Today is The Day!!

This morning first thing G and I went to the shops to buy cake...

People at the co generally, lately, haven't been bringing cake/eats on their last day, but on the other hand, there haven't been any 'collections' going around to give the person leaving a gift (this is according to the typist).  I thought I may as well leave on a good note so brought cake.

I am wearing 'civvies' too... to make a change from the USUAL boring dull work clothes I wear (or WORE).

Today feels festive, in a 'long weekend' or 'school holidays' way... not in a THIS IS MY LAST DAY HERE (OFFICIALLY) EVARRRRRRRRRR way.  'Officially' is the important word here, because one of the directors came to say 'good morning for the last time', and said I must please leave my details because they might call on me if there's a crisis (read: receptionist goes awol), they'd offer an hourly rate etc... so I may well be here a coupla days outside of the time HBBM needs me (it's looking like it'll be a week or 2).  I think it'll feel different, and I won't feel as captive and confined as I have always felt here.  And, it's extra POCKET MONEY woot!!!!!!

We've been attempting to get quotes from moving companies for our stuff, and it's like pulling hen's teeth... no one seems that interested in getting our custom (read: take our $).

It's a beautiful day outside today.  I hope tomorrow will be as beautiful.  Really.

There are 121 days left for us!  Let the adventure begin... after 17:00 today, at least!

Hmm

I need a make-over, seriously.

Alright

Ok, weird one, blogger, for offering me the use of the 'new editor' and giving a link to find out more about what's different between the new one and the old one and for having a "the information you requested cannot be found" page for me.  Thanks, guys, but YOU OFFERED me the link, so... yah, thanks.

Not sure I'm crazy about this new editor.  Anyway, that's not important I guess.

We have 128 days left.  Tomorrow we're going to visit Mom+Sis, and then go with Sis to a play in the evening.  Saturday Sis, G and I are going to an airshow - too exciting, never been to one before!!

Right now I'm very tired.  It's *only* 23:00, which is HARDLY late considering it's a Thursday/Friday night (tomorrow - Friday - is a public holiday), but I'm so moeg you'd swear I'd been studying for exams or something.  I think I should get (and TAKE!) a batch of multivitamins.

I officially have 4 working days left.  The past few days at work I've been busier than I have been probably the entire month so far.  And, because of that, there is a possibility they might ask me to come in for a few days extra to help out with something.

The typist came to me first thing this morning and asked what I'd say if the bosses asked me to work a bit longer, and I basically just scoffed at the idea... she then said that she'd "overheard" HBBM talking to one of the directors about it but she emphasised that hadn't HEARD heard anything, she was just repeating what she 'didn't hear'.  Then later on, she mentioned it again, saying she thinks they're seriously considering it... fast forward an hour or two and HBBM mentions it vaguely to me when I ask him when some work I've got (his stuff) is due. 

I've been typing up a storm the past few days helping the typist with her pile of 8 contract documents.  They're pretty urgent, as these things always (stupidly) are:  they were due last week or something... so HBBM says his stuff isn't urgent - it's only for the end of October.  It's basically inputting information and printing out valuation reports for 26 buildings, which he said is only 'rushed' because of the fact that I've only got 4 days left.  Plus, a new job has come along, with 15 buildings to do valuations for... so that makes 40 buildings needing reports.

This report is done on Lotus (yes, goddamned Lotus 95!), and if I am not there to do them, the accountant (who is busy), who is a Lotus 95 guru (and who I learnt the stuff from), would have to show the typist (who is also busy) how to do them, which is basically too much effort/a big waste and the bosses probably feel it's more worthwhile paying me to come in and do the reports.  All I'm thinking of doing at this moment is waiting to be asked OFFICIALLY (HBBM mentioned it in passing - I suppose it depends on how soon the contract documents are finished in my last 4 days), and also it would depend on what they offer.

On the one hand, it's extra moolah, which is OBVIOUSLY most useful right now, what with our whole move and new life coming up.  On the other hand, my freedom would be delayed for however long they need me, and also our pre-pack preparation time would be eaten into.  Ok, granted, it's probably not going to be a WHOLE MONTH that they'd need me... but still.

I shall wait and see, will keep a watch on how this unfolds.

For now though, it is sleep time.

Emus...

known to be curious animals, and are known to approach humans if they see movement of a limb or a piece of clothing. They are also known to follow and observe humans in the wild. Sometimes they also poke other animals and then run away after drawing a reaction, as though they are playing a game.

* quoted directly from Wikipedia's page on the Emu.

Reflection

We have exactly 131 days.  I have 7 working days left... 2 weeks, and September is finished.  Leaving us with exactly 4 months before we fly. 

Last weekend we emailed for quotes on moving our stuff, so far we haven't had anyone over to give a quote.  HULLO CHAPS.

Four months... 120+ days... and we're gone.  Everything has to be done well in time before we go. 

I'm probably going to be moving my fish in December.  Sis has agreed to look after them for me - it'll be better having them in the family (so I can keep up to date with their news) and it hopefully won't be a big burden as they shouldn't have YEARS AND YEARS ahead of them, or should I say, MOST of them shouldn't:  the kuhli loaches have maybe 10 more years!  But regardless, I'm looking to move them (back!) in December so that there is a little time for me to help out before I go (time for me to give Sis a crashcourrse in fishkeeping). 

2 months for us to do all our preparations because December is The month.  Action month where we get everything going.  2 months for everything... will we have enough time?

G's borrowed his dad's electric sander, so we'll probably start tackling our wooden furniture soon.  I can't wait to sit, quietly and peacefully, at home and go through my stuff.  I think it will be therapeutic.  A shedding of old 'skin'.

7 more days of work.  GOD DAMN BUT I CAN'T FUCKING WAIT to be out of this place.

No. No, no. Please.

YOU WON!

Damnit I want to sleep, I don't care.  Leave me alone, gayking, I don't want to click anymore.

Go away and stop holding your cards out in front of my face.

I don't want to click!

Damn you, gayking.

You made me click.

Is it possible to be MORE BORED THAN THIS?

I've been bringing the Living&Working book with me to work every day, and tagging info with slivers of post-it notes.  I will upload a pic of the book sometime, so you can see exactly how many tags there are.

It's a very interesting book, it's not OVERLY factually boring because it's written in a fresh tone and it's well divided into relevant chapters.

Work is... more and more and more dull, every moment that goes past worse than the previous.  I have approximately 316 hours until I am free (those are total hours, not working hours), 8 working days only.  I AM SO EYE-GOUGINGLY BORED I don't actually know what to do anymore.  I can't surf the net for Aus information, which would be really handy about now, so all I do is play solitaire/freecell/spider solitaire.  I have gchat open (but it's quiet there) and I play music through the ipod earphones which at least is SOME form of companionship.  Oh and I check FB/Twitter on my phone now and then.

I am SO BORED.

I don't know what I'm actually going to do at home, every day, but at least I won't have to fake being interested.  Unlike when I am at work, if I'm not interested in something I can scowl and stamp my feet and 'indulge' in being unwilling, which is all I ever FEEL like doing now that it's so excrutiatingly dull at work.

I think we're going to have an easier time sorting our stuff out.  We're waiting for proper arrangements with moving companies to come and give quotes, but at least in the meantime we did a walkthrough of the house with the inventory form one of the companies gave us, filling it in.  We don't really have that much stuff.  I think we had better look for a lounge suite hehe.

Our ornaments and things shouldn't be too much hassle.  They will undoubtably be scrutinised by customs/quarantine, but hopefully none of the things will need treatment.  I think of all my stuff (that I can think of, for now), that would possibly need treatment (because of customs/quarantine department's paranoia) would be the Tibetan compartment house, the chicken-bone sailing boat and the 3 'spiritual guide' wooden birds.  Everything else should be ok... hopefully.  We're going to double-check though and varnish/oil things anyway just to be on the safe side.

I just wish we could get started and unpack our stuff and look through everything.

I haven't stitched in ages.  I just don't feel like it these days.  Every evening I am just exhausted after a day at work spent fretting and frustrated at being bored.  Which means I cannot accomplish anything useful in the home-time after work.  Things seem so drawn out and un-FIXED now... waiting for appointments and waiting for this and that oh and waiting for payday to get the washmachine fixed and waiting to buy clothes etc.

Dullness... how well I know you.  I think if I were at home and THIS EXTREMELY BORED I would sleep the day away.  This is so painful.  I wonder if it's possible for someone's brain's chemical composition to be altered permanently by being SO FUCKING BORED.

I'm going to try attach a pic to this blogpost to show you how bored I am.  We call him Gayking.  It's become a sort of altered word, as in "I'm gayking a cake".  (it's not meant to offend anyone, it's just an indication of just how bored I get at work).

Pondering and Planning

I have 12 working days left today... and it's so boring!!

 

This weekend was rather fun, Saturday we went for a nice long, leisurely sunny drive down the Peninsula, with video camera and tripod in hand!  The weather was perfect, and we stopped at Tibet for lunch as well so we could enjoy lunch with a good view.  We stopped at various spots to take videos, and on the whole the day was very relaxing :D

 

Sunday we did chores and popped to the shops to buy groceries, but apart from that we pretty much just chilled.  I tackled the wildly overgrown grass in the garden:  the people who re-did the roof and the people who installed the doors/windows just lazily/inconsiderately tossed a whole stack of junk (10cm long nails, screws, cement chunks, roof-sealant peels, etc) into the grass, so it would be suicide to try to mow the grass.  This means tackling it with parrotnose cutters.  It took ages, it exhausted my back, I'm stiff today and I have a 1cm diameter blister on my thumb, and I've only done 1/4.  To be continued.  I did manage to prick my finger with a crazily sharp piece of metal in the grass (yay thank you assholes for tossing THAT!), but hopefully I won't die.  Oh and there are also tiny little metal shavings in the grass too - they give me the utter creeps (horror visions of barefeet and splinters), so I've been trying to dig them out of the grass/sand as thoroughly as I can.

 

Ok that's entirely too much minutae about gardening isn't it.

 

We sent off some quote requests from moving companies last night.  That's our next big mission: junk culling, assessing our stuff and deciding on steps forward.

 

One major concern will be what to do with our wooden stuff.  Ornaments, furniture, etc, will each have to be looked at and we'll need to decide with each thing whether to keep it and take it with us or not, and if we are taking it, what to do to it to ensure it doesn't cause hassles at customs/quarantine/inspection in Aus.

 

It's going to be quite fun going through our stuff, itemising it all and making an inventory, but one thing I'm not looking so forward to is numbering and listing all our CDs, DVDs and books.  I think it'll take ages, but in light of stuff getting 'lost' or stolen, knowing exactly what is missing would help a lot.

 

138 days til we fly... sounds far too little time!

Ke Nako!!

Fil it, it is hieh!

I have 14 working days left. 3 weeks until I am free. It feels
disturbingly short, and yet at the same time, if I imagine another
month tagged onto the end, it feels depressing even though it'd only
be 4 weeks extra. So, now is the time, this is the month. I still
haven't told everyone at work, in fact only the 3 bosses, the typist,
the accountant and 1 other colleague know (that I know of). I don't
really know how to go about telling everyone... as it is, I don't
exactly CHAT CHAT CHAT with them a lot, so my all of a sudden out of
the blue striking up a 'GUESS WHAT' conversation would feel weird.

We have 142 days until we leave. I have started going through my copy
of the book "Living and Working in Australia - David Hampshire" (link
to be added when I'm at home), sticking in lots of little post-it
notes to mark off stuff relevant to our move. Some sections aren't
relevant anymore (Visas), and some aren't relevant yet (Education,
Sports, Entertainment), but others (Finding A Job) are really
important!

This month we are going to get movers in to give quotes on our stuff.
There are a few other things still to do, unrelated to the move (get
the washmachine fixed, buy new clothes), which must be done soon too.
One of the things to do is buy an external hard drive, to back up/copy
all our stuff so we can access it while waiting for our container to
arrive. I'm sure we'd both go a bit crazy if we went without our
music for 2 months+.

Another exciting thing to do before we go is visit family! I
desperately want to go on a drive to George/Knysna, to see my
cousins+aunt, and would love to go to Jhb and Durban to see G's family
and W+D in Pta. We have to go through our budget and see if it can be
fitted in. We also still have a number of things on our list of 'to
see/do/catch on video', so hopefully the next 4+ months won't be all
work and no play. At least I can do 1 or 2 of them with Mom/Sis, so G
won't be pressured to do everything every weekend.

EEEEEEEEEEK!! Our seats are selected already (yay Singapore Airlines,
you rock!), we'll probably have to hire a car too for when we arrive,
but would probably do that only once we're in Aus (as a resident I
believe the rates are cheaper), but EEEK YAYYYYYYYY! Min dae,
YIPPEEE!

Omg man, ONE WAY TICKETS!!

Welcome to

MY RANT!!!!!

I know that it's mean and nasty and hateful and character-muddying to
actually rant and wish harm to people on blogs and whatever, but I
SERIOUSLY WISH THIS FUCKING RECEPTIONIST WOULD DIE!!!!!!!

Seriously what the fuck is with humming and singing at fucking WORK?!?!??!

This morning I nearly went across and hit her with my phone-book,
because she spent the ENTIRE 1.5hrs after work started YACKING ON THE
GODDAMN PHONE TO HER FRIENDS!! For absolute sweet FUCK SAKE you
moron, THIS IS WORK!!! Not PHONE A FRIEND!!

Now, she's humming, singing, chanting, moaning, like african people
do. Hymnal shit. Warbly hummy mumbly shit.

SHUT UP SHUT UP FOR FUCK SAKE!!! Sweet jesus please can I die now...
or at least fall into a coma until 17:00?!?!?

JESUS!! Nothing on my ipod/computer WITH EARPHONES IN MY EARS cuts
out the fucking sound!!!!!!!! Nothing IS LOUD ENOUGH!!!!!!

FUCKING 17 MORE DAYS OF THIS. Please.... please... coma... please... please...

Chip Review Episode 3: Smiths Salt & Vinegar vs Simba Salt & Vinegar

Contestants: Smiths Salt & Vinegar (45g) and Simba Salt & Vinegar (30g)





The above photos are of the front and back of the packets. Below is a picture of the chips, Smiths Salt & Vinegar on the left, Simba Salt & Vinegar on the right.



Observations:

The main visible difference between the two are the size of crinkle-cut (corrugations). Smiths has large grooves (like corrugated iron), Simba has tiny grooves which are miniature corrugations in comparison. Simba's smaller corrugations make the chips seem thicker, which gives a more satisfying crunch when you bite into the chip. As you can also see in the picture, Simba's chips are also a bit more golden than Smiths (this effect is greatly exaggerated by the photograph though).

The flavours are very similar. The main difference is the flavour's focus: Smiths Salt & Vinegar is more salty, Simba Salt & Vinegar is more vinegar. Smiths is more 'dry' tasting (not saturated with vinegar), Simba is more tang and 'oily' with vinegar. I think the Smiths Salt & Vinegar flavour is more balanced, similar to the Simba Salt & Vinegar flavour when I was growing up, and Willards Salt & Vinegar now.

Conclusion:

Smiths Salt & Vinegar is more edible. I say this because, although the flavours aren't vastly different, you are able to eat to the bottom of the (larger) packet and still enjoy the taste, whereas Simba Salt & Vinegar, you end up screwing your face up because the sourness of the vinegar just overwhelms your tastebuds and it's actually a little 'difficult' to get through the last bit/crumbs. Oh and you also get more in the packet - GO SMITHS!! I'm sure I'll miss the tang of Simba Salt & Vinegar, but Smiths' isn't a bad substitute.

* all images/logos/copyright materials belong to their respective owners, I am merely using pictures to make my blog interesting.

It's done

It is done. I handed in my resignation yesterday.

It wasn't exactly anticlimactical, it was simply climaxless.

I phoned the typist in the morning to ask her to check in the 2
bosses' Outlook diaries to see when/if/how long they'd be available,
because I wanted to see them for a minute. Straight away she asked
'are you resigning??' so I mumbled 'maybe'. She said they're both out
until +-10:00, so I should email them to ask, and asked again if I'm
leaving (I replied 'not yet'), and she said 'every time I've just
trained someone to replace me then they leave and I have to start
again!'. Yay guilt-trip, LOL!! I emailed the bosses and then felt
anxious the entire morning.

At +-11:15 the 1 boss phoned me and said I can come up to the other
boss's office, they'll see me then. I went up. I felt so anxious.
Fumbled my words, probably didn't speak coherently at all, but
basically handed over my envelope. The 1 boss said I should hand it
to the other boss 'he's better at English', and so that boss read it.
He asked whether I had a job lined up, I said no, then they asked what
the reason is for leaving, the one said 'is it in the letter?', the
other checked, said no and so asked 'ok, may we ask, off the record?',
so I replied 'we're emigrating next year, to Australia, in January'.
They spoke a little, and the 1 mentioned my having worked here for so
long, 'practically gone through the ranks, starting as receptionist,
then secretary and PA'... then they thanked me for my contribution to
the company, and I thanked them for having me, and that was it.

I am so (bitterly is too strong a word) amused that they actually,
really believe that I 'was promoted' like that. No, guys, YOU are the
only people who have the power to promote anyone here, and YOU most
certainly did not promote me apart from to 'admin assistant', after
telling me I'd be HBBM's PA... which wasn't great but anyway. But
yah, well done on being so in-touch with staff issues.

After I came back to my desk, I dreaded having to tell HBBM the news.
It took almost all day to 'get round' to it. I was actually pretty
busy most of the day though, so it wasn't simply me wussing out.

When I did go to tell HBBM, I said 'I don't know whether (boss's name)
has said anything or talked to you about it, but we're leaving for
Australia next year.....'. So he smiles and says 'Ok, but first, I
must ask, who is this 'we'?'. Guh. What a boob. Yah, sure, me and
the boss are moving to Aus. Guh. Anyway, we had a chat about Aus,
and what it entails moving there, visa, etc, reasons to go, etc. It
was far more pleasant than talking to the bosses!

Anyway, now I'm just left with breaking the news to everyone else. I
haven't told the typist yet... will probably do that today.

This morning first thing I found a 16-box of Ferrero Rocher chocolates
on my desk. I thought it was the typist, her being the 'usual
suspect' when anyone finds any nice surprises on their desks! I
thought maybe it was because she'd found out that I was leaving, or
maybe because it was Bosses' Day and she guessed I would have
forgotten and she was 'bailing me out' or something, but I intended
asking her when I saw her what it was about. A little while later,
the 1 boss comes in from a meeting and says 'Happy Secretary's Day!
Did you enjoy your gift?'... eish, how awkward, so I stammered 'OHH, I
thought it was Moira!... I didn't realise...! Thank you!' so he said
'it's not just secretaries, it's all the ladies'... apparently all us
ladies got a box! How yum. Then an hour or so later the other boss
got in and said 'happy secretary's day, for the last time'... Eeek.

So, as of today, we have 150 days until we leave. I am feeling
pretty... odd. Not normal. Depressed? Exhausted?
Post-traumatic-stress-disorder? Dunno. I just feel blah.