My trip diary, Part 1 (OT)

I'm glad you did.

--
Joy

Don't believe everything you think

"Storrmmee" wrote in message
...
thank you for sharing, i really enjoyed this, Lee
"Joy" wrote in message
. ..
Here is the first part of my trip diary from my recent trip to Australia.
If anyone is interested in saving it, when I get my photos posted, those
in the 'Alice Springs' album will coincide with this part.

Wednesday, September 1 - The only bad thing about the flight, except the
cramped quarters, was that my neck really hurt badly. I took some Advil,
and finally a Xanax., I slept a lot of the way. They gave us supper soon
after we took off. We had a choice of chicken or salmon. I took the
salmon. It was good.,

In the morning we had a choice of continental or hot breakfast. I
remembered the eggs weren't very good last time, so I took the
continental. It was fine.

I asked how to get to my hotel, and was told I needed to take a taxi. It
cost $67!

The woman at the hotel very kindly let me check in early, and after I'd
had about an hour to settle in, Barry (a friend from another newsgroup)
called me. He took me to his house for lunch, where I met his cat,
Cinnamon. Then we drove to a nature preserve, where I saw my first
scribbly gums, along with assorted other plant life, a wallaby and some
bush turkeys.

Traffic was very heavy, and when we got back to my hotel, Alnis, a
Toastmaster I'd contacted on line was waiting for me. (I'd corresponded
with Alnis by email, but didn't know whether to expect a man or woman.
This was a common theme with the Toastmasters on this trip.) He took me
to a meeting of a club where they had their Table Topics contest. Since
that was the only contest, and there were only three contestants,
everyone else had a chance to participate in Table Topics. After a short
break, there were four speeches, two of them Icebreakers.

When the meeting was over, Alnis took me out for pizza, then dropped me
off at my hotel.

Thursday, September 2 - I had a good night's sleep (except for a nasty
bout of acid reflux, and don't feel nearly as tired this morning as I did
last night. I do have some sore muscles, though, especially in my arms,
from hauling my luggage around.

The complimentary continental breakfast at the hotel was okay - toast,
cereal and one little muffin. I'll be going down much earlier tomorrow,
so maybe they'll have more muffins then. Barry picked me up about 10:30
for some more sight-seeing. It was mostly driving, except for two stops -
one in a Chinese area so Barry could buy some ingredients, and the other
for lunch, After looking at a couple of places and going in one, Barry
decided on a hotel. They were having a special for seniors. A steak
sandwich, with fries and salad, was listed on the menu for $17.50. A coke
would have been another
$2.50, but because of the special, we got it all for $10 each. Then we
went to Barry's house, where I looked at the newsgroups, but didn't post,
and we watched some news while Barry's son Timothy cooked dinner - salmon
Mornay and a nice salad. Timothy drove me back to the hotel and said
he'll pick me up in the morning. Barry rode along. I checked my email and
found that Jose (a Toastmaster friend I'd met on a previous trip) will
pick me up at the Alice airport. It's so nice to have someone meet you
after a flight!

Was too tired to pack, so left a wake-up call for 6:30 and went to bed.

Friday, September 3 - Slept very well. Only woke up a couple of times.
Got up when I got the wake-up call, dressed and did some packing. Went
down for breakfast. No muffins this morning, just a choice of cereal or
toast. I had cereal again. Went up and finished packing. Went downstairs,
checked out, and waited for Timothy and Barry.

They picked me up and dropped me off at my terminal. I checked in at a
kiosk, then got in a long line to check my bag. I was almost at the front
when I found I was in the wrong line. Got in the right one behind 3 or 4
people, and finally got my bag checked. Stopped at a rest room on the way
to my gate. Looked for a place to buy water, but didn't find one. I saw
one once I got to my gate, but they were already boarding, so I got on.
I'm still thirsty It's almost 10:00 and they haven't offered any beverage
service - very unusual.

I had an aisle seat, with the middle seat empty. The woman in the inside
seat moved after takeoff, because she had no window, so I had the row to
myself.

I had said I'd need help getting my bags down the steps in Alice, so
someone carried them down for me. Then they had a young woman drive me to
the terminal in a cart. Jose didn't see me because I entered through a
different door, but I saw her. We got my bag. Then Jose drove me to my
hotel to check in, after which we went to her house, where she fixed a
delicious lunch - split pea soup and toasted cheese. Then she took me
back to the hotel so I could rest.

She picked me up again at a little after 5:00 and took me back to her
house, where her friend Olga joined us for dinner. Jose had fixed a
chicken dish which was served with rice and salad. We had strawberries
and sliced bananas with yogurt for dessert.

Then we went to see Circus Oz. I had thought it was in a nearby town, but
it was in a lovely auditorium in Alice. I suspect the show was less
sophisticated than Cirq d' Soleil, but it was very entertaining. The
performers were talented acrobats and jugglers, and there was a lot of
humor, some of it rather crude, but not really bad. We all enjoyed it.

Olga had driven to the show, and she dropped me off at the hotel, where I
almost immediately went to bed. I haven't done any reading in bed since I
got to Australia.

Saturday, September 4 - I woke up about 6:30, but didn't get up until
7:30. Ate the goodies from the bag I had been given on my long flight for
breakfast. Tried to get on line again, but still had no luck. Got my
shower, then took the Netbook downstairs to see if the man there could
help me get on line. He couldn't, but he helped me send a help request.
Went to Todd Mall and picked up a few things for Bingo prizes from
Toastmasters. Also got a new tote bag, since I seem to have lost the
purple one. Picked up a ham salad wrap and a coke for lunch, then came
back and ate them.

Tried to get on line and managed to do it. Answered some email, and was
cut off. Went to the flower show to see Jose give the opening speech. We
looked at the flowers, then had tea with Olga and a couple from
California Jose knows. Then Olga walked me to a market where I got some
breakfast bars and other things, I brought them to my room, then walked
down to see the Todd River flowing, something I'd never seen on my four
previous trips here.

Came back and got on line again. I get dumped off line every so often,
but can log on again fairly easily, so I'm satisfied.

Sunday, September 5 - Woke up early, and got a shower and washed my hair
before trying to find Jose's church. I had misunderstood her directions
and couldn't find it, so about 10:15 I gave up and headed for home,
visiting the market in Todd Mall on the way. Jose came by about 11:20 and
took me to see an amazing mural at a small church in an Aboriginal
settlement. She told me how she researched the mural, and showed me the
book she wrote about it.

The John Williamson concert was fabulous! Once everybody was off the bus,
John said things were going to be very informal. There would be a social
time first, with free champagne (or water), followed by some singing.
Then we'd have our main meal. Then he'd sing some more, after which we
would have our "sweet", followed by more singing. There was a rugged
rocky outcrop off to one side, and the buildings were delightfully
old-style. They had originally been built as a set for a movie that never
was made. We were outside, with chairs arranged in front of the porch of
one of the buildings, where John sang. There were also tables set up for
us to eat at.

John hugged me (he hugged everybody who'd let him) when we got to the
site, and I got to talk with him a couple of times. Meg, his Significant
Other insisted that John and I have our picture taken together, and I got
one with both of them too.

I had told John I hoped he would going to sing "Galleries of Pink
Galahs", and he sang it in his first segment, mentioning it as a request.
I got to talking with a couple from Michigan and a woman from New South
Wales. The four of us had dinner together. They served us huge lamb
shanks, potatoes,
carrots, pumpkin, onion and damper. After more singing, we were
encouraged to get a cup of billy tea. It was made in a real billy, over
an open fire. The man from Michigan both walked over to the fire to get
some. We talked to some of the people working, who kept assuming we were
married, especially since he said "we" when talking about his travels
with his wife.

Dessert was apple crisp, with cream.

Got back to the hotel at 11:30, went straight to bed and zonked out.

Monday, September 6 - I slept until 8:40! I only woke up twice in the
night - once for a fair amount of time. Had breakfast, then went to Todd
Mall again, where I bought another tote bag, a timer, and some gifts for
Colin and Kathy. Bought a sandwich - salami, onions, roast eggplant and
roast red capsicum (bell pepper). Ate half of it for lunch and saved the
other half for dinner.

Was picked up for the Best of Alice tour. We visited John Flynn's grave,
Standley Chasm, Simpson's Gap and Anzac Hill. In some ways, they were all
(except Anzac Hill, where the monument is being refurbished) very much as
I remembered them. However, everything is much greener than I've ever
seen it, because of all the rain. At Standley Chasm, I waited on the same
veranda as last time while more rugged souls took the one-hour hike over
loose rock. Another woman waited with me, and we had a nice talk. A large
black bird (a crow?) lit on a railing nearby, and finally jumped down
onto the veranda to look for food. Before we boarded the coach, I had a
nice talk with the
driver/guide, who is from Italy.

At Simpson's Gap, I again took the hike, but we used a trail beside the
river instead of walking in the riverbed as we did last time, because
there was water in the river. We saw a rock wallaby. From the coach, on
the way back to the highway, we saw a dingo.

I had told them I needed to be back at my hotel by or before 6:00, and
they dropped me off at 5:40. I rested a little, but forgot to eat. Was
downstairs by 6:10. Jose has said they'd pick me up at 6:20 for the
Toastmasters meeting, but it was almost 6:30. The contest was fun. I was
chief judge, and
I had three judges and one counter. Here, they have the judges discuss
the speeches after the counting. There were three contestants in the
International Speech contest, one of whom has previously made it all the
way to International. She won. Jose's friend Murray, whom I met the last
time I was in Alice, was one of the contestants, and he talked about
flying, which I enjoyed. He went overtime, and his speech wasn't really
International material, but I enjoyed it. There were nine participants in
the Table Topics contest, including the International winner, who also
won here, a young man who talked about skydiving, and a man with a
terrible stutter. He had dropped out a few months ago because he was
uncomfortable about his stuttering, but came back and entered the
contest! I'm really glad he did. I talked with the young man who talked
about skydiving (he placed second) and told him about my jumps. He was
very impressed, and says he's never actually jumped himself.

Murray invited me to come to the senior center tomorrow. He said he'd be
there between 10:00 and 3:00. I didn't make any promises, but said I
might, and planned to do so. Then Jose threw me by saying she'd pick me
up at 8:45 in the morning. I'd forgotten I was going with her to a couple
of lectures. I'll go see Murray after that.

Tuesday, September 7 - Today started out cold and cloudy, but ended up
sunny and quite warm.

Jose picked me up for the lecture at 8:45. We were very early. While we
waited for it to start, she introduced me to a woman from Claremont, who
has lived here (in Alice) for several years.

The lecture was a bit of a bust for both of us. There were several
speakers, and most of them mumbled through their beards. We could
understand very little of what they said. We were supposed to have a
second lecture, but they were running late, and Jose had to get home, so
we left at the break.

She took me at the senior center, then left after we found Murray. He had
me check my email, since he was in the computer lab. He gave me a tour of
the facility, which even has an extensive, well supplied woodworking
shop. We talked to a woman who was making wooden mushrooms on a lathe.

We went back to the computer lab, and I played games on one of the
computers while he helped another man with a computer problem. Eventually
I decided to leave, but Murray took me for a ride to show me desert peas,
which I'd heard of, but never seen. They are beautiful, and I took some
pictures.

After the desert pea, he took me to where he lives. He has just moved
into a 'granny flat' at the back of his daughter's house. He showed me
the flowers in the front yard, then took me to Todd Mall, where I did a
little shopping before coming back to the hotel, where I did a very
expensive washing.

I had dinner at the hotel's restaurant - barramundi (fish) fritters with
a lovely sauce. It was my first meal since Friday that wasn't either a
breakfast bar or half a sandwich.

Tomorrow I go to Adelaide.


--
Joy

Don't believe everything you think



--
Joy

Don't believe everything you think

great minds, lol, Lee
"Joy" wrote in message
. ..
"Cheryl" wrote in message
...
"Joy" wrote in message
. ..

I'm just the reverse. I've been terribly shy most of my life.
Toastmasters has helped me a lot in that area,

I have always been shy too, but in my youth I had a cocky attitude and I
think my looks accounted for most of it. Now that I'm older and looks
are fading, I am back to extremely shy and self conscience. I have
something wrong with my mouth that I thought braces would fix but
everyone still stares at my mouth when I talk and ask me to repeat what I
said. Do you think something like Toastmasters would help? I'm
desperate because talking and being confident is part of how I can
advance in my field. I sort of think I must have had a stroke at some
point and never knew it. You know how a stroke will paralyze part of your
face? I think that's it. Might be more of my self conscience thinking
that makes me think that. It could be just getting older and uglier.

Toastmasters would definitely help! It does wonders in building
self-confidence. I've seen people join who had speech impediments, who
lisped, or who stuttered badly gain an immense amount of confidence. I
wonder if you could have, or have had, Bell's Palsy?

Below are the Toastmasters Mission Statement and the Club Mission
Statement:

The Toastmasters Mission

Toastmasters International is the leading movement devoted to making
effective oral communication a worldwide reality.

Through its member clubs, Toastmasters International helps men and women
learn the arts of speaking, listening and thinking - vital skills that
promote self-actualization, enhance leadership potential, foster human
understanding, and contribute to the betterment of mankind.

It is basic to this mission that Toastmasters International continually
expand its worldwide network of clubs, thereby offering ever-greater
numbers of people the opportunity to benefit from its programs.

The Mission of the Club

The mission of a Toastmasters Club is to provide a mutually supportive and
positive learning environment in which every member has the opportunity to
develop communication and leadership skills, which in turn foster
self-confidence and personal growth.

If you go to www.toastmasters.org, you can find a club near you. If you
have any questions about Toastmasters, I'll be happy to answer them.

Joy

LOL.

--
Joy

Don't believe everything you think

"Storrmmee" wrote in message
...
great minds, lol, Lee
"Joy" wrote in message
. ..
"Cheryl" wrote in message
...
"Joy" wrote in message
. ..

I'm just the reverse. I've been terribly shy most of my life.
Toastmasters has helped me a lot in that area,

I have always been shy too, but in my youth I had a cocky attitude and I
think my looks accounted for most of it. Now that I'm older and looks
are fading, I am back to extremely shy and self conscience. I have
something wrong with my mouth that I thought braces would fix but
everyone still stares at my mouth when I talk and ask me to repeat what
I said. Do you think something like Toastmasters would help? I'm
desperate because talking and being confident is part of how I can
advance in my field. I sort of think I must have had a stroke at some
point and never knew it. You know how a stroke will paralyze part of
your face? I think that's it. Might be more of my self conscience
thinking that makes me think that. It could be just getting older and
uglier.

Toastmasters would definitely help! It does wonders in building
self-confidence. I've seen people join who had speech impediments, who
lisped, or who stuttered badly gain an immense amount of confidence. I
wonder if you could have, or have had, Bell's Palsy?

Below are the Toastmasters Mission Statement and the Club Mission
Statement:

The Toastmasters Mission

Toastmasters International is the leading movement devoted to making
effective oral communication a worldwide reality.

Through its member clubs, Toastmasters International helps men and women
learn the arts of speaking, listening and thinking - vital skills that
promote self-actualization, enhance leadership potential, foster human
understanding, and contribute to the betterment of mankind.

It is basic to this mission that Toastmasters International continually
expand its worldwide network of clubs, thereby offering ever-greater
numbers of people the opportunity to benefit from its programs.

The Mission of the Club

The mission of a Toastmasters Club is to provide a mutually supportive
and positive learning environment in which every member has the
opportunity to develop communication and leadership skills, which in turn
foster self-confidence and personal growth.

If you go to www.toastmasters.org, you can find a club near you. If you
have any questions about Toastmasters, I'll be happy to answer them.

Joy

"Storrmmee" wrote in message
...
ps your personality is beautiful enough that i am just sure that would
cover anything you consider a physical imperfection, Lee

You are too sweet.

Is your email address here good, and can you accept a photo? I'd like to
ask your opinion.



"Storrmmee" wrote in message
...
my sister had issues with her mouth after a bout of bells palsy, no cause
just occurs, but resluts are much like a mini stroke, she got exercises to
do for her face, now its only apparent to those of us who knew her before
it, or if she gets excited, Lee
"Cheryl" wrote in message
...
"Joy" wrote in message
. ..

I'm just the reverse. I've been terribly shy most of my life.
Toastmasters has helped me a lot in that area,

I have always been shy too, but in my youth I had a cocky attitude and I
think my looks accounted for most of it. Now that I'm older and looks
are fading, I am back to extremely shy and self conscience. I have
something wrong with my mouth that I thought braces would fix but
everyone still stares at my mouth when I talk and ask me to repeat what I
said. Do you think something like Toastmasters would help? I'm
desperate because talking and being confident is part of how I can
advance in my field. I sort of think I must have had a stroke at some
point and never knew it. You know how a stroke will paralyze part of your
face? I think that's it. Might be more of my self conscience thinking
that makes me think that. It could be just getting older and uglier.

If you're asking me, the answer is yes and yes.

--
Joy

Don't believe everything you think

"Cheryl" wrote in message
...
Is your email address here good, and can you accept a photo? I'd like to
ask your opinion.



"Storrmmee" wrote in message
...
my sister had issues with her mouth after a bout of bells palsy, no cause
just occurs, but resluts are much like a mini stroke, she got exercises
to do for her face, now its only apparent to those of us who knew her
before it, or if she gets excited, Lee
"Cheryl" wrote in message
...
"Joy" wrote in message
. ..

I'm just the reverse. I've been terribly shy most of my life.
Toastmasters has helped me a lot in that area,

I have always been shy too, but in my youth I had a cocky attitude and I
think my looks accounted for most of it. Now that I'm older and looks
are fading, I am back to extremely shy and self conscience. I have
something wrong with my mouth that I thought braces would fix but
everyone still stares at my mouth when I talk and ask me to repeat what
I said. Do you think something like Toastmasters would help? I'm
desperate because talking and being confident is part of how I can
advance in my field. I sort of think I must have had a stroke at some
point and never knew it. You know how a stroke will paralyze part of
your face? I think that's it. Might be more of my self conscience
thinking that makes me think that. It could be just getting older and
uglier.

i can have dh and my mom look at it, i can't see a photo anymore, i was
thinking of her speech, and this is the weird thing about this deal, she
couldn't understand why people were asking her to repeat, and couldn't
understand her at the store, she went to the bowling ally where my mom was
to talk to her about how weird people were acting... after the third word,
my mom said, go look in the mirror and say your name and address, it upset
her so bad when she started talking she screamed. My mom knew immdeiately
what was wrong, there was no pain, or symptom my sister noticed until she
looked in the mirror, so you might be able to compare older photes with a
current one or vidio tape, if this hasn't been going on long i wold bet
money on it, Lee
"Cheryl" wrote in message
...
Is your email address here good, and can you accept a photo? I'd like to
ask your opinion.



"Storrmmee" wrote in message
...
my sister had issues with her mouth after a bout of bells palsy, no cause
just occurs, but resluts are much like a mini stroke, she got exercises
to do for her face, now its only apparent to those of us who knew her
before it, or if she gets excited, Lee
"Cheryl" wrote in message
...
"Joy" wrote in message
. ..

I'm just the reverse. I've been terribly shy most of my life.
Toastmasters has helped me a lot in that area,

I have always been shy too, but in my youth I had a cocky attitude and I
think my looks accounted for most of it. Now that I'm older and looks
are fading, I am back to extremely shy and self conscience. I have
something wrong with my mouth that I thought braces would fix but
everyone still stares at my mouth when I talk and ask me to repeat what
I said. Do you think something like Toastmasters would help? I'm
desperate because talking and being confident is part of how I can
advance in my field. I sort of think I must have had a stroke at some
point and never knew it. You know how a stroke will paralyze part of
your face? I think that's it. Might be more of my self conscience
thinking that makes me think that. It could be just getting older and
uglier.