Melbourne Cup Day!

Melbourne Cup 2016

The race that stops a nation, yes it's Melbourne Cup Day.

Not that it gets that festive, this being Perth, and it not being a public holiday so I'm still at work. But, it's the one day that I get a bet on. Well, a couple of entries into the office sweep, even if it's not a bet at the Tab.

Had a nice lunch, watched the race on the big screen, and one of my horses came in 2nd for a win of the princely sum of $30! That's $30 more than I have won in more years than I can remember.

Osaka Japan

On another note, the countdown is gathering pace, and it's only 4 more sleeps till we get on that plane to Osaka! It's starting to feel unreal now, going to a whole new place, something we haven't done for a long time. Well, not since our 3 week trip to New Zealand this time last year. Or that 8 night cruise up the WA coast in May this year.

After years of not having much time off at all, this could be something I could get used to, two holidays a year, to break the year up. Some people say the best thing to do once you get back from a holiday, is to start planning the next one. 

Well, I'm eagerly waiting for a landmark date that will be coming up soon, January 11, 2017. That's a special one for me, marking 7 years since I started my current job. Not that 7 years is anything special, other than the fact that it marks the day I get entitled to a wonderful Australian tradition called Long Service Leave! Make that 13 weeks of paid holidays that I get to use over 2 to 3 years. Spread that 13 weeks over say, 3 years, and add that to the usual 4 weeks annual leave, and that makes something like 8 weeks of holiday a year for the next 3 years. Now that I can get used to!

But back to it, it's probably time to start getting ready for, Osaka!