Plenty has happened since the last Gekko, which is probably the reason this one has taken so long to produce. We've both been working pretty solid since Christmas, and going out the few nights we share together each week (or just falling asleep from exhaustion). The few solid days it takes to make the Gekko just haven't been there.

Hard Work Ethic

The good things about being a 'temp' are: unaccountability (you don't have the responsibilities of a normal job and making the odd mistake is fine and dandy); change of pace (meeting new people and handling different tasks makes a boring job interesting and challenging).
The bad side: confusion and incompetence ('Hello, welcome to where the hell am I?'); stress (try this experiment: go to work and forget that you know how to do every part of it, even how to find/use the toilet).
And this is my job.
I've been circulating between ARTSA, Regency TAFE, Legal & General and SSABSA. Lots of computer work, taking bookings, phones and switchboards, mail sorting and stationery orders.
The work varies from job to job - L&G and TAFE are heavy workloads full of multiple deadlines and stress, SSABSA and ARTSA are both quiet and restful. Or is that just a misleading rumour?

There should be a slogan: 'Come to Adelaide and get free stuff'. Getting free tickets is like catching trout by hand - you have to be both patient and quick.
Spike and Mike's Sick and Twisted Animated Festival: this was great. An hour or more of short cartoons about snot and pets was far better than expected. Not as disgusting as you might think - it was roaringly funny.
Films: As Good as it Gets, The Boxer, Great Expectations, Blues Brothers 2000, The Sound of One Hand Clapping. Any free film is a good film, but avoid Great Expectations if you liked the original.
'...Ish' was a play during the Fringe Festival. It was about a transsexual who holds her boyfriend hostage after she has a sex change (to female) and the boyfriend dumps her for another woman. Interesting jumps from past to present and some good dialogue, but tighter direction would have made it better.
Regency TAFE presented me with a free dinner for two at the TAFE restaurant. Regency trains chefs and hospitality staff from all over the world and offer very high standards at extraordinary course prices. (Diplomas start at $6,000 and finish up somewhere around $40,000).

The food was marvellous, the service was nervous (students you see) but sincere, and the actual prices in the restaurant were really very cheap. We left feeling full and happy and would recommend TAFE restaurants to anyone.
The Civic Park Spectacular was on again - free music and fireworks. The music was pretty bad - the group 'Chunky Custard' should be banned in public places - but the fireworks were as good as ever. And throwing miniature paper aeroplanes at strangers was a fun if dangerous pass time.

Adelaide has two botanical gardens - a reasonably sized one on the north edge of the city, and a big one on Mount Lofty.
The one on Mount Lofty has gullies full of different species, and a big nature walk - which incidentally leaves you out in the middle of nowhere. Kristie and I walked for hours trying to get back to the car and didn't really enjoy ourselves.
The gardens in town are a different story - very nice and peaceful. The conservatory is a tropical jungle complete with butterflies, frogs and birds; other greenhouses are atmospheric and spooky or bright and hot.