Work, Rest and Play...

It has been a busy few weeks. Lani has been training/working 5 days a week and I have been putting in some extra hours to meet several deadlines at work. Lani is now working a 4-day week with Wednesdays off, so hopefully things will settle down a little bit as we sort out our routines.

Lani has so far worked at Surfers Paradise, Helensvale and Oxenford. She is hoping to get to know the managers and staff well at the Westpac branches close by so if any opportunities come up for long term work at the same branch she might be able to snag it. While working at Surfers Paradise some “Aussie celebrities” have come into the branch, namely Warwick Capper, Ricki-Lee (former Australian Idol contestant) and Tania Zaetta!

We went for a bike ride around the block a few of weeks ago and the kids seemed to enjoy themselves. Poor Jasmine was a little puffed trying to keep up on her little 12 inch bike so we decided to upgrade her to the next size up. For her first ride on the new bike we went down to Main beach and rode along the beach cycle path to Surfers Paradise and back. All up we rode about 8kms with a lunch break in the middle. The kids were fine and enjoyed themselves. Our next bike ride will probably be along the Broadwater stopping at a number of kids play parks along the way.

James received his mid-year school report recently and it was very good. We found the teacher’s comments were particularly encouraging. He appears to be well behaved, is making a good effort and is getting great results. I thought it was his best school report so far. We are really proud of the effort he is making. James has just finished reading his thickest book yet, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, 766 pages! It is good to see that he likes to read.

Jasmine is becoming a bit of a keen reader also. I think as her reading improves she will enjoy reading girly novels.

Lani and I have watched a few DVDs lately. One movie that definitely gets my recommendation is The Skeleton Key. Bit of a thriller with some cool twists. I really enjoyed it. Another movie that may get divided opinions is The Assassination of Richard Nixon. It is kind of slow and Lani didn’t think much of it but it has a gradually increasing intensity that I enjoyed. Not a feel good movie.

Lani's transition to work

Lani’s transition to work has gone ahead relatively smooth so far. She has been enjoying her induction course. The full details of her work arrangements are still not finalised but they have advised that her day off will be the same day every week, most probably Tuesday. Lani asked if it could be possible to make it Wednesday and the Westpac HR person said they would see what they could do. Another bonus is that they issued Lani with a full set of Westpac clothing. She heard someone say that they re-issue more clothes annually, but we don’t know if that is true. It will certainly save us a lot of money not having to buy a heap of business attire.

The kids have settled in at their after school care centre. It is a childcare centre called Koala Kindy, and they transport the kids from the school. Not particularly ideal but it was our only option. Jasmine has made some new friends and really enjoys going. James on the other hand is not so keen but is OK. YMCA has been trying to start up after hours care at the school but bureaucratic red tape has delayed it since last year. I have contacted both my local state and federal members of parliament to do something about it, and they have replied that they are on the case. So hopefully, after school hours care will start at the school soon and that will make things a lot better for both James and Jasmine. At least James will be able to do his homework at a table and chair designed for a 9 year old rather than mini-sized for a toddler.