Melbourne Aquarium

So I took messrs 3 & 4.5 to the aquarium.

Mr 3 staged a sit in in the foyer of the aquarium - he just sat in the middle of the floor while I organised the tix.

First stop was the cafe as mr 4.5 was starving and wanted a croissant for lunch. Luckily the aquarium cafe sells croissants so disaster averted there.

Mr 3 wanted to skip lunch and headed over to the large aquarium in the cafe - he was more than happy to wander the aquarium on his own - and was quite disgruntled when I insisted he stay with us.

After eating we wandered the aquarium. The boys loved the 'tunnels' (their word) where the fish swim over the ceilings.

But the big hits were the penguins.

The boys loved them. Mr 4.5 adopted one penguin and followed him round the enclosure. Mr 3 darted from glass pane to glass pane watching the penguins swimming, playing or just standing there.

After an ice cream break mr 3 wanted to go back to see the penguins (which we did) and he would still be there now if mr 4.5 hadn't wanted to go home.

Day 31

Yesterday would have been my dad's 74th birthday so last night most of the family went out to dinner.

We dined at the Manningham Club - formerly the Victorian home of the Brisbane Lions (it used to have a lot of the Fitzroy Football Club's memorabilia displayed - hence dad used to enjoy dining there)

In attendance were my mum, myself, my sister, two of my brothers,one of my sisters-in-law, and my three nephews (12, 4.5, practically 3), and my dads brother & sister-in-law.

Missing were my other brother (he lives in England so Bulleen is a bit of a commute), my niece (holidaying in Yinnar) and a sister-in-law (prior engagement)

On Wednesday nights there is a guy called Andy (Andy's antics) hired to entertain the kids so while the adults sat & chatted & caught up the littlest nephews were playing poison ball, having car races, seeing magic tricks etc.

Funny moment was when practically 3yr old showed us how he could pull a 50 cent piece from his ear.

It was a good evening - it was great to catch up with my aunt & uncle; the food was good and the company superb.

Dad would have enjoyed it.

Day 30

So I made it.

30 days.

30 blogposts.

I've learnt a lot while taking part in this challenge.

I've had to be disciplined - it would have been easy to skip a day or two.

I've had to think - of things to blog about, of memes to meme about, of items of interest in the library world

My rss feeds have gone through the roof - as I follow my fellow #blogeverydayofjune bloggers and get links to other bloggers from them.

I've felt at various times - inspired, amused, envious, part of a community, befriended, and a thousand and one other emotions.

It's 'fleshed' out some of the people I follow on twitter - I've learnt more about them and their jobs and their lives than I knew from their tweets.

I've got ideas and thoughts to follow up on - things for my job, things for a job I don't have yet, things for a job I want.

I've learnt a lot - there are a lot of 'thinkers' in the group - my mind is buzzing, my To Do list is full of websites to visit, software to investigate, and information to ponder, read & inwardly digest.

But most of all it's been fun.

Will I keep blogging?

Yes - perhaps not every day, but I am setting myself the target of updating each of my blogs on a weekly basis, which, if I include work blogs, will probably average out to one blog post a day but at least I know I can do it.

The End (or The Beginning)

30 things in 30 days

Thanks to @Sophiemac for this...

30 things I did in June besides blog every day.

1. Bought a MacBook

2. Uploaded my first ever youtube videos

3. Went to Hobart (Richmond, Salamanca market)

4. Thought about 'self-funding' Alia access 2010.

5. Read 22 books

6. Went to a 'downloadables' seminar (& got into trouble for going to said seminar)

7. Decided I don't like my job (see #6)

8. Organised 2 author talks

9. Decided on my 5 favourite books

10. Wrote an op. ed piece on the difference between favourite books and best books

11. Took my youngest nephews on an 'after dark' adventure

12. Started knitting a blanket (lots of tension squares, all different patterns)

13. Made a donation to Peter Mac in memory of my dad

14. Got my hair cut (new hairdresser - same salon)

15. Found out that a cousin (who is exactly 2 weeks older than me) has a tumour on the pituitary (sp?) gland.

16. Did two desk shifts at Camberwell

17. Changed a light globe

18. Broke the smoke alarm

19. Decided I wanted to learn to crochet

20. Bought 5 dvds

21. Re-read Mary Grant Bruce's Billabong series

22. Bought too may books from Book Depository

23. Became addicted to Toddlers & Tiaras on Foxtel

24. Went to the theatre (x 4)

25. Took 8 (garbage) bags of donations to the op shop

26. Renewed my membership to the Fitzroy Brisbane Football Club Historical Society

27. Took my mum out for a counter lunch - just because

28. Found my pinking shears (missing for over a year)

29. Competed (badly) in the World Quizzing Championships

30. Having dinner with my family (and my dad's brother's family) to 'celebrate' what would have been my dad's 74th birthday (tomorrow)

Only one post to go...

Day 28

So I've somehow made it to day 28. It's been an experience!

I must admit I've had to be disciplined (no bad thing) to blog each day which will hopefully stand me in good stead.

With 5 blogs of my own that I contribute to; and 2 work blogs (plus possibly another couple) if I can write one blog post a day and alternate between home & work blogs I could easily be updating each blog regularly.

Perhaps that should be my goal for the 2010/2011 financial year?

Remembering dad.

At 12.30 am this morning it was exactly 5 years since my dad passed away.

On Christmas Eve 2004 he was diagnosed with three types of cancer: thyroid - easily treatable; bone - a tumour on the spine that could be controlled with radiation therapy; and lung .

The lung was the most worrying as his father & 2 of his uncles had died of it.

Dad started treatment at Peter Mac just after Christmas - me, my sister & 2 of my brothers organised a roster among ourselves to drive mum & dad to and from Sale, and to and from wherever they were staying in Melbourne to Peter Mac.

My England based brother came over for a quick visit in early march 2005 - dad was on a real high then - he looked amazingly fit & healthy.

Then a little over 2 weeks later dad was in Peter Mac & we were told he wouldn't be coming home.

But he did.

His condition started to deteriorate in late June and we organised for England brother to come back. We kept telling dad "Cam will be home tomorrow morning, Cam will be home tomorrow morning"

Dad made it to tomorrow morning but passed away before Cam arrived home.

I've blocked a lot of that time out of my memory but there are some things that stand out.

My youngest brother & I leaving Sale @ 2.30 am to drive to Tullamarine to pick up England brother knowing that he was too late.

That drive - it was extremely foggy - we couldn't see anything through the fog - we were tired, emotional and (with hindsight) should not have been driving.

Breaking the news to England brother.

Calling in at sister's house & brother's house @ 5 am to pick up clothes etc for funeral. Neighbour of brother called police when he saw two people enter brother's house & emerge 20 minutes later with suitcase.

Now, five years on, I look back on the memories & treasure them - dad was always there for us. If we were involved in something then dad was there cheering us on.

When my (then) 4 year old brother was told he was too young to join the under 10 footy team (the youngest team) dad and a mate started an under 7 team and a football club (which went on to produce several AFL players).

When the family moved to Sale dad's Saturdays were spent trying to watch my sister & I play netball before heading off to the football (where he was usually coach/runner/statistician for my brothers' teams).

He MC'd the calisthenics concerts (mum taught calisthenics in melbourne & in sale).

He was at various times President of the Sale Football Club, President of the Sale Cricket Club, on the committee of the Sale Basketball Association, Araluen PS's parents committee, Sale High's parents committee. He was a founding member of the Doncaster Heights Primary School committee (not to mention again the Doncaster Heights football club).

Then there was his 49 years & 10 months as a Freemason (both in Melbourne & in Sale).

His long term devotion to the Fitzroy Football Club (despite his favourite cousin playing in several premierships in the 1950s for Melbourne).

His unique collection of McCallum Whisky memorabilia (which was written up in several publications here and overseas)

But most of all he was Dad and I still miss him.

Bruce Robert Malcolm. June 30, 1936 - June 27, 2005.

winter shopping in Melbourne

So I ventured into the city today to buy a new laptop. (The city cos I have giftcards/vouchers from David Jones, Myer, JB & Officeworks - & I knew i could find them all in the city)

My current laptop was purchased at Big W some 4 years ago and whilst still an an absolute workhorse and brilliant pc it's down to less that 5gb hard disk space free (& that's after I've shifted absolutely everything I can think of to an external drive). When the new laptop arrives this one will become an open source machine (big brother or sister to the eeepc).

However whilst I did shop successfully I did not buy a laptop.

Instead I bought a new doona & some new flannelette sheets. Perfect for the chilly Mont Albert winters.

Tomorrow I will buy laptop (or new slippers - who knows?)