Month 4 folks. I’ll just repeat that, month 4. Already. Don’t know how it feels for you, but for me, it feels like it has just flown by. Wasn’t it just a few days ago that I was languidly sipping cappuccinos in Fremantle? Exploring Perth and Kings Park by bicycle? How many laundry days is that? Ah, laundry day…
Well, it must have been longer than I think because today saw the arrival of November. With only 7 weeks til Xmas. I could do the whole “where has the year gone?” bit, but we can save that and do it to death on or around New Years Eve. Or maybe New Year’s Day as we sober up on the ferry to Manly to recover.
New Year’s Eve. Now that is going to be fun. It’s always a great time in Sydney due to the world-renowned firework display. But over the years it has become so expensive that I was resigning myself to sitting out with a pic-nic and watching them from a spot of grass. That was if I could find said spot of grass amongst the hundreds and thousands of people who throng the Harbour and all the available vantage points along the various shores and bays.
Many people have essentially been priced out of a lot of the ways to see the fireworks. Just getting entry to a place like the Opera Bar (where I watched the fireworks for free in 2001) is now costing in excess of $300. And that is without drinks. I think you get a couple of peanuts on entry, but I may have misread the small print. A popular way of enjoying them is by boat, bobbing around the Harbour, but this is now in excess of $500. But you get a complimentary lifejacket.
So it was with great joy that I stumbled upon the fact that Luna Park was having a New Year’s Eve party, headlined by a winner of the Australian version of the X-Factor. Don’t ask me, I didn’t even watch the UK version. Well, Ricki Lee’s presence is not why I booked the tickets. The fact that they were only $99 each was the reason. And when you realise the venue of Luna Park is virtually under the bridge, then you get a sense of what a bargain these tickets are. Luna Park is the Coney Island of Sydney. A 1930s theme park, which has been around since, well, the 1930s actually. I think some of the rides may have been updated since then, or at least mechanically maintained, as these are also open to use on the night. And the great thing is, it’s over 18s only. So big kids can play little kids, without the inconvenience of little kids getting in the way.
Just 59 days to get through. And this will fly by I’m sure. Since we last spoke I have now started work and been there 3 weeks already. Where does the time g… ha ha. Working has brought a little structure back into my life. Without a little ballast I always find myself drifting a wee bit. I need anchoring to something just to keep me in one place. And anchored I am, doing the 9 to 5, and enjoying the novelty (for me) of getting paid fortnightly. It seems to be a feature for many Australian employers to pay fortnightly, for reasons I can’t seem to fathom. All I know is that I am now nearly skint, yet another payday is just around the corner. This works for me. I can even put up with going into one of the ugliest buildings in Sydney each day to earn my corn.
I have other things to update you on but feel I have taken up enough of your time already. One reader recently accused me of waffling! How very rude.
With that, I will say adios, y hasta leugo. Till the next time…
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