Two Days

Hi everyone,

 

Two days update here.  I would have posted last night: I'd uploaded the photographs but then when it got to 11:00pm I was falling asleep and that was that.

 

Not that I had much to write about yesterday.  It was probably the first day in my career that I've spent entirely killing time.  What do I mean?  This is what my diary looked like -

 

The work that I did have I'd pretty much finished by 10am.  After a bit of shuffling paper aimlessly I flipped through my boss' "later files" - the ones that are perpetually on the bottom of the priority list.  This lead me to finding a judgment he'd been waiting for relating to another water authority and writing a casenote on it (I posted the casenote on my legal blog here if you're interested or having trouble falling asleep or something).

 

I took a few more photos of Tatura though the day.  This is the fountain near the newsagent that I buy the paper from -

 

This is the old court house, that now houses offices for the milk and butter company.  I can only wonder how long it's been since Tatura had its own Magistrates Court.

 

 

And this - a monument to a long-dead local worthy -

 

"My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings / Look upon my works, ye mighty, and despair"

 

Predictably enough, the day finished with the gym and a good night's sleep.

 

Fran came up through the night.  Things between here and Michael are apparently still frosty, but she keeps going over to his place with the old boy.  I can't understand why: she's probably spent more time there in the last fortnight than in the whole time they were together.  People are crazy.

 

This morning I kicked off by feeding the bull and pumping up the tyre on my car which was looking quite sad.

 

Then, off the dog and I went for a good long walk.  I spent some time parsing the last 12-24 months for guidance as to what I do after this job at the water company runs out.  This is what I got -

 

1.  I used to think that small town life was the best thing possible.  Having now worked in two of them I am far less convinced about that, although the close bond I have with my SES unit means I'm leaving the jury out on the point.

 

2.  I'm also leaving the jury out on farming life.  I'm not convinced that my personal experience on the family farm is typical - I suspect it was/is much more controlled and restricted than is the norm.  I've enjoyed working with my hands while I was out of work, when I was fruitpicking for Boris or labouring for Daryl.  I may be more of a farmer than I thought.

 

 

3.  I find that when I try new things, or step way out of my comfort zone, I become someone I REALLY like being.  For instance, when I went to Los Angeles, or when I went to Lismore earlier this year.  I find that I become strong, and adaptable, and sensible, and all round a person I'm PROUD to be.  Life can't be all novelty of course, but it's a point to note.

 

 

4.  I haven't missed being a litigation lawyer at all!  I still like the law: I love the way its ideas fit together and the way it can make the world orderly, but if I never saw another court document I wouldn't be unhappy.

 

5.  Just because you think people are your friends doesn't mean they are.  Therefore, it mght be wise not to stake everything in your life on friendships unless you're certain that that's what you want to do.

 

6.  Vegetables are the most delicious things on earth.

 

This afternoon I kept channeling my inner farmer, working with Barry to put the two halves of his tractor back together again.  Again, I'm not mechanically minded but it's wonderful to find that I can DO things without messing them up.  There's something about lying beneath a tractor, hands oily and greasy with muck falling on your face as you reef on a spanner, to really make you feel like a man!

 

 

And now, blogging and a bottle of water.  A roast of last week's venison for dinner tonight which I'm looking forward to.  And maybe a glass of wine.

 

Possibly more later.