My First Haka

About a week or so ago there was a going away party for my former manager, Piri. He was by far the best manager I've ever had. I don't count my last manager as a real manager because she is probably the worst manager I've ever met. I met Piri over the phone from Canada and we chatted about the Child Abuse Taskforce that he thought I would be interested in, so with that in mind, I left my homeland behind and headed for the land down under. I've been here about 20 months now, and Piri was so supportive of the work I did, and of all the teams he managed. I don't think I ever heard a negative work about Piri, which is really saying something. 

So at this going away party, there was a ton of people. Piri is Maori from New Zealand, and so some of the kiwis that worked there and one fella who didn't got together and did a haka for him. A haka is a ceremonial dance/demonstration by other Maoris and kiwis to show respect. I had only seen them on television or on youtube. The All Blacks sport team from NZ does it before every game. It's quite full-on when you're right there and they're shouting out the words. I just loved it! Click on the link here to check it out. Haka for Piri  My friend Peter who is also Maori wasn't familiar with this particular haka, so took a few moments to catch up. He is the guy in the middle. Then a couple of non-Maori kiwis joined in. The Maori women can be seen swaying in the background. I'd love to go to New Zealand before I go home to check it out and would be excited to see this performed there in tribal outfits. 

Also that night I saw Piri and one of the fellas that did the haka touch foreheads and noses, called the Hongi. It was also pretty cool and reminded me of how Inuit rub noses as a greeting. The woman in the photo here is tattooed with traditional Maori tattoo on the chin. They used to do it with ash and a chisel...I don't think they do that quite as often anymore although I have heard they still indeed do it. 

The Maori are cool...

Second Week Settling In

     So I'm in week two of my new job, and it's going really well so far. I am slowly taking on clients, and more to come of course. Orientation continues this week, with bits and pieces here and there so we're not overwhelmed with hours and hours of orientation at at time. The rest of my team started work today, so there are four of us that are new this week and last and so far it promises to be a good group of people to work with. Processes are simple and easy to follow and the mood of the office is quite good. I won't be going outbush this month, and possibly next month with someone else, and then our team will go in January. Men's Cultural Business is on right now for a few months, so we respect that and stay away from the communities as the roads are often unofficially closed. So that gives me time to get to know the work, the files, and my clients. Some will be in town, while the rest are in South Australia. 

first blossoms on this bush!

Dundee rooting for lizards in the garden

     The weather has been amazing, with the temps in the mid twenties most days and only started to heat up again today. The nights are a dream, usually in the teens. We had a good rain last week so everything is green again. My garden is growing well. The rain really helped. 

I've been knitting up a storm, all fingerless gloves for friends and family. I must have over 20 pairs done already. It keeps my hands busy when I'm watching television. Always the multi-tasker. I've noticed my own television viewing habits have changed over the last few years with technology keeping knowledge so very close at hand. How many of you have your mobile phone on the arm of the chair beside you, or on the coffee table, or in your HAND? Mine is usually one of all three. I look up who actors are, what they were in, what the name of soundtracks are, and a million other bits of trivia. And if I'm forced to watch live television, apps and games to use during the commercials. 

     Speaking of television, I cancelled my Foxtel Satelitte service. They didn't take it well and kept trying to convince me to come back. I painfully explained time after time that I cannot solve the issue with the signal. A tree on the neighbor's property has grown up in record time back from the stumps it was last year when the dish was installed. I cannot ask my neighbor to trim the tree every couple of months because it's blocking my signal. So I cancelled Foxtel and signed up for the new Telstra T-box. I have the box now, have it mostly hooked up but I need one more cord because I have a Canadian television here with me and everything must run through my converter box before it goes to the television. I meant to get that cord today, but didn't get a chance. I went out yesterday but brought the wrong cord home. I thought it was simple S-video. It is not. This time around I am taking the other cord that has one right end on it so I get the right one this time around. There is no shortage of programs/movies for me to watch as I have a ton on my hard-drive, movies and television shows galore. Currently I'm making my way through the X files...spooky...

I get my last pay from government this week I think, and my first pay from my new job. Both have the potential to be scary. I would not be surprised if the gov messed it up again and shorted me. I have no idea what my take-home weekly pay will be at my new job. The mystery shall be solved on Thursday and either celebrated or mourned on Friday. Last Friday I was celebrating my former manager's leaving the gov for a local NGO. He is an awesome manager and person, so there was a great turnout. He is Maori from New Zealand, and so they did a haka for him which was amazing. I'll see if I can post it here somehow, probably a Youtube link.

Anyhow, that's all the news. 

awesome aloe vera plant

Vacation Bliss

So I finished my last day at my old job on Friday. I went out for lunch with my team and they presented me with a really nice book of Aboriginal artwork, and a mood calendar. There was to be a big afternoon "tea" at the office for the 5 of us that were leaving that day, but I had already taken the afternoon off to use up some overtime, so didn't attend. Instead I was at home with a friend, getting drunk. Isn't that what one does when they finish a job up? Heh heh. We went out to our favorite watering hole, Monte's Lounge to meet with other coworkers for after-work drinks, but only two people showed up. The rest either had plans or went to the Juicy Rump where the other after-work drinks were happening. Just as well. I headed home at 7pm and was in bed by 10 after an exhausting week. 

Mount Sonder

I had taken a week of vacation time at my old job for the following week and I have been enjoying it immensely. On Sunday I went camping at Glen Helen Gorge Resort (not a resort as you think of them) with my friend F and we did as little as possible! We went for a short drive to the Mount Sonda lookout, and the rest of the time we spent having some drinks, playing cribbage, and reading books. We both finished a book while out. It was blissful! The days were a bit warm, but not too bad, and although we both managed a bad sunburn, the trip was so very relaxing. I did get eaten alive by the mozzies, but it's partly my own fault for not putting any bug repellent on. I didn't see any mozzies or feel any mozzies, so didn't bother. Big mistake. 27+ bites later...

fresh green among the bushfire black

We saw some wildlife - lots of different birds of all sizes from Australian ringneck parrots to finches and herons, the waterhole drew them all. We also had a dingo visit our campsite both nights, but didn't get too close to us before he wandered on. There were ants galore, but such is the case in central Australia as my sister discovered during her visit here. The campground was not particularly busy the first night but the second night a couple dozen youths arrived on a bus for the group camping site across the gully from our site. They were noisy as teenagers can be, but settled down early in the night and by 10pm you didn't know they were there. The stars were out, nearly outdone by the nearly full moon. The moon shone so brightly we didn't need flashlights to get around at all. 

We stayed for a couple of nights and then packed up early like we pissed the bed and came back to Alice. I was happy to be back in my own bed again, and Dundee certainly missed me. A mauling was in order, and before long I was covered in fur. 

lots of burned ground from recent bushfires

beautiful mount Sonder

Today I had a lazy morning, puttering about the house, fooling around on the computer, reading the news of earthquakes and storms in Canada, thankful the weather here in Alice doesn't get too exciting. It has been pretty hot again now though, and at one point the thermometer in my car registered 43C...gross. This afternoon I headed out to the local university library at Charles Darwin University (CDU). It's a tiny library with just a handful of study carrels but it was good enough for me. Aside from some noisy women who nattered on at one of the tables, I was able to make some progress with my forensic psychology course from Athabasca. I just moved to the other side of the library away from them. One would think everyone understood that people go to libraries for the quiet, as well as the books. One would be wrong. I'm planning to go back each day this week so I can finally get caught up on my readings. I try to read at home but just like when I was in uni a decade ago, I can't study at home. I can write my papers well enough at home, but too many distractions to read and study at home. I used to go to the library at U Waterloo for hours and hours with a good friend of mine to study. We'd load up on Snapple and Pringles and who knows what else we could smuggle into the library, and leave when they kicked us out at 1am. Oh the days...

looking down the road

floodway metre stick and paddy melons

so many interesting rock formations

heading into Glen Helen Gorge Resort

our campsite

look at how tiny I am!

Other than the library, I have no real plans for the rest of the week other than enjoying being off at home for a change instead of my usual travel and GO GO GO vacations. I start my new job on Monday, but for now I am on vacation bliss time...

Changes Afoot

      My apologies to readers for my lack of posts in October. It has been a busy month! Not long ago I made the final decision to leave my government position once and for all. I had been pondering it for many months, due to my struggles with the current management, and then when they added yet another impossible manager, the writing on the wall was clear - quit or go down with a sinking ship - so I chose to quit. I was getting so frustrated with it all. I was dying a little inside every day and dreading going into work. My health was suffering, and I was sick and tired of going to work to fight about something every day.

NPY Women's Council members

     So off I go to an Non-Government Organization - NPY Women's Council and couldn't be happier about it. I begin on November 5th, and while it is quite a drop in pay, life is too short to work for a bitch who is determined to drag workers down and destroy their careers. Goodbye and good riddance I say. I was worried about my visa as it was sponsored by the NT government, but they have agreed to just let me go, as I have given them 19 months, and I had a note from my doctor in support of my leaving. Once they gave me the word, it was like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders!

      NPY is a very strong support agency for women who live on the NPY lands, which spreads out over the southwest corner of the NT, northwest corner of SA and eastern central WA. I'll be out bush about 50% of the time which suits me just fine! I love going out to community. I'll be working as a case advocacy worker for domestic violence survivors, and some sexual assault survivors. I finish up at my current agency at the end of next week, and then I'm taking a week off to regroup and get into the mindset of working within a non mandated service. It will be my first social work position that is non-government and I am stoked! It will be a whole new perspective and I'm tickled to get a more in depth experience with the local Aboriginal culture. Australia has so much more to offer and I can't wait to experience it!

Happy Thanksgiving Weekend

As the temperatures rise to the high thirties this weekend, I'll be slaving over a hot stove cooking Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday, and baking for it on Saturday. I've asked over a group of friends for dinner, and while some of my closest friends here will be unable to make it, I'm looking forward to it. This year among other things, I am thankful for air conditioning. I've got the usual fare planned, shared with many different groups of people as I've moved around Canada, and last year I had my first Thanksgiving here. It was also the first for most of my friends as it isn't celebrated here in Australia. This year, more new faces as Alice Springs swirls people in and out of the group.

In a two weeks, several of this same group are going camping at Chamber's Pillar. It's another challenging 4WD track not far from here, similar to Palm Valley, but without the huge sandbar that I bogged in twice last year. My friend J. has bought some two-way hand held radios to keep in contact along the way. It's meant to be a very rocky track, with a lot of incline. We shall see! I think I just got a little whoopsy in my belly just now, thinking about it. I still need to talk up a local expert for some more tips to avoid disaster...so far his info has been very good and kept me out of trouble. These folks in central Australia that drive the tracks and off road all the time are a bundle of information about the area, and the fella I talk to uses both google earth, satellite, and paper topographical maps to plot his way and make sense of the country's vastness. I want to rent a satellite phone too as the campground is pretty remote and land phones are hours away, and mobile phone use several hours away on the other side of several mountain ranges. I can't wait!

So I also want to do a hike this weekend too, early morning if I can drag my sorry body out of bed early enough before the heat sets in for the day. My Canadian co-worker and friend just moved into a unit complex with a nice saltwater pool. I'll be visiting you V. You know it. Summer is already here in Alice. I wonder when it will rain next? It rained last week for the first time since March. It was awesome but short lived, with a bit of a thunderstorm. I want more.

Dundee continues to lizard hunt, both inside the flat and out in the courtyard. I don't mind too much as long as he doesn't destroy my stuff in the process. There's already a long tally of past damages. Love ya puss, but you frustrate me sometimes as my glass continues to shatter across the floors here. Once the lizard is down on the floor, he's fine. He just plays with it, carries it around in his mouth from room to room, then plops it on the floor and lays down next to it, wondering if it will jerk to life again for one last round. Sometimes they do. They all get eaten. Thank-you Dundee for not leaving lizard carcasses to rot under my sofa and bed. I think I'll keep you. I don't mind the lizards but I don't want them running across my bed or curling up in my hair. So once they come into the house, it's fair game for the cat. They have the whole desert to explore. I have a sign up for Dundee on the outside gate - beware attack cat...many lizards have lost.

Tomorrow is Friday. Can I just say, hooray.

Behold the Bush Trip

wild camels crossing the road

As part of my job, I regularly go on what they call "bush trips". This means that we head out to remote communities in an agency 4WD. Sometimes the vehicle is a Land Cruiser, and the old ones are referred to as 'Troopies" or "Troop Carrier" as some of them have bench seats along each side, and able to care 11 people. We also have a Land Cruiser Prado which is a sweet ride. I took one out bush for the first time this past week and it was amazing to drive, such a smooth ride, great control, and luxurious to ride in. We had the tunes going on my iPhone, and the scenery flew by outside. Then we also have Nissan Patrols, which are shit on the bush roads. They bounce all over the place, and you hardly feel like you have proper control. Thankfully they are replacing any of the old vehicles be it Troopie or Patrol, with Prados.

after the bushfire, the termite mounds survive

So when we go out bush, we like to leave quite early in the morning, about 6am, sometimes at 7am so we can get there early, have time to do all of our work, and still get back before dark. Some communities are 3-4 hours drive away or more. On occasion I've had to stay overnight because it is too far to go and come back in the same day if we have a lot of work to do in the community. Sometimes we visit 2-3 or more communities along the way.

there are a LOT of old dead cars on the side of the roads

This week I traveled to one I hadn't been to before, Utopia. Utopia not so much a community as an area. There are several outstation bores where there are 3-5 houses with folks living in them, along with several work buildings. Right in the middle of this land tract is a health clinic and several houses for the staff. One must drive from one of the bores to attend the clinic. Some of the bores have small schools, usually one building. There are a few little stores scattered around the land tract, with the largest one being at Arlparra.

The road signs for each bore and service is painted on the bonnets taken from old cars. Pretty cool looking as someone put some thought into each one. I'm trying to upload here but Blogger is being a bitch and rotating the photos so they only post sideways...not sure what that's about.

took a big rock to the windshield!

Going out bush on a road trip requires some preparation. We have to make sure our gas tank is full, which is a no brainer, but we also have to do other checks on the vehicle to make sure it's in good shape to travel, so we check the recovery gear, oil levels, battery levels, tires, etc. We also have to sign out a fuel book in case we need fuel, a satellite phone to check in with and an epirb, which is a device that we use to track our travel with online, but also to call for help when we need it. It uses satellite tracking so we don't need cell phone towers to send the signal. There is no cell phone service in the bulk of the communities we travel to. One must also pack emergency water, and then personal water. I like to take at least 3 litres for myself, and encourage my bush partner to do the same. Once I went with a guy who brought one 500ml bottle for the whole day. Nowhere's near enough. I also like to pack a little cooler (esky here in Australia) with some food, ice packs to keep it all chill, and some frozen water bottles for cold water later. Another must is to wear a light scarf around my neck to keep the seatbelt from chafing. When you drive on the 4WD tracks, the vehicle bounces and the seatbelt saws back and forth across my neck, what little neck I have.

sometimes we drive through bushfires

Preparation also includes calling the communities the day before to ensure the people we want to see are there. So we can call the health clinic, the police station, or the school to check, as most days one of those services would have seen the family we are looking for. These are also stopping places once we arrive in the community, often for a chat, or to use a clean bathroom.

wild donkey outside Areyonga

The bush roads to these communities are sometimes paved part of the way, but most are desert dirt, so red sand, dirt, and sometimes gravel. They can be a bit rough, with lots of corrugation along the way which can mean a bumpy ride if you have to drive slow. Keeping the speed up around 100kms/hour smooths most corrugation out. There isn't much to see along the way besides the landscape which doesn't change much for the most part. There are no coffee shops or restaurants along the way. There are occasional rest areas where you can pull over along the Stuart Highway, but nothing on the bush roads. So we usually just pull over in the shade of a big desert oak tree, or gum tree and take our own breaks. We usually see animals along the way, most often cows, but quite regularly we see wild horses, wild camels, sometimes wild donkeys, and a host of lizards, snakes, eagles, hawks, falcons, etc. Bush trips are my favorite part of my job here in central Australia. I truly enjoy getting out of town for the day and spend in the peaceful outback.

What's New at the Zoo Down Under

It has been a busy few weeks lately, with no time for blogging, so thought I would catch up this afternoon while I had the chance. Work has been busy and stressful, but I'm coping as best I can by balancing work with an active social life. We went camping this past weekend at Ellery Creek Big Hole, which is about an hour or so from Alice Springs. The waterhole is quite pretty and I thought a dip in the waterhole would be refreshing now that the temperatures are climbing up as we head into summer. It was frigid. Yes, coming from a Canadian who swims in the ocean, that is saying a lot. Two of the girls jumped straight in, and screamed with horror at how cold the water was and they couldn't feel their legs, so I attempted my usual in/out routine, and I just couldn't get past my waist, so gave up. The day was bright and clear, not too hot, so I was happy enough to sit in the shade and have a few drinks with the rest of the gang.

I was the only one sleeping in a tent this time as the others had swags. I haven't done that yet, but am considering it at some point, I just have to get past the whole spiders/bugs/snakes thing...we did have a dingo pass through our campsite, and once again, things were odd. I tried to get a look at him with my flashlight, which was nearly new and should have worked, but refused to turn on. By the time I had the lantern turned on and the tent flap zipped open, he was gone. I tried the flashlight again and it worked perfectly...bizarro. There is something about the dingos...can't photograph or shine my flashlight on. We also had some very strange animal nearby that made the weirdest sound, like an electronic hum - hmmmmm. hmmmmm. hmmmmm.hmmmmmm. The same length of noise, and same level/sound that went on for a few minutes. F. was afraid it was going to attack her in her swag...I told her considering the only thing to be feared in the desert were snakes and spiders and I was pretty sure they don't hum, there was nothing to be afraid of. It was likely some rodent. No one wanted to get out to look and see.

I've been applying for jobs, and have an interview this afternoon for a local agency, NPY Women's Council as a case manager for sexual assault and domestic violence victims. It sounds like a really interesting job, and NPY is very well known here in town and around the territory for being strong advocates for their client population. They cover a large geographic land area that crosses into Western Australia and South Australia. It will be so good to work for an NGO after all of these years in government. It's where I have wanted to be for a long time, but couldn't really afford to work there with my massive student loans. Now that they are trimming down fast, I thought it was time to go for it. It means far less money, but I'm hoping much more job satisfaction and a whole lot less government bullshit. I've been less and less happy working in my current job, and often I am rather embarrassed to say I work there due to so many unethical decisions being made by management, micromanagement, and the direction the department is heading. I'm done. I die a little each day I have to go into the office. I am not alone by a long stretch. Our union is signing up members fast and furious due to so many unhappy workers. Go team.

Now I just have to sort out my immigration status. I have been getting conflicting stories from HR and then from Immigration. Immigration says I can work anywhere now that I am a permanent resident, but HR is saying I need to give them 2 years on my PR, and I'm only 9 months in. I'm hoping I can simply transfer my sponsorship to my new employer should I be successful in obtaining other employment. HR also says that if a reasonable effort has been made, they can cancel the sponsorship, but I don't need it cancelled, I need it transferred. So we shall see. I have another job interview next week for a job in Melbourne - specialist case manager at the prison, so managing the worst of the worst in sex offenders. It's ironic how these two interviews are at each end of the spectrum, but I find both sides fascinating and any chance I have to be involved in the justice system is exciting, particularly when I can combine social work and the law.

The weather is heating up, with 37C today...pant pant pant, and it's not even summer. I was hoping we had another month or so before we saw those temperatures. Bugger it's hot...