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Hi everyone, I’ve been in London for a month now and don’t have very much news. But I’m sure I can come up with a few lines or so. First of all I’ve barely seen or done anything. To be honest, I’m quite ready to get back into a routine and settle down and stop being a tourist and a traveller for a while. Although I’m sure that as soon as that happens I’ll be ready for the road again within a couple of weeks. First of all, something I totally didn’t expect from London is the weather I’ve been experiencing here. It’s so damn hot! And sunny! It’s perfect weather, and has only rained about three times in the last four weeks. And no, those three times weren’t for over a week each time. Just for less than a full day. I didn’t realise London ever got weather like this, and people kept on saying, just give it a couple of weeks, that was, until September, which is the beginning of winter. Today is the 1st of September and there isn’t a cloud in the sky. The first week or so Nick and I stayed at our friend Joan’s house. Joan was one of the people on our South American tour from Brazil to Peru, and she’s the one Nick and I trekked the Inca Trail with what seems like many moons ago. The place is in Greenwich, only about 10 minutes walk from the Meridian, that is 0 degrees longitude, where time starts essentially. Within the fortnight we had to move out of Joan’s place, so we went to stay with Nick’s Mum’s Cousin’s family. The parents were away, but the two kids, Helen and John, only slightly younger than we are, were home, but not often. I pretty much spent the first few weeks in front of the computer at wherever we were living looking for jobs, and Nick started his job at HSBC a couple of days after I arrived. So my days were long and lonely and incredibly boring and disheartening. The economy is still in a slump, Lotus Notes and Domino is not a thriving technology, the majority of jobs relating to my skills that are out there are predominantly permanent positions, and the fairly rare contract jobs mainly require excellent Java programming skills. I’ve never worked with Java at all. After a couple of boring and unsuccessful weeks of browsing the web, and sending my resume to just about everywhere, I decided to start looking for temp work as a secretary or receptionist or something. The sad thing is, I haven’t even had any luck with that. I was offered a job as a receptionist in a luxury health club, with absolutely crap pay but free use of all the facilities, but it was an hour and a half journey each way, and with shifts starting at 6:45am or ending at 11pm, that was hardly worth it. Plus I’ve had four agencies say to me that I’m over qualified, and I’d be bored, but the main problem is that I haven’t had any experience, and that’s what the employers want. I love it how they make these decisions for me. Anyway, it’s just infuriating. So, what my most recent development is, I’ve just subscribed to do a 6 month Java course. It’s mobile, can be done anywhere around the world because they just send you all the material and you work at home. But there are tutors you can call and/or email during business hours if you get stuck. And at the end you can opt to work on the companies system, kind of like work experience in the real world. The philosophy of the company is to get around the problem of “I can’t get a job without experience and I can’t get experience without a job.” So, our laptop should be arriving today, and I’ve started reading some of the course notes, and with any luck I’ll be gaining a new skill rather than sitting here wasting more time until I find a job. The course is aimed at the participants spending about 10 hours a week on it, so people who are working can do it too. On the weekends, or in the evenings, Nick and I looked at some places to move into, predominantly in the Docklands region. Docklands is an area of London, in the South East, where everything is newly developed. Nick’s team at work will be moving in October to Canary Wharf, the new Financial District of London, and this is only about 15 minutes by public transport from Docklands. After seeing about five places, we came across one that we both really liked. It’s a two bedroom apartment on the first floor of a building right on the Thames River. It’s on a private road called Millennium Drive, and has a large private, paved courtyard, and a private wharf that’s not in use, it’s just for going and sitting on. Ruairidh, pronounced “Rory”, who we’re sharing with, has lived in the apartment for a couple of years, so it’s pretty much decked out with everything, except for a few bits of furniture for our room which the guy moving out was taking with him. The kitchen and living/dining room look out onto the Thames, and on the other side of the river is the Greenwich Gas Works and the Millennium Dome. The kitchen is small, and the bedrooms are big, and ours has an ensuite with a shower, which is quite rare in London, most places just have a bath because the buildings are so old and so is the plumbing. Anyway, it’s a really lovely place. And we’ve done the bedroom linen etc. in yellow, all bright and happy for when the weather turns dim and foul, and we have 3 pots of yellow Chrysanthemums on the window sill, and the bathroom towels etc. we’ve gone with blue. And we bought some DIY (do-it-yourself) sets of drawers, which I put together, and we’ve just ordered a desk and chair for our laptop that we’ve ordered. I’ve loved playing “house” the last couple of weeks. Also, our place is less than a 10 minute walk to 2 different DLR (Docklands Light Rail) stations. The DLRs don’t have drivers, they just run by themselves, so they never go on strike. It’s about a 5 minute walk from our place to a big ASDA supermarket which is open great hours. And, this is of no joy to Nick, but I love it, to get to the supermarket, and one of the stations, we have to walk through what is called Mudchute Park and Farm. It’s an area where people can buy allotments to keep there animals or do their gardening. So the first part we walk past is like a small nursery with lots of different flowers and plants growing. Then we walk past a pen with about 5 sheep in it, and sometimes there are some goats there. I’ve met and patted all the goats, but I only know the name of the baby. It’s called Stinker. Behind this area is a cage with some geese and other birds in it. And then there is a huge paddock with cows in it. And I know there are horses and ponies somewhere ‘cause I see people riding them occasionally. I love walking through the farm. Unfortunately, there is a small area between the farm and the ASDA supermarket parking lot, which doesn’t appear to belong to anyone, and the litter accumulation in this area, probably only 4 square metres, is phenomenal. The other sad thing is that sometimes it’s reported that gangs come in and hurt the animals and vandalise the farm. Last week some chickens were killed. A few days after I arrived in London we caught up with Luka and Sam from uni. I’ve also seen Chris Fleming who I used to work with at IBM and Macquarie Bank, but who’s probably heading back home soon. Nick and I went to an Ansel Adam’s photography exhibition and we’ve wandered past the London Eye, which is a huge, huge ferris wheel, and the Queens House at Greenwich. I’ve joined a Volleyball club and play in Hyde Park every Sunday afternoon and Tuesday nights, and go to training indoors on Thursday nights. Nick and Luka have found an Ultimate Frisbee group to play with at Hyde Park which train at the same times I’m at Volleyball which is convenient. Ilan, Tucki’s boyfriend, was sent from Sydney to London to attend a two week course here, so he came over for dinner the same night we moved in to our new place. Ruairidh joined us to and we had a pleasant evening. Last week we had Luka and his girlfriend Sarah, Mike Bull and Dean Attwool over for dinner, all uni friends we hadn’t seen for a while. And that was a lovely evening too. It’s funny, so many of our uni class are living and working overseas right now. Obviously, Luka, Mike Bull, Dean, Sam, Nick and I are in London, Steve Hickey is moving from Brazil to London in the next week, Jeannine is in Colorado, Bianca and Cath are in Sweden, Dan Abeshouse is in Boston, Don is in Brussels, Aari has been somewhere in Asia, Tristen is in San Fransisco and Karene is in Singapore,. That’s heaps! Last weekend was a long weekend, for the bank holiday, so Nick and I went to Sweden to see Bianca, who’s finally going home after living there for over three years, after she went on exchange in the last year of uni. She’s currently living in Stockholm, but her apartment was pretty much empty because she leaves so soon to do a bit of travelling before heading home. It was great to see Bink, I wasn’t even friends with her at uni, but she’s one of the people that I would’ve liked to have known better. She’s really into the outdoors, and doing funky stuff. And I remember for my 21st she gave me this beautiful pottery bowl that she’d made, and it’s one of my most used presents. On the Saturday the three of us wandered fairly aimlessly around Gamla Stan, the old part of Stockholm. We went to the King’s palace, which is surprisingly ordinary. We didn’t go inside, but the outside was very plain. We watched the changing of the guards, but people kept on pushing in front of us. Then we went to a nice little café for lunch, and wandered around the islands. I didn’t even know that we were on islands, they’re all joined together with little bridges, and you hardly even notice them. We went into the worlds first or only, I can’t remember, open-air museum. It was kind of like Old-Sydney-Town, where they demonstrate the different types of buildings people lived in, and worked in and stored commodities in, in the 1800s. They also had heaps of animals there, and that’s mainly what we spent time looking at. Moose, Reindeer and Bears. The Bears were fantastic, and despite their enclosure being really huge, it’s not nearly the size of the area they could cover in probably an hour in the wild. They were Brown Bears, native to Sweden, but they looked like Grizzlys ‘cause they had the hump of muscle on their backs, but were more the size of a Black Bear. They play-fought and a couple of them, at one stage, came right up to a small window and tried unrelentingly to dig underneath it. And the window was so scratched from it’s massive talons, and it pounded the window with its big soft-looking paws. It’s amazing how safe a small piece of glass can make you feel. On the Sunday, we took a ferry to Grinda, one of the Islands of the Archipelago, about an hour and a half ferry ride from Stockholm. It was beautiful. We found a bay on the opposite side of the island to where the ferry dropped us and lay on the large flat rocks sun baking, reading and talking. Bink and Nick swam, but the water was way to cold for me. It was a lovely relaxing day in the sun. Again, we were very lucky with the weather. That night we met Cath, who had just come back from a one month stint working in Canada, and the four of us went to a Greek restaurant for dinner. Again, I wasn’t really friends with Cath at uni either, I wasn’t really friends with any of the BIT girls, not to say that most of us <oops, was that unnecessary> weren’t friendly or anything, we just didn’t hang out together. But it was also great to see Cath and hear and tell each other what we’ve been up to the past three and a half years since graduation. I can’t believe that these two girls have been through 3 almost-arctic winters. I also think it’s amazing to think about the following… All of us who had pretty much all done the same things for the beginnings of our lives, like primary, secondary, and tertiary education, many of us played instruments and sport, debating, public speaking, cadets, voluntary work, adventure skills, youth groups and the like, and then the IT degree that bonded us together. Now that the compulsory or expected education path is finished, and there’s virtually nothing that we have to do or are expected to do that is so general and that bunches such a diverse group of people together for a number of years. I think it’s amazing where we all end up and what we end up doing. So in this episode I’ve got a few thank yous and announcements to make, I hope I remember them all. First of all, happy father’s day, especially to Dad, Papa, Zeyde, Marc, Pete and Fred. And happy birthday to Ange, hope you’re enjoying meeting your in-laws in Canada :o). Congratulations to Nick Deitz on his engagement, which was probably ages ago. And condolences to me on the loss of two of my mice, Spenser and Sweet pea, who I love very much. Also condolences to me, and all the people and volunteers at CIWY animal refuge in Bolivia on the deaths of the Cappachino monkeys, Orehon, Arbel, and Melanie and possibly more that I don’t know about. I love these three monkeys so much, and look at their photos all the time and remember my time with them in the park with fondness. I have included an update on the situation at CIWY below. Also, thanks to Joan, Tina, Peter, Helen and John for letting us crash at your places for so long. Thanks Ilan for bringing me stuff and taking stuff home for me. And thanks Bink for inviting us to Sweden and showing us around. Also, this is the tiny bit more information I’ve heard about the animal refuge CIWY where I was doing volunteer work in Bolivia. Thanks Tucki for following up on this situation with WSPA for me, unfortunately they weren’t any help. I have got two emails from Maya, who is an Israeli girl who’d been a volunteer for 3 months at the time I was there, and she was in charge of the monkeys. I’ll cut and paste the emails below. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Maya Aharon" To: "Monique Unger" Sent: Sunday, August 25, 2002 11:03 PM Subject: Re: news please >Hey! >How are you? I have some sad news. The park is still >there but many of our monkeys are not. Orehon >disappeared and I think he's dead. Melanie and Arbel >died. I cried so badly over each one but I guess that >doesn't help much. Last week Ceasar died as well, he'd >been sick for a while. If you have pictures of any of >them I would be grateful if you sent them. I was >especially attatched to that bunch and it still hurts >whenever I think about them (which is very often). My >nutty little smelly Melly and nose picking sweet sweet >Orehon, Arbel with his silly uncontrolable talk reflex >and scared look not to mention Ceasar with his silvery >fur, silly fat belly and sunny disposition have left a >hole in my heart. Melly Orehon and Arbel deserved so >much better than the lives they led at the par (not to >mention what they must have gone through before). They >never got off their cords and they never lived freely >and happily. >I don't know much else. I hope you're ok, >Maya ----- Original Message ----- From: "Maya Aharon" To: "Monique Unger" Sent: Monday, September 02, 2002 8:54 AM Subject: Re: news please &#61656; Hey, >Don't worry about the questions. I am as eager as you >for information so I definitely understand it. >Ceasar is not Baby. Ceasar was a fat beautiful healthy >capuchin when I left. he was always playing with >Boudy, Pinky, Timon and Cabeson. He had silvery long >fur and the sweetest attack face (which wasn't very >useful since he wasn't agressive) when very >frustrated. >Unfortunately I am not at the park anymore. I don't >think you were there when I cut my finger. Cut isn't >the word. I was chasing Boudy who stole my glasses and >slipt and fell. I grabbed a cage door and the metal >barbs opened the palm side of my finger. I needed >stitches which I got at the quack doctor near the >park. The next day I got it restitched in Cochababmba >but turns out they hadn't a clue either. Spent a week >going to doctors until finally Arbeel had enough. My >finger was black and rotting, and smelled bad. So we >went to La Paz to a private clinic and they imidiately >hospitilized me and operated that night. They took off >all the flesh. I had a bad infection and turns out it >was spreading in my bones so I spent a week on I.V. >antibiotics till they decided I was well enough to go >home to have a skin graft. Everything is fine now. I >wasn't worried and truthfully it didn't hurt so I >couldn't care less. I was however pissed off and still >am that my last week in Bolivia was spent in a >hospital not to mention the fact that it was my last >week. I also never got a chance to say goodbye. I was >not allowed to return to the park - the insurance >company wouldn't cover it. You can't imagine how I >hate this situation. I miss my little loves like crazy >and can't wait to go back. >As far as I know the spider mokeys are fine. There is >a new baby named Tintina, after the spider monkey you >didn't get to meet named Tina. She was one of Nena's >babies. Her and the monkey Nena. Nena raised thosed >two since they were tiny. >Anyway there is aldo a new pums named Simba. I am sure >the cats are fine. >Anyway I got to go. >Hope you're ok, >Maya So that appears to be the most information we can get. Until next time folks, Hope everyone is well and enjoying whatever they’re doing wherever they are. Ciao, Nique