28 September 2006 - Brisbane

Whew – well we have been out of contact via the internet since Veridas went belly-up and our ISP, Aunix, was a reseller. So, don’t expect rapid replies to any communications, as it is very hit and miss at the moment.

Wednesday a week ago, (20 Sept) we had Murray, one of my workmates from Rockhampton stop over for the night, as his Mum had suffered a brain haemorrhage and was in Royal Brisbane Hospital. We weren’t sure how long he would be here, but she had her operation and was doing very well, so it was only the one night.

Then on Thursday evening I got a call from my brother, Steve, that Dad had collapsed during the night, fallen and knocked himself unconscious. He had been admitted to hospital. I called Mum and discovered that Mal, my other brother, was coming to Brisbane for Thursday and Friday. I sms’d Mal, and it turned out he was on the way from the airport in a taxi, so he checked into his hotel, (which was just near Storey Bridge) and came to us for dinner. We had a lovely evening, despite the worry about Dad.

I went out to the Qld Family History Library on Saturday afternoon, and solved some mysteries, and then wandered around the Riverside Markets for a while on Sunday. On Monday, Sharon, my boss at work, asked me to go to Cairns and Townsville to do testing on our new application. It was an early start on Tuesday morning, as we got up at 5am. Darryl had decided to go up to the Sunshine Coast to meet up with some of his cyclist friends from Rockhampton, so he dropped me at the airport. I arrived at Cairns at 10am, successfully conducted the testing and then headed to Townsville, arriving after 5pm. Steve took me to Mum and Dad’s where Dad (who had been discharged the day before) was sporting a couple of real shiners! We drove to Steve’s place, where we were amply entertained by a little energy bundle nephew called Justin. I had not seen him for 12 months and he has really grown into a little man.

When Mum and Dad were too tired, I drove them home. In the morning I caught the bus into the hospital, successfully completed the testing there and flew back to Brisbane. It was just absolutely wonderful to be able to catch up with the family, despite the short time-frame.

There was a huge storm which swept through Brisbane yesterday (Thursday), and it looked like there would be a smaller one today, but nothing eventuated except a beautiful sunset.

Today I have been very excited, as it is Go-Live for the program we have been working towards on the project. Others are working late tonight and by tomorrow morning we will find out how it went.