November Update

It's been a busy couple of weeks and I'm terribly behind with my blogging - sorry!

I'm having doubts about the effectiveness of physiotherapy. Over a month has passed since I sprained my ankle, and although I'm back on my feet my ankle is still rather weak. It hasn't stopped me from enjoying the pleasant spring weather though.^^

Three weekends ago, I went to Bondi to see the Sculpture by the Sea exhibition. It was amazing - the artwork, the coastal setting, the blue blue sky and the fresh sea breeze The weekend after, I picked up my Japanese visitor from the airport and we headed straight for Bondi Beach where we scoffed down a big Aussie breakfast, checked out the markets, strolled along the beach and finished off the tour with a pleasant coastal walk. It was the last day of Sculptures by the Sea for 2007, and I'm glad M arrived in time to see it.^^
Click here for photos.

The weekend just passed was a fun-filled one, starting with a Friday night out with the girls. The Rocks Market by Moonlight (though the sun was still out when I was there) was on, so I grabbed a quick bite to eat from the gozleme stall and enjoyed the live music there before meeting up with the girls to see "The Government Inspector" at the Playhouse beneath the Opera House. The play was adapted for 2 actors who took on at least a dozen roles between them. It was absolutely hilarious! I don't remember the last time I laughed so hard. The audience, myself included, was pretty much laughing throughout the hour-and-a-half performance. All in all, it was a fun night and my abdominal muscles got a great workout.^^

Saturday was federal election day and I had signed up to help out at the local polling centre - my old primary school! The 15 hour work day was exhausting but an eye-opening experience. I learned to spell some strange foreign names, spoke with people from all walks of life including some familiar faces whom I haven't spoken to since I can't remember when, and I learned what goes on behind those closed doors at the end of election day.

My team of five put several large tables together and gathered around. The person in charge then emptied out the box with the 2300+ green House of Reps votes. First we flattened out the papers then we sorted them by first preference. Now the counting begins - bundles of 50. We passed our stack of green papers to the person on our left and we checked each other's bundles. By the time we were done counting and checking, it was past 8pm. It had taken us 2 hours, and the big job was still to come - the Senate votes.

People refer to the Senate voting papers as tablecloths. Imagine sorting and counting thousands of metre-long sheets of paper. Thank goodness it was not hot and humid, and we had the use of a reasonable-sized school hall. The other 3 helpers who had been working on the absent votes pitched in to help with the tablecloth counting while the superviser shuffled around the hall "supervising."

The person in charge of our polling centre was disorganised and didn't seem to know what he was supposed to do. My admiration goes out to the second in charge for his patience and for always looking out for other helpers, especially to those who were not so young. The kind and gentle middle-aged lady sitting opposite me during the counting who didn't utter a single complaint throughout the entire day was an inspiration.

It was no surprise that our electorate representative would retain his seat, but the margin by which the new government won was quite astonishing. I'm no expert in politics but I think that it is time for a change. It's a bit of a concern that the majority of both state and federal seats are Labor though. Will the new government live up to its promises?

Sunday was another long day for me, but a more relaxing one compared to Saturday. I joined my aunt, uncle, Dad and Dad's friend's son on a road trip to Berrima (122 km south-west of Sydney) to try out a vegetarian buffet. It's reasonably priced at $25 (increasing to $28 in December). The food was mostly Asian and I would rate the taste as average, but the variety of dishes was impressive. I was full after a tasting plate of the entree dishes and didn't try much of anything else. There were more than 10 different dishes in each of the entree/dim sim, main and dessert sections. Two ladies sat behind the counter making sushi, which were taken almost as soon as they were placed on the platter. There was also a variety of hot and cold teas available. I liked the cold chrysanthemum tea - nice and refreshing.^^

After the big meal, we strolled around the open garden and large pond outside. The small Japanese garden was also nice.
Photos here.

Time for bed, I reckon...Zzzz.....(-_-)'