Tortugitas

Wildlife conservation is not just about oh so serious scientists with clipboards and population counts. Out on the Uruguayan coastline it means being part of the community. Which means creating a parade (desfile) as part of Carnaval, where a dozen local kids (and adult volunteers) get to dress up in morphologically accurate costumes of the local marine fauna. Of course.

Renos

• Hi anyone who may occasionally check out the old buzz page. In case you were wondering i am currently:
  
• Mooching in the scenic art pad/thinkspace and occupational therapy centre that Miss J is ably running in the Blue Mountains.
• Procrastinating from a writing task I set myself out of pure love and a desire to keep the spanish up to scratch by redecorating a tired old blog.. lime green..i dunno
• Thinking about what might be a reasonable form of paid employment that can ward off insanity and moral collapse for a few more years
• Plotting to obtain a home with a garden. Inspired by baby eggplants at the city crash landing pad under the flight path (many thanks to Miss A and the absentee hosts for that one). Just need to decide what city/state/country to grow those little suckers in
• Waiting for rolls of film to be developed (Tip: kmart works out cheaper than the photo labs, and still has kodak equipment on site)
• Taking calls for Biz
• Cooking and doing craft for expectant mothers (a joy not a chore)
• Preparing for a sojourn down in Adelaide
• Pondering being 30 and still wearing novelty teeshirts (its the new 21 I hear)
• Listening to old time Tango, Johnny Cash and Nick Cave in high rotation
• Not watching TV

Get out of the Inner West !

The SMH tells me everyone still living there is failing the happiness test. Well that piece of info was quite useful actually, some support for my vague notion to settle somewhere near a beach..

"A new survey that compares the wellbeing of people in all 150 federal electorates reveals the safe Labor seat of Grayndler, covering Annandale, Leichhardt, Petersham, Newtown, Marrickville and Summer Hill, tops the national list for all-round unhappiness."

"The survey found that the electorate of Richmond in northern NSW, also held by Labor, is the happiest in NSW and second happiest in Australia, even though it has a much higher poverty rate and much lower average income than Grayndler.

"Home to Tweed Heads, Byron Bay, Murwillumbah and Mullumbimby, the seat
has one of the highest proportions of elderly people, as well as middle-aged sea-changers and younger people pursuing an alternative lifestyle."