C/Mon Visit Sydney Australia my home town!

Along with the Gwen story, I want to share my last experience with the beotch of the office, and Linda was a holy terror. I encouraged the boss to hire her as bookkeeper because she was close in age to me, but OMG how I lived to regret that. She came in every morning with a scowl on her face, rarely ever smiled, and was one of the most negative and insulting people you could ever meet. No matter how important any question or comment you had for her may be, you dared not interrupt her 'til she finished her Chick-Fil-A breakfast and read the newspaper cover to cover at her desk every single morning. She would give me and other co-workers snarky & sarcastic comments on a regular basis and acted as if she ran the place. I was office manager and had been there 10 years, but I got no support from the owner boss. I spoke with him many times about it, but he was a very non-confrontational type guy and I think he was afraid to take her on! She was loud, brash and hateful, but he said he had to overlook it as she was the best bookkeeper he'd ever had. He was such a wuss and admitted accounting was his short suit and that he was overly dependent on her knowledge and experience, allowing her to get away with whatever. As he observed her every morning eating & reading the paper, he would look at me and smile and shrug his shoulders, as if "what are ya gonna do?" He never said a word to her about it! And never mind this was always on company time. We had lunch hours, not breakfast hours!

Anyhoo, I was offered another position and left a couple years later, couldn't wait to get away from her. But imagine my surprise when I got a call from a former co-worker at that office who told me Linda had just been led away in handcuffs by 5-6 policemen and the FBI. She had been embezzling since the first month she came to work for the firm, to the tune of over $500,000. And since there were offices in VA and GA, the FBI was called in on the case. The boss trusted her so much he would sign anything she put in front of him and allowed it to go on for almost 8 years. What a dumbo he was, but he would sign checks for payment and she was smart enough to divert them into her personal account. While she was on one of many fabulous vacations that his money allowed her, a creditor called in asking for payment. The boss just happened to answer the phone & remembered paying him in full the month before. Therein began the investigation which ended in 8 years in prison for her and she served 5.

I ran into her after she got out and got my revenge for all the hatefulness she had dealt me...just by saying hello to her and that I was sorry to read in the paper about her misfortune and hoped that she could make a new life for herself. Last words to her were, "I wish you luck." I made my point quite well, but was as nice as could be in letting her know I knew all about it. So I guess I'm a beotch myself.

BTW, she's now driving a bus and has totally "come out of the closet." I had suspected all along, but women's prison must have upped her courage on that.
 

Great thread and the stories are fascinating to read.

Tica, our bugs may be a bit bigger than most in Canada but they can't compare to the swarms of mosquitos that come out at dusk in Winnipeg. I reckon they have the capacity to carry off a small child.

'Roos are pussy cats really.
You haz bears !!!!
 
Last words to her were, "I wish you luck." I made my point quite well, but was as nice as could be in letting her know I knew all about it. So I guess I'm a beotch myself.
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OOooooo Katy, I bet that felt gooooood.

Our Gwen wasn't like that, or that bad. She was very efficient, very honest and very female, just 'my way or highway' and intimidating in the way Headmistresses from Hell are depicted in movies.
She got very drunk on a night out with staff once and went around cuddling everyone. Scared the hell out of us. But as I'd suspected, soft centre deep down in there under the shell. I never got drunk so they didn't find out about mine.
Come to think of it, neither us had any kids to have softened us up, maybe that's the key?

Must admit, the bugs, snakes and roos strike me as a bit scary though......
Click to expand...

TICA, as Warri pointed out... You have BEARS! and Moose, and lethal weather, and if the tales are true the bugs in the Thunder Bay region hunt in carnivorous swarms! ... we just have sneaky spiders and snakes that aren't hunting us, just getting underfoot by accident.
Other than sharks, crocodiles and Mosquitoes (and 'Drop Bears,' ) I can't think of anything that actually preys on humans. OZ is a kindergarten playground compared to some places, we just tell wildlife tales to tease the tourists.

When in Canada we need to be reminded that snow is cold, that frostbite isn't a myth, and that bears eat meat.
Down here Canadians need to be reminded that 2nd degree sunburn isn't a myth either, and not to stick their fingers in holes where spiders and snakes hide. No big deal.

Shame Oprah and Ellen have done that free trip thing already though.

Ramblin' again... but speaking of 'getting along' well with Canadians and Yanks....

I miss the barbecues we had down at my cousin's place in the Hunter Valley when he still lived there. He had a wide range of friends, mainly blokes he'd worked with in the mines and most of whom also had small cattle properties as a sideline.The 'gang' consisted of locals, people from all over OZ, a Canadian and a Texan. There were some wonderful tales told at those 'dos' I can tell ya.

'Tex' was a surprise to all. One of the lads, Darren, but only ever known as Dazza, got ambitious beyond mining and running his parents property at Gresford and took a real estate course. He quit the mine, packed up, got a green card and went selling real estate in Dallas. We all had a snigger about it as Dazza was prone to enhance his credentials a tad at times. Real estate was the perfect career for his talents.
He sent back messages that he was seeing a 'spectacular' girl over there and that business was booming and he was making a motza... yeah right.

Next came the news he'd married her, his time was up on the card and he was heading home. So of course a barbecue night was put on for the occasion and he turned up with the Texan bride. She's a 6' tall blonde who looks a lot like a younger Jerry Hall!
ONYA DAZZA!!
By the time the boys had relocated their jaws she was already chatting away with we women and took around 3 minutes to fit right in. She grew up on a cattle ranch and worked in the city so had much the same range of experiences as 'us'.

They have it sweet, 6 months here running and maintaining the Gresford 'spread' and 6 months back in Dallas flogging real estate and visiting with her folks on their place around there. Never underestimate a 'Dazza' they're not all as silly as they seem.

The Canadian, Sue was working as a theatre nurse at Maitland Hospital while her husband, Nick was still in the mining game. I loved talking to Sue, her accent and voice reminded me so much of Ada's.

They've gone to her home in Saskatchewan to manage her Father's property. He's gotten too sick to cope with it now so she figured she should be using her talents to nurse him and Nick knows enough about farming to do the necessary and has landed a job of some sort there.
Nick was scared to death of living over there through a winter but where Sue goes, Nick goes so.... They'll be back when her Father passes but not before then. Poor Nick, he's a beach 'n barbie boy at heart and hates the cold.

What's left of the 'gang' still gather whenever my cousin and his wife go back down there to visit his sister and daughter but there aren't many of them left now, they've begun to scatter to other jobs in other locations. There were around 30 (40ish including kids) at those barbies a few years ago, now it's hard to round up 8 or 10. That's how life and good times go isn't it?

[/end ramble]
 

Diwundrin said:
OOooooo Katy, I bet that felt gooooood.

Our Gwen wasn't like that, or that bad. She was very efficient, very honest and very female, just 'my way or highway' and intimidating in the way Headmistresses from Hell are depicted in movies.
She got very drunk on a night out with staff once and went around cuddling everyone. Scared the hell out of us. But as I'd suspected, soft centre deep down in there under the shell. I never got drunk so they didn't find out about mine.
Come to think of it, neither us had any kids to have softened us up, maybe that's the key?



TICA, as Warri pointed out... You have BEARS! and Moose, and lethal weather, and if the tales are true the bugs in the Thunder Bay region hunt in carnivorous swarms! ... we just have sneaky spiders and snakes that aren't hunting us, just getting underfoot by accident.
Other than sharks, crocodiles and Mosquitoes (and 'Drop Bears,' ) I can't think of anything that actually preys on humans. OZ is a kindergarten playground compared to some places, we just tell wildlife tales to tease the tourists.

When in Canada we need to be reminded that snow is cold, that frostbite isn't a myth, and that bears eat meat.
Down here Canadians need to be reminded that 2nd degree sunburn isn't a myth either, and not to stick their fingers in holes where spiders and snakes hide. No big deal.

Shame Oprah and Ellen have done that free trip thing already though.

Ramblin' again... but speaking of 'getting along' well with Canadians and Yanks....

I miss the barbecues we had down at my cousin's place in the Hunter Valley when he still lived there. He had a wide range of friends, mainly blokes he'd worked with in the mines and most of whom also had small cattle properties as a sideline.The 'gang' consisted of locals, people from all over OZ, a Canadian and a Texan. There were some wonderful tales told at those 'dos' I can tell ya.

'Tex' was a surprise to all. One of the lads, Darren, but only ever known as Dazza, got ambitious beyond mining and running his parents property at Gresford and took a real estate course. He quit the mine, packed up, got a green card and went selling real estate in Dallas. We all had a snigger about it as Dazza was prone to enhance his credentials a tad at times. Real estate was the perfect career for his talents.
He sent back messages that he was seeing a 'spectacular' girl over there and that business was booming and he was making a motza... yeah right.

Next came the news he'd married her, his time was up on the card and he was heading home. So of course a barbecue night was put on for the occasion and he turned up with the Texan bride. She's a 6' tall blonde who looks a lot like a younger Jerry Hall!
ONYA DAZZA!!
By the time the boys had relocated their jaws she was already chatting away with we women and took around 3 minutes to fit right in. She grew up on a cattle ranch and worked in the city so had much the same range of experiences as 'us'.

They have it sweet, 6 months here running and maintaining the Gresford 'spread' and 6 months back in Dallas flogging real estate and visiting with her folks on their place around there. Never underestimate a 'Dazza' they're not all as silly as they seem.

The Canadian, Sue was working as a theatre nurse at Maitland Hospital while her husband, Nick was still in the mining game. I loved talking to Sue, her accent and voice reminded me so much of Ada's.

They've gone to her home in Saskatchewan to manage her Father's property. He's gotten too sick to cope with it now so she figured she should be using her talents to nurse him and Nick knows enough about farming to do the necessary and has landed a job of some sort there.
Nick was scared to death of living over there through a winter but where Sue goes, Nick goes so.... They'll be back when her Father passes but not before then. Poor Nick, he's a beach 'n barbie boy at heart and hates the cold.

What's left of the 'gang' still gather whenever my cousin and his wife go back down there to visit his sister and daughter but there aren't many of them left now, they've begun to scatter to other jobs in other locations. There were around 30 (40ish including kids) at those barbies a few years ago, now it's hard to round up 8 or 10. That's how life and good times go isn't it?

[/end ramble]
Click to expand...

Another interesting round of stories....this is better than reading a good book, as it's all non-fiction!:p I particularly enjoyed reading that under the influence of alcohol, Gwen finally let her soft side show. I'm sure that was initially a shocker, so different that the Gwen you had known. Great stories, all of 'em.
 
Thanks GDAD for all the videos ... feel like I've been on a mini-vacation to Australia. Just love all the information!

And, I enjoy your stories too Di ... you're a great storyteller!
 
Back on topic, (saarprise saarprise)

Sydney is putting on a 'do' next weekend. Centenary of the Navy moving into the Garden Island Docks on Sydney Harbour.
There'll be warships and tallships and the Harbour will look like a washing machine when a few thousand private spectator boats get out there. Hope the wind is right for the tallships parade, love looking at them. I still think the 2 most beautiful eye candy inventions are the Clipper ship and the E-Type Jag.

They're blowing quite a few bucks on a big fireworks display, that'll be worth a look if it makes the News. Sydney does that well. That'll be 3 times this year, getting to be a habit.

They've been practicing lighting up the Opera House, using the White Ensign, clever.

1340-fleet.jpg

I seem to remember the 75th Anniversary what seems a few years ago, but is obviously 25. We left the office unattended (a 'shooting' offence), conned the keys to the Central Station clock tower from the Station Master and climbed the stairs up to the balcony under the clock to watch the big night flypast. A couple of fighters on afterburners doing zoom bys over the city. Yeeeehaaaa. It was worth the climb. Nothing else was, never did it again, it was steep and scary in there.

The ABC (Aust.) are showing some footage Saturday night.
 
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