Week 13 and I am still unemployed.
I got an email notification via Gumtree in response to my advertisement I posted looking for a job that has now been on Gumtree for the entire 13 weeks without any genuine job offers. This has got to be the worse scam job offer I have had amongst the other "too good to be true, earn extra cash in your spare time, non traditional, pyamid, cult" job offers and is a very good example of how all the other ones I have received in the past 13 weeks have been like in response to the Gumtree advertisement I posted online.
It's 8.30 am and the sun is out. I wish the MCA and Cockatoo Island reopened today and not tomorrow!
I watched a bit of YouTube to start my morning but have stuff to do today and do have to go to Chatswood to recharge my Opal card at least but I must take out my rubbish today!!!!! Garbage truck comes on Tuesday mornings.
11.30 am and I just got an unsuccessful response by phone from The Citrus Group for the 2 out of 6 roles they were recruiting for. No surprise I was right they are a recruitment company and I hate recruitment companies. Waste of 2 hours of my time attending that "group" interview. I should really email them to have my details destroyed as I don't want them to keep my details on their files. Email sent for them to destroy any information I provided to them for security reasons. I don't want to remain on their files or be considered by any future
roles through them.
Received a response from Mick to my Gumtree advertisement. He apologies for getting my name wrong but still no details of what his spare time extra cash making scheme is. Let's leave it at that. And I never hear back from him.
Still have not gone out yet. Maybe just spend the entire day out tomorrow. At least I took my rubbish out today in the afternoon!
Eventhough I am still unemployed I am so excited as I just finished composing my first hand written letter ( remember those?) introducing myself to a senior citizen living alone that I have been matched up with to become friends with. I will post my letter to her sometime this week along with a photo of myself and hope she gets it c/o her residential contact. This is what I always wanted to do and I can't believe after so much research, correspondance, video meeting and paperwork I am finally volunteering for an organisation and doing something I've always wanted to do . This really has made my day and I hope it makes her day too when she receives my letter to her. I've always believed that everyone should give back to the community in some way through volunteering at least once in their lifetime. I've given plenty of small monetary donations and gifts throughout my life but nothing is more "feel good" as volunteering. Making a donation of money of gifts unlike volunteering is a one way thing - there is no learning or feedback.
So today I've dealt with my Telstra complain by submitting a complaint to the TIO and am trying to write my letter to the Prime Minister about how JobSeeker may have saved me but Industrial Relations Law and the JobKeeper scheme failed me. Yes I dare to write my employment story to the PM of Australia - why not go straight to the top nobody else listens to me!
No cake today but I do have a chicken and vegetable soup brewing in my slow cooker! Some for tonight and some for the next few meals. Yum!
tip (and I don't usually do this) - I usually use Aldi vegetable stock cubes as a base for my soups however if you have a spare packet of French onion instant or packet powder soup (which I had purchased for the social isolating period) use it as a substitute. Depending on the type of soup made cream of mushroom, chicken or tomato packet soup powders will also work if you don't have any spare stock cubes around in the pantry. Vegemite which is the concentrated yeast extract and made from the byproduct of beer brewing is an absolutely not recommended as I have tried this option before in one of my soups and it tends to leave a strange aftertaste. You could try Promite or Marmite and my parents used to use Bonox which I just Google is primarily a concentrated beef extract in liquid paste form used to drink but can also be used as a stock for soup ( not to be confused with OXO which is a compressed powdered stock cube also used in soup)
Just received another message from Mick in relation to the Gumtree advertisement above.
"Sorry again that I got your name wrong and yes I am talking to a few people at the moment. Perhaps now isn’t a good time for you, I apologise if I have disturbed you.
Best wishes with finding what you’re looking for. "
Definitely a scam!!!! Must put a block on him on Gumtree! DONE
Watched Masterchef, had a shower then bed. Not the most intetesting episode of Masterchef - it was a chance of immunity challenge. Also watched most of "Have You Been Paying Attention?" afterwards as well.
Tuesday 16th June 2020
Looking like a beautiful day today. I didn't quite finish my daring letter to the PM last night but will sometime soon.
Breakfast and a bit of a catchup. I do intend to go out today. I must!!!!
It is so hot outside by 10.30 am! I am wearing a softshell ski jacket and merino skivvie as I thought it might be a bit cool but it is boiling with the sun beaming down it feels as if I'm being baked!
At least I am out of the apartment.
Right where am I off to today? I am aiming for either the reopening of the MCA or Cockatoo Island to see some more of the Sydney Biennale Nirin 2020. I am unsure if I can do both today as I have been really lazy this morning. I have a small backpack which is quite heavy and there is still no cloaking at the moment at the MCA therefore you are only allowed small bags inside the galleries so I hope I can still enter with my back pack. If not Cockatoo Island it is by ferry today. I hope its is not too crowded and that it is open today. Such a beautiful day for a ferry ride and walk around the island.
Biennale Nirin 2020 @ MCA on levels 1 and 3 done. I spent at least 2 hours looking through all the Biennale 2020 Nirin art installations at the MCA. Photos below :
Exterior of MCA building(s). Strict social distancing rules (although not as strict as the Powerhouse Museum and the Art Gallery of NSW which required prebooked timed sessions and leaving your contact details) - no prebookings required, hand sanitiser stations at front and back entrances, monitoring of number of visitors allowed into each gallery on each level, no cloaking, contactless payments at MCA store and one way visitor traffic - entrance from George Street & exit from Circular Quay only.
Entrances to the 2 galleries of the 22nd Biennale of Sydney 2020 Nirin on level 1 of the MCA
This was an interesting 'quilt' and I am unsure of the story behind it but my interpretation of it would be a collection of textile pieces sitched together in memory of Aboriginal or indigenous people that have passed away over the years as a result of injustice, injury, accident or trauma of some sort.
I thought this was an interesting visual piece of artwork - there were absolutely no words to this video footage based on what I watched my interpretation was the single non verbal child is using his entire body movements to tell a story - maybe his story of war or other traumatic events he may have witnessed as a child. I am unsure if he was just non verbal or hearing impaired as it did not seem like he was using formal sign language. Maybe his hearing impairment and non verbalism was a result of trauma.
I don't really have an interpretation of this group of textile prints I just liked them.
The messages displayed were bilingual. I didn't catch the entire translation but it told a moving story.
Is that a reference to the invasion of the First Nations people of Australia by explorers?
This piece of artwork was to the point and I don't think it's interpretation is " Don't f*** the Northern Territory" To frack means to frack ie gas mining method.
I'm sure I've seen this iconic black and white print before somewhere - it symbolises everything equality Black /Gay or is that inequality?
Any artist can go to the nearest $2 store and buy a whole heap of these woven "storage stuff" bags, fill them with whatever they can find, write on them with a permanent marker and organise them but there is more to these woven bags which are on display at both the MCA and on Cockatoo Island. My interpretation of this art installation is the words and images written on each of these bags speak for themselves and represent the various problems faced by many such as the Indigenous community. " Grog is big problem" - is just one of the many problems faced along with homelessness which is often associated with carrying this type of woven bag. The bags are not just a vessel to carry or store your belongings in but are used to carry their lives in.
Throughout the MCA hangs from the ceiling this rather large and long lengths of black draping material. The materials consist of various patchworks of black lace, solid , organza, cotton, polyester, satin etc.sewn together. My interpretation of this art installation is associated with the meaning of the word "hidden". As in secretive, sacred, ignored, forgotten for example the stolen generation or the destruction of sacred Indigenous sites. The treatment of our Indigenous people and how there is still an inequality between white settlers and them. The black colour of the materials representing the colour of our First Nations people. I have this deeper interpretation of this art installation of " ignore it and it will go away" attitude to Australia's history. In one section of the MCA where the below Indigenous wooden structures are, a section of this black see through material hangs - further symbolic of the meaning of "hidden".
From a distance these just look like a series of messy paintings but look closer and you see images of miscellaneous object clearly pop out at you such a a large red orange coloured shrimp.
I just love this collection of wooden structures - I hope they are not actually didgeridoos. I thought I saw a similar art installation elsewhere.
This surround sound and visual art installation was abolutely brilliant. There was a similar art installation a few years ago at a previous Biennale on Cockatoo Island- I wonder if it was the same artist. ( refer previous blog/ YouTubevideo of Biennale)
This year's Biennale featured a large amount of audio visual art installations. The above was just one of many.
Behind this heavy blue velveteen curtain was a French performance film
This was a blank canvas - were we meant to leave a comment?
These series of black and white photos was an absolute must see. Black and white portraits of black and white people.
This art installation was just weird and I did not actually understand it. Was it something to do with Science or just an asmr experience for some?
(a feeling of well-being combined with a tingling sensation in the scalp and down the back of the neck, as experienced by some people in response to a specific gentle stimulus, often a particular sound.
"ASMR is triggered by things like whispering voices, paper tearing, and scalp massage")
It was difficult without a program or guide of some sort to interpret some of the art installations around the MCA over the 2 levels. I relied on my own interpretation.
All the artists were unfamiliar to me but often when I look at art, I think of similar artworks I have seen before - maybe this artist drew inspiration from that artist or maybe not and it's just pure coincidence that 2 different artists had similar artworks.
A quick stop off at Gateway Circular Quay for a take away lunch . My very first fast-food take away meal in over 3 months! I could not decide what to eat so settled on a mini spicy burrito without any sour cream from Mad Mex ( not the cheapest first take away meal) which cost me $9.90.
I wait for the next ferry which wasn't departing for 20 minutes to take a bite out of my burrito. As soon as I sat down and had not even taken my burrito out of it's paper bag 1 then 2 eager seagulls stood in front of my feet hovering around waiting for me to drop a bit from my burrito for then to snatch and fight over. I kept telling them to go away and they weren't getting anything and stomping my foot down at them but they just stayed put. Their beady little eyes watching my ever move like a hawk. How can city seagulls be so white and clean? One of the seagulls I noticed only had one leg so I photographed it only to find that it did indeed have a second leg which looked normal but must have been injured as it kept retracting it up beneath his body and walking on 1 leg only.
Guzman y Gomez is still better because it is more of a cook to order rather then an assembly line where food components are exposed in a bain marie assemble to order which makes Mad Mex more of a fast food takeaway meal.
"Fast" ferry Circular Quay Cockatoo Island - the ferry wasn't so fast travelling to Cockatoo Island but sure was fast travelling from Cockatoo Island!
Next stop 12.07 pm ferry from Wharf 5 Circular Quay to Cockatoo Island! I sat inside as it was quite hot on the outside seating area of the ferry. I spent around 3 hours on Cockatoo Island and missed a few of the art installations as I was running out of time. Some of the art installations were missing as they were still under construction or not open to look at today others I could not find at all. I think I managed to see about 80% of the art installations on Cockatoo Island. The other 20% I will see on a return visit at a later date.
There are 34 listed Beinnale 2020 Nirin artists on Cockatoo Island ( some with more then 1 art installation either on Cockatoo Island or also at another Biennale 2020 Nirin site).
1. Melanie Mununggurr
2. Laure Prouvost
TBC ( Dog Leg Tunnel - ran out of time to see therefore seeing next visit to Cockatoo Island )
Postscript : Refer my YouTube video uploaded 17th August 2020 Nirin @ Cockatoo Island Revisited.
3. Eric Bridgeman and Haus Yuriyal
4. Shaheed/Witness/Kashmir
5. Nicholas Galanin
6. Eric Bridgeman and Bhenji Ra
( See above) need to see on return visit not open on day of my visit.
7. ArTree Nepal
8. Manuel Ocampo
9. Tennant Creek Brio
10. Adrift Lab
Another art installation with a strong environmental message. A mix of visuals both 2 dimensional in the form of short videos projected onto various tables and 3 dimensional images as displays of plastic marine junk collected and lit up on various tables. Some of the images projected of marine life rescued ( some deceased) are not for the faint hearted as they are disturbing images of stomachs of marine wildlife being pumped or cut open extracting and displaying what they have swallowed which is mainly plastic marine junk found in the surrounding waterways.
( refer my video uploaded onto my YouTube channel)
11. Lhola Amira - audio art installation, soothing sounds, reminds me of the sound clouds you stood under to listen to music at previous VIVID art installations - one of my favourite audio art instations
12. Vajiko Chachkhiani
13. Lucas Ihlein and Kim Williams
This art installation appears to be a collaboration with kids with a very environmental message - I liked this art installation.
14. Leuli Eshraghi
Another favourite art installation of mine. I spent quite a bit of time looking around it and took quite a few pbotos of it. There was something very calming about the art installation as you walked around it. The central feature was quite beautiful and a photographer's paradise. The may not have been a sensual feeling to it but there's certainly a feeling of infinity if you looked into the central feature of this art installation.
15. 15 Screens
16. Sissel M Bergh
17. Iltja Ntjarra/ Many Hands Art Centre
This art installations was also on display at the MCA.
18. Paulo Nazareth
19. Lisa Reihana
20. Jose Davila
21. Latai Taumoepeau
22. Andre Eugene
23. Tania Bruguera
This was a mixed media live performance which was not actually performing at the time of my visit to Cockatoo Island. I don't know if I could handle watching this type of art installation as it looks as if it is part doctors surgery part tattoo parlour from reading about the artist's work.
24. Ibrahim Mahama
This is probably the art installation everyone has come to see. Wow - it was huge and so immense it made me feel so small. I wondered how long it took for this to be installed. It covered every entrance possible ceiling to floor. The messages, the patchwork of these sacks - every sack had a history and stories to tell - a history of voyages around the world, of slavery and of trade. It felt as if the sacks wanted to talk to me and they were looking down on me. I took so many photos from every angle. I even returned for a second visit but the more time I spent looking at it the more photos I wanted to take and the smaller I felt. This artwork even covered the entire toliet block and near the entrance as it draped above and around it like a giant curtain it looked as if it was a window to the outside world.
25. Warwick Thornton
(Also see YouTube video uploaded)
26. Anna Boghiguian
27. S.J. Norman
28. Gina Athena Ulysse
( refer my video I have uploaded onto my YouTube channel )
29. Katarina Matiasek
30. Lawrence Abu Hamdan
31. Sammy Baloji
32. Tony Albert
I loved this art installation. Reminds me of architectural structures I seen before at other events - no not Ikea.
33. Jota Mombaca
34. Mohamed Bourouissa
Notes: For a donation of $2 you can purchase a very basic printed A4 double sided monochromatic map of Cockatoo Island with a list of the above artists locating where their work is located. There is however no descriptions of each artist's work eg composition of materials used, stories or messages behind them , dates of art work etc. All the information on each of the art installations were on clipboards near the actual art installations around Cockatoo Island. Unfortunate I didn't have the time to read each and all of them and relied on my own interpreted of each art installation. Some I really connected with and understood why the artist produced the body of work whilst others were just Indy and far too out there that I could not interpret at all.
Athough I took heaps of photos and video footage on the first reopening day of Nirin, I had my favourites. There were an awful lot of audio visual art installations at this year's Biennale and I found the art installation a bit more Indy then previous Biennale art installations. By Indy I mean that the art installations were so weird or out there I could not understand or connect with them. What is the artist trying to say? Is there a message they are trying to communicate to their audience through their artwork?
It's past 3 pm and there were not many people left on Cockatoo Island except the Nirin volunteers. At the top of Cockatoo Island I did not see anyone up there so make my way down to the wharf to catch the next ferry back to Circular Quay. There was nobody there either. The island ranger tells me that it's about to get dark pretty soon and I responded that I knew that's why I made my way back down to the ferry wharf (which was being pressure washed and only stopped whenever a ferry arrived or departed the wharf).
If you would like a sneak peep at 2 of the Biennale 2020 Nirin art installations on Cockatoo Island on reopening day please visit my YouTube channel where I have uploaded them.
Wednesday 17th June 2020
Sorry I was so exhausted yesterday running around trying to see everything in the Biennale Nirin 2020 at both the MCA and Cockatoo Island , I fell asleep during the beginning of Masterchef so today will be a complete catch up day.
First thing on my agenda - catch up tv on Ten View of last night's episode of Masterchef I fell asleep during. Done.
Next on my agenda - I receive a random email from my Aunt overseas stating I have not given instructions on a family's estate therefore responded to her email which is quite urgent advising how I haven't heard anything from her or her lawyer in regards to her email regarding non receipt of a signed "release" form and after going through my emails I have forwarded what was required and not heard anything since. That was last year 6 months ago! I am worried as I don't want my "share" of the estate to go to the courts due to my non instruction. Their lawyer definitely received a signed release form from me as they confirmed receipt.
Why it it that everything I do has to be more complex then it is? Is it only me that always does the right thing first time around yet doing the right thing always ends up the wrong thing and I have to spend an equal or more amount of time and effort to fix things to make them right again? It has been like this my entire life without exception!
It's a great day to be inside as it is wet and raining yet again today and it is so dark! I was trying to eat my breakfast when I had to make a phone call overseas in relation to the above situation. Done, I'll deal with this again at a later date.
Breakfast tastes better then it looks - crumpet toast (a cross between a crumpet and toast one of the best food invention ever!) with nutella and mixed fruit pureed on top. Yum. Noooo my cough is back after not coughing all day yesterday - damn the wet weather! It's definitely not the constant soap, hand washing or application of hand sanitizer that is causing my itch, my body knows when it is going to rain again! uh oh here comes the watery eyes and nose again. Maybe tomorrow it will be sunny again!?
By evening it cleared up - no more rain and swishing sound of cars driving past.
I didn't do much today except watch the food channel and catch up on my blog. There are so many photos and videos to upload from yesterday!
I ate a lot as well. Must start proper exercising again not just going on walks to places and lugging the heavy loads of shopping, rubbish and laundry! I'm actually getting too heavy for my air matress - it deflated last night although it shouldn't have as it should be able to take 295 kg max weight which is more then 3 times my weight! ( well I hope so) .
Starting this week there is only 3 episodes of Masterchef a week Sun Mon & Tues instead of 5 episodes a week - talk about extending a reality tv cooking series for as long as possible! So no Masterchef tonight or tomortow night!
Not much else happening - stayed up pretty late writing and watching the foid channel. Sleep. Planning to venture out tomorrow to try again to find a printer, drop off so.e mail at the post office, grocery shop and try using my overseas bank card on a local ATM.
My mattress has started deflating again so I decide to inflate it a little more. Bad move now it dips where I sleep on it even more. From day 2 I started hearing it pop slightly where I slept but didn't think much of it. I don't have it on anything sharp as it is on top of my cow rug and I havent over inflated it. It just sags where I sleep. Another air mattress to return after just 1 month or so of usage - they are meant to have a 12 month warranty on them. Time to try the top model of air mattress - the $200 one with adjustable firmness settings maybe!
Thursday 18th June 2020
Today I got a response from the bank overseas however my account enquiries are still unsolved. I think I will have to call them tomorrow. I have sent them several emails.
After finishing my letter to the PM and not being able to find a printer to print out a photo of myself to send my volunteer job, I decided I'll just send the letter without it and an IOU note.
I decided i must venture out today to try and find a printer and post my letters.
I had absolutely no luck with finding a printer - Target did not have any at all, Australia post had 2 left of a printer that was $100 , JB HI FI had 1 rather heavy red printer for $179 left and the other JB HI FI only had 1 $500 very heavy printer left and kmart had no printers left. I tried everywhere even DJs who also had no printers at all. I will have to try again tomorrow. It may mean another trip to the city.
As I walked around the shopping centres there were at least 2 stores Apple and Uniqlo checking temperatures as people entered the store whilst every other store provided hand sanitizer at the entrance of their stores.
I get a message from one of my ex work collegues who was unaware that my employment had been terminated. She asks me to keep in touch but I had to say to her how I unfriended most people on Facebook and probably not before apologizing. If you get terminated from your job you don't usually keep in touch with your ex work colleagues - it's just not right. She asked about where I been going on my adventures - of course not you still can't travel anywhere far safely and most of the places of interest are inaccessible yet or events I usually attend have been cancelled or postponed.
I ended up purchasing a punnet of strawberries on sale at Woolworths metro and a packet of free range chicken wings - there was no other choices in chicken wings.
Friday 19th June 2020
Today was a stay at home do nothing day eventhough the sun was out. I just watched the food channel most of today, sent some emails, watched YouTube and continued uploading photos onto my blog which is taking forever as I can't seem to upload multiple photos at the same time like I could in the very early days of this blog site.
Wondering if I can reach my goal of 25 000 readers before the end of this finsncial year in a week or so.
Australia overtook the US last time I looked at the rankings of number of readers but only by 1 reader!
Don't forget to watch my YouTube channel as well. I still have to upload quite a few video of Biennale onto it. First I need to tackle uploading all the photos onto my blog!
I paid the rent really early this morning and my phone bill which is not due until 6th July but I try to keep ontop of all my bills in advance. My bill was only $30 this month - should have seen the 2 pages full of reversals of $10 per extra 1 Gb of data I was overcharged!!!! I also paid my income protection which I can't suspend in advance also due in July.
Notice I haven't applied for any more jobs for the whole week. I had a look at the snow cam around the Australian ski resorts and we have a bit of a way to go before you can actually ski - it is still mainly grass with only patches of snow enough for snow play only at this point in time. It's meant to be opening weekend tomorrow offically but I'm certainly not in a hurry to go yet. The online prepurchase tickets to Thredbo was a fail leaving people hanging for hours only to cut them off when they reached the front of the queue.
Perisher (Epic card) holders were a little more cautious.
4.45 pm and it's really dark.
I forgot to mention the foods stalls at the Thursday and Friday Chatswood Concourse Markets have commenced again however there were no long queues of people waiting in lines for food probably due to alk the social distancing signage around each food stall. I am still cautious when it comes to takeaway food purchases still. I am still eating mainly homemade food - today it was sticky Asian style chicken wings and salmon noodles spinach and kale with an egg poached in an Asian broth.
Slept a lot today as i have heaps to do tomorrow.
Saturday 20th June 2020
No time to sleep in today. My cousin overseas wants to confirm I received the funds deposited to me. I have to ring the bank overseas to sort out my internet banking problem, confirm deposit into my account, sort out access denied message from using my card in an ATM and change my account from cheque to savings which should have been done back in January. Also need to sort out my private health insurance as the 3 months waiver period is about to end by email as to my options.
Breakfast is a vegemite, cream cheese and tasty cheese mushroom and shallot filled puff pastry. The vegemite goes quite well with the mushroom and cheese combination. I kept some for dinner by putting it in the fridge ' these sorts of pastries taste so much better cold I find.
Today I need to find a printer and find an alternative to my airmatress problem. Must go out beauriful day outside!
Just updated my Gumtree advertisement as they are about to expire
What's with the printer shortage?, I tried everywhere possible and noone has any!!!!!That's a full 2 weeks of running around to all Kmarts, Targets, Officeworks, Big W, JB HIFIs and even Australia Post offices and David Jones department stores. NONE - heaps of displays that can't be sold but the shelves underneath them are all empty! I went to Macquarie Shopping Centre today just to go to Big W as there were heaps on their website but when I arrived none! now I'm heading 1 hour into the city by bus to search for one. This is just as bad as "toilet papergate"!
I board a 288 bus from the bus terminus outside Macquarie Shopping Centre. I have caught this bus before but not for a while. I assumed it still stopped behind the QVB. How wrong I was. The route into the city had changed. It still says city and I assumed it stopped in the centre of the city like it did previously. Everyone on the bus got off at the first bus stop after the bus crossed the Harbour Bridge at Lang Park and I was the only one that stayed on think the bus would at least stop closer to the centre of the city at Wynyard - how wrong I was. I walk down and asked the bus driver if she stopped behind the QVB - no then asked where the next stop was Sussex Street - oh ok I know where that is, I'll get off there- wrong again- the next bus stop was behind the Aquarium at Darling Harbour somewhere. I had at least a 1 km walk back to the nearest officeworks in Pitt Street Town Hall uphill and across overpasses.
I arrive at Officeworks and oh no not a single printer left on the shelves only speakers, headphones and keyboards - maybe in the next aisles - I look along the shelves which were almost completely empty below all the 2 shelves of demo printers. I spot 1 black rather heavy printer in it's box - not the one I wanted as it was too large, too heavy and probably cost quite a lot due to it's positioning towards the business printers end of the aisle. I then spotted the VERY last budget HP printer sitting on the shelf nearest to me - it was meant to be meant for me! I grab it and did not let it out of my sight as there were quite a lot of people at officeworks and you never know who may have wondering eyes . I grab a ream of paper and head straight to the check out. I forgot to grab a new financial year diary - that can wait I still have a week until the end of the financial year. Paid for and time to go home. So glad I purchased the biggest reusable bag with my purchases from Daiso at Macquarie Shopping Centre to carry my printer, paper and other groceries in! It was heavy but I still managed to get some other groceries from Woolworths on my way home into the same bag and drag the entire bag on the train then on the bus then walk across the road and up the stairs home. I cannot believe that just a few weeks ago there was a fully stacked shelf at the same Officeworks of this printer I just purchased. 2 weeks to buy a printer- it took me slightly longer to get my hands on toilet paper!
Sunday 21st June 2020
I didn't sleep very well last night going to bed earlier and falling asleep whilst watching the food channel only to wake up after 12 midnight - I was scratching again on the palms of both hands ( which does not mean that I will be voming into some money - wrong hand it has to be the right palm only for money in and left palm only for money out both palms question mark? I think that's how the superstition goes ) thinking maybe it was the hand sanitiser I had put on whilst I was out shopping and the soap from hand washing again but at least no coughing or runny nose but my face is quite irritated too and my neck but that's from the merino skivvie I was wearing with nothing under it ( wool on skin not a good idea) . I go back to bed after uploading my photos and it is around 2.30 am. I sleep until around 6.30 am to what sounded like cars swishing past - surely it's not raining yet again?! I look outside my window and the tree outside is swaying so think ok it's a little windy so not the best day to go out and then look at the road and it is actually very wet and it's raining not just lightly yet again! It seems to be getting wetter as the morning turns to daylight. This one day sun one day raining pattern has now been going on for quite a few weeks now. It is not cold and there is certainly not enough snow in the Alpine regions of Australia yet for the opening of the ski season but we sure are getting a regular pattern of rain fall - not enough to cause a flood but enough to annoy people with daily or weekend plans. My plans for a day trip today up North or down South today have been put on hold. Maybe during the week would be a better time to go to a beach.
I just checked the forecast for today and it said firstly 13 dregrees C feels like 12 degrees C - it was a lityle cold earlier this morning but not THAT cold! Secondly it was a 90 % chance of rain at 9 am and 50% chance of rain at 10 am - well that's pretty close although it was already raining by 6am this morning. It looks like an overcast day for most of today with the sun peeping out after 10 am HOWEVER it gets worse by 12 noon - 1 pm there are thunderstorms forecasted. YIKES! I don't want to be far from home stuck on a beach around that time of the day if the forecast is correct! Worse on a ferry crosding or near a blowhole!
8.30 am and it is still raining! So glad i took out the rubbish yesterday and purchased my printer! Looks like another stay in cook and clean day today. My laundry needs doing but it can wait until tomorrow as it is not enough to do a full load yet.
12 noon and the sun is now out and there is no more swishing of cars - still looks a little windy outside but no sign of the thunder storms forecasted yet. It is nice and dry.
It still looks like it wants to storm outside but it's trying hard not to. The clouds and the sun are competing against each other into the afternoon. Looks like I won't be venturing out again eyes and nose starting to water.
Moe cooking baked salmon with mixed herb roasted vegetables - my fridge has been a bottomless pit of food this week and I still have enough food for a few more days without having to do a major shop but i did cheat a little getting a few protein items on my way home from attending Biennale.
Watched Masterchef and managed not to fall asleep this time.
End of another week of unemployment. Only 1 week or so until the end of the 2019/2020 financial year - worst financial year for me ever even worse then the last GFC and recession Australia had.
3. Eric Bridgeman and Haus Yuriyal
4. Shaheed/Witness/Kashmir
5. Nicholas Galanin
6. Eric Bridgeman and Bhenji Ra
( See above) need to see on return visit not open on day of my visit.
7. ArTree Nepal
8. Manuel Ocampo
9. Tennant Creek Brio
10. Adrift Lab
Another art installation with a strong environmental message. A mix of visuals both 2 dimensional in the form of short videos projected onto various tables and 3 dimensional images as displays of plastic marine junk collected and lit up on various tables. Some of the images projected of marine life rescued ( some deceased) are not for the faint hearted as they are disturbing images of stomachs of marine wildlife being pumped or cut open extracting and displaying what they have swallowed which is mainly plastic marine junk found in the surrounding waterways.
( refer my video uploaded onto my YouTube channel)
12. Vajiko Chachkhiani
13. Lucas Ihlein and Kim Williams
This art installation appears to be a collaboration with kids with a very environmental message - I liked this art installation.
14. Leuli Eshraghi
Another favourite art installation of mine. I spent quite a bit of time looking around it and took quite a few pbotos of it. There was something very calming about the art installation as you walked around it. The central feature was quite beautiful and a photographer's paradise. The may not have been a sensual feeling to it but there's certainly a feeling of infinity if you looked into the central feature of this art installation.
15. 15 Screens
17. Iltja Ntjarra/ Many Hands Art Centre
This art installations was also on display at the MCA.
18. Paulo Nazareth
19. Lisa Reihana
20. Jose Davila
21. Latai Taumoepeau
22. Andre Eugene
23. Tania Bruguera
This was a mixed media live performance which was not actually performing at the time of my visit to Cockatoo Island. I don't know if I could handle watching this type of art installation as it looks as if it is part doctors surgery part tattoo parlour from reading about the artist's work.
24. Ibrahim Mahama
This is probably the art installation everyone has come to see. Wow - it was huge and so immense it made me feel so small. I wondered how long it took for this to be installed. It covered every entrance possible ceiling to floor. The messages, the patchwork of these sacks - every sack had a history and stories to tell - a history of voyages around the world, of slavery and of trade. It felt as if the sacks wanted to talk to me and they were looking down on me. I took so many photos from every angle. I even returned for a second visit but the more time I spent looking at it the more photos I wanted to take and the smaller I felt. This artwork even covered the entire toliet block and near the entrance as it draped above and around it like a giant curtain it looked as if it was a window to the outside world.
25. Warwick Thornton
(Also see YouTube video uploaded)
26. Anna Boghiguian
27. S.J. Norman
28. Gina Athena Ulysse
( refer my video I have uploaded onto my YouTube channel )
29. Katarina Matiasek
30. Lawrence Abu Hamdan
31. Sammy Baloji
32. Tony Albert
I loved this art installation. Reminds me of architectural structures I seen before at other events - no not Ikea.
33. Jota Mombaca
34. Mohamed Bourouissa
Notes: For a donation of $2 you can purchase a very basic printed A4 double sided monochromatic map of Cockatoo Island with a list of the above artists locating where their work is located. There is however no descriptions of each artist's work eg composition of materials used, stories or messages behind them , dates of art work etc. All the information on each of the art installations were on clipboards near the actual art installations around Cockatoo Island. Unfortunate I didn't have the time to read each and all of them and relied on my own interpreted of each art installation. Some I really connected with and understood why the artist produced the body of work whilst others were just Indy and far too out there that I could not interpret at all.
Athough I took heaps of photos and video footage on the first reopening day of Nirin, I had my favourites. There were an awful lot of audio visual art installations at this year's Biennale and I found the art installation a bit more Indy then previous Biennale art installations. By Indy I mean that the art installations were so weird or out there I could not understand or connect with them. What is the artist trying to say? Is there a message they are trying to communicate to their audience through their artwork?
It's past 3 pm and there were not many people left on Cockatoo Island except the Nirin volunteers. At the top of Cockatoo Island I did not see anyone up there so make my way down to the wharf to catch the next ferry back to Circular Quay. There was nobody there either. The island ranger tells me that it's about to get dark pretty soon and I responded that I knew that's why I made my way back down to the ferry wharf (which was being pressure washed and only stopped whenever a ferry arrived or departed the wharf).
If you would like a sneak peep at 2 of the Biennale 2020 Nirin art installations on Cockatoo Island on reopening day please visit my YouTube channel where I have uploaded them.
Wednesday 17th June 2020
Sorry I was so exhausted yesterday running around trying to see everything in the Biennale Nirin 2020 at both the MCA and Cockatoo Island , I fell asleep during the beginning of Masterchef so today will be a complete catch up day.
First thing on my agenda - catch up tv on Ten View of last night's episode of Masterchef I fell asleep during. Done.
Next on my agenda - I receive a random email from my Aunt overseas stating I have not given instructions on a family's estate therefore responded to her email which is quite urgent advising how I haven't heard anything from her or her lawyer in regards to her email regarding non receipt of a signed "release" form and after going through my emails I have forwarded what was required and not heard anything since. That was last year 6 months ago! I am worried as I don't want my "share" of the estate to go to the courts due to my non instruction. Their lawyer definitely received a signed release form from me as they confirmed receipt.
Why it it that everything I do has to be more complex then it is? Is it only me that always does the right thing first time around yet doing the right thing always ends up the wrong thing and I have to spend an equal or more amount of time and effort to fix things to make them right again? It has been like this my entire life without exception!
It's a great day to be inside as it is wet and raining yet again today and it is so dark! I was trying to eat my breakfast when I had to make a phone call overseas in relation to the above situation. Done, I'll deal with this again at a later date.
Breakfast tastes better then it looks - crumpet toast (a cross between a crumpet and toast one of the best food invention ever!) with nutella and mixed fruit pureed on top. Yum. Noooo my cough is back after not coughing all day yesterday - damn the wet weather! It's definitely not the constant soap, hand washing or application of hand sanitizer that is causing my itch, my body knows when it is going to rain again! uh oh here comes the watery eyes and nose again. Maybe tomorrow it will be sunny again!?
By evening it cleared up - no more rain and swishing sound of cars driving past.
I didn't do much today except watch the food channel and catch up on my blog. There are so many photos and videos to upload from yesterday!
I ate a lot as well. Must start proper exercising again not just going on walks to places and lugging the heavy loads of shopping, rubbish and laundry! I'm actually getting too heavy for my air matress - it deflated last night although it shouldn't have as it should be able to take 295 kg max weight which is more then 3 times my weight! ( well I hope so) .
Starting this week there is only 3 episodes of Masterchef a week Sun Mon & Tues instead of 5 episodes a week - talk about extending a reality tv cooking series for as long as possible! So no Masterchef tonight or tomortow night!
Not much else happening - stayed up pretty late writing and watching the foid channel. Sleep. Planning to venture out tomorrow to try again to find a printer, drop off so.e mail at the post office, grocery shop and try using my overseas bank card on a local ATM.
My mattress has started deflating again so I decide to inflate it a little more. Bad move now it dips where I sleep on it even more. From day 2 I started hearing it pop slightly where I slept but didn't think much of it. I don't have it on anything sharp as it is on top of my cow rug and I havent over inflated it. It just sags where I sleep. Another air mattress to return after just 1 month or so of usage - they are meant to have a 12 month warranty on them. Time to try the top model of air mattress - the $200 one with adjustable firmness settings maybe!
Thursday 18th June 2020
Today I got a response from the bank overseas however my account enquiries are still unsolved. I think I will have to call them tomorrow. I have sent them several emails.
After finishing my letter to the PM and not being able to find a printer to print out a photo of myself to send my volunteer job, I decided I'll just send the letter without it and an IOU note.
I decided i must venture out today to try and find a printer and post my letters.
I had absolutely no luck with finding a printer - Target did not have any at all, Australia post had 2 left of a printer that was $100 , JB HI FI had 1 rather heavy red printer for $179 left and the other JB HI FI only had 1 $500 very heavy printer left and kmart had no printers left. I tried everywhere even DJs who also had no printers at all. I will have to try again tomorrow. It may mean another trip to the city.
As I walked around the shopping centres there were at least 2 stores Apple and Uniqlo checking temperatures as people entered the store whilst every other store provided hand sanitizer at the entrance of their stores.
I get a message from one of my ex work collegues who was unaware that my employment had been terminated. She asks me to keep in touch but I had to say to her how I unfriended most people on Facebook and probably not before apologizing. If you get terminated from your job you don't usually keep in touch with your ex work colleagues - it's just not right. She asked about where I been going on my adventures - of course not you still can't travel anywhere far safely and most of the places of interest are inaccessible yet or events I usually attend have been cancelled or postponed.
I ended up purchasing a punnet of strawberries on sale at Woolworths metro and a packet of free range chicken wings - there was no other choices in chicken wings.
Friday 19th June 2020
Today was a stay at home do nothing day eventhough the sun was out. I just watched the food channel most of today, sent some emails, watched YouTube and continued uploading photos onto my blog which is taking forever as I can't seem to upload multiple photos at the same time like I could in the very early days of this blog site.
Wondering if I can reach my goal of 25 000 readers before the end of this finsncial year in a week or so.
Australia overtook the US last time I looked at the rankings of number of readers but only by 1 reader!
Don't forget to watch my YouTube channel as well. I still have to upload quite a few video of Biennale onto it. First I need to tackle uploading all the photos onto my blog!
I paid the rent really early this morning and my phone bill which is not due until 6th July but I try to keep ontop of all my bills in advance. My bill was only $30 this month - should have seen the 2 pages full of reversals of $10 per extra 1 Gb of data I was overcharged!!!! I also paid my income protection which I can't suspend in advance also due in July.
Notice I haven't applied for any more jobs for the whole week. I had a look at the snow cam around the Australian ski resorts and we have a bit of a way to go before you can actually ski - it is still mainly grass with only patches of snow enough for snow play only at this point in time. It's meant to be opening weekend tomorrow offically but I'm certainly not in a hurry to go yet. The online prepurchase tickets to Thredbo was a fail leaving people hanging for hours only to cut them off when they reached the front of the queue.
Perisher (Epic card) holders were a little more cautious.
4.45 pm and it's really dark.
I forgot to mention the foods stalls at the Thursday and Friday Chatswood Concourse Markets have commenced again however there were no long queues of people waiting in lines for food probably due to alk the social distancing signage around each food stall. I am still cautious when it comes to takeaway food purchases still. I am still eating mainly homemade food - today it was sticky Asian style chicken wings and salmon noodles spinach and kale with an egg poached in an Asian broth.
Slept a lot today as i have heaps to do tomorrow.
Saturday 20th June 2020
No time to sleep in today. My cousin overseas wants to confirm I received the funds deposited to me. I have to ring the bank overseas to sort out my internet banking problem, confirm deposit into my account, sort out access denied message from using my card in an ATM and change my account from cheque to savings which should have been done back in January. Also need to sort out my private health insurance as the 3 months waiver period is about to end by email as to my options.
Breakfast is a vegemite, cream cheese and tasty cheese mushroom and shallot filled puff pastry. The vegemite goes quite well with the mushroom and cheese combination. I kept some for dinner by putting it in the fridge ' these sorts of pastries taste so much better cold I find.
Today I need to find a printer and find an alternative to my airmatress problem. Must go out beauriful day outside!
Just updated my Gumtree advertisement as they are about to expire
What's with the printer shortage?, I tried everywhere possible and noone has any!!!!!That's a full 2 weeks of running around to all Kmarts, Targets, Officeworks, Big W, JB HIFIs and even Australia Post offices and David Jones department stores. NONE - heaps of displays that can't be sold but the shelves underneath them are all empty! I went to Macquarie Shopping Centre today just to go to Big W as there were heaps on their website but when I arrived none! now I'm heading 1 hour into the city by bus to search for one. This is just as bad as "toilet papergate"!
I board a 288 bus from the bus terminus outside Macquarie Shopping Centre. I have caught this bus before but not for a while. I assumed it still stopped behind the QVB. How wrong I was. The route into the city had changed. It still says city and I assumed it stopped in the centre of the city like it did previously. Everyone on the bus got off at the first bus stop after the bus crossed the Harbour Bridge at Lang Park and I was the only one that stayed on think the bus would at least stop closer to the centre of the city at Wynyard - how wrong I was. I walk down and asked the bus driver if she stopped behind the QVB - no then asked where the next stop was Sussex Street - oh ok I know where that is, I'll get off there- wrong again- the next bus stop was behind the Aquarium at Darling Harbour somewhere. I had at least a 1 km walk back to the nearest officeworks in Pitt Street Town Hall uphill and across overpasses.
I arrive at Officeworks and oh no not a single printer left on the shelves only speakers, headphones and keyboards - maybe in the next aisles - I look along the shelves which were almost completely empty below all the 2 shelves of demo printers. I spot 1 black rather heavy printer in it's box - not the one I wanted as it was too large, too heavy and probably cost quite a lot due to it's positioning towards the business printers end of the aisle. I then spotted the VERY last budget HP printer sitting on the shelf nearest to me - it was meant to be meant for me! I grab it and did not let it out of my sight as there were quite a lot of people at officeworks and you never know who may have wondering eyes . I grab a ream of paper and head straight to the check out. I forgot to grab a new financial year diary - that can wait I still have a week until the end of the financial year. Paid for and time to go home. So glad I purchased the biggest reusable bag with my purchases from Daiso at Macquarie Shopping Centre to carry my printer, paper and other groceries in! It was heavy but I still managed to get some other groceries from Woolworths on my way home into the same bag and drag the entire bag on the train then on the bus then walk across the road and up the stairs home. I cannot believe that just a few weeks ago there was a fully stacked shelf at the same Officeworks of this printer I just purchased. 2 weeks to buy a printer- it took me slightly longer to get my hands on toilet paper!
Sunday 21st June 2020
End of week 13 and still unemployed - offical end of my LSL as well.
A very quick check on the analytics and Australia has doubled the number of readers as the US and is still ranked #1 and that was just overnight. Makes me think what could posdibly writing about that has so drastically changed the geographic if not demographic of people out there reading my blog - is it things that only Australians can relate to such as JobSeeker and JobKeeper or is it the places of interest I visit or events I atrend? There are heaps of places I would love to visit that are interstate and overseas however with a second wave of Corona virus rearing it's ugly head recently in particular in Victoria I'm not quite ready to travel outside of NSW.
This blogging website is getting really annoying as it not only keeps crashing with text, it has just taken me 4 attempts to upload 2 photos for one artist as it kept crashing therefore apologies if it is taking forever to upload photographs for each artist. I haave to upload 1 photo for 1 artist at a time and save after each artist otherwise I could lose all photos uploaded. A very slow process and no fix. I tried to use the new version of blogger and you can select more then 1 photo at a time to upload but no photos appear on your blog that you have just uploaded and no error messages. The select upload from photos option does not work at all.A very quick check on the analytics and Australia has doubled the number of readers as the US and is still ranked #1 and that was just overnight. Makes me think what could posdibly writing about that has so drastically changed the geographic if not demographic of people out there reading my blog - is it things that only Australians can relate to such as JobSeeker and JobKeeper or is it the places of interest I visit or events I atrend? There are heaps of places I would love to visit that are interstate and overseas however with a second wave of Corona virus rearing it's ugly head recently in particular in Victoria I'm not quite ready to travel outside of NSW.
I didn't sleep very well last night going to bed earlier and falling asleep whilst watching the food channel only to wake up after 12 midnight - I was scratching again on the palms of both hands ( which does not mean that I will be voming into some money - wrong hand it has to be the right palm only for money in and left palm only for money out both palms question mark? I think that's how the superstition goes ) thinking maybe it was the hand sanitiser I had put on whilst I was out shopping and the soap from hand washing again but at least no coughing or runny nose but my face is quite irritated too and my neck but that's from the merino skivvie I was wearing with nothing under it ( wool on skin not a good idea) . I go back to bed after uploading my photos and it is around 2.30 am. I sleep until around 6.30 am to what sounded like cars swishing past - surely it's not raining yet again?! I look outside my window and the tree outside is swaying so think ok it's a little windy so not the best day to go out and then look at the road and it is actually very wet and it's raining not just lightly yet again! It seems to be getting wetter as the morning turns to daylight. This one day sun one day raining pattern has now been going on for quite a few weeks now. It is not cold and there is certainly not enough snow in the Alpine regions of Australia yet for the opening of the ski season but we sure are getting a regular pattern of rain fall - not enough to cause a flood but enough to annoy people with daily or weekend plans. My plans for a day trip today up North or down South today have been put on hold. Maybe during the week would be a better time to go to a beach.
I just checked the forecast for today and it said firstly 13 dregrees C feels like 12 degrees C - it was a lityle cold earlier this morning but not THAT cold! Secondly it was a 90 % chance of rain at 9 am and 50% chance of rain at 10 am - well that's pretty close although it was already raining by 6am this morning. It looks like an overcast day for most of today with the sun peeping out after 10 am HOWEVER it gets worse by 12 noon - 1 pm there are thunderstorms forecasted. YIKES! I don't want to be far from home stuck on a beach around that time of the day if the forecast is correct! Worse on a ferry crosding or near a blowhole!
8.30 am and it is still raining! So glad i took out the rubbish yesterday and purchased my printer! Looks like another stay in cook and clean day today. My laundry needs doing but it can wait until tomorrow as it is not enough to do a full load yet.
12 noon and the sun is now out and there is no more swishing of cars - still looks a little windy outside but no sign of the thunder storms forecasted yet. It is nice and dry.
It still looks like it wants to storm outside but it's trying hard not to. The clouds and the sun are competing against each other into the afternoon. Looks like I won't be venturing out again eyes and nose starting to water.
Moe cooking baked salmon with mixed herb roasted vegetables - my fridge has been a bottomless pit of food this week and I still have enough food for a few more days without having to do a major shop but i did cheat a little getting a few protein items on my way home from attending Biennale.
Watched Masterchef and managed not to fall asleep this time.
End of another week of unemployment. Only 1 week or so until the end of the 2019/2020 financial year - worst financial year for me ever even worse then the last GFC and recession Australia had.
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