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I thought that, as I wasn't able to go to Bathurst this weekend, why not phone Jayne and see if I could visit her instead. After all I've stayed there before. Her dog Narla died last week of Parvo.

She'd only had Narla for a year and she was a big silly sook of a black dog, much like Hallie. Apparently Jayne was waiting on her tax cheque to pay for vaccination. A visiting friend might have brought it with them by accident. Narla died after a few days, despite a night at the vets (which left a hefty bill).

This is just so sad. I fully understand just how upset she is, because I was just as upset when Peggy died. But here's the think - I can't take the risk of even visiting Jayne because I might bring back the virus with me! The pups are a day old - no way they can be vaccinated any time soon.

Hallie and the pups are fine just now, and I want them to stay that way.

BUGGER!

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I was, on the whole, a good trip to Jayne's.

On the way down I got (accidentally) hit on the head with a metal umbrella in ALDI! It was more of a shock than anything else, though I have had a headache for two days now...

Things went better in Sydney. I spent my $50 credit on an 800+ page biographical manga and a little book about emotions.  Oddly enough the gift certificate I used was dated exactly one year before I bought them! Then I saw the exhibitions at the Museum of Contemporary Art - very refreshing. Had dinner on Oxford St and caught a train/bus to Jayne's.

Good to see Jayne again. I gave her my old DVD play and also my SD set top box. I set both up in the morning and was amazed at how many standard definition digital channels there are in Sydney! They're broadcasting two channels for federal parliament (test only at the moment), a teacher's channel, and something called EXPO that seems to only show infomercials.  "Ten million channels and nothin' on", as they say.

Saw The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus in Liverpool on the way back home, and totally enjoyed it (though what the general public makes of it is anyone's guess). Otherwise it was a long trip home. I bought some ibuprofen at Strathfield and ended up giving most of those away to a young women at the bus stop at Glendale who was begging bus fare and had a bad toothache.

Funny sort of trip, but a good one. When I got home I fed the cats, myself, and crashed. Back to bed in a minute.

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I'm heading down to Jayne's today.

It's going to be a leisurely trip - I'll be spending some time in Cardiff, and a lot of time in Sydney until I catch the train out at around 7pm from Central. The time down in Sydney will be well spent at the Museum of Contemporary Art, and also in spending $50 credit I won last year for a 24 comics day event. And maybe some lunch and general browsing elsewhere as well.

I won't be getting to Jayne's until about 8:30pm. that's because everyone is out until then. What they don't know is that I'm taking down my old SD set top box and DVD player to give to Jayne. Jayne is poor. She makes do, but there's little money spare for new gear. I don't need a set top box for my lounge room (now hooked up via digital tuners and/or a PVR) and I've decided to (eventually) get a HD set top box, so the old one is superfluous. Likewise I bought a DVD player for Jenny and she couldn't use it at the time so I took it home with me - that one stays with me (it has memory!) and the old one goes to Jayne.

Why to Jayne? She's been a good friend over the years and I periodically stay at her house in times of stress and crisis. So why not?

Wednesday

Nov. 13th, 2008 11:43 am
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Jayne told me Wednesday morning that I cried and sobbed in my sleep so loudly it woke her and Alex (her son). Apparently when asked I said "I'm fine" but I don't remember this at all (then again, I said the same thing while asleep when asked if I wanted coffee the night before). I've been so sad lately after Peggy's death. Maybe I needed to do some more crying.

In the morning while I waited for Jayne to wake up, I watched Pan's Labyrinth. A film about any number of things, where being true to oneself is more important than staying alive. Very sweet and sad.

08-11-12 TrainI knew though that I needed to go home. Spent most of the day travelling. Normally I like the trip by train, but yesterday I just felt tired. It wasn't the regular 8 carriage intercity train, but a shorter 4 carriage thing that was poorly air conditioned. Hated it, and was glad to get off at Cardiff. Did a little shopping on the way home. Not much. Was greeted by Hallie at the front gate. Kevin and Michelle were in the shower so I quietly went out the back for an hour and read a comic, and then just sat there thinking about things.

08-11-12 Power LinesI finally met Kevin, who seemed glad to see me back. Then I borrowed Hallie and went for a bush walk to the cairn. When I walked the fire breaks and bike tracks around here with Pegasus, I discovered a cairn on top of a hill. I have no idea who started it or why it was there, but it had survived the big fires of 2000 (when everything between Barnsley and Holmesville was burnt to the ground). Every time something important happened in my life, I'd walk up there with Pegasus and ad another item or rock.

08-11-12 WirligigThis time around it didn't seem right to go alone, so I took Hallie with me. I also took a windbreaker I'd bought the day (shown left) before and marked 7 of its 8 petals 08-11-12 CarneP E G A S U S. It'd been a while since I'd been there (Peggy wasn't up to the walk the last year) and the animal trails up to the top were overgrown. But we got there, and I planted the windbreaker on top of the cairn. Ave Pegasus.

Then we walked home. Been a long day, and later when I walked to the chips shop with Bobby (who seemed very happy to see me) I found that it was shut, so it was a cheese sandwich, watching House on TV, and an early night for me.

Tuesday

Nov. 13th, 2008 11:10 am
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I'd decided to stay at Jayne's one more night at first the only intention I had to to get a curry meal at Tamara's in Newtown. But in any event things went differently.

08-11-11 Casula PowerhouseJayne left for her volunteer work by train, and rather than go immediately to Newtown (which is an easy thing to do on that line) I decided to visit the Casula Powerhouse next to the station. Every time I came down to visit Jayne, I'd see the changes as renovated this from a gutted shell into an art gallery. But I'd never gone in and had a look. Had to wait around until 10am, but it was worth it (that's another post).

After I'd thoroughly extracted all the culture I could from the gallery, I hopped on the train to Liverpool for lunch. Originally I'd been going to have that in Newtown, but after visiting the gallery I realised that Liverpool was a huge melting pot of cultures as immigrants from India, Sri Lanka, Fiji, the Philipines, Iraq, Iran, and elsewhere had settled there. If I was going to find a good curry anywhere other than Tamara's, it was going to be here! I did, at a place called a "The Little Curry Shop" which was a takeaway place with a couple of tables. I knew it was good when I saw some women in saris come in and order food. And it was good.

08-11-11 Liverpool WestfieldsI spent a good while window shopping around Liverpool. There are two parts to this area - Westfields and the rest. Westfield shopping centres are franchised mega shopping complexes that seem to be everywhere in New South Wales. There's one in the Newcastle metro area at Kotara - and by there being only one, it's a treat to go to. But the one in Liverpool is one of many, and could be anywhere. According to Jayne, the further away from Westfield's that you get, the more particular are the shops, and she was right.

08-11-11 Liverpool MallThe rest of Liverpool is quite a mixed bag. I found a number of fashion places that specialise in Indian and Pakistani clothing, where if I wanted (and I do) get a sari that would look good on me - however, wear a sari in Barnsley? I think not.  There were all sorts of food shops selling all sorts of cuisines. There were heaps of "discount import shops" and I bought a couple of whirligigs, two graphic novels (the unexpected pair of Lux and Alby sign on and save the universe and Assume Nothing: Evolution of a Bi-Dyke) and assorted other stuff from there. Overall, I loved it!

In the afternoon I did end up at Westfield's, to watch Newcastle at the Greater Union. Like Death race the day before, this seemed to be a film I need to watch. An Australian film set in the title city (though you barely see much of it except Mereweather beach), but really about a drama in a family of surfers (Surfest is big here). I'm not into surfing at all, but the film did a credible job of sharing just what the attraction was for the main characters. There's a death in this film and part of it is about grieving. Needed to see it.

After catching the wrong bus back to Jayne's I had dinner with her family and we watched Sweeney Todd on video. Finally, someone else who loves the film as much as me! Fell asleep watching some other film called Swordfish, and later when trying to watch Pan's Labyrinth.

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08-11-10 Macarthur ParkI wandered about Sydney via the trains on Monday. I decided to go to Macarthur, which is the end of the line on one of Sydney's rail lines. Strange place - one side looked like someone's idea from Second Life of what a park should be - 08-11-10 Macarthur Shoppingall hills and isolated trees (I fully expected there to be an ultra modern cemetery on the other side, but it was only a TAFE) and other side a relatively new Westfield's shopping centre. I had a late lunch there and decided to see a film  - Death Race. This is a remake of Death Race 2000 and was exactly what I needed - mindless and pointless ultra-violent entertainment.

After that I caught a series of train around in a great circle, from Macarthur to Glenfield to Wolli Creek to Redfern to Newtown. I was not in a terribly good mood when I got there. I wanted to eat at Tamara's North Indian Curry place but after I found an ATM I couldn't find it! I was rude to some beggars, posted an entry on LJ, and finally I caught the train to Liverpool and then a bus to Casula, where I turned up at 10pm on Jayne's doorstep.

Goddess I needed to go to Jayne's. All I said was "Peggy's gone" at the front door and she knew why I was there. In the last three years she'd lost three pets, including one I helped bury. She understood, and I could talk to her.

I slept on the sofa.

Relax

Dec. 15th, 2007 01:17 am
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Had a good day today. Spent it relaxing, watching Lexx with Jayne, doing a little shopping, and helpig her proof and correct her thesis (due in on Monday) for her.

Back to Barnsley tomorrow.

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