Fantiniville

Having a little more time on my hands of late... And being in Newcastle for longer than the former 7 day routine... I've developed an inner shudder, A real swollen and itchy bee- sting within. It's now happened on a semi regular occurrence, which means it wont be long before this little Italian princess wigz out better than Kayne and addresses the issue head on. Stair climbing etiquette is what I'm talking about! I know... There is apparently apologies needed to be made to Indonesia, Debt deficit ceilings that need to be raised, And Toolie Tomic hanging out at Schoolies week. But in T's town, this is just as high, if not higher on the "get your shit sorted agenda" as any other first world issue. When I set off on my waddle/shuffle to soak up the great Newcastle coastline I pop the headphones in and think I'm a gazelle like figure (in reality I am completely aware I am far more like a gecko than a gazelle) floating across the top of p...

I'm all for positive thinking... Looking on the brighter, lighter side of life... I'm all for openness and honesty... We all know the sayings... Do to others as you would want done to yourself. What you put out into the world will be returned. Positive thoughts brings positive actions. And all the glass half full jazz you can get. I like it. I get it. I live by it. But there is a limit. And the lady I met this morning didn't just tear this limit to shreds... she added some rawness to it, mixed it up with some CLAG glue and built herself a new paper mache Positive Thinking Campervan - like Barbie used to have... but a pimped out version - fit for any mine site! I'm not sure if this lovely, lovely lunatic was on a concoction of peptides, ecstasy and good old fashioned caffeine, but she was all about stretching the real situation into one that was so far from reality, that Richard Branson would be wanting to launch his 2nd Virgin Atlantic interga...

I'm not sure if it's the dust in the air... The huge panoramic spances that I may stare out to from time to time that make you as significant as an ant's calf muscle in the grand scale of things... Or if it relates back to this whole 'fatigue' management thing whereby studies have been done on FIFO workers that show these longer than usual "working" days and amount of "working' days in a row/roster leave you in a mild state of delirium... But I think I'm getting dumber! Seriously! During a recent swing home, 'catch-ups' with family and friends, I found myself in conversations like... "Wow - this is your Baby Shower shin dig - I thought it was your Birthday Party shin dig?!!?!?" I clearly have not retained any references too that baking belly of yours over the past 8 months! So sorry! "I thought you were moving to Melbourne?" "I did - that was a year ago - I'm back - and you...

With another "swing" under my belt... And NO... To all you highly sexually charged peeps out there... The swing I am referring to is by no means as exciting as the one you are thinking of. Trust me. A swing is another "stint" onsite... another 21 days on, 7 days off. This time has allowed me to see how many life lessons can be applied to FIFO work. The hours of wasted time travelling, The hours spent with no connectivity to the outside world... And the hours on hours on hours of dirt, dust and big tonka trucks makes you think. Alot. Sometimes I may just be staring into nowhere... Thinking of nothing... However... I digress. Good old Doc JK. And NO... To all those thinking I am referencing a true legend - JK of Jamiroquai fame... I am actually referring to John Kotter - the apparent GURU of all things leadership and life changing. He has researched, studied and analysed things far more than I ever could, has even been the author of a dozen o...

Poor Gav. It had just gone 10am and we were only shortly back from smoko (aka morning tea) and here he was with a reasonable size white square spongey substance (which could pass as Spongebob Square Pants younger cousin, or my Mother's dog - Carl's long lost relative) on the end of pretty pale pink stick being stuck in his mouth and rubbed around the inside of his gums... Then gently placed to rest under his tongue so that enough saliva would encompass the square white sponge and turn it into a gluggy white blob. You go through many a course... Many nonreturnable hours spent staring at the Trainer thinking about the beach or what you forgot to pack. Many many many power point presentations thinking about the fact that surely newer Utube video's could be found as opposed to the outdated ones they're showing you for the 4th time. Many many many many many many online "elearning modules" where you can go at your own speed for hours on end until eith...

Summer has past us by, The afternoon sun drops away earlier, The mornings are no longer stagnate from the previous days heat.  They now have a crispness to them.  This can be emphasised with each gentle wind pocket that cooly sweeps past your ears and neck. To try and outsmart these wind pockets I envelope myself in the bright yellow winter michelin man parker that can be zipped upto my nose and turn the collar up to protect my neck. This yellow water proof industrial strength tea cosy, over the top of my startchy long sleeved high vis work shirt that goes does to my knees, and is tucked into the king gee pants that go up to my waist that fall over the top of my steel cap boots that still rub on my delicate princess calves ensures movement is limited and performed without haste or subtleness.  Catching Fudge, our families food frenzied beagle who due to his keen ability to consume anything from soap left on the bathroom floor to a bowl full of spaghetti left on ...

With the start of a new fly in fly out role in outback Oz, 3:30am wake up calls, single lane stretches of road covered by Hilux's like 100's and 1000's on the butter of fairy bread I thought what a great time to shake up T's week. I now spend my days on a big dusty patch of outback QLD where a few different companies build some structures and dig some holes so that in a few years time those holes and structures will aid Australia in extracting and exporting coal. .. or at least that's what I think is going on out here??!?! Yes... I've joined the world of FIFO workers... The only time my Nike swoosh logo addiction gets fed is if I get up when it's still dark... And generally when Wigz would be getting home... To have a workout in a very lonely, serene square tin box that has some exercise equipment in it. I pop the likes of T he H oods or P resets on so their tunes vibrate their way through my eardrums to my eyes... With each beat causing my eyelids to ...