Still not the nicest day outside and I haven't check the forecast yet.
Quick check of where my readers are from and Australia still leads as #1 and still with twice the number of readers as the US.
I still have a few more events to attend before or at the end of this financial year.
I was hoping to reach my goal of 25 000 readers before the end of this financial year however I think I will be just be approximately 20 readers short of my goal but I never know as there is still a week until 30th June 2020. Even if I reach my goal it will be at least 4 months ahead of my blog's 5th anniversary.
Just read the news and Victoria has 100 new cases of Corona virus in the past 7 days. How could this second wave happen? Should the strict social distancing restrictions in place not have been lifted so soon?
A bit of Facebook and YouTube as well as updating my blog.
It's a nice day today so I must go out. Today I went to the post office first then decided to take the 280
bus out to Warringah Mall about an hour away from Chatswood. Unsure if this is the only way and quickest way to get there but at least I know it should be the last stop on the bus route. I haven't been there for a while but I need to get to a camping store to sort out my air mattress problem and find an alternative and I know there is an Anaconda at this rather large shopping centre (mall). I always get lost at this shopping centre and it's bigger then Macquarie I think.
Warringah Mall is so big blink and you miss the restrooms. This renovated shopping centre is now a Westfield Shopping Centre, before it became so big it was an independently owned set of shops. I love the wzy this shopping centre is half open air and half enclosed. You will find all sorts of shops here that may not be present at other Westfield Shopping Centres. The main reason for my visit is there is an Anaconda outdoor adventure, camping and hiking supplies store here which does not exist in Chatswood's main shopping centre area. The closest Anaconda is outside of central Chatswood and requires a bus or drive to get there. I had a good look around the Anaconda store especially the self inflating sleep mats but did not purchase one as they were too bulky to carry on the bus with or not too good a quality. The one mat I did like was only available in a single and was too long and a little pricey to buy 2 and put together - I was looking at Queen mats but there were not many in the better quality mats.
Onto Coles then Woolworths for some groceries as well as The Reject store to buy a new financial diary and some other things before heading home via a stop at Woolworths for change for the laundry and more groceries.
Back home in tome to watch Masterchef and then Have You Been Paying Attention - did not fall asleep thos time.
I applied for a casual job at Myer advertised on Indeed since I have not heard back from HR at Myer.
Sleep after a meal of rice, marinated Chinese chicken and brocoli.
The main indoor to outdoor courtyard inside the shopping centre compete with large central screen , water feature/fountain, trees and cafe with seating although not open due to COVID restrictions. Look at the beautiful blue sky! Imagine having a nice sitdown lunch out here on a nice day instead of sitting indoors in a food court. Not so nice when it's wet raining or cold though.
seating and visible recharging stations inside the shopping centre - something you don't see within the Westfield Shopping Centre Chatswood, I notice that a lot of the visible seating with charging station have been removed or hidden.
H & M Homewares
Another tree inside the shopping centre
Very clean open modern kids playground inside the shopping centre although still currently closed due to COVID restrictions without the usual tacky inflatables or dirty climbing and sliding equipment seen inside other shopping centres.
Trees inside the courtyard areas of the shopping centre
Anaconda outdoor adventure store
Tuesday 23rd June 2020
Today is an absolutely do nothing day except eat and watch the food channel. Thinking about making a noodle soup of some type maybe. No desserts as I still have my chocolate cake that I haven't finished. On Thursday I will be returning to Warringah Mall to attend a group interview at Myer in the afternoon. Just as well I checked my emails hundreds of them mostly junk which I have to wade through every day to find and respond to the important ones. I need to cull even more organisations emails.
Watched Masterchef had a shower washed the dishes and went to bed.
Interesting that there are now equal number of readers from the UK and the US however Australian readers still lead by double the number.
Wednesday 25th June 2020
I didn't sleep very well last night. Besides going to bed really late I woke up this morning at 5 am and went back to bed as it was dark and really cold. I had a bad nightmare about my previous employer. I had returned pick up some stuff I had left behind and also for some reason was passing by the Balgowlah store ( which could make sense as I have to go to Warringah Mall tomorrow) and as I passed it the store had hardly any stock left in it and only the manager was there mainly cleaning up. The store was empty and looked as if it was about to close down as the manager was ensuring the store was ready to be vacated hence the clearing out and cleaning up - most of the shop fittings and fixtures had been removed. I went in to say Hi to the manager and unsure if I purchased an orange or yellow apron or was given it as nobody was going to buy them as they were left over ugly stock. I advised the manager how my employment was actually terminated as she thought I had just been on leave asking me how I had been and where had I been as she had not seen or heard from me for a long time. When I explained how my employment was terminated she said to me that ic anyone was to have their employment terminated, it would be her as she has not been with the company as long as me. Back at the other store I was based at in St Ives, I find out that all the other casual staff were there ie had kept their jobs and they had some odd left over products on display and it was really ugly stock - it looked like dark Chinese urns or pots that were black with red trims - very odd stock to have on display at the front of the store. When I bumped into the owner of the stores he had this really unhappy angry look on his face and avoided contact with me altogether and even told his staff and manager if they saw me not to talk to me. There are 2 scenarios that may become a reality in this nightmare I had.
Most of the companies I worked for previously no longer exist ie many of them went into administration or just closed down completely due to various reasons usually financial. If they do still exist they have closed stores , relocated or restructured meaning an almost total change of staff. My former employer only has 2 stores left - maybe this company will not survive the COVID pandemic and likely to close at least one of their stores ie the weakest performing store at Balgowlah if not both hence the empty store in my nightmare. I had lodged an enquiry to Fair Work in regards to non inclusion in my previous employer's JobKeeper scheme as an eligible employee and unfair dismissal after 20 years of service. I also wrote a letter to the PM in regards to this and how JobSeeker may have saved me but how JobKeeper and industrial relations law failed me. The angry unhappy face on my previous employer and avoiding contact with me is indicative of perhaps finding out that I had sort advice from Fairwork, taken my case of unfair dismissal further legally or that the ATO is about to perform an audit on him and his company. Maybe he thinks he was tipped off to the ATO by me ie I dobed him into the ATO hence the audit and he knows he is in the wrong both with Fair Work with industrial relations law and the ATO with taxation law.
Onto something else that's a little weird. If you remember I posted an advertisement on Gumtree back in March Made Redundant & Looking For Work and advised readers how I have not had any luck except for scam job offers. I recently updated my advertisment to reflect my current situation is Unemployed For Over 3 Months & Still Looking For A Job. Last night really late at night or every early in the morning I receive a notification in response to my Gumtree advertisment and it was not a job offer but a rather strange response from a complete stranger which was as long as an essay. If I saw a Gumtree advertisement like mine, I certainly would not have responded to the advertisement this way particularly if you didn't even know the person. Here it is below anyway.
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Just like people using Linkedin as an alternative to Facebook's Find My Friends, I hope people are not using Gumtree advertisements as an alternative to a counselling corner! This is going too far. Am I going to respond to Jo - absolutely not! I wish people would stop telling me things will get better or be ok. They don't know me, they probably aren't even in the same situation as me - the Corona virus is not just going to go away. Reality check we are in a recession, thousands of people are unemployed, unemployment is very high and in general the economy worldwide is in general turnmoil. I actually feel like telling Jo ( whoever she is) that I've actually given up - not on life just looking for a job. She did not have to give me advice on things I've already done or have been doing. It seems to be not what you know but who you know in getting a job these days. She certainly can't help me with that can she as she does mention the word "contacts" in her response. Hey I went to TAFE many decades ago and I did not get my first job through them - I took the initiative on my own to get my first job in my profession - hence no contacts. I have never used any contacts in my entire working life to gain employment - I didn't actually have any contacts and still don't - not even just to get a group interview for the casual job at Myer advertised on Indeed. I have almost absolutely zero chance of gaining the position - I have more chance at contracting the Corona virus from attending the group interview tomorrow!!!!
It's another nice day today. Still have not done my laundry but should really get out and about. Need to take my rubbish out at least. It was really cold this morning so I made a Chinese chicken and corn soup for brunch. So yummy - in my slow cooker I put boiling water, chilli flakes, snipped fresh corriander & shallots, chicken thigh pieces, fresh corn scrapped off the cob , 2 stock cubes, sesame oil, pepper, fried shallots, a little salt, slices of fresh ginger, 1 egg and soya sauce. Usually Chinese chicken and corn soup is clear however I made it a more hearty naturally thicken opague soup by adding brown soba noodles which I let break down completely in the soup over it's slow cooking time. So nice and warm. Can't stop drinking it!
2 more unsucessful responses received from Aldi for retail assistant - I removed my personal details from their database for security reasons today & Your Firm Online for copywriter - I emailed them back as there was a typo in their unsuccessful response to me and it was for a copywriter position!
My private health insurance 3 month waiver is about to expire and they need evidence of my financial hardship - awaiting their response as to the type of evidence required.
I received a few scam phone calls today which I have blocked. One was entirely in Mandarin - no idea who it was from or what they were saying on the recorded message as Mandarin is not my language Cantonese is.
So disappointed that Masterchef is not on tonight. Took my rubbish out but still have not done my laundry.
Watching the food channel instead.
Must do something about my bed. Can't decide foam springless 10 cm queen matress, self inflating mapping queen or double mat foam not air, folding queen bed frame, Ikea green queen bed frame and slats or folding single reclining floor lounge x 2 ? so much choice problems weight, bulk can I fit it up the stairs and into the apartment and carry it myself? cost and freight, delivery time and availability ...... so much to consider.
Thursday 26th June 2020
It is only 4 days until the end of the 2019/2020 financial year and I am very close to reaching my 25000 readers target. The question is can I reach this goal? The audience has shifted - it is still neck and neck of 1 US to 1 UK reader equal # 2 in rankings and Australian readers are still way ahead ranking # 1 with more then double the number of readers. I am hoping that I am not 1 or readers short by the end of the financial year. Don't forget to watch my poor little YouTube channel as well.
Hoping to do my laundry this morning before I venture out today - if I can get up as it is so cold but not thst dark this morning. I wonder what the weather is going to be like today hopefully sunny as previously forecast.
Yesterday I spent quite a bit of time catching up on uploading photos of Biennale on Cockatoo Island onto my blog. Quite a few of the photos and artists don't match up to what was suppose to be on display compared to what was in the printed and online program - probably due to last minute changes to the 22nd Biennale of Sydney 2020 Nirin from original artists and venues to the current artists and venues as a result of the Corona panndemic interruption to the event. I seem to have extra photos from artists not on the program and extra artists on the program but no photos. Maybe resolved on my return visit to Cockatoo Island.
Laundry almost done. Not quite dried in first 40 minutes of drying cycle therefore running it through another 40 minutes for extra drying. Made breakfast and vacuumed - it's 11 am already and I still haven't done much. Next shower wash dishes and off to Warringah Mall to explore more before my Myer Interview this afternoon - may stop off at one of the local beaches along the way we'll see.
Watching YouTube and the food channel whilst my laundry is drying. Should be almost done by now.
Laundry done. I am waiting for a bus towards Warringah Mall. There was a bendy bus 144 just past noon and I saw it from the next set of lights coming so got up from the seat at the bus stop to signal the driver. The driver saw me as he pulled in towards the curb at the bus stop by slowing down but instead of stopping to let me on he continued to drive off. How rude! I lodged a complaint online immediately.
Disappointing that some museums are still closed to the public. I checked the Powerhouse Museum and all sessions for the walk through tours are sold out right up to the last session on 30th June, so glad I purchased my ticket really early in advance! I also checked the Telstra museum to enquire if it was still open as I have been wanting to go to see it for some time now however it is only open on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Unfortunately it is still closed due to COVID restrictions.
There will be other adventures planned although not very far as I am still cautious about travelling to Victoria especially to Lake Mountain to go snow shoeing due to the second wave of corona virus.
Places of interest I would like to go on a day trip to Kiama Blowhole and little blow hole, day trip to Berry, weekend to Orange, Ettalong Beach by ferry & Narrabeen Lagoon walk along the trail.
I arrive by bus at 2 pm and there is not enough time to visit a local beach today. Heading straight to Anaconda for a second look at self inflating foam mats then to the group interview at The Hub Myer ay 2.45 pm with my mask on ( I was the only person at the group interview with a mask - group interviews with strangers better safe then sorry!!!!)
It's 4.30 pm and I just finished my group interview ( a group of 10 which ended up being a group of 15) followed by a one on one interview at Myer Warringah Mall. It went a tad over time aa it was mea nt to finish at 3.30 pm. We didn't even do any group activities which are normally done during group interviews. This group interview was very different ti the first one I did with the Citrus Group as it was a real group interview not a recuitment company group interview. The applicants that were applying for the casual position were genuine and another applicant I met was also so nice. She was so sweet she wished me luck for my one on one interview so I wished her luck back. I tried to talk to the other lady sitting next to me but she wasn't really interested. Everyone else applying for the job at the group interview was getting to know each other. Competition is so fierce for the position at Myer Warringah Mall and it is only a casual position. There is actually a cease hire at Myer but for some reason Myer Warringah Mall obtained special permission to recruit extra staff. This is the 4th group of applicants and only round 1 of the recruitment process. Another round is in August September. I think even as a shareholder I have zero chance of being sucessful as there are so many other applicants that are younger then me. When introducing ourselves I did not mention that I was a shareholder as I didn't want the other applicants to think I had any sort of unfair advantage which I don't anyway as I saw the advertisement on Indeed and applied for it like everyone else. In the good old days it was polite to thank a company after atending an interview so I wrote a short email to the Myer Talent Acquisition Team doing so. I now leave my application in the hands of Myer.
6 pm and I am still on the bus not back in Chatswood yet - just as well Masterchef is not on tonight! It is so dark.
I stopped off at Chatswood Woolworths Metro to get a few things to top up my groceries before taking the bus home. Still haven't dealt with my mattress situation yet.
Double mattress I wanted was unavailable. Could have bought the queen but unsure about it. Too awkward to carry home.
A quick look again at the analytics of my blog and the number of UK readers has now overtaken the number of US readers. Thank you to the UK readers out there.
I went to sleep earlier tonight. Only 5 days left of financial year and I will just enjoy the rest of it before preparing my tax return for my tax agent's appointment. My tax return will be very different this financial year with my LSL paid out, being unemployed for over 3 months, JobSeeker payments and other stuff. Maybe it was an advantage that my previous employer did not nominate me for JobKeeper payments as that would have complicated my tax return this financial year and next financial year even more!
Friday 27th June 2020
I had turned off my phone last night so no alarms to wake me up this morning at 5 am and 6 am. I relied on night turning to daylight from my window. I slept in until 7.15 am this morning. The sun was out and it looked like it was going to be a nice day today.
I had some fruit and crackers for breakfast before watching some Youtube and checking the forecast for today. What a beautiful day mainly sunny with a low of 9 degrees C and a high of 16 degrees C.
So today I have a few things to do - shopping for groceries mainly. Then I will decide where I would like to go today.
First things I did do today was submit my Centrelink fortnightly reporting then add another job search online to the job active site . A notification pops up that the job active system will be down from late tonight over the weekend. I was already having trouble logging out of it. The Centrlink website is still working thank goodness.
It's just past noon and I still haven't left the apartment. I just can't kick my intensive job search habit. I am also reading the news online since I can't stand watching the daily news on tv as it's too intense and depressing.
I am just sick of hearing about the new wave of Corona virus - the number of new cases, the cluster areas, the death tolls and now the carrying out of mass testing of everyone in certain suburbs in Victoria where clusters of corona virus have originated and spread. Yes knocking on people's doors and testing everyone in entire suburbs in Melbourne. At the moment testing cannot be enforced and there has been according to news reports people refusing to be tested due to privacy of information concerns. Also how can you request people to self quarantine until they get their test results back which are not instant and may or may not be positive? This has led to a second wave of supermarket hoarding of essential items which started off in Victoria but is spreading to NSW. A shortage of toliet paper, pasta and flour for example has resulted in supermarkets reinstating their original purchase limit restrictions on them again.
I also came across the following piece of news below on Yahoo Finance titled and hope my former employer gets audited by the ATO. I always said the ATO would never go out to the suburbs to conduct audits on companies - one company I worked for many years ago located in the suburbs actually did get audited and not just once therefore I was wrong!
"......The ATO said it will be seeking to make sure businesses meet the income requirements. Entities were required to prove that they had suffered a loss of at least 30 per cent in revenue or turnover.
Additionally, the ATO will be checking entities are claiming for eligible employees, making the correct claims and not manipulating their turnover to appear to be eligible.
It will also be on the lookout for employers who have artificially restructured their business to boost cash flow, inflated reported withholding amounts, resurrected dormant entities or artificially changed the character of payments..."
I just lost yet another paragraph of my blog as it crashed yet again. So let me start again.Since I ended up not venturing out today as I didn't feel very well, I checked my emails. I am still getting a lot of junk emails therefore waded through them all and deleted any irrelevant ones. Wading through them, I found an email from Myer advising me that my application had progressed in the recruitment process although only slightly. Myer now required (by law) some sort of proof of Australian citizenship or residency within 3 days by return email to be sent to their recruitment department. I therefore forwarded a copy of my passport as they had already sighted my photo ID at the interview and I have no idea where my birth certificate is buried deep in my offsite storage somewhere ( it would take me months to find it!). Because of all the problems I have had with identity fraud, I am being cautious about who and what organisations I provide any of my personal details/information to. I therefore wrote across my photo of my passport " for Myer recruitment use only" before attaching and sending it to Myer by email this afternoon.
6 pm and it is really dark and a little cold. Is it too early to dig out and turn the oil heater on?
More food channel watching - still have a pile of laundry to fold and put away properly and think about what I need to do and where I would like to go over the weekend.
The number of UK and US readers are still equal at # 2 again, come on guys knock the number of Australian readers which are still way ahead of you off the top ranking!!!!
Saturday 28th June 2020
Today I slept in again but only woke up at 8.15 am. It is not the best day to be outdoors and to go on a daytrip.
I think it maybe a shopping or indoor activity day today.
oh no Monday there is a 40% chance of rain! Partly cloudy for weekend.
11.40 am and I am at the bus stop waiting for a bus. It is really weird weather today sunny but with grey clouds hanging around. It's not cold but I still have a skivvie and 2 hoodies on as it can get quite cold in the afternoon.
I plan to venture into the city to have a walk around today as I haven't been since I purchased my printer from Officeworks ( which I still haven't set up yet).
It's suddenly really cold at Chatswood - maybe I didn't over dress! Heading by train into the city now. Mask on!!!!! Crazy the amount of people around Chatswood most not wearing a mask and not even thinking about social distancing. I would hate NSW to have a second wave of the Corona virus like Melbourne has currently.
OK so where did I end up today? I went to the Australian National Maritime Museum at Darling Harbour (Pyrmont). There were 2 exhibitions I wanted to focus on seeing today ( Wildlife Photographer of the Year & Ghost Nets of the Ocean) however I hope to to see all exhibitions that had reopened. This museum only reopened on the 22nd June 2020 which is a little later then most of the other museums and art galleries in NSW. A good portion of the exhibitions were still closed to the public such as the upper level of Cape Bowling Green Lighthouse, the HMAS Onslow submarine, SY Ena, interior areas of the Destroyer HMAS Vampire, patrol boat HMAS Advance, Tall Ship HMB Endeavour bottom deck, Tall Ship James Craig ( I believe that I have actually been on board this tall ship for a Christmas staff party decades ago or it could just have been on the HMB Endeavour) & the Yots Cafe.
If everything was open at the museum, I would have spent an entire day there. There is so much to see inside and outside the museum. At $25 for a see all entry fee for an adult, it is rather pricey particularly when a large portion of the museum was closed. The website advised that prebooked tickets for entry into all day weekday sessions and either of the 2 sessions on weekends was required as names and contact details were registered for contact tracing due COVID safe regulations in place. You have to spend the maximum amount of time at the museum to make the entry fee worth it. The 2 weekend sessions are from 9.30 am - 1 pm and from 1 pm - 5 pm. I think if you have a morning session ticket you can still remain in the museum past 1 pm . The museum was quite busy for the 1 pm session and people were just turning up and lining up to purchase tickets at the reception desk. I purchased a last minute online ticket at 12.45 pm for the 1 pm session and arrived a few minutes before 1 pm as I thought I would need all 4 hours to see the entire museum. I still had to queue up to be scanned. After waiting for the family in front of me that just showed up with no prebooked tickets to be processed, I was scanned in, issued a stamped receipt and stamped map of the museum. This is my very first visit to the inside of the Australian National Martime Museum and my first look inside the ground floor of the Cape Bowling Green Lighthouse and on board one of the naval vessels Destroyer HMAS Vampire. Note the HMB Endevour closes at 4.30 pm but the museum indoor exhibitions close at 5 pm therefore I recommend visitors see the outdoor exhibitions first before visiting the inside exhibitions as there maybe queues to board both the HMB Endevour & the Destroyer HMAS Vampire due to COVID safe crowd number restrictions . Also note the museum is not easy to navigate around as there are ramps and stairs connecting galleries and displays everywhere when there are only parts of the 2 levels open. Maybe I should have just used the lift! The map of the museum given to me upon checking in helped to ensure I didn't miss an galleries that were open and that I saw all the exhibitions that were on inside the museum.
The National Maritime Museum is separated into the following galleries/exhibitions that were open to the public on the day of my visit.
UPPER LEVEL
LIGHTHOUSE GALLERY ( THIS FUNCTION AREA WAS ACTUALLY NOT OPEN TO THE PUBLIC)
SEA MONSTERS
PASSENGERS GALLERY
This gallery was interesting. I spent quite a bit of time looking around it - refugees, new immigrants, white Australia policy, Chinese seamen, love & war, inter race marriage, deportation, amnesty and Australian naturalization & citizenship - examples were all on display in this particular gallery. Why wasn't my family history as exciting as those on display?
TASMAN LIGHT GALLERY
3D CINEMA (ALSO CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC)
LOWER LEVEL
WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR
I started taking photos of the wildlife photographs on display unaware that there was a no photography sign until I exited the exhibition. Oops sorry. Due to artists' copyright I am unable to republish any of the photos without the artists' permission therefore I will respect that by not uploading any of their winning photographs I accidently took for readers of my blog except for the below as this particular black & white photograph has already been used publically to promote the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition at the museum. Readers will just have to visit the museum themselves to view the exhibition.
NAVY GALLERY
HERE: KUPE TO COOK
MINI MARINERS PLAY ( ALSO CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC)
MAIN FOYER
This is where you check in or purchase a ticket to enter the museum. The main foyer was also where the permanent exhobition I came to see is housed - hung high above from the ceiling.
Photos of "Ghost Nets of the Ocean" below. This installation was amazing to look at. It must have taken hours to collect the materials and weave them to form the animals and objects they are.
THE STORE ( OPEN TO THE PUBLIC BUT DID NOT VISIT)
TERRACE ROOM (THIS FUNCTION AREA ALSO NOT OPEN TO THE PUBLIC)
WHARF LEVEL (OUTSIDE OF MUSEUM 'S BUILDING IN BETWEEN HMAS ONSLOW & HMAS VAMPIRE)
I love a good lighthouse but it would be even better if i could actually climb inside to the top of one! I've seen so many light houses from the outside but have never been inside one and climbed to the top. This light house was only open on the ground floor to the public on the day of my visit.
On board the Tall Ship HMB Endeavour
On board the Destroyer HMAS Vampire - a contrast to the Tall Ship HMB Endeavour
NINE NETWORK PROJECTION ROOM ( DID NOT VISIT)
DISCOVERY AND EXPLORATION SPACE
(DID NOT VISIT)
ACTION STATIONS ( DID NOT REVISIT AS I HAVE SEEN IT BEFORE)
I have uploaded 2 videos onto my YouTube channel of my time on board the tall ship HMB Endeavour and the Destroyer HMAS Destroyer
On my way home I stopped off at Woolworths Metro Chatswood to again top up my groceries. On my list were tissues however when I got to the toliet paper paper towels and tissues aisle there were again empty shelves - there was absolutely no toliet paper at all and very limited stock of paper towels and boxes of tissues what the? The second wave of toliet paper hoarding started in Victoria due to the second wave of Corona virus but why has this spread to NSW? We aren't having a second wave of the Corona virus. The supermarket's reinstatement of purchase limits on certain products has not worked. Sugar flour pasta etc were all still plentiful it's just toliet paper tissues and paper towels. So no tissues or toliet paper purchases off my shopping list today. I will have to try again another time.
Woolworths Metro Chatswood empty shelves of where toliet paper tissues & paper towels should be.
I will NEVER finish this blog - I edit a few typos and it keeps crashing! Will try again later. Aparently people are having trouble with uploading photos in the new version so it's just not me.
Groceries unpacked dinner and bed. Another adventure tomorrow!
Sunday 28th June 2020
( for today's blog refer separate post on Day Trip By Train To The South coast To Kiama Blow Hole)
Monday 29th June 2020
Today was an almost do nothing day after a busy weekend. I spent the entire day in the apartment catching up with my blog and uploading my videos onto my YouTube channel which took up most of my time in between blog crashes.
I wrote my second letter to the senior citizen I was matched upto for my volunteering job and even found time to set up my new printer which took me 2 weeks to find and print out the only photo of myself i could find on Google Drive ( I had deleted all my photos and documents stored on my computer to create more storage space on my hard drive recently therefore had hardly anything I could do a test print with!)
I still have so much to do before the end of financial year tomorrow. Including accepting a posdible job offer. I need to check the actual offer is legitimate by logging into my account first. I only have 3 days to accept the job offer and provide all the documentation the company required.
I also got another response on my Gumtree advertisement from someone I just deleted and not responded to due to them thinking i was an employer and them unable to address me by my name.
I watched Masterchef and managed to stay awake until the end of the episode as well as watch all of Have you Been Paying Attention after it.
I then watched a bit more of the SBS Food channel before going to sleep. I also applied for a job online for a customer srrvice specialist at St George Bank Hornsby - I only completed half of the application - I might as well as I know a bus buddy that works at St George Bank. I also emailed Target customer service to return or exchange of sagging air mattress.
Tuesday 30th June 2020
End of Financial year and so much to do still. Mainly follow ups and complaints to sort out.
First thing was to update my blog then deal with everything else.
Must make a To do list.
Today I am going on a sold out 1 pm Walk Through Tour of The Powerhouse Museum. It was meant to be the very last walk through tour of certain sections of The Powerhouse Museum before they close permanently. Upon arrival however our guide informs us that on Sunday morning it was decided that the Walk Through Tours will be extended until 1st December 2020 due to COVID Safe restrictions on crowd numbers. The 3 sections of The Powerhouse Museum closing are the Transport , Space and Steam Revolution exhibitions.
I arrive about 12.45 pm - just in time for the 1 pm Walk Through Tour I had prebooked weeks ago. I was not interested in seeing most of the other exhibitions still open to the public except after the tour I did spend time viewing the Strasburg Clock and ICONS exhibition which was not open to the public on my last visit to the museum. The Bolton and Watt Engine unfortunately was not operating today and it was recommended by our guide that if we do return just to see it in action in the future to phone the museum first to ensure that it is operating on the day of our visit.
The 1 pm tour was quite a large group and there were people on the wait list. There was quite a serious roll call before the tour began to have our names marked of a list probably again to ensure COVID safe restrictions are adhered to and so visitors don't get left behind due to restricted access to the exhibitions we were going to. It is quite easy to get lost around the Powerhouse Museum with its levels connected by all it's labyrinth of stairs, ramps, esculators, elevators and even galleries above.
Our first stop was the Transport gallery. This gallery is full of planes, trains & automobiles memorabilia as well as all things to do with transport (such as helicopters, bicycles, tricycles, unicycles, trams, horse drawn carriages, rickshaws, sedan chairs) except marine transportation. There is even a 3 tonne vintage red Australia Post letter box with a vertical rather then horizontal slot for posting letters. Back in the day letter slots were vertical rather then horizontal as it was easier for people on horseback or in horse drawn carriages to reach over and deposit their letters into these red Australia Post mail boxes without having to dismount. These red Australia Post boxes were also so heavy for a reason - so they would not be stolen easily but probably so they would withstand harsh weather conditions.
In the Transport gallery there is also the old wooden flip analogue departures and arrivals board that was present at Central Station up until the 1980s before being replaced with the current digital one. How I remember it while I was growing up!
On one of the side walls sit an old horse drawn carriage road "bus" complete with a top deck of open air seating where women and children would sit to get away from the smokers in the carriage seated below. On the side of the beautifully restored carriage road "bus" was the destination route equivalent to if not almost exactly the same as some of today's Eastern suburbs bus routes Paddinton Oxford Street Ocean St. Grow in up in the Eastern suburbs I am quite familiar with these destinations. I reminisce with a fellow visitor on the Walk Through Tour.
We had many questions about how the huge pieces on display in the transport Gallery especially the ones secured to the ceilings of the Transport gallerywere going to be removed and stored. If the vintage Australia post red mail box weighed 3 tonnes I can't imagine how much the actual medivac plane suspended from the ceiling of the gallery would weigh!We were told that quite a few of the heavier displays suspended from the ceiling of the transport gallery were actually structural ie to stop the roof from blowing off during gusts of wind or to hold the building up and together. Remove one display and it cause the buildings foundations to collapse.
After 20 minutes or so in the Transport gallery we move onto our next stop of the tour behind the Transport Gallery - the Space gallery. This is where you got to experience what it is like to be in space with zero gravity - well not quite. More like standing inside a giant front loading washer/dryer watching your dirty clothes spinning continuously around you. Staying long enough watching it slowly rotate gives you motion sickness. The platform inside this rotating space chamber was actually closed to the public however you could still get the same vertigo experience by standing outside the chamber or drum and watching it constantly slowly rotate with samples of space equipment. Other life sized displays in the Space gallery included various space suits, an unmanned moon rover, a recreation of inside of a space station which looked very Ikeaish except when you see the space bathroom complete with toliet and the 1960's computers and other electronic equipment.
gallery. In all the times I've visited the Powerhouse Museum i don't think I have ever visited this gallery of the museum. I told you that you can get lost in the Powehouse Museum! My favourite piece in this gallery of the museum was the restored part of a carousel with its mirrors and 2 horses. Also the mystery mezzanine level which was closed to the public and out guide. It had a set of stairs on either side of tbis restored platform above overlooking the entire Steam revolution gallery. What was it used for? Possibly offices with managers keeping an eye on the workers below as the original building was a boiler room I think. A lot of the original winches and supporting beams are still present amongst the displays of the Steam revolution gallery. The mezzanine would have been great for function usage.
Our guide leaves us to continue to look around the museum on our own for another half an hour when our prebooked session ends ie 3 pm. Another prebooked session is due to arrive at the museum although originally there was no more Walk Through Tours after ours.
I chose to continue my tour of the museum by first having a long look at the Strassburg Clock hidden behind the Bolton & Watt Engine followed by climbing the 3 levels of stairs behind the Bolton & Watt Engine to get a birds eye view of the foyer reception area of the museum which houses the famous restored steam locomotive complete with viewing platform you can walk along and whatever is hanging above it from the museum's ceiling.
My final stop was the ICONS exhibition ( closed to the public on my last visit) which apparently closing after today. I took a few final photos before exiting the museum via the front entrance I came in rather then via the museum shop and cafe.
I have uploaded a video of the Strassburg clock onto my YouTube channel and will upload photos on this blog as well.
After I left the Powerhouse museum in the afternoon I had tome to do a top up grocery shop - 2 grocery bags worth before heading home . Still could not get my normal brand of toliet paper I usually buy and Woolworths Metro Chatswood was again almost out of tissues with no toliet paper at all on their shelves.
Dinner nd watched Masterchef before going to bed but not before doing a few life admin things again. Always something to do before going to bed like shifting through hundreds of emails. I think it's getting rediculous the amount of junk emails Woolworths and other organisations are sending. You don't want to unsubscribe because you want to know about their specials now and then.
Sorry my blog crashed again. I will never be able to finish this blog!
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