Chapter 30 - The Words of The Doctor Are Written on the Bathroom Walls ....

In which our hero operates her phone in a public toilet for the first time ever ... that she can remember ...

OK, friends.  Now I'm not normally the type of person who would even consider using their phone until all bathroom related things have been completed and the hands have been washed.  That's as it should be.  But this was a very special circumstance, and I hadn't yet touched anything like the door handles or anything.  Please don't feel all awkward because I'm talking about bathrooms.  You'll see why it was important in just a minute.

So basically it was a break during a two hour lecture, so I went to the bathroom.  As one does occasionally.  This is the first thing I saw when I entered the stall.  I swear I did not write it myself.  I've never written on a public wall in my life.

If you don't get it, it's probably because it's Doctor Who related, and you don't watch Doctor Who.

Now in other news I finished my assignment that's been plaguing me for so long.  I just buckled down and did it, and it wasn't so bad.  I guess it was good that I'd been thinking about it for like 4 weeks.  I was up till 3 a.m. on Saturday, then to school by 12:30/1 p.m. on Sunday to complete the drawings/designs, and then submit it before the library staff left at 5.  I am fairly satisfied with it.  It could have been better, but it could also have been a lot worse. 

On Monday I'd made a plan in my head to go to see the new Die Hard movie after my lecture, which ended at 12.  But on the bus in the morning I ran into one of my new Australian friends and she told me that another friend, Skye, had organized the screening of a documentary called 'Bag It', about how plastic is everywhere and in everything and there's nothing we can do about it but reduce our usage so less of it ends up in the environment.  It was scheduled for 11-2, so I figured I could go after my lecture and catch the end of whatever discussion was going on.  As I was making my way there I noticed a line-up with a sausage sizzle at the end of it, so I joined in.  I love a good free lunch, me.  By the time I got to the movie screening thing it was like 12:30, and Skye said I'd missed it, but she could easily re-screen it, as it was just a DVD on a laptop hooked up to a projector.  So she did, and it was very interesting, and also disturbing.  It's seriously so easy to just chuck things in the bin and think they're dealt with, but what really happens?  Do bread bags I so carelessly throw out get dislodged from the landfill, and blow out into the ocean, and get mistaken for a jellyfish by a sea turtle, who subsequently chokes to death?  Will bits of the pens I use and throw out find their way into the stomach of an albatross, where they don't digest, but simply take up space that cannot be used by real food?  Like seriously, people.  Think about it.  Everything is made of plastic.  If someone said to us that we had to stop using plastic tomorrow, how seriously hard would that be?  Your phone is made of plastic.  Your computer.  Your TV.  The container your yoghurt comes in.  The bag your bread comes in.  The over packaging that toys and things come in.  The toys themselves.  Hand lotion and shampoo, clothing, granola bar wrappers.  It's everywhere. 

Another thing I learned too was that that "great big island of floating plastic" in the north-ish Pacific is for one thing only one of six 'gyres', as they're called, and for another not exactly what I thought.  I though it was whole items, like bags and barrels and coke bottles, just floating around, all together, like a big plastic island.  But it's not.  It's little bits of plastic floating beneath the surface.  Because plastic photo degrades, the sun's light makes it break up into smaller and smaller bits.  Like that toy dump truck that's been left outside for three years solid, and now is too brittle to play with.  So these smaller and smaller bits just float there, and sea creatures scoop them up inadvertently either thinking they're plankton, or perhaps in an attempt to grab something bigger.  So it ends up in their stomachs, and they take it home and feed it to their babies.  This whole area is really quite large, and it's not at all very feasible to clean it up.  Apparently it would be like trying to vacuum the entire United States three times over.  That would be mad.  So what can we do but reduce?

I should also move on to happier news.  After the second screening of the film Skye and I decided to just hang out for a bit, because we had nothing else going on.  We wandered for a while, and got some stamps at the post office, and some free art postcards from the caf., and had a hot beverage at one of the many coffee shops.  (I had hot chocolate, which was great.)  The hot beverages made me think of the latte printer, where someone modified an ink jet printer to print images on lattes with caramel colour food colouring, so I told Skye about that, and we discussed other interesting things, like the immortal jellyfish that grows old, and then young again, and then old again, until it gets eaten.  She asked if I did a blog, and I said that yes, I did, in order to keep the folks at home up to date with my adventures.  She said "Dibs on starring in it!".  So here she is, starring in it. 

We ended up in the Unibar, where if you bought a Budweiser you got a little ticket thing, and you could peel back the little panel and possibly win.  She decided she'd buy one for me and one for her.  Her ticket won a cap, so she gave it to me.  Now I have a Budweiser cap.  Then later, as we were sitting with some people, someone else at the table got one too, and their ticket won a 'T-Shirt Buddy', so they gave that to me as well.  Turns out it's a tee-shirt with a little pocket on the bottom left seam for your MP3 player, and a little tube of fabric sewn to the inside to run your earphones through so they don't go all over the place and tangled.

On Tuesday afternoon it rained rather heavily.  Here's a few images.

Torrential downpour off the roof of G07 (Link Building).  Rather like standing behind a waterfall, I would imagine.

The sun came out briefly as I was walking to the bus stop, but the rain was still falling.

A faint rainbow against some looming dark clouds.  (If you were to draw an arc between the hypotenuse of the lamp and about the middle of the roof, you'd see it.)

Some clearing in the evening sky by the time I got back to Helensvale Station.

On Wednesday I finally finally made it to see 'A Good Day To Die Hard' at Harbour Town, which is on the way home.  I had another one-hour day that day, because it's an odd week and I don't have a lab.  After the movie I went to Maccas to get a 30 cent ice cream cone.  They've currently got this "Tastes of America" promotion on, with like the Texas Roadhouse Burger, or the Philly Cheesesteak Burger, or whatever.  Also American Waffle Cones - $1.95.  So this is what greeted me as I turned to leave, having successfully acquired my ice cream

Who needs the real South Dakota when it's hot and randomly rainy and there's a cardboard Mt. Rushmore?  Hmm?  Well, I do, for one.  The air here doesn't smell like sweetgrass.

Chapter 29 - Return of the Skinny Black Chicken

In which our hero makes a new friend .... sort of ...

If you'll recall, dear reader, a while back I mentioned seeing a sort of skinny black chicken thing near the marsh area by the train station/shopping centre.  I attempted to take it's picture, but it scarpered pretty quick, so it's just an indecipherable black shape near a fence.

In recent weeks there had been a couple of developments to that story.  One is that I was in the Uni Bookshop last week and I noticed a book called 'Wildlife of the Greater Brisbane Area' or something to that effect.  So I flipped to the birds bit, and looked through the pictures, and found the skinny black chicken thing, and it turns out it's called a Purple Swamp Hen.  So I was fairly happy with finally having cracked that mystery.

Then, yesterday, I was walking past the library, and on the patch of grass nearby was a skinny black chicken thing.  Bit random.  I wasn't aware of there being nearby wetlands, but OK. Whatever.  Maybe it had just gone for a wander.

Then on my way back, like ten minutes later, it was still there.  So I took some pictures, and as I was taking them it came right up to me.  It was awfully friendly for a wild creature, or perhaps just very trusting.  I've heard that was the problem with the Dodo.  It didn't know enough so be afraid of people, so they all got killed because they were too trusting.  Hopefully this chicken thing meets a happier fate.  It was also still there as I was walking to the bus stop from my Skeptics Club meeting, which was at like 7 p.m.

So here's some pictures.  You can see the bit of purplish/bluish that gives it it's name.  Also, its toes are like twice the length of a normal chicken.

Chapter 28 - Dirk Gently's Holistic Bush of Rice Bubbles

In which our hero seems to be running out of clever titles, and starts wondering if she can keep up this 'our hero' sub-heading bit for a full two years, and also some things that were seen at the shops and elsewhere ... also not-chocolate not-bunnies ...

OK, friends.  This is kind of a conglomeration of randoms that I felt needed sharing. 

To begin with, on Wednesday when we got home from Movie World there was a postcard in the mail for me.  From Nepal! (Thanks Christine!)(Not me, obviously.  Another Christine.) 

Here are some interesting things I saw at the shops. 

Doctor Pepper in the foreign food section.

Ya, in Australia.  Where the Jaffa Cakes come in pudding cups.

Snap! Crackle! Pop! Kellog's Rice Bubbles!  (I would really love to know why these cereals are differently named.  I need to talk to a Kellog's marketing person, methinks.)

Here's a different sort of make of vehicle I saw in a car park.

On Saturday I went to Harbour Town (the outlet shopping centre, if you'll remember) on a gum boot finding mission.  I'd seen some there for $10, but when I got to that shop they were closed for renovations, so I went back to the first shop I'd come to as I arrived, and acquired these ...

... which conveniently match my over-arcing theme of blue and red things.  They're actually a size too big, but they didn't have any in my size that I liked the look of.  They also had solid yellow and solid red, and if they'd been in my size I would have got one of them, so as to be like Paddington, but they didn't.  So I figured if I'm going to get a pair not my size, they better be an absolutely awesome colour.  So there you have it.

I also found another koala statue.  This one could be called a Kamo-ala too, because it's called 'Adapting to the Jungle', and it's about humans infringing on critters habitats and how the critters adapt to their new 'jungle'.  Since it was in a more high-traffic area, and also had some additional sculpture work added on, there was protective rope around it.  Also, a 'no climbing on the koala' sign, which is pictured at the end.

What's this amazing sight I happened upon while walking home today?  It's just a bush full of cockatoos, that's all.  

They're kind of hard to spot with white sky behind, but maybe if you download the pic and zoom in ...

You can see two here milling about on the lawn.  You may notice the the vaguely triangular white blob on the left is the wrong way up.  That's because it was rolling on it's back, like a horse.

Here are the chickens milling about.  Apparently we're getting eight more soon, from some friends who are moving and can no longer accommodate them.  These ones have really started to earn their keep with the egg laying, though.

Here's a lovely picture of the view from the back deck around sunset.  I think probably on Wednesday evening.

Now this is very exciting.  This morning as I was tossing and turning and waiting for my alarm to go I could hear it raining outside.  I was prepared to walk down to the station, but just as I was about to leave Sarah offered me a ride, because she was going out anyway to take #3 to kindy.  (Maybe it's kindie.  I don't know.)  So I got to the station half an hour earlier than usual, and only waited about a minute before this turned up!

It's a double-decker bus! I didn't think they had them here!

 This was, I believe, a serendipitous event, because although it's the correct route number, it's not at a scheduled time that I would normally be taking it.  But it happened to be raining, and Sarah happened to offer me a ride, and so it was my fate to ride a double-decker bus to uni today.  As soon as it pulled up I seriously said 'Oh, cool!' out loud, then I got on and went straight upstairs, and sat in the very front, which was nearly fully windows, as you can see.  It was kind of like those trains in Copenhagen.

At the very next stop two boys and their grandma got on, and they did the same thing -- straight upstairs and to the front.  It was so fun.  And it was fun seeing everyone at the stops smiling as the bus pulled up.

Now this is something else I saw on the way home, and it's very exciting.  I was looking for The Princess Bride in a movie shop, and I came across this:

Look Annie look!  (If you knew about this and didn't share then I'm not sure we can be friends anymore.) (I don't know why you wouldn't share, though.  So here I am sharing.  How much excitement is this?)

 Very much excitement, that's what.

Lastly, we have some new house guests/residents.  More accurately yard guests.  They're guinea pigs, from the same friends who can no longer accommodate the chickens.  There's two, but one scampered off into it's little house when I approached, so there's only one in the picture.  The not-pictured one is black.

Not-chocolate not-bunnies.

 They do sort of resemble bunnies, but without the ears.

That's it, my friends.  It's way past my bedtime.  Good night.

Chapter 27 - Movie World!

In which our hero has a go at convincing her intrepid companions to join her on the very awesome upside-downy rides, and is unsuccessful ... also chocolate bunnies....

Hello again, dear friends.  I know, I know.  It's been ages and ages.  I had a whole week of holidays and didn't post anything.  You've been lost without me.  Well, not to worry.  Because here's some more adventures through which you can live vicariously.

I think Monday and Tuesday I just did more reading.  Sarah was off to Bluesfest again on Monday, where she got to see Paul Simon (so totally jealous), so the house was basically mine.  By basically I mean totally.  I locked the chickens up again in the evening, and watched the repeat of Doctor Who which was on ABC2 at 8:30.  Then I had a go at dyeing my eggs using food like 20 drops of food colouring, a teaspoon of vinegar, and boiling water.  I used Pillar Box Red, Blue, Green, and Mauve.  The result is below.  Some turned out better than others.  The green ones were a bit weird looking.  The blue and red were the best, although they didn't all turn out the same -- some were in longer and turned out lighter.  I don't know what's up with that.  Did I mention they were brown eggs, too?  So it was a poorly designed experiment, as far as scientific method goes, what with having two unknowns (being the base egg colour and the type of dye used) but it turned out OK.  I should mention as well that normally I use the powdered dyes that Mom buys from the Polish bakery, so that's why the food colouring was an unknown.  I also dyed them raw, which may or may not be wise.  The hot water didn't seem to have cooked them at all though, which is good, and I've eaten all but one and not gotten sick, so I don't think I inadvertently introduced bacteria to them or anything.  All the eggs here are not sold refrigerated, which I think means they haven't been washed, right?  It seems to be OK, though, as nothing has gone wrong yet.  My dyed eggs got re-refrigerated after their transformations, and of course cooked before being eaten.

I guess I'd already eaten a few by the time I took the pic.  I dyed ten.  The two very light ones are mauve.  I think the best two are the back left and back second-left.

Tuesday the kids were home from their Dad's, so we kind of hung out and played a bit, then we all went to Nana & Granddad's for an Easter Egg Hunt, which was fun, and it meant I got more Easter eggs, which were gone by Wednesday noon, I'm pretty sure.  Then the kids stayed there for dinner and Sarah and I went home.  I probably read a bit about mass spectrometers, then watched some telly, and ate some chocolate eggs.

Now we get to the exciting bit with the pictures.  Movie World!  It's actually called Warner Brothers Movie World.  It was pretty cool.  They have this deal on for locals to get a VIP pass, which is basically unlimited visits to Movie World, Sea World, and Wet 'n' Wild, which is a water slide park right beside Movie World.  Now, if I'd waited till April 12th to buy my pass, it would only have cost $40.  But that's the last day of the school holidays (for all the kids around here), and I'd already be back in school.  So I waited to see if we'd actually go to one of the parks, because it was discussed as a holiday activity option, but not for certain.  I ended up ordering it online the morning of.  It looks like this:

It's got my picture on the back and everything.

Before I got that actual shiny pass, which involved printing the receipt at home then taking it to the ticket counter, I got my first ever close-up impression of Movie World.  It was a pedestrian crossing sign.

Tee hee hee.  It's Bugs Bunny feet, see?  It's like those ones with people feet, but different.  (See the 'Campus Tour' post.  I'm sure there's one there.)

Once inside, the first thing we did was go into the Roxy Theatre to see the Ice Age Dawn of the Dinosaurs 4D Experience, which was only about 20 minutes, not the whole movie.  I'm a bit behind on my Ice Ages.  I think I've only seen the first one.  Anyway, the 4th dimension in this case was moving seats and water spraying in our faces when the characters sneezed.  It was fun.  I feel like I should know what the Roxy Theatre is from, but I don't.  Oh well.

Of course now I have the song from 'Chicago' stuck in my head. Nuts.

We then carried on to the Scooby Doo Haunted House/Castle Thing Ride, which was an approximately 45 minute wait. At least, that's what the sign said it would be, but I didn't actually time it.  Needless to say #2 was getting a bit fidgety and impatient by the end of the wait.  (#3 had been dropped off at kindy, which is like daycare, so she wasn't with us.)  #2 also decided that he didn't actually want to go on, but it was too late because we were practically loading at that point.  We should have figured out a way for him to skip it, though, because he got quite scared and didn't want to go on any other rides except the carousel.  Poor kid.  I don't think it was the "scary" stuff that scared him, like the mummies and whatnot, but there was a bit where the carriage went backward, and I think that was the moment of freak-out-ness.

Approach to the Scooby Doo ride.  It was entirely enclosed, too, so mostly quite dark.

Then we went to the Wild West Falls for the log ride, which #2 waited patiently outside of, and waved happily as we went careening down the hill into the water.

You have to walk through the old timey western town to get to the ride.  I think they do some kind of cowboy show in the street here a couple times a day.

At this point we split up, and #1 and I were going to go on the Batman ride, which is basically like Drop Zone, except it shoots you up real fast before it drops you.  The closer we got, the more reluctant #1 got because she realized how actually high it was.  So we turned back to the kiddie zone and went on the roller coaster and the carousel there, then we headed back to Batman and #1 waited patiently by the fountain while I went on.  Then it was time to go.  It was super fun.  Like, really, really, very much fun. 

Since the kids are fairly little, and Sarah's not a big fan of the heights, I'm going to have to go back either by myself or convince some of my new friends to join me.  Definitely going back though.  It's actually not that big.  Not compared to how I remember Canada's Wonderland being.  There's only about six rides rides for the big kids, plus the kiddie zone, plus shows and shops and food places with very long queueueues.

Here's quickly some other things I saw there.

Look Annie look! (It's a Harry Potter Shop!)

A car having been shot up by gangsters! (It's a bit hard to see the bullet holes, but they're there.)(Might be supposed to be Bonnie & Clyde's car?)

Look Dad look!

Mmmm... candy shop ....

This is on the carousel.  It says 'WB Movie World', then underneath 'Hollywood on the Gold Coast'.

Just the Green Lantern and the Flash walking around.  No big deal.  There was a Wonder Woman as well, and a Super Girl.  I don't know why they're not in the picture.

And lastly, the chocolate bunnies.  On Thursday we went for a grocery shop, and ALDI had chocolate bunnies on clearance for 49 cents.  Naturally I bought one.  I also got a litre of sunscreen at Coles for $9.