Photo: Christmas tree Darling Harbour, SydneyAs far as my work is concerned - you name it and it's down. Six services I rely upon have ceased to function as normal and my little black book of customer service and technical support staff has more names than my list of friends.
If I hear the phrase, "Your call is important to us" or see "We are sorry for the inconvenience, we are doing our best to resolve the issue" one more time I will scream louder than an inmate being welcomed at Guantanamo Bay.
I keep thinking of a line from a Tom Waits song - "Everything's broken and no one speaks English"
However, this does have an upside as it allows me to present a Christmas edition of the blog, as mentioned in the post below.
The photograph shows the Christmas tree at Darling Harbour, Sydney. Not the greatest photo in the world but considering the circumstances surrounding the picture, it's the best I could do. Normally when I take photographs I am on my own - this time I had my mother with me.
I wouldn't say she was a pain in the bum, but she tends to be the photographic equivalent of a back seat driver. Just as everything is lined up, she will say things such as, "Why don't you take it from the other side - you get a better view there." Rather than explaining why I didn't choose that option in the first place, it's a lot easier to move to "the other side". Of course she then has the opportunity to suggest that I turn the camera sideways, step back further or wait until the sun comes out, sun goes in etc.
Of course she hasn't taken any photographs since she snapped me with an old Box Brownie, paddling in Torquay when I was eight.
Yes there are decorations on the tree - just pretend you are playing "Where's Wally"
