The Weekend Wrap

Great number plate spotted on our trip to Bunbury on Wednesday.


Lately I seem to enter a blogging black hole over the weekend. It's because of driving the taxi on Friday and Saturday nights and sleeping late the following mornings. Throw in Sport Boy's soccer on Saturday mornings, a Geelong game some time over the weekend, and the mandatory eating, showering and domestic requirements and the blog comes last until about now (Sunday evening). Not through lack of care, just lack of time.

I spent a few hours picking mandarins on Friday afternoon to help a family from church who have an orchard. Jamie has a brain tumour and is having a pretty hard time physically. Carolyn goes and does some exercises with him to help try and keep him mobile. It was my first experience of fruit picking, one of those seasonal jobs people often consider when they're travelling. I'd have to say that although manadarins are not hard to pick and the trees are fairly user-friendly, I won't be quitting my day job, or even my night job to take it up. It was good to be able to lend a hand to some people in need though and I couldn't help but marvel at the bountiful fruit on each tree and the wonderful way God has made things work in the natural world.

Friday night was a very busy shift and a late finish ($$$). The boss knocked off at 3am, leaving two of us on with the observation I'd probably be able to knock off in a few minutes (leaving just one car on the road to carry through till 6am and the day shift drivers). Ha! The moment he parked up the phone went ballistic and we were run off our feet, if you know what I mean, for the next hour and a half. Last night started very quietly but finished strongly and I didn't park up until 5am. That's OK ($$$) :) Nothing much to report, no major dramas or difficult customers, but an interesting encounter with one teenage girl who was going home because she felt guilty about deceiving her parents that she was staying at a friend's place when she was really at a party!

Sport Boy got back on the score sheet on Saturday morning in Cornerstone's 9-0 win over Capel. It was another good game, the team are getting better all the time, with improved skillls and a better sense of how to play as a team: "Passing, passing, passing". Only three more games till the end of the season and I can have my Saturday mornings back for uniterrupted recovery.

The house was full on Saturday arvo: Mum and Walter came for a visit after spending a riveting half an hour at the Nannup Tulip Festival!
Sport Boy had a friend over to play, which stretched to a sleepover. Rhys is a nice kid so it was no trouble. Carolyn went into a manic cleaning frenzy on Saturday morning in preparation for the arrival of ........ The Nutrimetics Party!!!! Two friends, Carolyn and the Nutrimetics Lady with her bag of smells and potions for the beautification and healing of just about anything you could think of. There was an inordinate amount of laughter for such a small and serious gathering and I had to admire the NL's perseverance as she battled on against the constant interruptions and outbursts of laughter from the "clients". It sounded like they were having a good time but it did go on for a very long time! "I didn't expect it to go that long" was Carolyn's half-hearted explanation for the lack of dinner or any junk mail folding by Saturday night! I didn't mind, although that may change when I see the credit card statement!!

This afternoon I folded the junk mail while waiting for the (delayed telecast) of the football to start, Geelong v The Kangaroos. It was a tough game which the Cats won by 27 points to take the streak to 15, their best ever in a single season. I compiled a list of all the companies whose ads aired during the game and am considering writing to them to say I'm boycotting their products because of their complicity in a lousy TV broadcasting arrangement which sees a game delayed three hours, presumably for financial/advertising reasons, rather than telecast live, despite there being no other games on at all for the day. Why should we wait, running the risk of some dunderhead revealing the result, in order to watch our national game?!! Then there was Channel 7's increasingly inane and annoying commentary to put up with! Just as well Geelong won or it would have been a completely unpleasant experience! (End Rant)

The final piece of good news for the weekend is that I won my elimination final in the Chaplains Fantasy Footy League by 1 point, 245 to 244 over The Slayers!-coached by Peter and Kent from SU (Barring protests! I forgot to submit my team on Friday afternoon-something to do with manadarins and taxis!) Hopefully the Bussel Muscle will have progressed to the Preliminary Final next week.