhelmshaven, Hohenkirchen. Just exploring. Seeing what you see and exploring what you find. I am lucky to have inherited a pretty darn fine sense of direction from Mum. I can sit down at the end of a day exploring a town and draw my route on a map and even now years later I can still draw where I have gone on maps by memory.

When I arrived in London of the morning of the 20th, I did what I have done in the past. I checked my baggage into a storage locker, picked up a travel pass and started walking down streets, roads and lanes, hopping on buses or the Underground if I passed a station and just generally wandering the streets of London town.

Sam and I are going out tonight. First up we are going to see Women in Docs and Sally Dastey (whom I also went to see last night with Andrea) and then well who knows where we will end up. 🙂

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Vegemite Gelato

Vegemite Gelato

Australia + Italy = Vegemite Gelato. Just for the Australia Day weekend. Just for the sake of it and the fact that someone in a kitchen said why not?

The colour was a lot lighter than I expected but I guess that is because not everyone likes their Vegemite as thick as I do and therefore not a lot of Vegemite is used in the process.

The taste was totally not what I expected. That also I guess comes back to the above statement that I will every so often grab a teaspoonful of Vegemite and lick it off the spoon when I feel like it.

My first tasting note is that it tastes like salted nuts as the first taste is quite nutty and you are left with a salty aftertaste.
My second tasting I started to notice how it tastes like a dark ale. I guess that would be the yeast extract part of the Vegemite coming though.

This isn’t Vegemite Gelato it is Pub Gelato! Beer and nuts in Gelato.

I managed to talk Mum into tasting a little, little bit of it and her comment was that very first taste you get is Vegemite. I then went for the itty bitty spoonfuls and you really do taste straight out Vegemite then.

🙂 I am more of spoonful girl though so I am eating a spoonful of Gelato and chasing it with a Vegemite lick. Now it tastes just like I imagined.

I am quite surprised that the Courier Mail did not have an article about it and instead I found out about via Slashfood and the Sydney Morning Herald. When I first saw it on Slashfood I thought for sure it would be in Melbourne or Sydney. I nearly dropped off my chair when I read Brisbane in the article.

Gelateria Cremona, I hope you have Vegemite Gelato next Australia Day as I will be back 🙂

Mum and I went up to a friends property for Australia Day for a bit of tree planting. The whole team which was probably easily 20 adults plus kids built tracks, planted 500 trees, cleared Lantana and other weeds. Mum and I each ended up with a mattock which we swung and swung and swung some more digging holes for the kids to come behind us and plant the native trees in. It was a nice day out “on the land” and we were given a very impressive spread for morning tea and lunch.

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Under the Milky Way

I have worked full-time this week as my boss has been on holidays so the 2iC and I each got to step up in our roles. I look forward to my paycheck as 36/37odd hours on a casual rate is very nice even after the tax is taken out. Working that much this week has sort of put my job hunt on hold but I sort of look forward to getting back into the job hunt because I really want to find a job soonish.

Mum, I and some friends are heading off for a 4-day canoe trip in the morning so that will put the hunt on hold for a couple of days. We are paddling down Teewah Ck and Upper Noosa River to Elanda Point on Lake Cootharaba. The last time we did this trip was the summer of 2001/02 so it will be nice to see how it has changed and of course to get out on the water for a paddle. (This map shows the general area we are paddling in. To give a sense of scale, Lake Cootharaba is a about 11km from tip to tip.)

I went out for Low Tea earlier today with Ms Andrea to Queenies Tea House at Ascot and had a delightful time, chatting and eating and chatting and eating. I had a Chocolate Low Tea which gave me a selection of little chocolate treats like little tartlets, mousse, fudge etc with quite a nice pot of Organic Ceylon Pekoe. Andrea was very dainty and had the Traditional Low Tea which gave her a trio of ribbon sandwiches, some sweets and a few cherries. Her tea selection was a Japanese Sencha Quince which to me tasted like marshmallows. I am serious! After a leisurely “lunch” we looked in the windows of the shops on Racecourse Rd as they are all shut on Sundays and saw quite a few pretty things 🙂

I should mention that a little over a week ago Mum and I went into the State Library to see the National Treasures exhibition before it closed and that was wonderful to see. Seeing Ned Kelly’s mask, Willis’s pistol, draft designs of the Sydney Opera House, Bradman’s Bat, design sheets of the classic EH Holden, Cpt Cook’s journal from the Endeavour, gorgeous artwork from the colonial era as well as some incredible botanical and zoological artwork and so much more. I urge you to explore the National Treasures webpage even if you aren’t Australian just to see some of the incredible things in the exhibition.

One of the first things you see in the exhibition is Jacob Cuyp’s painting of Abel Tasman with his wife and daughter. I dropped my jaw at the work of the restorers as this painting looked like it was painted yesterday not in 1637, the colours were so vivid and fresh.

When I wrote this earlier this arvo I didn’t think I would have a photo to share with this but whilst I was letting the post mature and thinking about a title (Untitled I?) I did a little chalk art out on the street much to my father’s disgust. The lady across the street and Mum appreciated my art though 🙂

P1140084

I was going to do a 🙂 but my circle at the start went slightly pear shaped as you can see. Instead I ended up with just a face.

Mum and I also went to see The Queen last night and what a fantastic movie it was. I can definitely see it picking up a large swag of awards. Wow.

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Home Made Goodness

Drying Tomatoes

Mum bought a food dehydrator (EziDri Snackmaker) the other week. A couple of days ago I picked up 3.5kg of tomatoes at a bargain basement price at the local fruit shop. I came home, quartered them and put them on dry. Mmm the house smelt like tomatoes and now we have about 400g of dried tomatoes! I love putting some tomatoes and cheese on a slice of bread and putting it under the griller for a very yummy snack.

I also finally bought my self a pasta maker the other night when a local(ish) kitchenware shop was having 20% off and I have had a ball making tagliatelle and linguine. It also tastes so yummy and even after I have dried the pasta for storage it still cooks in an instant which is fantastic. I will have to take a photo of it later. Tonight for tea we are going to have Mum’s Bolognese with my pasta.