もうすぐ クリスマス

１１月の一時帰国から早いもので、ひと月が過ぎました。
羽田空港に着いてからの３日間、鹿児島の姉、姪っこ、甥っ子も上京し、東京在住の叔父や従妹たちと鎌倉散策、ディズニーランドで時間を過ごし、鹿児島に帰りました。
鹿児島では、昨年の８月、引っ越し時に姉のところに預けっぱなしだった品々を整理、廃棄にかなりの時間を取られましたが、数少なくなった叔父・叔母を訪ねたり、お世話になった知人・友人に会うこともできましたので、有意義な時間でした。
出国は、夜１１時３０分の飛行機でしたので、東京在住の友人と夕食をとり、これまた楽しい時間でした。
みなさま、ありがとうございました！

パースに戻ってから先週１４日までの３週間は、学校の期末テストで、久しぶりに老体に鞭を打ちました。
頑張った甲斐があり、会計のコースを無事に終了することができました。
このコースは、履歴書に書ける最低のレベルなのですが、日本での経験と併せて就職活動に活かすつもりです。

来年は、よいお知らせができれば・・・と思っています。

Visiting

Takako and Yuka are currently visiting Japan for the Houji of Takako's parents.  She seems to be having a wonderful time, catching up with family and friends.  Our departure was all a bit sudden in the end going from frantically packing and shipping boxes to getting on a plane for Perth.

I am hoping that they have a relaxing time and will get to catch up with as many people as they can.  It is only a short fly in fly out visit so apologies if she isn't able to catch up with everyone!

Have fun you guys! Hope you are taking pictures!!

Conference Time

Starting to feel a little nostalgic about the last month leading up to a National Conference.  I can imagine the buzz in the JALT central Office, the discussions on the conference list, the excitement building in the PR team as ads go to press etc.  A busy time, and a time for company with good friends.

Hoping it all goes well for everyone.

October 17th, 2011

Today was a sad day in our house.  We went to a funeral.
My Aunty Sylvia passed away and she will be sadly missed.

Takako's first year in Perth ....

has been very eventful!

She has burnt her finger!

Broken her toe

Had to sit in a wheelchair

Fallen badly on her knee!

But Takako is very very happy here!

And she loves my Dad's dog "Kelso"

She plays with him EVERY DAY!!!!!!

The Election Road

Today was a good day on the election road.  Spoke with advertising people, distributed some leaflets and go a chance to look at some other candidates campaigns.

Did some radio on Saturday and was offered some work doing talk back.. not sure if I'll try that or not but it can't hurt I guess.  Was also offered some lecturing work at the Polytechnic!  Not sure how that came about, but it has been an interesting week so far!

Time will tell... but Takako and the family are on watch and have warned me they will pull me out screaming if I start down my work crazy ways!!  LOL ... Stress junkies never learn??? I am hoping that I have and that I will be ok.. All I can say is that my brain actually feels like it has begun working again.. slowly, but working all the same.

Procrastination

Oh how I love this word.. am getting so I can do it really easily now.  Have this assignment to do today. So far I have changed the bed, done the washing, played with the puppy, done some gardening, had a shower, made dinner, and am now on facebook and doing some blogging!

Mmmm ... better get to that assignment soon I guess, but I was thinking I might have an afternoon sleep first!  That is what happens when you have strong but intermittent rain and a warm heater going!

Looked at my photos of Japan for the first time since I left!  You buggers still make me cry!  Even photos of that stupid erupting volcano!

                                         

Ok I think I will go do that assignment, only a little bit left to do!

給与計算の違い

オーストラリアと日本の給与計算の違いに驚いています。
正社員がフルタイムとパートタイムに分かれていて、日本で言う「日雇い」がカジュアルと呼ばれています。正社員には年俸制と時給制があります。
支給は、週給もしくは２週ごとで、月給制は多くありません。
週の勤務時間は35時間～38時間、平日残業は時給の50％増し、休日は100％増し。
残業や休日出勤を好む人が少ないからでしょうね。
支払い担当者は毎週、給与計算に追われるってことになりますよね。ちょっと大変そう・・・また、多くの会社で、年休を取ると時給に17.5％割り増しがついて、支払われる制度があります。「年休でご褒美」です。
サービス残業が横行している日本では考えられないですね。

A perfect score...

Well it has been a long time since I _SAT_ an exam, but today's was set for 1 hour. The ole brain is still on the foggy side most days, but the sky cleared and the sunshine was brilliant! 3 mins from receiving the papers the test was over and the score was a cool 100%. Lots of hissing from the gallery, along with smiles and good onya winks!

Also got the car back from the repairers today! Takako said that we have been kinda lucky to get a semi brand new car back, with no one hurt! The dancer was charged today.. not sure what the outcome was but I doubt he is coming out of prison anytime soon.

And on the election front .. have made two election speeches, have a radio interview coming up on the weekend a citizenship ceremony midweek next week along with another two speeches booked for earlier in the week... and have found that I no longer fit any of my suits! So I guess tomorrow or Friday, I'll have to go out and buy something to wear.

You know it seems to me that the min I said that I was stress and free time rich, I suddenly became busier! Still, it is a year on and Takako has allies in her battle over my workaholic ways!

Oh and did I ever tell you guys how close they live to our house? Dad is diagonally 2 min from my front door and sister Deb's side fence is our back fence! Mum lives 10 mins by car in one direction and little sis Adie is 10 mins in the other direction. Close.. they are all really close!

Anyway, it has been a pretty good day!

Nighty Night!

学期末テスト

7月25日からFainancial and Service (Accounting)の勉強を始めました。
このコースは、現地の人と一緒に勉強をするので、英語が・・・普通のスピードだし・・・専門用語が出るし・・・日本で簿記を学んでいたので少々たかをくくっておりました・・・
このコースの学期末テストが9月に入って毎週１～２科目あります。
「50の手習い」なんて悠長なことは言ってられない状況です。
硬くなっている脳がフル回転して、オーバーヒートしています。
週末はぐったりです。
でも、頑張って12月にはこのコースを終了したいです。

The world has gone mad!

A couple of weeks ago, Takako went to the local food hall to pick up her niece Yuka, from work.  9pm and she is in the car park fiddling around with the car seat covers. She hears the sound of singing and then is startled by a large Aboriginal fellow rolling up onto the bonnet of the car!  From there he jumped up onto the roof of the car and began dancing there! After a short while he jumps off the car gets back in his car and speeds out of the car park and does a loop, re enters the car park and then shoots out again.  As you can imagine Takako is a bit in shock and she rings me to tell me all about it!

Turns out that this guy is a known felon and wanted by the police. After his little dance on the car, he terrorised people at a local gas station threatening to blow it up with a lighter near a fuel pump, is tackled to the ground, gets away and then rams and writes of a police car! They eventually catch him and he is now in lock up awaiting sentencing!!

Hope they throw away the key!

There are days when the quiet peacefulness of the Kagoshima countryside is painfully missed!!!

Yesterday was a real hoot!

My nomination for City Council went in yesterday. No chance of winning a seat, but will be interesting to see how the race is run over here.
During my first day of campaigning I was propositioned a half dozen times and told I was "sizzling hot!" ! Whew.... and all this via Facebook!! LOL what are we all coming to!?
Went to sleep exhausted but smiling!  Wonder what is going to happen today!

Father's Day

As kids Father's day has always started with giving Dad half a piece of toast, half and egg and half a cup of coffee.  He usually got the other half of everything on Mother's day!  Then I moved away to Japan and Father's day got a bit confusing, what with it being on a different day in Japan and all. Last year, we didn't get to him in time and he had his schedule fully booked all day so this year to avoid any mishaps we collared him early and cooked him dinner.

Good thing too as I was asleep until 1pm today! I can't explain how good it feels to be able to lie in bed on a Sunday and just know that no one wants me, that there is nothing urgent lying in wait for me in my email and that I don't have to prepare anything for an early Monday class!  So lie there I did!

When I did eventually get up, I sat around with the newspaper and a cup of tea, chatted with my neighbours, pottered in the garden did some laundry and eventually got around cooking!
Dad arrived, my sister and her family arrived and we had a relaxing meal and comfortable conversation.

Stress 0%
B/P 125/83
All is good!

A year on ... and I am just getting it done!!

August 19th marks one year since I left Japan and moved back home to Perth.  It was a hard move in more ways than I can describe.  Still here I am and a year on things are finally starting to make more sense and beginning to settle down for me.

T is just having a ball and her days are filled with her "something new" . She smiles and all is right with the world.  I have started back to study and am feeling my brain slowly come back to life after a year of being shut down tight as a drum.

Converting 17 years worth of experience into a useable set of provable skills is an interesting task.  In many ways it is actually harder for me that it has been for T, although I guess in the long term it will be easier for me.

The 12 months of quiet has been a very good time for me to look back at my life in Japan and consider what I could have done differently and what I will do differently here.  One job at a time, healthier food and more exercise, time in the sun, time with friends and family, communication, films and books and of course, time with my music!

I have been truly blessed with great friends in Japan and I hope to see you guys again soon, but for now this is the best I can do to stay in touch and I will try and do better here.