hello rover

well today i went and presented a 10 minute talk about how i can try to meet the selection criteria. it went well, i answered their questions (there were only two on the panel, i was expecting 3), and presented the steps i would take in answer to two unseen questions that they presented to me. they were happy with how and what i said, the steps i would take and processes and procedures that i would make sure i found out about and followed as necessary. they were satisfied. i was happy it was done.
now i have to finish my application form and post it in to the district office. and i'll be getting a job in 2 months from now (assuming all goes well), woohoo!

woohoo! the saffron bulbs i planted way back in about february sometime have sprouted. well, two out of 10 did anyway. they were old and starting to go soft and squishy and rotting when i planted them and i just hoped that by planting them i could stop them decaying further and get some to grow by chance. and low and behold two of them have done just that. i'd almost given up on them and totally forgot about them till i saw the little green spikes emerging in one of the pots the other day. and so the mystery of life goes on. how on earth does that little seed know how to convert hydrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide and various other elements into complex molecules that can grow into a big strong plant and produce flowers and tasty little food additives and colourings? it's something i still find amazing. i need a camera so i can post some photos here.

i just started my own little vegetable garden
i dug up a little tiny plot of soil from amongst
the weeds and grass and turned it for the last few weeks
and now today i've planted some potatoes and garlic
i can't wait to see how it goes in the end
i've never grown garlic before, but it should be fairly
simple according to google. will find out the success
of my investment in a few months i guess.

now i just have to keep the weeds out
and birds, and insects, and ducks, and the cat

might even get a photo one day if i can

you wouldn't believe it, or maybe you would, you can decide
it seems that my car is at a difficult age
it's 13 years old and is having lots of problems
yesterday i replaced the rear brake pads and i'll have to do the front pads very soon too, and the handbrake pads need replacing too. and just last week the windscreen washer pump stopped pumping water, and i took it out and it is totally buggered.
and now i find out that the front wheel bearings need replacing, and they're sealed units that you have to buy off the shelf and bolt on. $330 dollars each at the holden dealer. i'm going to go for some secondhand ones and hope they last 50000 k's or so, they're only $125 each.

and now i expect that many other components will need replacing too, the gearbox is going to go sometime, and there's this horrible clunk in the drivetrain, and the diff is making noises and the whole car rattles like never before and each time i drive it there seems to be a new noise.

only last year the engine totally went and was overhauled with a reconditioned short block, plus new tyres and a wheel balance. i think what i've learnt here is that when a car gets to a certain age, it really needs lots of care, attention and money. or maybe it needs that care before it gets to this stage. either way, my car is behaving like a precocious brat and costing me lots of money. anyway, i've learnt how to fix it as a result, which is a good thing. and now with current petrol prices i wish i had a motorbike, or a nice turbo diesel. i'll look into that one day when i get a real job.

while being my semi-taxi driver self one morning around 2am
one of the customers had some interesting drunken advice
she said (speaking to her friend over the back)
'i don't try to not offend people,
i just say whatever and if they don't like it
then it's not my problem. that's how i live anyway'

and her friend goes
'well that's you. that's not me so get f*****'

it was in interesting insight into the life of two people who thought they were totally different, yet somehow clearly the same.

left on the doorstep
providing protection from rocks and damp
years of work at an end
cracked cowhide broken and dishevelled

what would one choose
if given a choice
to help or hinder
to build or plunder
to join or cleave asunder
of this i wonder

and so the little rover completed another task
now the rover moved on from the school
leaving the students behind to continue their own journey
and in their own time

sometimes it is hard to move on
leaving the vulnerable behind
but one cannot protect the young forever
they must learn to fly
the only way that is best
by trying

the air is getting cool
a shift in the wind
the cold is coming
with grey skies
the sign is painted
fly north it reads