It's been a while since the last entry. Over two months, in fact! And what have I got to show for it? NOTHING! Hahahahaha! The joke's on you! Sucker, coming and reading this like it's actually supposed to have content. I don't know, some people...

January was a month where nothing stood out. February though, wheee! The High Command at work decided that we needed to have our regional rollout for Chime completed by the 15th of Feb. Of course, this was decided on the 1st of Feb, and originally wasn't slated to be done for another month or so. So iiNet style project management kicks in and I'm shipped off to do the installs for two weeks. Along for the ride was Sean from the NOC, who got to do all the documentation and help with the heavy lifting :P

It wasn't that bad a trip - I don't regret going, anyway. We traipsed around Adelaide for 4 days installing stuff in Telstra exchanges, doing a bit of maintenance work in the existing hardware, and installing some Optus E1's (which failed to work). Then a nice car trip out to Broken Hill just across the border in NSW to do more of the same. Unfortunately we got stuck in there for a few days longer than we needed to, as some of our equipment got shipped incorrectly (like, missing the E1 breakout cable, only half the modems and memory in the NAS, and a broken 2600). After completing the work there, back to Adelaide for the night, then a plane trip up to Alice Springs for more.

We only stayed in Alice overnight, but wouldn't really have minded staying there for longer - even if just to visit Uluru. Actually, I might have minded - it was awful weather - humid as hell. So was Darwin. At least Adelaide and Broken Hill were just hot. After finishing up at Alice, we then flew to Darwin to do some more work in Telstra exchanges. It's nice to note that these facilities are air-conditioned, so they're quite pleasant to work in. We had a decent meal at the pub amusingly named "Shenannigans" in the evening before our outage work - the guys back home found that amusing :) Before I flew home the next morning we went for a drive out to the Military Museum to see the old cannon placements and stuff up there. That's kinda daunting to think what went on up there during the war, and it gives you a small appreciation of what it might have been like.

I did enjoy getting back home, especially since I got home earlier than expected, so I could spend Valentines day with Michele, but unfortunately I didn't get a chance to plan anything nice and romantic. Still, she got flowers, and they were even from me, so it's all good :)

That week was uncomfortable, weather wise, being all hot and humid. I thought that I'd escape that when I left Darwin, but alas. 'Twas not to be. At least it was better than Alice and Darwin... We thought that we'd escape the humidity by escaping to Sydney late in the week, but alas, that 'twas not to be either! Seems we took the weather with us. Damn you, weather man! We'd planned to head to Sydney to meet up with Michele's online friends from the Discworld mud. What followed were 5 days of walking and eating around Sydney, as our hosts graciously kept us occupied. I swear, I have never eaten so much food in such a short amount of time. I think the only reason we didn't put on weight was because of all the walking we did!

I've only been to Sydney twice before, and they hardly count. The first time was a stop-over when coming back from New Zealand when I was about 9, and the second time was when Dad got re-married a few years back. That time I managed to sneak in a bit of the Harbor, plus some of the pubs around Dad's flat, but I wouldn't say that I saw anything of Sydney, really. This time though, with our hosts leading us around everywhere, we managed to see quite a bit of the central Sydney area. One of the nice things about Sydney, apart from the scenery, is the shopping. We found the bookstore Kinokuniya, and spent way too much money there. And we don't regret it either. I think I managed to get a decent enough feel of how Sydney works, and at least enough of an idea of the geography of central Sydney to not get lost (much). At least if I do get lost, it'll only be until I've finished exploring that area :) I would have liked to stay for longer, but I think that it was probably best that we left when we did. Sydney is certainly a place I'll be heading back to.

So we're back in Perth, reflecting on the past and contemplating on the future. I think my time at iiNet is winding to a close. I've been there over 4 years now, and feel that with the current corporate culture I have nothing to offer iiNet, and iiNet has nothing to offer me. That's not to say that it's a bad culture (no matter what I might privately think), just that it doesn't suit me. I feel a need to get out and do something different. I guess we'll see what happens. *shrug*