A new future for Australia!

Phill and I attended an election party at my parents-in-law house and it was fun! We both wore our "Kevin 07" T-shirts and had our family friends over from Alexandra too. I was abit apprehensive about wearing the T-shirts initally cos I didn't know if our family friends were liberal or labor but apparently they're the latter - phew! And they all had a good laugh at our T-shirts - probably even impressed at our fervent support for Labor.

I was very surprised and delighted when the defining result came through at past 10pm that Labor had won enough seats to form government!!! I had enough of the Howard government and earlier thought that if Liberal still wins another term, then the next best result will be if John Howard could lose his seat - so imagine my joy when both happened! Both the Liberal party and Howard were kicked out of government!!!

My hope for Australia is that we have a better future - a brighter one too!

Kindness...to lift the spirit

I had to be in Melbourne today as I was attending a course on planning law, which was really useful and good! I enjoyed it and yet realised how much more I didn't know....shucks!


Anyway, after the course, I was walking around and walking towards this cafe that had bar stools facing one of the main roads (Bourke St) and a few guys in suits were sitting on the bar stools. On the pedestrian walkway was a beggar and then I heard a whistle and a shout-out to the beggar from the guys in suits and was wondering if they were going to taunt and tease him. Then I turned around and saw them pass him a brown bag, which I think is some food as they must have seen him look through the dustbins. And the way the guy in the suit handed the beggar the food was understated and not showy like some people are with "see, i'm doing a kind deed" was even more touching. It really made me smile inside!


I was also the recipient of a kind deed with one planner whom I know offering me a lift back home so I didn't have to wait around until the evening to take the train home. And she asked her friends whom I realised I knew cos they worked in the same town I work in and I had a lift back in the car. I was happy and grateful!!!

Heritage Planning @ Bendigo

Eerie House

One of only 2 houses in Australia with an old Dutch style roof - only one other house in Qld has the same type of roof. Owner wanted to preserve this house but was told the construction quality was poor but the roof was another thing and worth preserving.

A cemetry also tells a story - of families during the Gold Rush who lived through hard times and had to bury their children. This cemetry was on a hill and while the men worked, if they looked up, they see the cemetry above - how sad for the fathers to be reminded of their loss!
The headstone for a very young child...I felt bad taking this photo.

I went with a colleague, L, to Bendigo for a Heritage Planning course, one which they considered a Spring course rather than a summer course since it was held in November. I've never been to Bendigo and while I liked it, I preferred Ballarat and Geelong where I went on a field trip (for the subject Rural and Regional Planning) and communications workshop respectively. I met some of L's fellow students as her course is with La Trobe Uni but my lecturer teaches at both universities (RMIT and La Trobe) so he organised a combined Heritage Planning course for both students.

I was really fighting hard to stay awake during some parts of the course and at some point, I became really frustrated and fed-up because one of the other lecturers (not my lecturer who is in tuned with the energy levels of his students - he usually finish his classes early) kept talking even though some of the stuff had been mentioned already. I hate when people repeat themselves and love the sound of their own voice. Enough already and what a waste of my time! So, while I enjoyed some of the course, I found some of the lecturers not very effective or interesting either.....zzzzzz!

Now, to do my assignments - due on 19 February. But...........I need a break first!