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.