Tue 01: First official day of summer today in Perth - and the maximum temperature was (wait for it ...), only 24ºC. I am sure that before summer ends in 3 months' time, Perth will have its share of 40ºC plus days - so I am certainly not complaining. A Renault bus for both halves of my day - the morning was okay - I drove my boss into Perth. Fresh silverside (corned beef) and tomato sauce sandwiches for lunch (thanks, Ian) and a tour of the garden (thanks, Mum). An 'interesting' afternoon - nothing too dramatic - but I can't discuss it online. A very tired Tracey cooked me a delicious BBQ dinner with baked vegetables. Petrol is still around 109.9cpl (91 ULP). The big news today was the defeat of federal Liberal party leader (Malcolm Turnbull) by Tony Abbott.

Wed 02: Kevin B. Wilson wrote a song about the sort of day I had today. I won't include a link as it might offend some of my more 'gentle' readers - but I am sure many of you will know the song, which goes something like: 'I've had an absolute .... of a day,' ... actually the morning was okay; lunch was nice; a good nap - then the rot set in. Blondes, Volvo drivers and cyclists (the satanic triangle) were out in force. I have a sore tongue from biting it - it was either that or going postal. Glad to get home to a nice meal and unwind. Early night tonight.

Thu 03: Amazing what a good night's sleep, a good low-floor Mercedes 0405 bus and good weather can do to one's morale. I felt better today. Plus I had a nice lunch and a nice sleep at number 5. A steady but pleasant afternoon.

Fri 04: TGIF - it's been a song and a movie - but to me it's just Thank God It's Friday. I can't remember the last time I was so grateful to see the end of the week at work. Perhaps it's because I have been doing a few 12 days straight fortnights that things are catching up on me - including my stress levels and my health. I have tomorrow off and most probably Sunday too. The warm weather - 37ºC today made me even more tired than usual.

Sat 05: Day off. I did the washing (work clothes and bedding) and mowed the back lawn. It's great - because I didn't leave home all day. Julie paid me the balance she owed for the Toyota Camry - so tomorrow she gets the vehicle transfer papers and the rego bill.

Sun 06: Day off again. The money would be nice but at the moment, my health is more important - so I was grateful to have two consecutive days away from work. Nothing much to report today - Troy did the lawn edges and I mowed the front lawns. We have two leaks in the reticulation system, so they will be reported to the Agent tomorrow morning. Back to work tomorrow morning. 13 weeks to go - and I have a holiday.

Mon 07: All 3 of us (Tracey, Troy and myself) were up early this morning. Me - because I had a very early night last night; Tracey has broken sleep and Troy just couldn't get back to sleep. I had a reasonable day at work. I was due to start at about 0630 - but I was 'bumped' and 'stepped up' to an earlier shift because of a communication beakdown (a polite way to say the driver who was supposed to do the shift - didn't show up to do it). On the plus side, it was a 7hr shift with an early finish and I get paid for my normal (8hr split) shift. Came home and unwound (28ºC) outside. Not bad - but this coming weekend the Weather Bureau is tipping 38ºC day. Ouch! Next week, I was scheduled to have a week of early starts at work - but I have swapped them for a Monday to Friday week of spread shifts. No sign yet on the Christmas holiday/school holiday rosters.

Tue 08: The weather was cool this morning - pleasant all day. I have been told that the advance Perth forecast for Boxing Day (26 December) is ... wait for it ... 45ºC! A nice day at work - a quick nap at number 5 helped too. Fish and chips for dinner tonight - my monthly treat. Still tired - early night tonight. I should iron a shirt for work tonight - I will decide in a couple of minutes whether to do it tonight - or get up 10 minutes earlier tomorrow.

Wed 09: A good sleep last night - but a very long day today - nearly 11 hours of work. Weather warming up slowly - but still acceptable. I have a pile of washing which needs doing. I will have to sweet-talk my house-keeper/daughter. Hopefully, tomorrow - the Christmas & New Year work roster will be posted, so I have some idea of my duties and can post My Roster accordingly.

Thu 10: My goodness - nearly a third of December is over already! The older you get - the faster the year seems to go. It's been a good and not so good day today. Good because: my first half at work was okay, Ian made some delightful ham and pickle sandwiches (and a nice cup of tea), Mum and Brian were good company and I finally got my Christmas week work roster. I also had a Driver Assessment and passed with flying colours. Bad because: I live in the same house with my son and daughter, but I haven't caught up with either for a few days.

Fri 11: Two weeks to Christmas today. I am not really getting into the Christmas spirit too much this year. Today was a pleasant day - a nice day at work and a quick nap, before catching up with Mum and Ian at lunchtime. A pleasant afternoon. I caught up with my ex-wife (Julie) and then had dinner with my daughter, Tracey. I am working this weekend (as I had last weekend off) and I managed to get a sneak preview of my Christmas / New Year work roster too. Today's positive (good) item: In 12 week's time, I fly to Thailand for a week of R & R (Rest & Recreation).

Sat 12: Hot. It was hot today. At 10.19pm (2219) I am updating my Diary tonight and today's maximum temperature is not available from the Weather Bureau. I think it was close to 39ºC - but don't quote me on that. Tomorrow's temperature is also forecast to be 39ºC, after an overnight low of 22ºC. I had a very long day today - started at 0854 (8.54am) and finished at 2130 (9.30pm) as I had to 'babysit' a bus which broke down at Mirrabooka Bus Station. Dramas there - but I was safe - although I needed to call for Police backup.

Sun 13: Today seemed a lot cooler than the 39ºC the weather bureau tipped for Perth. Yesterday was 37ºC, so I believe. A pleasant day at work - 6 hours of shuttles between Stirling, Warwick and Whitfords bus/train interchanges. Lunch at Karrinyup Depot. Home for leftovers and then off to bed.

Mon 14: Only 11 sleeps to Christmas. Today was very humid and warm (around 31ºC). A long (but nice) first half at work with a low-floor Mercedes 0405 bus. A short lunch-break and a quick nap at number 5. A busy second half with a bit of 'excitement.' I had a serial fare-evader who was met at Wellington Street Bus Station by 4 security guards and received a $100 fine for his effort. I think I am a fair person - if a passenger seems to have genuinely lost their wallet etc, I understand. When they deliberately and regularly attempt to not pay the correct fare - it's time for action. (Note to self: The death penalty is NOT in place for fare evasion ... must speak with my mate, Colin about that). Then it will be time to do something about cars illegally parked in the Town of Vincent. Rant over - but I feel a lot better.

Tue 15: An interesting day today. I received a very prompt reply about my email to City of Vincent - who promised to follow up about the illegal parking of cars in their area. A pleasant day at work - until I received a 'panic' phone call from my concerned daughter asking if I was okay ... yes I was okay. The reason for her call - a Transperth bus exploded in flames in Yokine (a Perth northern suburb). It was a CNG (compressed natural gas) powered bus, which we don't have at the Depot I am based at. I updated my home page with a new Christmas picture (the peter991.com Christmas Bus). Finally a mini-celebration tonight as it was 20 months ago today that I gave up cigarettes.

Wed 16: My Happiness Quotient is up today - I have been trying to be more positive lately. Perhaps it is starting to pay off. A pleasant morning (with the exception of my first customer), a nice lunch and a good nap, then pleasant second half. I was planning to have an early night tonight - but there's always things to do - soak work shirts after using Sard Wonder Stick; clean out the refrigerator and put out the rubbish and iron a work shirt for tomorrow. Nine sleeps until Christmas.

Thu 17: Broken sleep last night (woke at 0130, couldn't get back to sleep until around 0430, alarm at 0450). A better than expected morning at work, picked up my dry-cleaning at WSBS and had a delightful lunch at number 5 (a ham and fresh salad plate), then a brief nap, before heading back to work. Things were okay until around 1700 (5pm) and then they went pear-shaped. More later ...

Fri 18: I thought positive thoughts today - and it seemed to work. Today (on the 1 to 10 scale; 1 being Horrible and 10 being Perfect) was a 7. A pleasant morning at work - a good 1.5 hours' sleep at number 5, nice cold sandwiches and a cup of tea, before heading back to work. My work Roster is now updated, until the end of January 2010. It is subject to change at very short notice, but is probably 99% correct. In other news, Santa came early - with a parcel for me from my mate Ron, who now lives in Casterton in Victoria.

Sat 19: Day off. I was going to sleep in today - but Troy needed to start work by 0700 and my car was in the way - so he shifted Amy's car, I shifted my car - then he could drive off in his car. Yawn. A nothing sort of a day today. I went over to Julie's place and scored a haircut, then went to Woolworths and did a bit of shopping and came home to pay a bill (car rego) and unwind. Roast chicken, mashed potato and rice with vegetables and pasta (sounds weird - but tasted fine) for dinner. Did some work on my website (started building pages for 2010) but did more damage than good - hopefully my Webmaster can repair the damage next week. Weather is hot and humid. Looks like staying that way for another week at least.

Sun 20: Another warm day in store for Perth today. I turned on the air-conditioning Friday evening when I came home from work. It's still on. I don't know if the ceiling cavity is insulated. I doubt it. I will check tonight after work (or better still, ask my son to check) the situation as the house heats up fast in summer - and is cool in winter. Working today - just a 6.5 hour shift - but I am taking a serious look at my finances, being the end of the calendar year and every cent counts.

Mon 21: A surprisingly good day today, despite having an old Renault for 8hr 11min today. Warm weather but not too humid. Glad I am wearing shorts. Finished on time - was planning on going to the shops after work, but couldn't be bothered - maybe tomorrow.

Tue 22: Another pleasant day - that makes 2 in a row. Scary stuff! Warm weather - but things cooled down nicely early this afternoon. Okay at work - Sharon (my boss) is now on holidays (again) and Wayne Harvey is her replacement. Wayne was relieving 12 months ago and is a good boss. I also received a letter advising my Working With Children card application is progressing. It's been 15 months since I applied.

Wed 23: I really will be glad when Christmas is over and things get back to 'normal,' whatever that is. One thing which really stands out at the moment is the lack of traffic on the road - at peak times. Most of the year, the Mitchell and Kwinana Freeway systems and major arterial roads in Perth go into gridlock from about 0700 to 0900 in the morning and from 1600 to 1800 in the afternoon/evening. At the moment, traffic is surprisingly light - but the shopping centre carparks are full to overflowing. I can only surmise that many people have started their Christmas holidays and are doing their last minute shopping. A quiet day at work. BBQ at lunchtime and I caught up with the state manager of Path Transit and had a brief chat with him. Defrosted the fridge and did more washing when I came home. A healthy dinner tonight.

Thu 24: Christmas Eve. It's almost Christmas. The volume of traffic is even less than yesterday - on the roads, that is. Shopping centre carparks are full. A quiet day at work. Came home to unwind. I am looking forward to an early night and a sleep in tomorrow morning - but I know it isn't going to happen.

Fri 25: Christmas Day. It's 9.46pm (2146) as I finally get around to updating My Diary® with today's entry. In a nutshell - thank God today is over! I had a nice lunch with nice company and that was the highlight of the day. A few other nice things happened but it was not all coming up roses today. I have sent a SMS to my TWU reps complaning about the unsafe workplace that I have on weekends and public holidays. More later ...

Sat 26: Boxing Day. Day off. Not a lot happened today. I woke Tracey at lunchtime - she went to work. I did my washing, hung it on the line and made my bed with fresh sheets and pillowcases. Did some research on the Internet and ironed a couple of work shirts. Quick trip to IGA for essentials. Looking forward to going back to work tomorrow (that's sad, isn't it!)

Sun 27: The Weather Bureau tipped a scorcher today - at least 40ºC for Perth. Fortunately, they were a long way off (Perth's maximum temperature was 31.2ºC at 1400 (2pm)). I had trouble sleeping last night, so I started checking airfares for my next holiday, in March next year. I use Skyscanner to pick the cheapest airfares. This time I thought outside the box and checked Qantas, Singapore Airlines and Thai Airways. These 3 airlines are what they call Full Service airlines - you get your meals included in the fare, plus a generous luggage allowance. The trade off - you usually pay DOUBLE the fare of the budget airlines, which, on the PER (Perth, WA) to BKK (Bangkok, Thailand) route are Tiger Airways, Air Asia and Jetstar. I had forgotten about Jetstar - and I was pleasantly surprised that they came in 10% under the previous cheapest fare, which was offered by Tiger Airways. A pleasant day at work.

Mon 28: Boxing day (public holiday). Phew! Heatwave. Perth's maximum temperature of 38.8ºC at 1400 (2pm) was expected - but it was still very hot. My day wasn't too bad - even got a brief nap to number 5. Home to a quick dinner (field mushrooms on toast), ironed a shirt, checked my email and then bed.

Tue 29: More hot weather today - and very humid too. Sad news first - my friend, former Balladonia Roadhouse manager, Phillip (max.) Hall is in a critical condition in Royal Perth Hospital after being hit by a car, while trying to retrieve a couple of boogie boards (small surfboards) which had blown off a car onto the Kwinana Freeway. Good news: Rosie (my brother's small 11.5yo Jack Russell dog) which escaped today has been returned unharmed.

Wed 30: 2009 is going out quietly in Perth. The big event - fireworks at Gloucester Park (trotting track) is not on - so there's one or 2 free events and a few very expensive options for those who want to see in the New Year tomorrow night. Sydney even advertised cheap fares and accommodation to lure Sandgropers (West Australians) to NSW to see in 2010. I had a quiet day today - very tired when I came home - had a couple of hours' rest.

Thu 31: New Years Eve. Day off. Nothing planned for today - just housework (cleaning and laundry). Tracey and I did the housework (late last night), so all I had to do today was catch up on my sleep (yes) and my laundry. Did my washing and hung it on the line early - then had breakfast and went back to sleep. Checked my email, did some Internet research and played Bejeled 2 (and reached level 200, with a score of 30.9 million ... does that mean I don't have a life ???). No immediate plans on how to see in the New Year at midnight tonight - I will probably be asleep as I start work around 0730 tomorrow morning.