G'Day

Sucky election. Not the outcome I was hoping for, now we have Tony Crappott as our leader. He just creeps me out.

I don't really want to know anything about him. I vote for a party, not a person.

Labor's political ideology is more to my liking than the liberals' ideology. That's not going to change regardless of who is actually leading the 2 parties.

Never mind the result. I voted at our local school and "shock horror" no sausage sizzle. It was enough to drive me to drink (especially after lining up for a half hour).

Yeah, there was no sausage sizzle at the school I voted at either. Didn't have a massive line-up, though, as it was a rather small, out-of-the-way suburb/village/thing.

What annoyed me was that the toilets were locked. I needed to pee after voting (I was waiting for the grandparents to finish voting) and there were the school toilets just a few metres away. Perfect! Only no, they were locked.

In the end I walked to the pub (which was literally next door to the school ), which was open (for the Pokies) and used their bathroom. I don't feel bad about not buying anything, though, as we've had plenty of meals in there before.

It took me under 5 minutes to vote which I think is a record.. I've never had NO line at the polling booth before!!

(no sausage sizzle btw but I was there at 10am)

Melbournites!! Kathy Reichs is doing a talk in Melbourne... free event through the city library!
I'm going

Link is here on city library website.

I may have had something to say about the election at the time it was happening, but my wife and I decided ahead of the night to lay in extra wine and just try to ignore the whole thing!

Hmm. That reminds me... I have to go into the city in a week and a half for a sociology thing.

The trains aren't running at the moment (well, the line near where I live, anyway). So this means catching 2 buses, which will take probably 2 to 2.5 hours to get there.

Yeah, I live quite a long way from the city. The stupid thing is, if the trains were running, it'd take me probably about 45 minutes. Call it an hour to factor in walking to the train station.

*facepalm*

Hi guys! Sorry I haven't posted in a while -- have a crazy amount of work at the moment.

Racey said:

Have you decided yet Skye? I think Asia would be great, but I've never been so don't have any recommendations. I would love to go to Alice Springs and see Ayres Rock, that's definitely on my bucket list.

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Ooh, thanks for the suggestions! I'd love to visit NT at some point -- my sister went on a school camp in Year Nine and loved it. I've had to postpone my travel plans due to other commitments, but I'm still hoping to get away in November!

Racey said:

Good going with the results Cliff! They just released my results the other day due to a university staff strike and I am pleased with mine! Two High Distinctions and two Distinctions.


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Congrats on such great results!

Cliff Face said:

The trains aren't running at the moment (well, the line near where I live, anyway). So this means catching 2 buses, which will take probably 2 to 2.5 hours to get there. 

Yeah, I live quite a long way from the city.

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Oh, I know your pain! I live in the outer suburbs and I don't have my Ps. My friends like meeting up in the city for dinner etc., which means two buses and a train each way.

(Yeah, I should really get a wriggle on with driving… I've been on my Ls for about six years, oops!)

I don't even have my Ls. I took the test on my 16th birthday, twice, and failed, twice. Haven't bothered since then.

I do think about driving from time to time, but it's just sooooo expensive to get started, and I'm not sure I'd be a good driver. I tend to have tunnel vision, and I get distracted. So I might, say, drive past a field, look at the grass, get distracted, not notice a bend in the road or a car in front braking or... And yeah, not good.

Everyone says I'd learn to be a good driver. But what happens in that learning period when I'm on the road but am NOT a good driver?

Hey guys! After like 3 months away, I'm back

I got my L's as soon as I turned 16 but only just got my P's in March this year, a few months before turning 23. Part of me thought I'd never actually do it.

Hi all. I think teaching someone to drive is actually scarier then learning. One down one to go. She'll be turning 16 next year so I hope I don't get any more grey hairs.

You need one of those cars that have controls on both sides of the front, like the professional instructors have!

It'd make it a lot safer, I'd imagine.

Cliff Face said:

I do think about driving from time to time, but it's just sooooo expensive to get started, and I'm not sure I'd be a good driver. I tend to have tunnel vision, and I get distracted. So I might, say, drive past a field, look at the grass, get distracted, not notice a bend in the road or a car in front braking or... And yeah, not good.

Everyone says I'd learn to be a good driver. But what happens in that learning period when I'm on the road but am NOT a good driver?

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I know exactly what you mean. Whenever I practise driving, I'm worried that I might start daydreaming. (Not exactly an uncommon occurrence, but much more dangerous behind the wheel!)

fredXgeorge -- Well, you beat me! I recently turned 24.

lindas -- Oh dear, that does sound stressful. Good luck!

Yeah, I've always got my head in the clouds. Every time I'm a passenger in the car, I try to see if I can stay focussed on the road, and every time, even if it's just a 10-minute drive, at some point I'm staring out the side window for about 3 seconds, look back because the driver has braked, and realise that the car in front is slowing down and I would've smashed right into the back of it had I been driving.

Every damn time.

Changing the subject entirely, I finished reading your book a few weeks ago. I really enjoyed it. However, I'm a little annoyed that the second book isn't out yet, because I want to know what happens next! (But don't tell me. I don't want any spoilers. )

Cliff Face said:

Yeah, I've always got my head in the clouds. Every time I'm a passenger in the car, I try to see if I can stay focussed on the road, and every time, even if it's just a 10-minute drive, at some point I'm staring out the side window for about 3 seconds, look back because the driver has braked, and realise that the car in front is slowing down and I would've smashed right into the back of it had I been driving.

Every damn time.

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Haha, me too! I think I'm destined to be a lifelong bus commuter. It's kind of embarrassing at times, but it's better than injuring someone else on the road.

Cliff Face said:

Changing the subject entirely, I finished reading your book a few weeks ago. I really enjoyed it.  However, I'm a little annoyed that the second book isn't out yet, because I want to know what happens next! (But don't tell me. I don't want any spoilers. )

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Aww, thanks Cliff! That really means a lot to me.

It's weird -- I have to be really careful about spoilers, especially at school visits. Some kids ask really detailed questions! One girl randomly put forth her theory about a relatively minor plot twist and she was 100% correct. I was so flabbergasted that I almost congratulated her. Remembered just in time that I couldn't confirm or deny it.


By the way, is anyone else desperate for summer? I'm so sick of miserable weather... (Although it might just be Melbourne.)

No, I'm never wishing it was summer! I mean, yes, during winter I was wishing it was somewhat warmer... But Adelaide summers are absolutely miserable. Hot, sticky, annoying bullshit flies everywhere sort of weather.

I'm kind of liking the weather of the past few weeks. Like, there's been a mix of hot weather (not too bad in shorts), colder weather (long pants and jacket, no longer cold), smallish amounts of rain (a lot less than during winter).

I'd rather have this weather than summer weather. Though I don't know what it's like over in Melbourne right now.

It's still pretty cold & grey here, although we've had a few nice days.

I think I've struggled this year because it's my first full winter since 2011. Last year I spent July travelling around Europe, which ranged from pleasant to scorching.

Wish I could afford to flee to the Northern Hemisphere every year!

We've had weird weather today. Woke up and it was clear blue sky with only a couple of clouds. A couple of hours later, it was raining heavily. A few hours later, it was cloudy but not raincloudy. And I'm now sitting here thinking about changing into a pair of shorts, because it's just too warm for my liking.

SkyeOhWhy said:

I know exactly what you mean. Whenever I practise driving, I'm worried that I might start daydreaming. (Not exactly an uncommon occurrence, but much more dangerous behind the wheel!)

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I've been driving for 10 years and I do this all the time. Not deliberately of course. And I'm really not sure I should be admitting this. *hides*

Cliff Face said:

Changing the subject entirely, I finished reading your book a few weeks ago. I really enjoyed it. However, I'm a little annoyed that the second book isn't out yet, because I want to know what happens next! (But don't tell me. I don't want any spoilers. )

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Ah DITTO! Loved your book so much Skye, I really can't wait for the next one

I've been on AW for quite some time now and I've never discovered this thread. It's so good to know there are other Aussie writers on this site!

And yeah, as for the driving, it took me a really long time to get my P's because I am paranoid of thinking about my MS/day dreaming when driving. I finally have them, but I still don't really like driving because of it.

Fire alert.

Good luck, Sydney.

Cale said:

I've been on AW for quite some time now and I've never discovered this thread. It's so good to know there are other Aussie writers on this site!

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Hi Cale welcome to the thread, pleased to have you here!

Hi there, Cale

Welcome!

My life has been pretty boring lately - just a bunch of annoyances that so far haven't been solved effectively, plus the daily grind of Uni.

I'm looking forward to November 19th, though. Because that'll be the day after handing up the final assignment for the semester! Woo!

The semester started out well enough, and I got through 6 weeks without feeling stressed. But the 4.5 weeks since then have just kicked my arse. Ack!

How's life going for the rest of you?