What is The Rant?
A rant is 'to speak or shout in a wild, impassioned way' and, comes from the Dutch word ranten to 'talk nonsense, rave'. While I can't guarantee that what is written here is a rant per se it will keep you up to date on the goings-on in our small sphere of the world.
August - September 2003
Blimey charlie it's Spring already! After what seemed like an interminable winter the flowers the bloom in the Spring (tra la) are bursting forth. The Star Magnolia (Magnolia stellata), Bulbinella floribunda, a magnificent spike of yellow, starry flowers and common old Polyanthus are but a few of the plants coming into bloom.
I visited Brisbane on the cusp of August to attend a marvellous party for my friend Deon. Happy 30th D! Also visited the recently purchased house in Keperra (The Rant, April-May 2003). Peter and I took a trip up to the Blue Mountains to help pull weeds in my sister's garden and visit my cousin Kath in Leura. Another pleasant weekend.
Otherwise work carries on. I'm now in IT Management rather than the programming side of things. Certainly a change - business focused rather than technically focused.
June - July 2003
Argh! Where is the year getting to!? In the blink of an eye it is now mid-July. Canberra is cold and forbidding (even without the politicians) and all good people are ensconced in their centrally heated abodes. On the good side, spring is just around the corner - jonquils are flowering and the sweet peas are powering.
Later this month sees me trek north to a not necessarily warmer place. My mid-winter pilgrimage to Uralla commences. A time to catch up wth family, prune the roses and chop wood for the fire. This time I shall have a newly acquired notebook computer to accopany me during those long, dark nocturnal hours. Perhaps I could write some doggerel to match the two pieces in this month's rant?
April - May 2003
Oops, sorry folks, April seems to have slipped by but to make it up we've combined it with the great month of May! May is destined to become a milestone month with the purchase of a property in Brisbane by Peter and myself. The place is an investment for now but may become our home in that sunny city when we move back there. Until then it shall be rented out. For more lowdown check out the New House page!
Requiescat In Pace. On the afternoon of Friday the 23rd of May 2003 my aunt Ailsa passed away. She never regained consciousness following a massive stroke the previous day. I am attending her funeral and asked to be a pallbearer. May has shaped up to be a mix of highs and lows.
March 2003
New Zealand! Yes, as of the 9th of March we will be winging our way to Aotearoa (Land of the Long White Cloud). For fourteen glorious days we'll travel around the North Island starting and concluding in Auckland. A few of the places we'll be staying are Rotorua, Napier and Taupo. Half the trip's accommodation is pre-booked and half unbooked to give us a little flexibility! We'll be hiring an 'older' rental car and staying at B&Bs. Might even start a new section on NZ when I return. Until then, haere ra!
Post New Zealand! Well, this is a bit of a cheat. I'm writing this in April. NZ was fantastic - such a green and lovely country. The scenery was mostly mountainous and then there were the thermal pools, fumaroles and geysers on the Central Plateau (Rotorua/Taupo). Come and visit the photos page for a sampling of what you can see!
February 2003
Another month and a big month for birthdays! Happy Birthday to me, Peter, Tony, Thomas, Sara, my father and George Washington!? Work has swung back into action again after the 'Christmas hiatus'. Everyone in the team is back from their respective holidays. On the social scene it's been movies (Bowling for Columbine, Lord of the Rings, The Quiet American) and visits to friend's houses plus a brief and somewhat unexpected trip to a cardiologist to find out that there's nothing wrong with my heart! Spiders are invading the house as things get drier and drier. The small ones seem the most innocuous but tend to be the most annoying. Valentine's Day has just passed by - another feast of commercialism gone made which begs the question : 'Why do we need a special day for our sweethearts?' - we can be affectionate and loving any time of the year. Analogous to a colleague at work suggesting that our employer pays for us to do one day a year charity work. Umm, isn't the idea of charity work that you do it for no remuneration and out of your own good spirit? Being paid for it sorta grinds the whole ethics of the notion into the ground! Well, that's all for now. Next month : New Zealand and a whole new rant?
January 2003
Saturday the 18th of January has been a terrible day in Canberra. Bushfires in Namadgi National Park to the south of the ACT moved up the west and were pushed into the city through a combination of north-westerly winds, 37oC temperatures and low (5%) humidity. Canberra has a series of parks fringing and infiltrating the city which give the city a unique character. Unfortunately the fire moved along these routes starting in the western suburbs of Duffy, Rivett and Chapman, moving east to Mt Taylor and the suburbs of Pearce and Torrens. The sky yesterday at 17.00 was overcast with thick smoke, orange and post-apocalyptic in appearance. Hundreds of houses have been damaged or destroyed and at this time, three people have lost their lives. Nothing else this month can eclipse this disaster, the loss of property, forests and lives. The week is shaping up no better - high temperatures and westerly winds are predicted. Let's hope and pray that nothing more will happen.
December 2002
Christmas approacheth. With all it's cheeriness (mock or genuine). I can't help feel a slight twinge of sympathy for those folks who don't celebrate Christmas. After all it means a general raising of the jollity levels in the workplace often oddly balanced with sentiment of one kind or another. I shall be travelling back to my home in northern New South Wales to be with family. Peter shall be staying on in Canberra to enjoy the peace and quiet that can only come from being left in a house on your own during Christmas (and I suspect he WILL enjoy it, damn him!).
Work is winding down. Today I arrived to find the area festooned with tinsel and heavy with smugness left behind by the 'elves' that put it up the previous night. A garland of golden bronze tinsel looked all alone so I draped it over my partition and called it my 'contribution' to the local festivity.
Goodness knows when this will get updated - Spring is well behind us now and Summer is shaping up to be hot, dry and bushfire ridden. Hope you and your family have a pleasant Christmas!
