Burnt Out Car Nearby

I like to see Holdens bite the dust, like they did at Bathurst this year, but not in this manner and not in my backyard. We don't need this sort of behaviour going on anywhere. It's normally kept for the pines areas outside the city.

If You Don't Shit, You Die

Don't read any further if you are at all squeamish about the functions of the body.

Sorry about the bluntness of the title. Something I was taught when very much younger was a saying along the lines of, "If you don't shit, you die". It means what it says. You have to eat to survive and there is a by-product of that eating. Maybe it has some ramifications if you are also constipated.

I would like to debunk the theory, if I may. Poo is just waste that the body can't extract any nutrients from, correct? Surely we have the technology to remove from our food anything that the body can't make use of. Then, we could survive quite happily without the need to produce poo. Don't you think? The large intestine could become irrelevant. The Greeks have found another use for it.

Bit Of A Family Weekend

Saturday morning there was no Korean school due to the school holidays. We ventured to IKEA, our favourite store, and tried hard to get parking. It is a very popular place. Yu-Jin wanted to go in the ball house, we wanted Yu-Jin to go in the ball house, so, he went in the ball house. Why they only allow the kids to be left there for one hour beats me. Miky wanted to purchase a footstool as I didn't want to make it. I have neither the time, tools, wood or inclination.

After having lunch the boy and I went to taekwondo and I did the grocery shopping. Once home I rang my friend Ben from uni to see if he wanted to join us for a BBQ lunch. He was busy at that time so we made it for 4 o'clock.

Sunday morning we went for a walk as a family down by the river. When we got home I set up the dining table as a table tennis table. I've had the equipment for a long time, just not the table. Yu-Jin and I played for quite some time. Miky made a cover for the footstool and did a wonderful job. I'll take photos later.

Afterwards we met my friend's family and went to the park in Belmont for a BBQ. Man, the flies were bad. The kids really enjoyed playing together and the park had an "active" volcano in the centre. It was good to be able to catch up with some friends. We had been planning to do something with them during the school holidays but went away for a week and then I started my new job. At least Miky and Anne can catch up later today and the kids can play together again.

Catch Australian Idol Last Night?

It was a good performance last night - the contestants' choice of song along with a guitar, if they played, and it turned out quite well. Comments on the individual performances:

Dean - He's a performer. People will go to his concerts. This boy will make it in some regard.
Damien - Our favourite. His acapella version of Chris Isaak's "Wicked Game" sent shivers up my spine. He's not quite the same class as Isaak but it was a great arrangement and acoustics. Loved it. Peformance of the night.
Bobby - This guy performs well but he's a little bit "out there". I think he definitely has a future as a producer and not so much as a singer.
Jessica - This girl is going to be a diva in the mould of Whitney Houston. She sings brilliantly for someone so young.
Chris - Good performer in each genre but he's not a star. Very good chance of making it in the future.
Ricky - Tries hard and will be successful in his chosen career but it won't be singing. He doesn't have a weapon such as a voice. Only his inability to sing lets him down.
Lisa - Honestly, this girl makes even batshit interesting. I'd rather listen to two cats fighting.

I think that Ricky will go tonight, followed by Chris then Bobby. Unfortunately with Lisa being the baby of the competition I'm sure she will get the teeny boppers votes and survive far longer than she deserves to. She has very little talent.

Trip To Victoria - Day Four

We ventured out looking for breakfast although Yu-Jin and I had already eaten Nutri Grain. Miky couldn't make up her mind, and it didn't help that he tummy was very unsettled, but she finally decided on soup and a focaccia. I walked to the chemist to buy some buscopan for our stomach aches.

Hook turn sign in Melbourne so that you avoid colliding with the trams.

The Old Rialto Hotel.

The slightly-more-impressive new Rialto.

The Rialto Observation Deck is right up near the top.

They don't have newspaper stands like this in Perth.

You can see the different eras that each of the buildings came from with the contrasting styles on display.

The old Spencer St Station has been given a bit of a revamp and become the Southern Cross Station.

Back to the hotel to check out and then grabbed a taxi to the Budget car rental shop. Our driver took a wrong turn at the intersection where Budget was situated but no harm was done. I had booked a Nissan Pulsar but was supplied with a Subaru Impreza. The Budget guy showed me quickly on the map how to get onto the Westgate Freeway and to the Western Freeway so that we could make our way to Ballarat.

Fairly uneventful journey to Ballarat. So uneventful that everyone else had a sleep. On the freeway there was a radar speed check which I thought was quite useful. It only registered speeds of up to 117 km/h so no point in trying out the car to see what it could be wound out to.

Once in Ballarat we stopped off at the Eureka Centre which is the site of one of the most significant events in Australian history - the Eureka Stockade. Sorry to say that, although the centre was well displayed, it was a bit boring. We spent 20-30 mins walking through. Obviously nothing remained of the original site of battle so they were a bit limited in what they were able to display. I purchased a combined ticket to the Eureka Centre and Sovereign Hill, which was our reason for visiting Ballarat.

Our impressive hire car.

An old coach inside the Eureka Centre.

Old guns on display.

That all-famous Southern Cross flag.

List of the main people, out of some 12000 miners, who were involved with the Eureka Stockade.

Some 60000 miners signed a petition against the Government's mining licence requirement.

Eureka Circle - to commemorate the 150th anniversary in 2004 of the Eureka Stockade.

Eureka Circle - detail of one of the 24 or so panels.

Sovereign Hill was excellent. People at the living museum, a bit like a folk village in Korea, were in character throughout the town. Clothes, schooling and everything available for purchase were done in the old style of the 1850s.

I had a lamb stew pie for lunch which was rather different. There was a five gun salute marking tribute to those who fell at the Eureka Stockade and lots of wares on display and for sale. The township even has a bowling alley. The kids attended school and you could poke your head into the classroom to have a stickybeak. You could even wander through people's houses as they went about their lives. School kids from the outside world could book a class in the school and be taught in the days of yesteryear. What a great idea for kids of today to appreciate how learning was carried out all those years ago.

Miky felt sick after lunch so went to have a sleep in the car. Yu-Jin and I panned for gold whilst waiting for the Mine Tour to start. We didn't find any. The underground mine tour was excellent - Xavier was our guide. He informed us that the wages in 1854 were 2 pounds, 7 schillings and 6 pence. That equates to about A$80k p.a. these days. But life expectancy was mid 30s. We took a train ride to the surface.

Sovereign Hill diggings. Ah, that must have been comfortable.

Lovely old buildings.

They even have a theatre but we weren't there at the right time to catch a performance.

Some finely crafty items for sale.

The milliner would have a bit of work to do on this hat.

I couldn't see this exquisite work lasting five minutes in our household.

Horse and carriage rides for sale.

Here's the pivot head of a working mine.

The school is in session.

Not a great deal of privacy if you wished to take a bog.

How's this for a fancy kitchen? Doesn't quite cut it with the modern day features.

Old style bowling alley. It works!

Panning for gold. Didn't find any.

Here's an old gold mine that they discovered when digging the tourist mine.

Our guide, Xavier, discussing how the mining methods changed twenty years after mining first began. They had been using crowbars and hammers along with explosives and then came the pneumatic drills that made everyone deaf and dropped the life expectancy down to 30-40 years.

More of the diggings at Sovereign Hill.

Ye olde style butcher shop.

Rang my Aunty Joan to tell her that we were coming but may take a while to find her place. How prophetic that statement was. We arrived in Geelong at about 6:05 which was 65 minutes after the tourist info closed. I parked the car and went into a shopping centre and asked a young couple if they knew where the city of Belmont was. The young girl used to live there and gave me very good directions past Skilled Stadium. We stopped outside a pharmacy to get our bearings again and I asked the shop assistant for futher directions to my aunty's house. She wasn't quite correct but we found the street. Only wasted some 45 minutes to find the place that was 5-10 minutes away.

Aunty Joan made a wonderful stew for tea and some pastries. We played a couple of games of Chinese Checkers. Aunty Joan and I stayed up until 11:30 talking about families and poring over photo albums.

My Luck Must Be A-Changing

Yesterday was a bit wet on the way to work. I had that awful feeling that there was a hole in my shoe as I approached the office as I could feel that one of my socks was wet. Shoes are an expensive item and my Hush Puppies cost me $140 about five or six years ago. A princely sum indeed but they were the nicest pair available at the time. I've had the soles replaced for $55 so the return hasn't been too bad. But, they aren't in good shape at the moment with the soles becoming loose again. The stitching isn't holding up.

We had to go shopping last night for milk and bread and Miky suggested dropping in to Myer as they had a shoe sale on. Could it be true? A man is in need of some shoes and a shop is having a shoe sale? Never! But it was true. Myer had Hush Puppies, the same, comfortable brand I owned, on sale for $80. Yes, $80. That's less than a woman pays for a flimsy few pieces of leather that rub like hell and remove half of the heel area. Yes, that did happen last night too. Miky was unable to walk back to where I'd parked the car due to a huge blister from her new shoes. We men are lucky as we get far more material in our far more comfortable shoes for a far more comfortable price.

I bought two pairs of shoes - one black and one tan. That should keep me out of the shoe department for the next ten years. Except if I require another pair of sneakers. I couldn't believe my luck though and it must certainly be a-changing. Things are looking up, baby.

Trip To Victoria - Day Three

Thought that I would feel better today but my stomach and head still felt awful. Stayed in bed until nearly 11 before we headed down to St Kilda. It was supposed to be 30 degrees in Melbourne so it was quite warm by the time we arrived. St Kilda is the place where all the posers, women with great cleavage, druggies and alkies gather and if you really want to be in the in crowd you have to have a small dog with you.

We ventured up and down Ackland St looking at the cake shops and clothing stores. Needless to say but Yu-Jin was very bored. After a $4 gingerbread man (nothing special), a $4.50 slice of Blackforest cake (delicious) and a $5.50 strawberry-flavoured drink with icecream, Miky and Yu-Jin had some sushi. I didn't feel like eating too much at all. Following that I took the boy down to St Kilda Beach, just behind Luna Park. The beach sand didn't appear to be very clean and was full of shells. A typical bay beach, so I was informed later.

Groovy shop roof on Ackland St in St Kilda.

Luna Park entrance in St Kilda.

St Kilda beach.

While on Ackland St I had a drunk almost yelling at me, very slowly mind you, and telling me that he was trying to make ten dollars. He cleared off immediately when I told him that I wasn't interested and he bothered someone else with the same story.

Back to the hotel for a sleep. Miky was quite crook by this stage also. Yu-Jin watched TV, ate some fruit, biscuits and other junk food, and was enjoying his holiday.

Just before 5pm Yu-Jin and I caught the free City Circle Tram that encircles the city and informs its passengers about the landmarks that are in the vicinity. The boy fell asleep halfway through.

Cool building in the Docklands.

Telstra Dome - where Essendon play their smaller-venue home games.

Almost the oldest orginal building in Melbourne - dates back to 1851 or 1853.

A Melbourne tram.

Celtic Hotel.

Yu-Jin catching flies on our trip around the city.

Hotel Windsor in the city.

The Mercure Hotel had a nice piece of artwork out the front.

After taking him back to the hotel I went hunting for tea. Miky wanted udon and the numerous sushi shops only sell miso soup in addition to the sushi, if you're lucky. I journeyed all the way back to Korea Palace, on the other side of the city, and they made the order especially as on the menu they had udon and tempura but neither of us would have been able to stomach the fried food. Bought a burger and chips for Yu-Jin on the way back. Hey, the boy is on holiday.

Cool shop name.

Flinders St Station.

Whilst waiting to cross the road a German tourist asked me for directions to the Grand Chancellor Hotel. After telling me that it was on a street starting with "L" I managed to locate it on my map and give him directions. It doesn't matter where you go on holidays, someone always seems to ask you for directions. When I pulled out my map he said, "You're organised." I didn't have the heart to tell him that I was a tourist myself.

After tea Yu-Jin and I went to the Rialto Observation Deck. It's situated some 235m above street level in a 253m building. Fabulous view at night time, I must say. Most enjoyable. Saw a 20 min movie about Victoria afterwards. Luckily the lookout was only five minutes walk from our hotel as it was nearly 10pm when we finished and the boy had had a big day.

Telstra Dome from the Rialto Building Observation Deck.

BHP Building from the Rialto Building Observation Deck.

Melbourne City from the Rialto Building Observation Deck.

Melbourne from the Rialto Building Observation Deck.

Crown Casino from the Rialto Building Observation Deck.

Crown Casino again from the Rialto Building Observation Deck.

Flinders St Station and some strange, tall building from the Rialto Building Observation Deck.

Bolte Bridge from the Rialto Building Observation Deck.

BHP Building again from the Rialto Building Observation Deck.

Miky, who earlier in the day had been telling me how much stronger and healthier a person she was than me, was quite ill by the time we returned.