Remember...
If you stand straight...
Do not fear a crooked shadow.
Master Chen Hai Yang
I went to Sydney on Wednesday for a training day to learn the A To Z of DAs LEPs and DCPs. That's Development Applications, Local Environmental Policies and Development Control Policies. It was a course for council employees who are involved in the building and land development side of local councils.
I left home at 5:10am to drive to the airport in Wagga, where I got a plane to Sydney. It's years since I've flown anywhere and I was nervous, with rain predicted and clouds everywhere. Thank God it only takes an hour, and I think the idea of the safety procedures demonstration, the coffee and food, and announcements from the pilot are all clever little ploys to keep people from thinking about a little plane cruising at an altitude of 17,000 feet and going along at 415 kilometres an hour.
It was an uneventful flight except for a little turbulence and we arrived, it seemed, in no time at all. From the airport I caught a train into the city that was packed with people going to work, and from Central I caught a bus to the UTS, which I discovered later was only a block from the bus-stop.
The course itself was good. I met a few people from other councils and got a better understanding of all the legal issues and procedures involved with development. When I was leaving, someone behind me shouted my name and it turned out to be a guy who recently finished a year of work experience with Junee Shire Council's engineering department. It's a small world.
I wandered around China Town in Sydney before getting the train back to the airport to come home. My flight wasn't till 7pm so I had a few hours to kill. The airport security kicked up a fuss about the nail scissors in my manicure set and so I had to book a bag through as luggage and was quietly amused at how strict the security has gotten. Nail scissors for God's sake! I really think that's taking national security a little too far.
It was raining for much of the way home and the plane seemed very rocky. When we got to Wagga it was dark and the touchdown nearly gave me a heart attack, but relief at the same time. I felt totally exhausted, and still had to drive home to Junee and collect Alex, who stayed at his friend's house on Tuesday night. Carly was sleeping at her father's house.
I slept sounder than I have in months and yesterday morning when I went in to work it seemed that everyone wanted to know how my day had gone. I found I was repeating myself for half the day, but it was good to be back at work and in familiar surroundings. I've lived in Sydney a few times over the years and never liked the place. There are so many people in the city, all in such a hurry that nobody even makes eye contact with you on the streets or the public transport, and I welcomed being back in my little home town.
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