Category: Home & Family TO BE FIXED

… Yep, just when you think everything is moving along beautifully, something has to happen to kick that grin off your face … darn you Murphy and your blasted Law!!  I had a phone call from ‘Dodgey Brothers R Us Removals’ (not their actual name, to protect the not-so-innocent!) … saying that they can no longer deliver my furniture on Saturday, but ‘hopefully’ it will be Monday … aaaaarghhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I won’t go into the details, but I’ve been a bit nervous about a few things with them over the last few days – so much so that I was considering flying down to Melbourne just to make sure everything was inventoried correctly etc … but that’s too long a story!

Let’s just say I went extremely quiet during the call, and that’s the sign that I’m literally seething and getting close to eruption status … after stating very calmly while rubbing my temples during the call that I’m unimpressed with the lack of notice and that I have no furniture in the flat and that I’m moving in today, I finally hung up the call then went downstairs to walk off the frustration for a few seconds before I told my colleagues what had gone off.  They demanded I call them back and have a hissy fit, but what good would it do?  I’m basically at their mercy until it arrives …

BUT, as per normal, I’m not the sort of person to let things get me down … I’m thinking about the positives this has brought about:

1. I get the full day today to finish off packing my final things for moving tomorrow (I’m staying here an extra night with Brenda & Nigel, and I have the next 4 working days off as annual leave);
2. I can get my last load of laundry done today as well before having to share a laundry tomorrow;
3. I actually now have “5” days off work instead of the original 4 as I’ve requested another days leave to give me time to unpack – and I may even taken another off depending how late the furniture arrives on Monday;
4. My aunt and uncle are passing through Sydney airport on the way home to Canada on Saturday, and it was going to be touch and go whether I could get out to the airport to see them, but now I shouldn’t have any problem doing that (I just hope I catch them, as they don’t know I’m coming!);
5. I get an extra stitching/leisure day in the flat while waiting for the furniture to arrive … but I think I’ll have to pop out and buy a small table and chair to sit on instead of having to use the floor 24/7;
6. I have more time to work out how to get into the darned garage at the flat – and I found Mortein insect bombs to use in there instead of having to spray … awesome!
7. I get to see ER and the Amazing Race on TV before I move out – as I have no TV until the furniture arrives, I’ll be relying on DVD’s I’ve got with me to be played on the laptop;
8. I have time to start reading the Time Traveller’s Wife to give it back to Brenda ASAP (it’s on loan from someone else).

So, you see, there’s always something to be grateful for when everything turns pear shaped!  No point getting upset over it, that’ll just give you ulcers … now I’m off to throw the washing in the machine, and head off to Bunnings and/or Ikea to go furniture shopping (there’s a cheap cane chair and table set for a patio at Bunnings, which could work well, and will be nice on the balcony afterwards).

So, no stitching today as originally planned … I’m off shopping and packing instead 😀

BTW, in case you weren’t aware, I’m holding a Needleroll Class over at the Focus on Finishing blog 26-27 January – hope you can join me! Another positive, I managed to source and add a whole lot of needleroll information onto the blog this morning as well 😀

Now, before I go, let me just say thank you for all the comments about my little flat – unfortunately the photos actually make the place look better (and bigger) than it actually is … especially the bathroom, which is quite small (the bath isn’t a full-size bath, it’s like a half-bath/shub, if that makes it easier to visualise).  But I don’t care, it’s ours all ours and that’s all that matters … and even in really nasty traffic last night it only took me 30 minutes to get there to unload another bootful of belongings – sheer heaven!  To answer a question, though, before I forget – there is no refrigerator there in the kitchen, because over here you have to provide all the appliances (including the fridge) yourself.  There sometimes may not be curtains either (personally I’ll be putting my chiffons up in the lounge again just to add a bit of colour, even though there are venetian blinds on all the windows.

Rightio, I’d better stop waffling and get moving – time to get motivated and get things done before the whole day disappears!

Woohoo, I have keys … and a new little flat. Not the flashest of accommodation, but it’s all ours … for the next 12 months anyway! 🙂

Here’s the lounge at the window/balcony end (this’ll be your bedroom, Mum!! haha):

And the lounge as you come in the front door, with a slight alcove:

The kitchen, where the dining table will be going:

The kitchen itself is quite small, but with an extra bench cupboard I have, it will give it a bit more room for storage etc:

What will be my bedroom:

Lisa’s bedroom:

Our bathroom:

Our little balcony:

From the lounge to the bedrooms:

I forgot to take photos of the outside, and of the beach, so I’ll do that some time over the weekend. It will look a lot different when the furniture is in, and there’s a bit more colour around 🙂

The first countdown is about to be over – tomorrow I pick the keys up to our little tiny flat … I can barely contain the excitement!!  I’ve adored being here with Brenda and Nigel, but I’m literally exhausted all the time and can barely string two words together by the time late evening arrives.  In fact yesterday we went to the movies in the morning to see National Treasure 2 – Book of Secrets (which I loved, by the way), and by 3pm I could barely keep my eyes open.  It’s very very rare for me to nap in the afternoons, but I gave up and had a ‘small’ rest – and woke up at 6.40pm yikes … then I lasted 1 1/2 hours being awake before going back to bed again and fell right asleep again for the rest of the night.  Oh well, only 3 more sleeps and I’ll be sleeping on the floor in my own litte flat … I’m so keen and excited to be getting in there that I don’t care about the furniture not being there as well haha.

Other great news today is that my very best friend in NZ is coming over to visit (I’m staying with Vicki’s brother here in Sydney, Nigel) over Easter.  Those of you who have been reading my blog for a while may remember that I got exceptionally emotional a year ago when I had to cancel plans to visit Brenda and Vicki here in Sydney for Brenda’s 40th birthday due to financial reasons.  Well, now I’m in Sydney I get more chance to see my bestest friend as well – and I finally get to meet the latest addition to her family, her newest son Jayden.  I’m really excited to be seeing her again, as I miss her lots … and this catch up is a year and a half overdue!

Sorry this is such a quick post – it’s just a quick drive-by while I was waiting for a download to finish … and seeing as it’s now 1 1/2 hours past my bedtime I’d better hit the hay for the night.  I have my camera, surface spray, and measuring tape all ready for tomorrow … plus the first lot of packing will be in the boot – I figured I’d spread the unpacking out over the next couple of days to save my energy lugging things up to the 3rd floor of the apartment block.  You’d think after the last apartment that I’d find one with a lift … nah, no such luck! haha.

Hopefully in a week’s time I’ll be better placed to keep on top of blog reading and posting on a more regular basis again … not to mention that stitching that I’m chomping at the bit to get at! LOL 😀

I can’t believe what a simple phone call can do to make a person feel so ecstatically happy as a phone call did for me today!  We heard from our new real estate agent that the tenants in Ramsgate Beach are vacating earlier than expected, and we have the option to move in ahead of the scheduled time … after a few extra phone calls to the removal company and my new flatmate, I’ve decided to accept a week’s rent on my own, and to take up the offer of picking up the keys a week early!  We were already going to sign the lease and pay the money up front (bond plus advance rent) on 15 January as Lisa is here in Sydney for the day for work, so I’m going to pick up the keys now on the same day and have a full week there on my own before she arrives.

The furniture won’t be arriving until 19 January, so I thought I’d pop in and spray the place with surface spray in the unit and garage (those of you who know me well know my abysmal spider phobia, so this is an absolutely essential routine for me to move into a new place!!) on the 15th, then I’m taking Thu 17/Fri 18 Jan off work to actually drive over from Nigel and Brenda’s in the morning on the 17th – that means there’s plenty of time to do the unpacking of what few items I have with me, as well as any cleaning that is outstanding, and the property condition report.  Then I just have to sleep on a blow-up mattress for two nights until the rest of the furniture turns up – at last by then the surface spray smell will have disappeared 😉

I have to say I’m really surprised at how thrilled and ecstatic that phone call made me – I’m incredibly excited to be moving into my own place again … I’ve truly surprised myself at how relieved it made me feel today.  I have a tendency to push my feelings and emotions below the surface, but it’s amazing how quickly the good feelings surface again 😀

And one of the best things is …   Very very soon I’ll be driving 9.5km each way to work, instead of 53km each way – WOOHOO!!!!!

Aside from that, all I keep thinking about is that I will finally have a stitching corner back again, I will be able to spend those wasted 3 hours commuting by walking up the beach and stitching, and … the biggest of all … I will soon be able to sleep in my very own bed again – I have missed that the most of any of my belongings, like you just wouldn’t believe!

So, that now means it’s 12 more sleeps left before I pick up the keys, and 14 more sleeps before I physically start moving in … YIPPEE!!!!!!!!!!  That also means getting back into a stitching rotation again … well, quite frankly, just stitching regularly again will suit me for a wee while, seeing as I can’t come up with a rotation that works just yet.  I’ve been trying to plan a new rotation for the new year, and there are just way too many projects I want to start – I’m like an alcoholic craving a drink, I just want to grab everything at once and take a long drink! 😛

On the other hand, I do have a couple of resolutions/goals that I want to meet this year:

• Increase my fitness level by exercising 4-6 days a week … be it walking on the beach, doing yoga/pilates, or using the rowing machine, but at least 10 minutes every day, with the preference being at least 1/2 an hour each day
• Eat more regularly and healthily … with the goal of losing at least 10kg during the year
• Be more socially active … I can be quite a shy recluse, so I need to make an effort to get to know people here in Sydney and get out of my comfort zone – I already have tickets to see the Sound of Music and Michael Buble in concert with Brenda, Nigel and friends, and two work colleagues from Melbourne are hoping to come visit at the end of February, plus I want to meet some more fellow stitchers here
• Stitching goals are easy – after such a horrendous year in 2007, I just want to relax, have fun, and enjoy the simple pleasure of just sitting and doing my stitching … to that end I’ve decided not to set specific goals, aside from completing at least 2 of my current UFO’s or WISP’s
• And finally, to keep in touch with my friends, both online and in real life, more regularly … something I’m often very guilty of neglecting!

So that’s it, in a nutshell … pretty simple goals for a simple life in 2008!  I’m looking forward to a year of no stress, no dramas, and no catastrophes … just simple pleasures and a simple carefree life …

Just no time to sit at the computer … commuting is really taking it out of me, and I don’t seem to have any real spare time these days.  So 1000 apologies but I’ve had no time to catch up on emails, or blogs, or anything really … I’ll be back again when I have more to share, and time to share it!

In the meantime, I can say I finally have a PO Box in Sydney now – after a major error from Australia Post (that I don’t have time to go into now) … I’m sorry I don’t have time to post an email to everyone just yet, so I’m posting the new address here in the interim (I’ll do proper change of address notices as soon as I get chance to breathe).  My new mailing address is:

 (same name obviously)
PO Box 688
Mascot, NSW 1460

Now I’m off out for the day shopping with Brenda – I’ve decided last minute to go to our work’s Christmas party tonight, and need to buy a top (all my summer clothes are in storage in Melbourne, so I’m desperately in need of clothing right now!) – and I’m off to Quakers Hill to find kiwi munchies and L&P!!

Will be back soon with an update hopefully … no stitching done yet, though, so not a great deal to show and tell … although I did complete the finishing off of two quilted wallhangings for Christmas – will take a photo as soon as I can.

Hope everyone out in blogland is surviving the last few weeks before Christmas – I may not be online, but you are in my thoughts! {{hugs}}

A very quick post before I get dressed to head out to the post office … I haven’t made mention of how the new job is going, so here goes …

Work is OK – to be honest I’m still unsettled where that’s concerned, but it’s more to do with the circumstances than anything else.  The problem is that there are so many projects and changes happening in our department, and resources are so thin, that I haven’t had much time for someone to sit with me and show me the ropes.  I keep getting taking into this meeting and that meeting so that I can get an overview of what’s happening around the place, but that just seems to be confusing me more when I’m not technically involved in the project work itself.

Last week there was one person supposed to be sitting with me, but she kept getting interrupted – but she was the only staff member available as the other two were on training courses all week (plus they’ve been accepted into a new department, so they’ll both be leaving anyway shortly hmmm).  It will get better once I can get my head around what it is that I should be doing.  I was doing some computer testing of a new computer integration system last week for a while, so at least that was something – then inbetween times I potter and try to answer the simpler queries that come through that I don’t need help to answer.  I must say, though, it’s an extremely friendly team I’m working with, and the office environment is great!  And it’s quite nice not to be chained to a phone anymore! 😀

The first couple of days I felt like a fish out of water – it was a culture shock to move from a staff of about 400 to a staff of probably 1000’s.  Moving from an office building of 2 dedicated floors, to an area housing 5 separate office blocks, all housing my company’s staff … that was a shock in itself!!  I most definitely felt like a very little fish in a very large pond!!  It’s been wonderful meeting people that I’ve been dealing with over the phones for years – one girl came over and introduced herself with a big kiss and a hug … she used to work in the job I’m now doing, and we had a great rapport – she’d sing “take the shackles off my feet so I can dance…” to me and we’d both have a giggle.  Anyway, I’m sure as time goes on the work will get more interesting as I can contribute more to the team … and learn the ropes a bit more.  I’d better hurry up as two new team members are likely to be joining us very very soon, and in January I’ll be one of the longest serving members of the team … hahahaha.

Rightio, it’s now 8.04am, which means it’s time to jump into the shower and get dressed – for today I open up a PO Box so I can start receiving all those bills that have been piling up in Melbourne.  I still need to get to the Mascot PO at some stage after opening my account today to pick up the actual keys, though – but one of the other girls at work also moved from Melbourne and has a PO Box there too, and she’s offered to pick up my mail for me at the same time if I give her a key (she drives to/from work) … I might take her up on that offer, as I think it will be a good half hour round trip for me to walk there and back at lunchtime, and in winter it will be fine, but right now it’s stinking hot and sticky …

And that reminds me of another difference between Melbourne and Sydney – the weather!  Melbourne is well known for its four seasons in one day … Sydney, I realised on my first day here, is like Auckland to me but with much higher temperatures.  Sydney is more ‘sub-tropical’ in that it has a high humidity level.  The first few days here nearly killed me, and we’re not even in the height of summer yet – yikes!  Thank goodness for airconditioning, is all I can say!!  I dunno how I’ll survive when I move into a place with no aircon …

Rightio, time to get moving to the Post Office – then my next challenge is to find some new sandals/shoes for work and two new tops (my summer clothes are still goodness knows where in my storage unit in Melbourne ho-hum) – then I’m settling in front of the TV or my laptop to watch a DVD or two and stitch … my goal to finish blocks 1 and 2 of Snapperville, as I’m really close to doing that … that will then leave me only 2 blocks left before it’s finished yippee 😀

Well, what can I say, I’ve survived 1 1/2 weeks of living and commuting in Sydney … there are a number of differences (both good and bad) between Melbourne and Sydney that I’ve experienced so far, but I’m getting a handle on things and starting to feel a little more settled.

The biggest shock to my system is having to leave home at 6.25am to catch the first of two trains at 6.47am – eventually I finally walk into my office building at 8.00am pretty much on the dot … it’s quite a ‘quick’ trip (in comparison to the one going home) because it’s an express train with limited stops.  To get home it can take me 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours after leaving work … that means between 3-4 hours travelling time each day being wasted sitting on public transport, whether it be standing shoulder to shoulder with dozens of other commuters on the actual train or standing on the train platforms waiting for the next train to arrive.  Oh how I wish it wasn’t so crowded that I could make better use of that time by stitching, but as it is I count myself lucky if I can find enough space to put my book up in front of me for reading!!

One difference between Melbourne and Sydney is their trains … Melbourne have single-level carriages, while Sydney have double-level ones – doesn’t make any difference, though, in both cities they’re all overcrowded at peak times, and I’m certainly not doing the trip each day for the enjoyment factor!

Another difference between Mel and Syd is that train tickets in Mel are issued for 2-hour time periods or all day travel, and stations are separated into zones of travel.  There used to be 3 zones, but now there are 2 – you could buy a ticket for travel just within one zone or between all zones, for one set price.  This is great value if you spend a fair bit of travelling and want to pop out at a couple of different stations – you can hop on and off as much as you want … and something else I LOVE about Mel transport is that the same ticket covers you for not just trains, but trams and buses as well!  In Syd you pay sector fares for your journey instead, and basically buy a one-way or return ticket … you leave the station at your destination point and that’s it, your ticket is finished.  This can be a cost-effective way to travel is you just want to travel point-to-point, but not in other ways.

 Take last Monday as an example … Monday Mum returned home, so she came in on the train with me in the morning – when I spoke to the gentleman in the ticket office about my personal options for buying a ticket (I wanted to buy a weekly ticket, but needed to travel two extra stops to drop Mum off at the airport, then return to Mascot again to start work), I had to pay $17.40 for a one-way ticket to the International terminal (bearing in mind it normally costs me $16.80 for a return ticket to work for the day!!) … then I had to buy another ticket just for two stations away at another $13.40 (yikes!!
), followed by another $8.40 to return home again at the end of the day.  Daylight robbery, is all I can say!!! 😦

Talking about Mum, unfortunately the poor love got stuck at the airport from 8.00am until 4.30pm due to a cancelled plane service to Christchurch and people having to now travel via Auckland (darn-it) … eventually though she got home, but is no doubt even now still recovering!

Before Mum went home we had some wonderful social outings – it was Brenda’s birthday last Thursday, so we went out to a Malaysian restaurant at Castle Hill for a delicious dinner with all of us plus one more of Brenda’s closest friends (who I like a lot) … then on Friday we had a BBQ at home with some of Nigel’s work colleagues.  This weekend I’m being a lazy slob and hoping to get a tiny bit of stitching done, so no social outings for me this weekend!  I get home too late and too tired to do anything during the week, so I need to start making use of my spare time.  Tomorrow, though, my first job is to head out to the local Post Office to open a PO Box at Mascot so I can organise my mail to be redirected (it’s been piling up in Melbourne for a couple of weeks now!), and pick up my Sydney “e-tag” for the toll roads here.  Yes, that’s yet another of the differences between Mel and Syd (cash toll booths and many toll roads).

Anyway, I’m feeling a bit wrecked, so I might call it a night – I started off writing this quite eagerly, but my eyes are half-closed already and my mind has become extremely foggy … so time to sign off before I fall asleep in a pile of drool at my keyboard!!

My apologies to people I owe emails to, and also for the fact I’m not blog reading much at the moment … with my lack of spare time blogs are a bit of a low priority for now – hopefully, though, things will change eventually 🙂