Sun 01: Hello November. That means it's only 53 sleeps to Christmas. Day off today - put away my laundry and ironed 3 work shirts. Did some online banking - paid bills. Troy and I went to Bunnings to get some new blades for our lawn mower and a couple of small hardware items. Then I mowed the front and verge lawns. A shower and a rest - Amy came over and she and Troy went out. Troy and I visited Sizzler's Morley store for dinner. I am actually looking forward to going back to work tomorrow.

Mon 02: An 'interesting' day. Troy woke before me for once (at 0400). I woke a few minutes before my alarm was due to go off at 0450. A bit cool and windy this morning - but the weather turned nicer as the day went on. A brief (but welcome) nap at number 5, then yummy toasted sandwiches for lunch. Back to work - and here's when things started to unravel. Due to a shortage of buses, I was late departing the depot, late beginning my first run - which made me late for my second run - and then just managed to start the 3rd run on time. My old Renault bus just lasted the distance, but it's been booked off and will spend some time in the depot's workshop tomorrow (hopefully). A fair bit of mail and email when I arrived home. My mobile phone battery (which is just 12 months old), died suddenly today. I have ordered a new one online - so I should have it in about a week's time. Fortunately, I have a spare mobile phone, but I will miss my Nokia Navigator's GPS. DM Sharon returned from her honeymoon, TC Rob is due back from Phuket next week.

Tue 03: A good sleep - filled my car on the way to work as Tuesday is usually the best day to buy fuel in Perth as the city generally works on a weekly price cycle. Melbourne Cup Day today - Bart Cummins missed out on his 13th Cup, but I saved my money. I never would have picked the winner (Shocking) or the other two placegetters. An old renault bus for the first half, a nice air-conditioned Mercedes low floor 0405 diesel bus for the second half. Definite karma this afternoon - I did a favour and helped out when a serious road traffic crash blocked most of Whitfords Avenue (near the Whitfords interchange). As a result, my long run (Perth to Wanneroo, route 346) was covered and I finished work early. Pizza for dinner tonight - made by Troy.

Wed 04: Summer arrived today. I am not sure what the official maximum temperature in Perth was, but I know it was 34ºC at 1500 (3pm) today. A reasonably pleasant day - I think the heat is starting to knock me about. After this week, I think I will not put my name down for overtime for a few weeks and work a 5 day week. Less money - but (hopefully) better health.

Thu 05: Not too much to report today - so I will drag out my Soapbox, shake off the cobwebs and like my friend, Howard Sattler, rant and rave. Today's rant is an unrelated combination: blondes (those jokes about dumb blondes are NOT jokes - they are REAL); Volvo drivers (do any of them live in Reality Land?); cyclists (you don't pay for the use of MY road - so obey the road rules!) and Judge Antoinette Kennedy. I can understand lawyers disliking the Barnett government's mandatory sentencing act, making it harder for them to get their clients off a jail sentence for assaulting public officers - but Judge Kennedy has gone too far in my opinion. Police officers - usually I have a lot of respect for you as you have a mostly thankless job - but please - if anybody assaults a public officer - take it to Court - don't downgrade the charge yourselves.

Fri 06: Rant over. Cooler weather today. I have half a tank of fuel (enough for another 250km), but I refuse to fill up at the top end of the petrol price cycle. I'll wait until Tuesday next week. I do around 350km a week so that shouldn't be too hard to organise. A reasonably uneventful day at work. I did a favour for one of our drivers, so in another week's time, I will do this week's shift again. It's all earlies next week, so number 5 will have to buy their own newspaper - but as a trade off, they won't have to feed me. I'd better start panning my lunch-box for the week.

Sat 07: A 9hr 50min shift today, starting just before 0900 (9am) and finishing at 1944 (7.44pm), so I worked solidly today. It didn't help that I had a broken sleep. Did my washing, hung it on the clothes line to air and dry and went to bed to sleep just after 2130 (9.30pm).

Sun 08: Day off. Slept in (a bit) and did the usual day off stuff (housework, ironing, folding clothes etc). The highlight of my day was the fact my daughter, Tracey, after many false starts, finally moved in. She cooked a nice dinner of steak and salad for Troy and myself (and cleaned up). I am a lot more relaxed now.

Mon 09: Early shifts all this week - so I wake up just before 0400 (4am) for a 0530 (5.30am) start. I was organised yesterday - so I have a few ironed work shirts and my trousers are pressed. My work Roster for next week has been thrown into disarray - I was going to do W3 (the shift I did last week) again next week - but the person who swapped with me has revised his plans so I am back to square one doing W5. I gain a 4hr shift on the Sunday and lose the 9hr 50min Saturday shift. I went shopping after work at Woolworths today. I refuse to patronise the local IGA supermarket due to their high prices. Tracey cooked us all a nice lean beef and vegetable stirfry.

Tue 10: Same shift as yesterday - so I was ready for (almost) anything. A pleasant - but tiring day. A nice healthy lunch made by Tracey. Dropped in and saw Mum after work and returned a vaccuum cleaner I borrowed a few weeks ago. Tossed up whether to go straight home from there - but my back and feet were aching, so I visited Warwick's Chinese Masseur. Forty minutes and $48 later, I floated out the door.

Wed 11: The weather is warming up - but that didn't stop low-lying areas of Perth being blanketed by fog this morning, on account of the high humidity. A pleasant day at work - even if I did have an old Renault bus for 7hr 23min today. Had lunch with Julie, Tracey and DJ after work today, then home to do my washing and a nap. Tracey woke me around 1900 (7pm) with a nice spaghetti bolognaise. Brought in my washing, checked my email and off to bed around 2115 (9.15pm).

Thu 12: Had just over a twelve hour day at work, came home and made some very important phone calls and enjoyed a relaxing dinner made by my daughter, Tracey and then spent some quality time with her before having an early night.

Fri 13: Black Friday. I was so tired all day today - especialy as I only had the legal minimum 10 hours off between shifts - so I probably only got around 6 hours' sleep. Fortunately, today was a smooth shift. Finished on time and visited Mum before heading to Woolworths to get a few essentials and then home to do my washing and sleep.

Sat 14: Up at 0700 (7am), ready for a busy day. Just finished my cereal when the house phone rang. I just missed answering it when my mobile (cell) phone rang. I was my work, asking me to come in urgently. No time for a shower or shave ... I quickly ironed a work shirt, drove to Wangara (to pick up my work gear), then Karrinyup to start work. Worked until 1815 (6.15pm) before heading home. Tracey made a nice home-style fish and chips (baked in the oven) and have me a neck rub before I went to sleep around 2000 (8pm). All the things I was going to do yesterday will have to be done tomorrow.

Sun 15: The sun was up early today - and so was I - around 0530 (5.30am). Couldn't get back to sleep, so I had a shower and shave, cereal and killed time until 0900 (9am) when I decided to mow the lawns. I stripped down to my shorts and hopefully tomorrow I won't be too sunburnt. Another shower and a nap, before heading off to do my 4 hour shift this afternoon/evening. Leftovers for dinner.

Mon 16: My goodness - the middle of another month already! Had my 10hrs 3mins off between shifts - so I was glad to visit number 5 and have a welcome nap. A reasonable day all round - pleasantly cool, at 24ºC in Perth - much better than the 40ºC that the east coast of Australia is suffering through in their prolonged heatwave.

Tue 17: Still nice and cool in Perth - rain on the way too. A relatively pleasant day today - a good low-floor 0405 Mercedes bus for the first half, a short nap at number 5 and then an artic ('bendy') bus for the afternoon. I am doing the same shift tomorrow - so hopefully I can iron any bugs out. Nice dinner tonight created by daughter Tracey - grilled chicken and pasta salad.

Wed 18: The more I think about it - the more I am sure a parallel universe exists. I am in Perth, WA and now is the last 2 weeks of November 2009. Summer starts (officially) in 2 weeks, yet the weather forecast is showers and thunderstorms, min 12ºC, max 21ºC. Amazing. A bad start to the day - I nearly had an accident when I was driving to work - that scared me. I am okay now - just treating that episode as 'time to slow down - a lot!' A nice lunch made by Tracey. Thanks.

Thu 19: Troy and I have a rent inspection scheduled for tomorrow. We have one of these every 8 weeks. Not that things get out of hand - it's good to get a bit of a shake up now and again. The lawns look nice - but weeds have taken over the gardens - so we will have a big job over the next few weekends. A pleasant morning at work - despite Perth getting the full month's rainfall in 24 hours. Perth was the coldest state capital - at 21ºC - compared to Hobart (Tasmania) at 26ºC, Sydney (NSW) at 39ºC and Adelaide (SA) at 43ºC. Never mind - Perth will catch up - the Weather Bureau is tipping 34ºC for next Tuesday in Perth.

Fri 20: Today could have featured as a scene from Groundhog Day - not a true time loop - but close enough. Except - that I had the advantage of knowing in advance what to expect. The morning part of my shift - far too much time - but nice to have. The afternoon- tight as heck - but almost achieveable. Tonight I came home and relaxed. Two consecutive days off - I will do my washing and relax. I almost forgot - the rent inspection went like a charm - that's a relief.

Sat 21: Day off. Woke up early as always, did my washing, checked my e-mails, had breakfast (toast & coffee) and tried to wake up my daughter(who wanted more sleep), left her to sleep and downloaded some music. Woke up my daughter, tracey who had a shower and then we went shopping. Filled our cupboards up with food and then tracey and I sat down together and watched a new release DVD.

Sun 22: Day off. Finally after many weekends - Tracey and I spent the day together. We visited a few garage sales and made a couple of purchases. One of Tracey's brothers (Peter) came over and did some gardening for us. Before I knew it - the sun was setting - time for dinner (hot dogs), some ironing and bedtime. A relaxing weekend.

Mon 23: I feel a lot better after my 2 consecutive days away from work - but today was hectic. I drove the 'bendy' bus (a Renault articulated) this morning and a low floor Mercedes 0405 bus this afternoon. I am going to have an early night tonight - just came home, checked my sprinklers, my email and had a light dinner of grilled chicken and salad and that was all.

Tue 24: Amazing what a bit of extra sleep can do for an old body (mine!). I felt fairly good when I went to work this morning (and drove an old Renault). Back to number 5 for a spot of house-sitting (and sleep) and then back to work (again to drive an old Renault). Perth's maximum temperature today of 35.8ºC was expected - and it didn't feel too hot to me - but I am looking forward to the next two days - with maximum temperatures forecast to be 23ºC. At this stage, I have a day off tomorrow - but anything is possible. Just to be sure, I did my washing tonight.

Wed 25: My mobile phone rang at 0630. It was TC Rob (from Wangara depot), who uttered the words: 'Get out of bed!' Fortunately - I was not needed immediately - Joondalup had a shift to cover, starting around 10.50am. Plenty of time to have a shower and shave, iron a couple of work shirts and take a leisurely drive 22km to Joondalup. Not a bad shift - no surprises - except an old Renault rigid bus for 8hrs. Glad to get home to unwind.

Thu 26: Today started slowly and built up to a crescendo ... a pleasant morning, a couple of sandwiches at number 5 for lunch; a sleep for 2 hours - then a l-o-n-g second half (2pm to 8.45pm). Finally home to a nice roast chicken and vegetables dinner, courtesy of Tracey. Caught up with Ian - Mum was out and about - catching up with friends.

Fri 27: Ten hours and two minutes off work and back to the grind. Today was actually a quite pleasant day. The staff were okay, the buses were okay and the passengers were okay. I actually got to catch up with Mum today after not seeing her for two weeks. I am working this weekend - but next weekend is MINE.

Sat 28: Not a great deal to report from today: I had a good sleep last night, a good bus, nice passengers and I found something 'interesting.' I had the house to myself when I got home tonight - so I just chilled out. It was warm - bordering on hot today - with the mercury in the low 30s - which meant a busy day for bus drivers on the Perth-Glendalough-Scarborough Beach run.

Sun 29: A pleasant day today - at work. Is that possible? Yes - it was quite a good day. Spent 90% of my shift driving up and down Charles St / Wanneroo Rd, between Perth (city) and Wanneroo. Home at 2145 (9.45pm) to a nice roast chicken and vegetables dinner created by Tracey.

Mon 30: My goodness - today is the last day (officially) of Spring in Australia. Tomorrow is (officially) the first day of Summer. Overall, Perth had had a mild spring. I have a feeling Summer will be very hot (but I hope not). A reasonable day at work - I started making plans on how I want to spend my week off in March next year - hopefully get it fine tuned by the end of next month.