Federal Election

The past 3 years have gone very fast. The last time a federal election came around I was living in London and went to vote at the Australian Embassy. This time I am in Alice Springs. A far cry away from the hustle and bustle of the London or any city in fact. My new house backs on to the school where the voting was taking place. That means it was only a 5 minute walk to the poling booth. I went in the back way to avoid all of the candidate supporters who were handing out the how to vote cards. I walked up, gave my name and they gave me my voting cards and I wandered over to the booth to fill it in. In the senate I voted for the Greens first and CLP second. In the House of Representatives I voted for the Greens followed by the independents and down the line with the CLP and Labour last. Even though I voted for the Greens as my first preference I did want Kevin Rudd and Labour to get in. I believe that John Howard has lost touch with the common man and after 11 years we really needed a change of government.
I've just found out that Kevin Rudd is now going to be the new PM. I wonder how he'll do and whether a lot will change.

To A Room Of My Own

I have now left Bhram's place and have moved in to my own. I now live about in Gason Street which is about a 10 minute ride from work. It is a nice place and the people there are quite friendly. I am sharing with two girls, one is a lawyer and the other a yoga instructor. Also living there is a dog and a cat. We also get peridoic visits from the neighbours kitten. Both of my new housemates seem pretty friendly so hopefull it should work out well. It seemed to be harder this time to find a place. I am too truthful as I always tell people that I might only be there for 3 months as I have applied to go to university. That's probably why it took me around 4 weeks of looking to find somewhere. I am all settled in now and it was good to finally have my own place again.

Climbing the Rock

On Friday night we drove down to Ayers Rock (otherwise known as Uluru). I went down with some guys from work (Aaron, Katie and Mark). The drive down was long but I took my turn at the driving. While it was day light I got up to nearly 150km/h but when it started to get dark, Aaron took over the driving and the speed went down to 120km/h.

We stayed at the campground in the cabins that they have there which cost about $35 each (there were 4 of us). It was basic but as we were getting up at 5:30 the next morning, it was all we needed. When we got up the next day and went to the sunrise viewing area, drove around the rock, walked to a waterhole and then climbed the rock. I seemed to go very well climbing the rock and didn't really need to rest that much. It is a steep climb, about a 45 degree angle or steeper in some places. I guess it took about an hour to get to the top. We were back in the car by about 9:30. A morning well spent. After that we drove to the Olgas (Kata Juta) and had a piccie taken there. After lunch in the visitors centre we were on the road heading back to Alice.

Moving In

I moved out on Sunday. Not to Grant Road but instead to Bhram's (a work collegue) place. I decided that the one on Grant Road was just too far away. So now I am staying at Bhram's place. I moved in Sunday afternoon taking a few boxes with me. The rest of my stuff I put over either Aaron's or in the storage cupboards at work.

Living at Bhram's is okay. He gave me his room which kind of makes me feel like I am imposing even though he says that he usually sleeps in the other bed. I don't really feel that I can make the room my own or really settle in there. I have no space in the kitchen for my food, no room in the fridge and he still has lots of boxes in the room I have been give including a wardrobe full of clothes.

I am still looking for a place in a share house. I know that I will have to shell out more money than if I stayed at Bhrams but I think it would be a lot better for me to find my own place.

Moving House

I'm moving house. The lease is up and Matt is heading back to Darwin to start a new job up there. That of course means that I have to look for another place to live. I started looking 3 weeks ago but as yet I've been turned down at one place and the rest were just too expensive or didn't contact me back.

I went and had a look at a place yesterday with Aaron, we went straight from the gym. The house was about 5km from the middle of town, which, in Alice Springs terms is a long way out. The Larapinta area seems be a mix of public housing and private homes, a lot looking run down but a few looking very presentable. The house was basic with little furniture but the people were friendly enough. There is also a mad camp dog that also lives there and for the entirity of our visit it was jumping up and down at our feet. I told Penlope that I would give her a call tomorrow and let her know whether I wanted to move in or not. I then said I would move in only when Aaron pushed me to make a decision. When I said I'd give the lady a ring he chirped "why? It's not like you have anywhere else!" I tell you, friends these days...

So I said I'd move in on Sunday, although I will still be looking for another place before this weekend as I think I would like to live closer town. I'll have to see if I can find anything closer before the weekend. If I do I will just tell Penlope that I won't be moving in.

On the Radio

This morning I was on the radio. I haven't heard the broadcast but Viper said that she heard me on the radio so I can only assume it was when I was stopped in Yepeyerenye Shopping Centre by a lady from the ABC called Celia. She asked me a couple of questions on my views on climate change and how I believe the government should deal with it and wether I think what they are doing is sufficent. I had my say and I think that a bit of it would have been played. I would have liked to hear the broadcast but I guess that I'll just have to see if I can get it on podcast.

Always Wash Your Hands!

Today was the day of the official launch of the Hand Washing Project. The hand washing project is something that EH has been running for the past year or so. In Central Australia they made a hip hop song and some adverts to reinforce the hand washing message. It was a busy day with the Director of Environmental Health coming down to launch the project. It was a very busy day but all seemed to go ahead pretty much to plan and with no major hicups. I was in charge of the audio visual stuff and so it was pretty nerve-racking to get up there in front of all the people and make sure that everything works with out a problem. There was an error message that started coming up about 5 minutes before with a loud beep. This went off every 30 seconds or so. Nothing I did could stop it going off but when the presentation started it seemed to stop. I don't know why but I was certainly very glad. Now the next big thing to organise is the Christmas lunch. Hopefully that will be a lot less stressful.

Rain

A dust storm blew in yesterday. It just dropped over the town. If you looked towards the horizon you could see the dust just settling on the town with blue sky above. In the afternoon though you could feel a change coming through. First a cooler wind started to blow and then the clouds came with it moving in from the south west. At about 6 o'clock the first few drops started to fall. It rained on and off all night. Not much falling, but enough to clear the air. When I woke this morning the sky was still cloudy and there was a cool breeze blowing. It had stopped raining and the ground was dry. Most of all, the air was clear and smelt fresh. It doesn't happen often so when it does rain, out here in the desert, it is really appreciated.

Fallen out the tree...

Yesterday I found a bird that had fallen out of a tree. I was out with Aaron returning a telly. He was returning his 68cm telly for an 80cm telly. As we were leaving the carpark I spotted the bird which was sitting under a tree at the bottom end of the carpark. I asked Aaron to get out of the car to have a look and one of the parents who was still hanging around swooped down on him. It was a magpie lark who looked as if he was almost ready to leave the nest. He had all his flight feathers but his tail feathers just hadn't grown yet. They take about 8 weeks to fully fledge and I think given another week or two he would be all set to fly away. Anyway, we left the little bird there and took the telly back.

Later in the afternoon when the shops had shut, I drove by and once again saw the bird sitting in the carpark. I climbed out of the car and walked over to him. This time the parents must have gone as I didn't have any trouble. The bird didn't resist as I picked him up and placed him in my hat. I took him home and put him in a box. I would have liked to keep him and rear him myself but as I'm going to be moving in 3 weeks I don't think I would have been able to give him the full attention that was needed. It was better all round I think.

New Phone

Yesterday I bought a new phone. It is a Nokia 6234 or something along those lines. I had a choice between this one and a 6300 which was newer but at the time I preferred the look of this other one. It is just a basic phone with a 2 mega pixel camera and Bluetooth, which means I can take photos and send them to people or copy music over from my computer to use on the phone. When I opened it up at home yesterday I was having second thoughts about whether this one was the right choice but today I think it was. It is a bit more complicated than my old Sony Erricson and hopefully it will last just as long. My old phone died after maybe 4 years of use. I think it still works but I just seem to have bought a dud battery that now doesn't work. I will probably post a few photos that I take with my new camera on this site. Just wait and see...

Cass and Ed's Wedding

I have just come back from the wedding of Ed and Cass which was on Friday the 21st of September. The wedding was held in Sydney so I flew over to attend as I'd been asked to be one of the groomsmen. It was pretty nerve racking standing up at the front of the church with the ceremony going on and then having to sit out at the front table at the reception.

I was actually surprised that none of the other groomsmen or the best man came over earlier. On the morning of the wedding (the wedding started at 2pm) went out for breakfast. I thought that some of the other guys would be over to go then but they weren't there. Whether or not they had better things to do I don't know but I would have thought that would have made the effort. The ceremony went well. It was held in a little church on top of a hill in Windsor. The guests came in and it was one of my duties to attempt to seat the guests. Brides family on the left, grooms on the right. When everyone was seated we went in and stood at the front of the church with Ed. He was nervous but hiding it well. The ceremony went well and then we walked down the aisle with one of the bridesmaids following Ed and Cass. After meeting and greeting we jumped in to the hired Bentley and went off for the photos.

We drove down to the river where they went to a beach and had some photos then back to where the reception was going to be. The reception was held at a day spa in Richmond. It was quite a nice place with fountains out the front, manicured gardens and a grand entrance.

After more photos we went in to the reception area. We each had to walk in, stop for a photo and then take our seats. We sat down and things got under way. After dinner were the speeches and then desert and after that, and probably the most scary part of the whole evening, the dancing. First Ed and Cass got up to dance and then as tradition dictates the bridesmaids and groomsmen all have to get up and dance then followed by the parents and then the guests. Then all the bridesmaids and groomsmen had to get up. I did a bit of a shuffle and then went and sat down. Dancing isn't my strong point. It was a fun night though. Now the happy couple are honeymooning in the Whitsundays.

Not feeling 100%

At the moment I'm not feeling that good. I woke up yesterday feeling nauseous but battled on through the day. Today I seem to be doing the same. I have a pretty bad cough at the moment and I think that might be partly responsible for my sore throat. To throw in even more, I've been getting a few aches and pains. I hope that this doesn't last. I don't want to be feeling like this when I'm in Sydney at Cass and Ed's wedding.

Rowing Fast

I'm now getting even quicker on the rower in the gym. My new time for rowing 1500 metres is 5 minutes 58 seconds. That's going to be pretty hard to beat.

Solar Eclipse

The start of the solar eclipse.

On Tuesday (28/08/07) there was a solar eclipse. This eclipse was where the Earth's shadow covers the moon. When the eclipse is over the moon, the moon came up really red. It was sort of what you would imagine mars would look like closer up. This is the only photo I could get with it.

Gym Junkie

Me working my biceps and forearms.

I went down the gym last night. No real surprise as I go down most nights. I am quite getting in to it and although I don't see any improvement in my body shape, I'm able to lift a lot more than I could when I first started. Take the bench press for example. When I started I was on the bar (which weights about 18kg). That was when I went for the first time. Now I have the bar and 17.5kg on each end. That is a big jump and I am quite impressed how far I have come. This is all part of my get fit regime. I know that I have to do more cardio though as I am still pretty fat. I will need to loose around 30kg to get down to my ideal weight so I have a bit to do.

This weekend I am going to find out about aerobics classes down at one of the gyms on Larapinta. If they are too expensive, I'll just have to get out walking, riding and swimming more. Each time I go to the gym I spend around 30 minutes doing cardio (treadmill, bike, stepper or rower) but I think should really do more. Last night when I went down the gym I set a new record for my 1500m row. Usually it takes about 7 and a half minutes to row going at a quickish pace. Last night was a very quickish pace as I did it in 6 minutes and 5 seconds. Now I just have to try and break that record next time I go.

What to do...

At the moment I am trying to work out what I want to do next year. I am thinking something along the lines of going to uni and seeing if I can get a career that will give me more money that I can get at the moment and be more enjoyable. I am working in the Environmental Health Field at the moment so next year I am thinking maybe I should do that an become an EHO. I know what the guys do here and they get paid well so maybe that should be an option. Of course there are many options but by the end of August I want to have made a decision.

I Ate Yamba the Honey Ant...

Sarah brought in some Honey Ants for us to try today. You basically put them in your mouth and squeeze their bum then suck out all the juice. Sounds pretty bad, but they do taste like honey.

Me trying one of the ants.

Welcome

Welcome to the brand new blog of Ryan. Here I will be adding my thoughts, doings and gripes for all the world to see, read and be annoyed by.

Enjoy!