Monday, day 1/4

This week is a 'short' week - Friday is a holiday.  And the following Monday is a holiday too - I CAN'T WAIT for this long weekend.  And, not forgetting: CHOCOLATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Ok... now that the chocolate-thoughts are out of the way... :D

 

This weekend was rather fun.  Friday night we went to M's place - she made an entire Greek meal (starter, main course and dessert)... which was EXTREMELY delicious and EXTREMELY filling.  I couldn't eat more than a teaspoon of the dessert.  Hectic!!  It was so yum though.

Saturday morning we finally (yes, it's taken this long to get around to doing it) took the wedding dress and the jacket to drycleaners.  And we fetched my new drivers' license.  My transformation is complete!  Then, we met up with G's mom and headed out to The Old Biscuit Mill - a shopping precinct, where you can find unique jewellery, antiques, odds and ends, clothes, beads, crafts... lots of stuff.  But it's more for tourists, and well off people, as the things are seriously pricy.

This week is probably going to be fairly boring, as hbbm is away.  The other guy has left me quite a bit of filing but it won't take long to do.  I have just overheard the receptionist asking someone whether they have filing to do, so he said 'lots' so I'm sure she's going to go on walkabouts doing his filing.  Like hell... you're RECEPTIONIST, even if there is nothing else for you to do, you have a phone, front door and fax machine to oversee.  I have nothing.  Piss off and leave me to do my OWN job, thanks.  Anyway, I'm going to do this filing I have quickly and then see about helping the other guy.

 

MAN I'M AMPED FOR AUS...

Impending boredom

As I blogged previously, I'm think I'm going to be bored next week.

Today, however, has been rather busy.  Yesterday was a total pointless dumb day (the saga of that friggin' document carried on!), but today is busy so far.  I'm probably going to be madly rushed today because of the 2 people going on leave needing everything done before they go today.  There are 2 of those LOVELY invoice-batches to go out today, and hbbm is stuck in meetings the whole time starting from 12.  So I suspect a rather bleh day.

This evening we're going to M&J's place, it was her birthday yesterday and we're having a greek supper.

 

Ok after pressing "save now" and going to do work before hbbm left... I'm back.  Bored.

Nothing to blog about now.  Bored.

Slow disintegration

Depressed.  I think that's what I am feeling right now.

I'm feeling caged, but not as a tiger.  I don't have the vitality, right now, to be called a 'tiger'.  I feel more like a potato, left in the dark, back corner of the cupboard, behind everything else.

I want to go out, I want to go out this evening in fact, but I don't want it to be a FORCED outing.  I don't want to go this evening because we HAVE to go this evening because there is no other time to go.  I don't WANT to go collect my drivers' Saturday morning beCAUSE we can't go any other time.  I'm tired of this hamster-wheel.

I just heard hbbm tell someone on the phone that he's on leave next week.  Instantly, I feel a dull dread because miss madam receptionist is probably going to be in her ELEMENT saying 'if you're not busy, I just want to...' so that she can be awol.  And, because he's on leave, I WON'T be busy so I will have to shut up and stand in for her.  Fuck I hate this powerless position.

I guess I have seesawing emotions, maybe it's my piscean nature or maybe it's because I'm a girl or maybe because I'm mentally unstable or maybe I'm too sensitive to sugar-levels or light-levels or hormone-levels or whatever, but I'm THRILLED because we finally got our wedding rings!!  They took a week and 2 days to make them!  I'm so so happy with mine, and I love G's ring too.  And to our EX-jeweller I say TAKE THAT MUTHAFUGAH!!  What a loser, I'm so glad he stuffed up in a way, because it means he didn't get our business!

Anyway... I think I blogged about hbbm 'scolding' me for something he gave me to do on Thursday and I wasn't sorting it out.  Well, about 20mins ago, he completely overrode what I'd accomplished.  The lady I was dealing with was trying to get their copy of the document back from the company they'd given it to, so that it could be exchanged for the uptodate version we have.  But now, hbbm says 'this needs to be put into an email so that when people ask about this, there's a formal written record of it'.  So, he dictates an email that *I* must send (as me), to this lady, saying that only 6 pages of the document had changed, and if she would prefer, I can email her the updated pages.  This, after I'd obfuscated and told her that 'the change affects the whole document' because I did not in fact know what *had* changed, and was trying to get across the fact that we do need the documents exchanged and not just updated pages sent out.  Because I thought it was VITAL that the old one be returned to us.  No, hbbm says 'as long as the date is on the updated pages, it's 100% fine to send them out'.

 

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

If you WANTED this whole thing done YOUR WAY, why not give me THE INSTRUCTIONS HOW TO DO IT YOUR WAY, FROM THE OUTSET!!!!

 

Argh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

How DUMB!!!!!

Lunchtime lethargy

GUESS WHAT!!  It is...... blog time again!

I'm bored, uninspired and frustrated, sitting at work.  I applied for 3 jobs last night, 2 have already replied saying 'sorry, but thanks for the application'.  I expect I will receive a lot of replies like that but I'll just keep trying.  It won't be easy, finding another job... but I'll persist.  I'm really fading, here.

This morning I phoned someone's PA regarding exchanging their (out of date) copy of a document (from us) with an updated one at our office... to remind her as I phoned her about it first on Thursday.  She gasps and says "I completely forgot about it... and the document has been issued" (ie given out to another company).  So, I relay the info (POINTING OUT the fact that *she* FORGOT) to hbbm.  His response?  "issued to who?  where is it?  why hasn't it been exchanged yet?  I gave this (task) to you on Thursday... just sort it out!"

Thanks.  *I'm* the one who forgot, I'M the one who is delaying the entire thing... I'm the one dawdling with this on purpose, so *I'm* the one you should rant at.

I'm really so tired of this place, tired of hbbm's responses to things, tired of MY irritability and annoyedness, which is triggered by this (yes I know I'm supposed to control things like that but damnit, I'm tired of this place), tired of the same, repeated, boring day EVERY SINGLE DAY.

Anyway, on a happier note - we should have our rings today.  Hopefully, FINALLY!

I don't know whether I've mentioned in previous blogposts, but 1 of the parcels arrived: my 2 LR CDs... I'm still waiting for the LR2 soundtrack, the Cardigans' Life, A Camp's Colonia, and the Cardigans' Super Extra Gravity (with bonus DVD).  And, I've placed an order for Kelly Clarkson's and Kelli Ali's latest albums... CAN'T WAIT!

I've nearly finished LR2.  I have to complete 1 level, get 2 map pieces to unlock the final level... and play the final level!  Other than that I have to unlock certain other things like stamp sheets, stamps, songs, etc.

No other news, right now.

Oh - forgot to add this and can't edit the previous post

... because I'm blogging via mail.

One of the MAIN reasons I'm desperate to leave this job is the fact that I am sick and tired of and fed up with the bloody receptionist.  Taking liberties, now that she herself is looking for a job.  Stuff like going to the toilet at 5 to 1, so I have to listen to the phone, when I AM GOING TO BE STANDING IN AT LUNCH FROM 1!!  Bitch, go to the toilet DURING lunch.  So, I waited for her to go to the loo, then while she was back at her desk I went to make tea so that I could have tea while sitting at the swb.  So she announces "it's 1!" and comes into the kitchen to put her cup down (so she could see I was making tea) and the PISSES OFF out the front door.  While I'm still making my tea.  Bitch.

Oh and another FUCKING REASON: I AM STILL NOT A FUCKING ACCOUNTANT!  Yes, accountant, your phoning my boss 'reminding him' to do an invoice for something, which ends up as him telling ME to make a note in MY diary to do the invoice every month... THANK you for palming off YOUR FUCKING JOB onto me.

I've done it!

I've taken a step FORWARD.

I'm reaching out, actively sending my CV out.

I'm bored, dying even, in this job, and it's time for a change, even if it IS for 1 year (approximately).

S gave me a clever suggestion: think of all the reasons for wanting to leave the job, and think of all the reasons to stay in the job.  Basically, work out why exactly it is that I'm staying.

I haven't really thought it all yet, but I did update my CV, and did a coupla jobsearches online.  I also applied for a job.

In other news:  we just need to get the copies certified (probably will do that this evening by going to the police station), and then apply online for the ACS skills assessment.  Can't wait!

Tomorrow evening L+S+C and some of L's other friends and I are going out dancing!  I've picked out a very cool top I've had for a while now (it just needs a stitch or 2 to strengthen the ties), and sandals I got a while ago to attend a wedding reception (the couple had got married secretly a while before!).  I tried the sandals on and was amazed at how comfortable they are - I'd quite forgotten!  So I spent the rest of the evening 'acquainting' my feet with those shoes - they get along quite nicely!  I'm looking forward to the outing!  Haven't seen S or L since just after the wedding - man does time fly?

In other news:  my LR2 soundtrack CD (I think it's that) has arrived - very late (it was supposed to be here by the 13th), but I am guessing customs hung onto it for an age trying to work out how much tax they can charge me on 1 CD.  Sucks.  But anyway, at least it has finally arrived!  Now I've still got the Cardigans CD/DVD to wait for, and the other 2 LR CDs.  Yay!!!!

Not much else is news... apart from the fact that I'm rather thrilled by the job application process!  I reckon it's a good idea, because I can't STAY at this job (I'm going nuts), so I can't just stick it out until we move because the visa process might take a LONG time.  And I can't just resign and stay at home until we move because the excitement and impatience for the visa would drive me batty too!  So a new job is a good idea.  Something new, and if I don't enjoy it I can look for another one.  And if I do enjoy it, I won't mind staying at it until it is time to pack for the move.  Hell, I might even learn something totally new which might open my mind to a new career path!

 

^.^

 

Happy Friday, everyone!

212 or 174

That is my dilemma, at this present time.

I am extremely bored.  I don't really have any work to do.  I am on standby... I am bored.

I've been thinking, reconsidering when I should resign.  At this rate, our ACS application will only be sent off this week soonest. Taking into consideration posting, assessment and sending out of assessment, it should arrive back in July.  Our actual visa application will probably not be in July (depends what we still need to gather before sending the application), it will probably be August.  And then, if the visa assessment takes 15+ months (rather be pessimistic with this date and be pleasantly surprised), we should get a yay/nay in October 2010.  Which gives me a little problem.

If we are only going to be moving near the END of 2010, my resigning in February 2010 won't really work out so well.  Even more so if I resign end of December 2009.

We can't really bank on the fact that because of G's skills being so desperately in demand our visa application would be prioritised and 'sped up'.  So I may have to keep on at this job past Feb 2010.

I don't think I can last that long.  Hell, I'm even considering only staying til end Dec 2009 because I'm slowly going insane (yes, I've been saying that ever since I started here!! HARHARHAR).

I desperately want a 'deadline', so that there is some finity on this boredom.  A light at the end of the tunnel.

hmm

It's 21:30, Sunday 22 March. I am busy scanning photos, I have 27 left in this particular album. I want to do them before I head to bed.

I don't know how I am going to go to work tomorrow. The thought kills me. I am so bored, uninterested, I just don't know how I can keep going there.

Resolve

I have decided, since it is often the wiser route to choose, that since I am unable to change the situation, I shall avoid it completely. The saying is something like 'realise what you can change, and change it, and realise what you cannot change, and deal with it'.

I am, therefore, going to forget that we have a garden, and it will be as if we do not have a back door at all.

That means: I will no longer water the garden, I will no longer mow the lawn, I will no longer clear the gutter in the corner.

I think I shall have incredible peace of mind doing that because I will no longer have to live with the fact that despite having a pretty little garden, WE CANNOT USE IT OR ENJOY IT IN ANY WAY WHATSOEVER.

I cannot enjoy watering the plants as, more often than not, the neighbours come and smoke while I'm still busy. I will not mow because that is like an 'investment' of time to make the garden 'nice' and 'enjoyable', which is in reality A WASTE OF ENERGY.

I will no longer clear the gutter because I will not be OUTSIDE to notice that it needs clearing.

Therefore, I will have no more stress and annoyance from the garden, because it will be as if it does not exist.

Bad bad mistake

I had coffee at work this morning, for the first time in I'd say (by now) about a month. I've been avoiding coffee because it felt a bit stupid autopiloting and making coffee like a robot every single workday at 10:00. So I stopped. At first it was a small struggle, and I just told myself "TEA!". And it's not like I don't enjoy tea so it was fine. It has been fine - I think I had 2 cups of coffee, at home, in all that time.

This morning I decided that since I wasn't *feeling* like coffee, I would make coffee.

It was great. Milky coffee.

But now I feel like banging my head against my desk.

I'm exceptionally tired, having had a very late night last night (G played LocoRoco until midnight), and the previous night (we went to bed at 3am due to the horrendous fire all over the mountains near us), and very likely the nightS before. So I'm not feeling very alive right now. And the coffee is driving me crazy. Because I'm physically tired, and want to sleep, and am at work with nothing to do and with the INABILITY TO DO ANYTHING if I wanted to do anything ANYWAY. And, it is making me WANT to do stuff. Not sure what, but things at home, like scan photos, or stuff for the ACS/visa application, or packing, or ANYTHING. So I feel a bit like a tornado in a well - all the energy but nowhere to go!

Except, I'm tired, and want to sleep. I feel strange.

G's IELTS result arrived... now all he's waiting for is for his boss to sign a letter outlining G's skills/duties at the office, and then all the paperwork is to be put together (with certified copies etc) and THEN he can send it all off to ACS!

That will take about 12 weeks (add on a few weeks extra for posting it to Aus, and posting back?), so we'll only get the result in July earliest. So, our visa application is likely to happen in August. Add 15 months (approximately) and that's when we'll find out YAY OR NAY.

HOLD THUMBS!!!!!

In other news: we had a 'security breach' in the complex on Monday night. Found out yesterday morning as we were getting our gatebuzzers' codes changed that apparently our LOVELY neighbours (!*%^$&!#*^#) had left their house/car/gate keys in the doorlatch! Thank you, morons, you really are valuable members of the complex AREN'T you. For a moment (on Monday night) I felt a minor inkling of sympathy for them, what with their having just had someone almost break-in... but that soon vanished as they really don't HAVE any redeeming features. Smoking bitches, fag-hags LITERALLY! Thank you (again/still) for smoking us out in our home by smoking just outside our window, after our nearly being smoked out of the house by the MOUNTAIN FIRE.

Yah yah there I go again, rant again. I have 214 working days left here and I REALLY CANNOT WAIT until we can move, which sadly isn't a determineable date (YET).

I've been scanning a lot lately, and I have 5 photo albums left. Then I have 4 boxes of photos to scan, and then once I finally get them, I will have photos from Gran to scan. I can't wait to see them.

Can't wait to be finished scanning so I can stitch! And can start preparing/packing, too! That's a different kind of task though - it's 'closing up shop', where the scanning is a 'colossal task'.

Anyway, it's midday and I want to sleep but have another 5 hours left at the office.

YAYYYYYYYYYY*snore*

Birthday Boots!

For my birthday G gave me a 'voucher' for a pair of boots. After looking in loads of shops which had 'nearly' the right ones, I found the right ones! YAY, my very own, funky-real-leather(mmm leather smell)-boots!

Just a quick post

I was very busy at work today. But that's not the point of this blog post.

I am tired. I am irritated. I'm too hot. I'm fed up, and feel like I really am not going to last.

I'm not going to last the year+ living in this place, where we cannot enjoy the FUCKING COOL NIGHT AIR COMING IN THROUGH THE WINDOWS. I don't know whether I can last, stuck indoors like a bloody caged tiger, suffocating in the muggy, warm air because OUR BITCH NEIGHBOURS SMOKE, WITHOUT SMASHING THINGS AGAINST THE WALLS!

I don't know whether I will last the next 219 working days WITHOUT HACKING AT THE RECEPTIONIST'S FACE WITH A FUCKING STAPLE-REMOVER! Bloody busybody IRRITATING STUPID WOMAN getting up my nose doing MY WORK, on the weekend too, so that I have fuck-all to do all week long, apart from standing-in at the bloody switchboard !!!!

And I'm SICK OF HAVING A CREAKINGLY SLOW DAMN LAPTOP!! It makes checking email a test of endurance and patience which I DON'T FEEL LIKE THESE DAYS!

I'm sure I will have cheerful stuff to blog about sometime, but right now I don't. It's hot, I'm tired, it is late and I'm going to bed.

Inspiration

I was feeling a bit dejected and discouraged this afternoon.  I was thinking about our move, and what if there came a point where we'd settled in and then a feeling of "what now?" set in...

And then I realised:

I will be able to stitch until my eyes pop out...

I will be able to read, and play PSP/PC games...

I will have a terrarium, 2 aquariums (marine+freshwater), as well as a budgie cage to set up...

We will at some stage get a puppy...

And even if we already have a house, we will be busy setting up our dream computer set-up (like an integrated AV/PC set up...

And we will have an extensive furniture shopping-list too, as we will have only just moved into our own place...

We will also have a new car (either a shared car or one each?)...

We'll also have a garden that will need looking after (yay plants with flowers, maybe even fruit!)... as well as indoor plants...

And, if I ever do get bored, I can of course put my mind to work and think about something to study.  I'd love to study, but I don't know what and don't want to study just for the sake of completing something and getting a certificate (although that is, in itself, satisfying).

So, nothing to worry about.  Of course, it does all depend on our financial situation when we move, but that will just dictate how fast we can do all of the above, not WHETHER we can do all of the above!

Yay, now I'm all inspired again!

Amped and inspired...

...but stuck at work.

I've just been chatting to Sis and told her about my Blitz plan: tackling the old stuff stored at mom's place.  She sounds keen - it just depends on whether she can get leave.

I'm also amped to scan photos.  I haven't done any scanning for a couple of days now, what with our cooking adventures and having gone to the carnival last night!  So I'm eager to catch up and scan scan scan scan scan scan scan!

...not least because I want to FINISH scanning so I can go back to stitching *blushes* yes, I'm dying to stitch again.  I'm keen to finish Golden Ice (because he's really gorgeous) and I'd love to stitch Wedding Blessing... simply because it is a nice design.

I have (according to my countdown) 230 working days left.  I am seriously holding thumbs like mad that the visa application takes less than 15months, because if that is the case we'd probably only be able to leave at the END of next year.  The ACS skills assessment is our big 'delay' thing because we can only apply after they've sent the skills assessment - that takes about 3 months, give or take posting time.  Anyway, I'll hold thumbs regardless.

We watched A Fish Called Wanda on Monday evening.  It was very funny!  I won't go into much detail about the movie but I do feel this pedantic need to point out that the choice of 'tankmates' in the movie is very bad!  Angelfish, plecostomus, silver hatchetfish, neon tetras, among others.  A sad choice as either the tetras+hatchetfish or the plecostomus+angelfish wouldn't be happy, depending on the tank's pH.  Ok ok yes yes, I'm being a fanatic, but it was just an amusing 'faux pas' which I suppose they didn't give much thought to in the 'old days' in Hollywood!

Yesterday I took a walk to the post officeS to fetch my parcels.  It took a while but I went during office hours (i.e. not during lunch) because the messenger was off sick and I fetched the office's post at the same time.  I am now happy to say that I am the (very!) proud owner of a supercool LocoRoco PSP pouch!  I will put a pic (or pics) up on my blog sometime with the other LocoRoco goodies I've managed to find.  I'm waiting on 3 LR CDs... they should arrive in the next few weeks.

In LR2 I've managed to unlock the MuiMui crane mini-game.  It's more rewarding than the 1st LR's crane-game.  I've managed to get some useful parts in it, and my MuiMui house is almost complete!  I think I have about 5 things left to build.  And in the LocoRoco world map, I have only 1 blob of Moja-muck to find and clear out.  But, I will be good and SCAN PHOTOS instead!

 

*must... resist...  ...urge... to play... ...LocoRoco... ... ...*

The First Step

The first step has been taken: G has done his IELTS (english) tests! He should get his result within 3 weeks. I have been reading up on the Aus immigration site, and it seems his application would be a priority one, as his occupation is not only on their most in demand list, it is now also on their critical skills list. I don't think it means they will process it faster (although we can only hope that that's the case!!), I think it means it will be given priority over other applications if there are not enough visas available (quota for the year).

We're looking at making the skills assessment application next week. That should take 10-12 weeks, which works out that we MIGHT be able to apply for the visa in June. The actual visa application is likely to take 15 months, which means we would probably only get it in August 2010 (after the soccer world cup... bummer), but at least it's soon enough afterwards. I do have a feeling that those 15 months are going to be VERY LONG.

I have been scanning my little heart out of late - it is taking less time than I had imagined, I guess the big time-waster is actually procrastinating and "getting around to it". I mustn't get too excited about it though as I do not actually know how many other photo albums/boxes G's parents have!

In other EXCITING NEWS! I have managed to find a copy of the LocoRoco2 soundtrack and have ordered it as well as 2 other game-music CDs. The soundtrack should arrive in about 2 weeks' time, the others will probably only ship out after 2 weeks. My PSP pouch and Cardigans CDs should arrive very soon. And my Apollo 440 and Daft Punk CDs should arrive in under 2 weeks' time. Too much excitement!

Work has been exceptionally murderously dull, as always. But, nowadays I seem to be more irritable... I guess I'm becoming a bit fed up with the situation there: I have a boring, not quite busy job, and my desk is a few metres away from the reception desk. So, I get to 'stand-in' as receptionist, because I am not REALLY busy... and I don't feel that I am able to complain about it *because* I am not busy. I am, however, getting tired of it.

The receptionist, who is a little busy-body, just LOVES going on walkabouts, and uses any excuse to do so. Such as taking printouts/drawings/deliveries/envelopes/etc upstairs to people's (not just the bosses') offices - that's what the pigeonholes are for, or she could wait for the person to go past her desk as they HAVE to to go to the loo/kitchen/out the front door... OR she could PHONE THEM to tell them it's at her desk. Or she will all-too-willingly (so much so that she won't even phone upstairs to find out if the tealady/messenger is there) do stuff that there are people EMPLOYED TO DO, like make tea/coffee for meetings, or make photocopies for meetings. Other than those 'excuses', she likes to go to the loo "just for 5 seconds", and end up spending 10-15mins going to the loo, making tea/coffee, chatting to the tealady/whoever, etc.

I KNOW I don't have a busy job, but this is just... starting to get to me. All my job is now is 'standing in'. So much so that on Thursday, one of the guys, who had a MASSIVE roll of architects' drawings which needed to be sorted out, asked ME to stand in at the switchboard while the *receptionist* went ELSEWHERE to sort the drawings out!! Gee, thanks... I really appreciate that. I'm not a PA, hell, I'm not even an "admin assistant", I'm a 'stand-in' receptionist now it seems. Don't forget stand-in accountant (yay invoices). But, I am trying to calm myself by reminding myself that there are a limited number of days left: 234 working days, to be exact.

Let me savour that a while: 234 working days left.

Accomplished weekend!

Yay this weekend was a successful weekend!  I finished the bag - it is now waiting for G's mom to come back from visiting his gran, to help me assemble it :D

Sat morning we fetched my passport.  We also sorted out all our NB documents, putting them all together in one place.  That way, we know exactly what we have and precisely where it is, so that if there's any emergency at home we know exactly where to grab it and run (like if there's a fire/anything).

Talking of fires, the fires in Aus really freak me out!  Seeing pics.. it's so disturbing.  I haven't even seen many, but the ones I have seen are so terribly tragic.  I can only hope that the people who were killed in the fires died VERY quickly - although I'm not sure how it would work and they were probably in a lot of pain... one can only hope.  I have this feeling of "I don't know what I'd do in a situation like that" but there's no use saying something like that because there is nothing you can do.  I suppose that feeling is more one of "I can't comprehend or imagine it".  But anyway.  That is enough to give anyone nightmares!!

It was Dude's birthday on Saturday... we didn't celebrate it though.  I must admit I forgot!  The date is when he arrived in our life, not when he was hatched as we can't be sure when that was.  Can't believe my Bumble is 2 years old already!

I played a bit of LocoRoco2 this weekend, as a reward for finishing the bag and also for scanning 2.5 photo albums!  Somehow I'd stopped halfway through one album, so I finished that one and scanned 2 more.  It is SUCH A PLEASURE working on G's desktop after crawling through the task with my laptop.  Jeepers.  I think the scanning process won't take so long now, granted there is a box or 2 of loose photos but still.  If I can manage the albums, which is more timeconsuming because of having to peel the pics off the page each time, the boxes will be no match for me!  Ask me again in a month's time though ;)

G's mom has lent me her Gail Tsukiyama books to read.  They've become quite an institution between us.  I don't remember how it started, I think she mentioned wanting Samurai's Garden and G and I gave it to her for xmas/birthday, but we've since given her all of Gail's books!  And she's lent them all (except for the latest gift one which she hasn't yet read), and I must say they are really good books.  Her writing is so vivid, sensual and sensitive, emotionally involving and yet she manages not to put herself into the books.  She writes various characters' stories, not stories about characters.  Really lovely stories, I can heartily recommend them!

I've managed to find a LocoRoco PSP pouch on eBay - yes, I've bought it!  My stash is growing - it'll be so funky having a display cabinet for it one day!  Of course there are a lot of things I don't have and probably don't know about... but I'm very glad I've managed to get a pouch - they're very cute!  I STILL would LOVE to get my hands on a beanbag, as well as the little seat/footrest/pouffe thing!  I don't want to imagine what the shipping would be like for either of them... but I'm sure it'd be worth it in the end!

Ooh talking of buying hard to find stuff - I managed to buy a copy of the Cardigans' album "Other Side Of The Moon" which was only released in Japan & Australia apparently.  It, and also my LR stuff, should arrive quite soon.

Sometime soon there is going to be a Carnival - I really can't wait.  We missed out on it last year, hopefully this year's will be awesome as usual though!

I can't think of anything else to blog right now - I do believe it is coffee-time so I shall press 'post' and head to the kitchen to make a cuppacoffee!

Frustration

At the moment, here in SA, there's a taxi-strike.

Basically, the government wants to introduce a bus/taxi (mass transport) system for the soccer world cup next year.  These taxi drivers (individuals, there is no company governing them) have decided that this will lose them money because people won't use them but will use the mass transport system.  Despite the fact that NO ONE IN THEIR RIGHT MIND would VOLUNTARILY use a MINIBUS TAXI... they believe that they will be losing out on all the tourist dollars.  So they have decided to strike.  Strike meaning:  stoning buses/cars/trains, burning buses/trains/cars, throwing petrol bombs, cutting the electric cables for the trains, etc.  Basically terrorist behaviour.

These same ARSEHOLES 'protested' in pretty much the same way when the government "did away with the taxi-lane".  What the rest of the civilised world knows as a YELLOW LINE indicating the EDGE OF THE ROAD, is to them a dedicated taxi lane.  The traffic department was merely enforcing the law that no one is allowed to drive on the other side of the yellow line, but THEY'RE TAKING AWAY THE TAXI-LANE omg it's time to stone buses and burn things.

I really really really desperately think we need to get out of this shit-hole of a country as soon as we can.  This is basically terrorism: if the government does something we don't like, we're going to terrorise people.  Yay, MORONS.. way to go.

Anyway, on an unrelated (but also frustrated) note, I'm really fed up with where we live.  The security complex... yes our little haven of safety and security, with a garden each and dedicated parking/garage(s).  We may as well be living in a fucking high-rise with no openable windows, with underground parking bay.  We don't get to enjoy the garden, because of our neighbours who smoke.  Yes, I've griped about this before.  But it never ends.  We CANNOT have our back door open, to enjoy the balmy evening breeze, BECAUSE OF THEM.  They smoke roughly EVERY 20 FUCKING MINUTES, so there actually is no point having the door open if it's just going to be closed for 5-10mins EVERY 20MINS!!!!  But, as if that's not bad enough, THEIR STINK COMES INTO OUR LOUNGE!!!  Without fail, our entire lounge becomes a smokers' paradise with stink.  I'm sick of it.  I wish I could superglue the goddamn windows shut so that NO AIR can come in at all.

And, as far as enjoying our place AT ALL, even that we can't do with the KIDS (rodent-runts) running all over the place. YELLING AND SCREAMING.  So... we may as well live in a damn high-rise, with NO OPENABLE WINDOWS, so we at least wouldn't have this (un-????)realistic 'expectation' that we MIGHT ACTUALLY ENJOY our home.

I'm actually sick of it.  I'm sick of OTHER PEOPLE, with their INCONSIDERATION, INTERFERING with us.  We don't yell and fight, we don't play loud music at all hours of the day/night, we don't have loud sex, we don't braai (ever, nevermind constantly), we don't smoke, we don't drink and get drunk and cause hassles, we don't PLAY all over everyone else's cars and in front of their homes, we don't play tennis across the parking area, we don't invite loads of people over and have loud raucous parties, we don't hog all the parking bays, we don't PARK like idiots so other people can't get into their own bays, we don't SLAM OUR GODDAMNED FRONT DOOR EVERY TIME WE GO OUT OR COME HOME, we don't have a barking whining dog, we don't have a huge stinking compost heap in our back garden, we don't have a tree with roots digging up everyone's place, we don't have a garage door that we leave open to creak like a dead old tree every time the wind blows, we don't bounce netballs/soccerballs on cement or against buildings, we don't play drums or practise violin/piano, the LIST CAN GO ON AND ON!

What DO we do?  We go to work at regular hours.  We close our doors quietly, we park neatly, we water our garden, we take our dirt out, we occasionally mow the lawn, we clean our place, we cook and bath and sleep and do washing and play music loud enough for us but not loud enough to hear OUTSIDE with the doors closed (see above - they never ARE open!!), we have quiet hobbies, G plays guitar WITH HEADPHONES, etc.  Why is it, exactly, that WE (quiet people) have to endure OTHER PEOPLE'S INTRUSION with NOISE AND SMELL etc?  Why exactly?  It's not as if G and I can start BEING noisy because it's just... a bit... ridiculous.  I don't WANT to slam the front door.  I don't WANT to have loud parties.  I don't WANT to start smoking so that I can stink someone else out.

I don't know whether we would move between now and when we leave, but I'm not AT ALL as fond of our place as I was.  This stink is really getting to me now.  And NOT TO MENTION THAT BRAT SCREAMING ALL DAY.  God alone knows what is wrong with that child.

So I'm actually fed up.  Really fed up.  This vexation EVERY SINGLE EVENING is just getting to me.  Yes, things anger you if you let them but damnit, how am I supposed to NOT get pissed off if every bloody evening MANY times in the evening, I get burny eyes and a scratchy throat BECAUSE OF THE BITCH NEXT DOOR SMOKING?  I'm sitting CROSS-STITCHING!!  Why do I have to get a burny throat because of her?  Why does the inside of OUR home have to stink because they smoke outside so that theirs doesn't...?????

 

ARRRRRRGHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I wish I could have a blogpost NOT about boredom!!

But sadly this one is also about boredom of sorts - or rather DUE to boredom (at work).

On Friday evening I house window-shopped on the net.  Looking at houses for sale in Brisbane.  There are some nice houses out there - but they are rather expensive.  I suppose if you are paid in Aus$ it all works out, but converting from "Ront" it's very expensive.  Everything will depend on our situation next year, after February.

Speaking of which: there are 12 months and a little over 3 weeks left until my last day of work!!  My work-day countdown has it at 243 work days left!  Yay!!!!

We had a very cool thunderstorm on the weekend.  It was so nice to watch the sky go dark, and the dark mass of cloud coming closer.  It had been super-hot for the past couple of days before, and after the storm there was a very brief relief from the heat.

This weekend I played LocoRoco til I got PSP-hands: those achy fingers from playing for far too long!  I am busy going through all the levels of LocoRoco trying to get all 20 Locorocos, all 3 of the MuiMui etc for each level.  In LocoRoco2 I've already beaten the main bad-guy and rescued the planet, but there is still quite a lot of Moja-muck lying around for me to find and clear.  Once that's done, I can explore the entire place and find all 3 MuiMui, all the house-parts, etc.  I LOVE the MuiMui house, too.  They really are cute little things.

I worked on the Damask Rose purse too - it's really progressing quite fast.  I won't be able to stitch this evening because we're going out with M&J, sis+her G to have burgers.  Sort of a Syndicate-meet, sort of a birthday eat-out for sis.  She's turned the big 3-0... it's so weird to think of her being 'in her 30s'.  I guess it's not such a major thing, but there's this association with it.  I guess it's like the standards at school, and the associations/connotations.  Every standard is a new 'level', but after school you have 20s, 30s, 40s and so on.  Only once a decade do you progress to the next level.

Last night we met up with Mom, sis + her G for supper at a Thai restaurant.  It was incredibly quiet - we were pretty much the only table there.  The waiter was a bit... odd... very spaced out!  And, once again, G's order was 'forgotten'.  I don't think it's specifically G's order that gets messed up every time, just that G and I often order identical things and waiters usually hand food out to females first... so I get the food and he doesn't.  The food was interesting, new to me, with names that I wouldn't dare try to pronounce.  Thankfully each item has a number so you don't have to read out the names on the menu!

I've decided to put the PSP away during the week, and to stitch and scan photos on weeknights and then RELAX on weekends after chores and stuff that HAS to be done.  That way there isn't a chance for me to play the entire evening+night away and not accomplish anything.  On a weekend, there are far more hours available, so I can tell myself (for argument's sake) "after the chores, I will play a bit", and won't feel guilty for not being on track with my stitching/scanning.  That also allows us to have time to exercise too - we skipped it this weekend because it was TOO DAMN HOT!  Friday was 39C, Saturday was probably close to that and Sunday was only fractionally less hot.Today is murky and also a bit drearily muggy.

A week or 2 ago I ordered stuff online - some Daft Punk and some Apollo 440 CDs, they should be here in the 1st week in March.  I really enjoy Apollo 440... I'm not sure how to 'classify' my taste in music: Daft Punk, Apollo 440, Chemical Brothers, Propellerheads, Prodigy, possibly Basement Jaxx (but haven't really listened much and it hasn't grown on me yet)... but then I also LOVE A Camp, The Cardigans, Shivaree, Rammstein, enjoy the Sneaker Pimps, Joe Satriani, the list goes on and on and on!  Not sure what the common denominator would be.  No need for one I suppose!

It is nearly Dude's birthday.  He's going to be 2!  My sweet Bumble-bee :D

I'm not sure I have much more to blog about...

If everything works out we will be applying for the visa in July.  Our birth certificates and my passport should be ready at the beginning of April, G is hopefully going to apply for ACS assessment soon, which should take a couple of weeks.  His english test is on the 21st.

April contains quite a few public holidays and I've taken off 3 days at the end of the month.  I'm planning to go to Mom's place and go through old stuff.  Toys, games, books, etc, to go through everything and get rid of the junk/unwanted stuff and salvage anything very special or worth keeping.  It'll be good to go through everything once and for all and put all the odds and ends together, like my Cabbage Patch Doll - he's currently got 1 shoe (if I remember correctly!), and a substitute tracktop.  I'm SURE his full outfit must be somewhere, and his dummy too.  All the bits and pieces like that must be reconciled, and then given away or kept or whatever.  I'm actually looking forward to it, it'll be quite an endeavour, almost like a 'coming-of-age' experience.  I've already weeded out the teddies - there are some (very special ones) I'm keeping, although I'll probably have to go through the box again and take out the less than very special ones and keep only the VERY VERY special ones.  Ah, at least it's a start.

I'm looking forward to seeing all the toys again - going to keep my My Little Ponies - I think they're all mixed together with sis's ones.  I doubt she'd give me her ones!  It's strange actually, how the toys (like the Ponies) get personalities of their own, which are somehow partially "tainted" with the knowledge that they're HER ones.  Somehow, despite how I secretly wished they were mine, the fact that they were, in fact, hers made them not as nice.  Like, I'd have wanted them to be mine from the outset, because now that they had been hers, they had somehow picked up a bit of her negative 'aura' which always stayed in mind longggggg after we'd had a serious squabble!

Arrrrrgh, I'm bored now - waiting for invoices before I can send through my stuff.  I could be stitching now, and once that is done I could be scanning photos.  I really want to stitch and finish this bag because the scanning is such a huge task and really will take ages.  It'll thankfully be a quantifiable task because as I work through the albums, I can hand them back.  ARGH now I want to scan pics!

Ok let me try get back into work-mode.  YAY it's getting closer to payday!

Accomplished week

Well hello there (anyone?  are you reading this? :P )

The past weekend was so busy, but good busy.  We accomplished a lot of things.  Apart from the usual (chores), I finished the bookmark I'd been working on.  A little cross-stitch bookmark that a colleague had given to me, which I'd decided I had to finish before starting on the Damask Rose purse that G's mom had given me a while ago.  And........ I finished the 2nd HOSS.  So, mom's one is busy being framed, and G's mom's one is waiting to be sent for framing.  They are both delayed birthday presents.

I started the Damask Rose purse, it's very pretty and so quick to stitch compared to those hosses.  Man, I've made up my mind:  I am not going to stitch on linen/evenweave/non-aida again, and I won't use metallic thread again.  OH MY WORD they were so frustrating to work with (separately, thankfully!).

Poor Golden Ice is so neglected.  Once I'm done with the Rosepurse, I am going to sit my butt down and SCAN PHOTOGRAPHS!  All the time!  Until each and every photo is done!  While I was chatting to my aunt a while ago, I mentioned remembering Gran's little tin of photographs.  She doesn't have that one, but she does have another tin of photographs from Gran.  So, hopefully, I can borrow the tin and scan those photos too.  I'd really love to see Gran's photos again - the last time I looked at any of her old photos was when I was probably under 5, and the people in the photographs were all strange: at that age, Gran was Gran and always had been.  So it'll be nice to see the photos of her as a young woman, to see photos of mom and her brother+sister as kids, to see Grampa as a young man.

In other news:  there have been 3 fires in 6 days, just outside our complex.  The smoke was TERRIBLE, each of those times.  Coincidentally, I've run out of allergy tablets... great!  It makes me very anxious though, because we aren't at home... and because our home is under threat.  I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to Dude.

In OTHER news, we had an 'event' one evening this week - I probably have blogged about it... I'm at work now and don't have the luxury of checking what I've already blogged about.  I don't want to go into detail right now (I'm in a calm, sluggish frame of mind right now and don't particularly feel like being all revved up and amped)... but basically some bitch neighbour came and knocked on the door to come row at G for 'being rude' to her kids and telling them to play elsewhere.  Essentially, she believes (ahh, blind faith how we love you so >.<) that her preshis chyldruhn have the undisputed RIGHT to play everywhere (including near/against people's cars and directly in front of their windows/front doors) and disturb *everyone* else in the complex with their noise.  Sorry, bitch, your argument is so wrong in so many different ways that, had you actually been mature about it rather than bringing my (assumed) age as an indication of my (assumed) lower maturity level than yours (professed by yourself), it wouldn't even be worth arguing.  If you come to our place again to shout at us, I will bring up a chair with some popcorn, and watch you.

Ok... anyway!!

I am so unbearably sleepy right now.  All I've had to do this week (really) is filing.  I've worked on the usual invoicing-batches, but it's so dreary these days.  I really could just pick a clean area of carpet and lie down and sleep, right now.

I really hope the application to Aus doesn't take a long time - the way the country is going is a shitty, unfunny joke.  The elections are apparently in April/May/June... our (I love how it's so taken as fact) to-be president is possibly going under trial for various crimes in August.  It is just assumed that he WILL be our president, and his comrade in the party's youth league wants to prevent the trial from happening by saying it'll be embarrassing for our country.  Ah, no, moron, the fact that a CRIMINAL is going to run the country is MORE of a fucking embarrassment!!  It's not an embarrassment, it's a crying SHAME.  So, I sincerely hope that we can be accepted into Aus ASAP!

G's skills assessment application is nearly ready to be submitted.  He has to update his CV, fill in the application form and get the letter which outlines his abilities.  I hope ACS doesn't take forever with it, because as soon as he's got his IELTS result and his ACS skills assessment, we can apply... of course, I will have had to have received my new passport already!  Too exciting!

Anyway, this weekend is going to be busy.  Tomorrow morning we're going to brunch with G's parents and his aunt... Sunday evening we're going to supper at a Thai restaurant for Sis's birthday and Monday evening we're going to have burgers with sis&her G, M&J.

I'm so bored now.  I've been filing/folding drawings all day so far.  IT'S SO DAMN DULL.  There is actually nothing further to write about my job.

When we get home I want to iron the transfers onto my tshirts - I am so impatient to go home now!!

And on that note I will post this to my blog :D

Oh my god

I CANNOT believe the absolute gall of some people!

*warning - hard language in blogpost* (although you should expect that from me by now!!)

We live (yes, I'll explain the scenario AGAIN) in a security complex. Duplex units, with a garden each (say 3mx3m). We each have either a parking bay or garage - depends on what the owners of each complex managed to buy. We have a parking bay with carport.

Some kids have been playing in the complex. Riding skateboards all OVER the place, in the drive-way, within the bays that are not occupied, around the cars, or running around, directly in front of the kitchen window. All of the time, yelling, screaming and bellowing and making a god-awful noise.

We have on a number of occasions called out to them NOT to play near the car/s. Repeatedly. They don't stop. They give G's car a bit of a wider berth than lots of others, but they still run in front of our kitchen window and make a HELL of a lot of noise. Where they live in the complex god alone only knows because sure as fuck they don't play THERE.

This evening, after them making a SHITload of noise, but us not complaining at them, we get this bitch knocking on our door, wanting to speak to my husband... basically she goes off on this rant about how she's sick of our being rude to her children, this is a complex, it's a communal area, basically fuck us, they are allowed to play EVERYwhere, fuck our car, fuck our peace, they MAY play everywhere, as it's a communal area. Just going off at us. I give her a good piece of my mind (not swearing AT ALL), basically saying "excuse me, we are NOT rude to your children, they don't actually have the right to play EVERYwhere, this is not a playground" etc.

She just goes off, that her children have the right to play, there is nowhere to play, they come home from school, the garden is 1mx1m etc blabla.

Lady, excuse me. They are YOUR CHILDREN. If we had a large dog, and found the garden was TOO FUCKING SMALL we would have two options: TAKE THE DOG FOR A FUCKING WALK, either by going out around the complex or TAKING IT BY CAR. Or we would MOVE SOMEWHERE BIGGER. This is not a fucking playplace, bitch. Get the fuck over yourself... they are YOUR children, it is YOUR responsibility to see that they don't interfere with other people and disturb other people, they are YOUR children that YOU are to make provision for. This is (yes, as you said) a COMPLEX with COMMUNAL AREAS. Communal area does not equal playground. Their screaming interferes with our enjoyment of our ENTIRE FUCKING HOME, because they scream so fucking loudly that it infiltrates EVERY FUCKING PART OF OUR HOME. Whether we're taking a fucking piss on the toilet, washing the fuck up or watering the fucking garden. Even if we are listening to MUSIC, their NOISE INTRUDES!

Thank you, c**t, for displaying JUST HOW SHITTY, SELFISH AND INCONSIDERATE "PARENTS" CAN REALLY BE!

And, thank you, once again, for BEING MY CONTRACEPTION! I don't NEED children, because yours are MORE THAN ENOUGH!!!!!!

Bitch!