three weeks minus one day:
we bought some travel insurance online, and have started making up a vague itinerary. you know, things to look at each day of the walk. it was quite odd yesterday to think: three weeks! it's less time til we go than it is we'll be spending over there. crazy! since i loe lists and organisation, i'll soon write up a list of stuff for a practice-pack.
speaking of packs, has anyone had their bags plastic wrapped in the airport? because i'm thinking well have to do that, given our packs are so strappy and catch-on-able. so yeah, i wonder how much it will cost, or where the thing is in melbourne airport/heathrow.
still yet to book a place in oxford, but will get onto that tonight. also, book train tix both ways.
need to organise with erin what days to see her in glasgow and book tickets for that.
must go for more walks.
and then there's all the other things to do in everyday life. need to do them. and get a mail-holding thing. and organise someone to water our plants. and stuff.
yay! three weeks!
22 September 2006
14 September 2006
SOON
we leave in a month! w00t!
still need to get travel insurance, and need to find another place to stay in kemble because the place we booked is going on holidays or something, and need to get train tix there and back, and need to book accommodation in oxford, and need to plan a trip to see erin in glasgow, and STUFF! also write an itinerary, and do some more walking with our packs.
did some the other day - 1 hr to brunch, 1 hr back - and it was good. out packs totally rock. as do my shoes.
what else? i'm giving a presentation next wednesday at uni. not sure what i'm talking on, yet. trans road movies. possibly transamerica. possibly breakfast on pluto. anyway, it'll be good.
mum and dad are coming down next week for an appointment at peter mac regarding familial cancer. pretty much expecting to be told we'll all get breast cancer before we're 60. but i've always known that deep inside anyway. shit happens, hey? all the more reason to do as much stuff as we can as soon as possible!!!
our loungeroom is a mess because i've fallen face first into a new fandom (supernatural! yay! dean winchester is my idol. and sam winchester is also my idol. and their car is my idol, too!) and haven't had time between watching the entire season 1 (twice?), and keeping up with all the fanfic, and trying to do uni stuff, to actually clean the house. blah.
gotta go and eat now, because I'M STARVING!!!
still need to get travel insurance, and need to find another place to stay in kemble because the place we booked is going on holidays or something, and need to get train tix there and back, and need to book accommodation in oxford, and need to plan a trip to see erin in glasgow, and STUFF! also write an itinerary, and do some more walking with our packs.
did some the other day - 1 hr to brunch, 1 hr back - and it was good. out packs totally rock. as do my shoes.
what else? i'm giving a presentation next wednesday at uni. not sure what i'm talking on, yet. trans road movies. possibly transamerica. possibly breakfast on pluto. anyway, it'll be good.
mum and dad are coming down next week for an appointment at peter mac regarding familial cancer. pretty much expecting to be told we'll all get breast cancer before we're 60. but i've always known that deep inside anyway. shit happens, hey? all the more reason to do as much stuff as we can as soon as possible!!!
our loungeroom is a mess because i've fallen face first into a new fandom (supernatural! yay! dean winchester is my idol. and sam winchester is also my idol. and their car is my idol, too!) and haven't had time between watching the entire season 1 (twice?), and keeping up with all the fanfic, and trying to do uni stuff, to actually clean the house. blah.
gotta go and eat now, because I'M STARVING!!!
28 August 2006
BIZZY
we are always so busy. dan works monday to friday, i work friday and saturday. so our day together is sunday, which is often when other people want to meet up. i have about one meeting per week afer hours. i don't have time to cook yummy things. we don't have time to do shopping. but apart from that it's all good!
yesterday a get together was cancelled, and i decided not to go to a meeting that would have been really good to go to. instead, we cleaned the house up, had brunch at ceres, went to sydney road where i got some new clothes (bonds top and jumper, good for walking), dan had a snooze (we went to a housewarming on saturday night), and i made a delicious dish with a french name that is essentially scalloped potatoes with mushrooms. mmm, nutmeg and fresh organic cream! the day off was good for my sanity.
today i did a bit of work on a presentation i'm giving in a few weeks about recent 'trans' films - i was writing about TransAmerica. then went into carlton and met julia and esther for lunch (mmm, big harvest salads!) and coffee (in the place that no longer has the ORIGINAL mouth of truth), then went to the nova ($5 films! yay!) and watched Breakfast on Pluto, which is also a 'trans' film. good stuff.
now i'm eating toast with yum hummous on it. and dan made me a cup of tea. so that's our lives at the moment!!! looking forward to our holiday - only about 6 weeks away. must get some travel insurance soon.
yesterday a get together was cancelled, and i decided not to go to a meeting that would have been really good to go to. instead, we cleaned the house up, had brunch at ceres, went to sydney road where i got some new clothes (bonds top and jumper, good for walking), dan had a snooze (we went to a housewarming on saturday night), and i made a delicious dish with a french name that is essentially scalloped potatoes with mushrooms. mmm, nutmeg and fresh organic cream! the day off was good for my sanity.
today i did a bit of work on a presentation i'm giving in a few weeks about recent 'trans' films - i was writing about TransAmerica. then went into carlton and met julia and esther for lunch (mmm, big harvest salads!) and coffee (in the place that no longer has the ORIGINAL mouth of truth), then went to the nova ($5 films! yay!) and watched Breakfast on Pluto, which is also a 'trans' film. good stuff.
now i'm eating toast with yum hummous on it. and dan made me a cup of tea. so that's our lives at the moment!!! looking forward to our holiday - only about 6 weeks away. must get some travel insurance soon.
19 August 2006
DISNEY VENICE?
venice is nice, and all, but it was already so much like a theme park. and while i agree that it is too over crowded, and something must be done to prevent or repair the damage done by the pleasure seeking hordes, wasn't venice expensive enough before? end of rant.
18 August 2006
HOPE FOR THE UK LABOUR PARTY
British Deputy PM John Prescott shocks the world by telling the truth! What is the world coming to?
15 August 2006
14 August 2006
CHEESES, KIM, I SAID BABY CHEESES, NOT CHEESES...
we went to the australian specialist cheesemakers association cheese show yesterday (sunday) with esther j. oh, the cheese! oh the gorging upon said cheese! oh the tasting of wine! oh, the gluttony!
perhaps my favourite of all the cheese i tasted was the king island dairy "discovery ash blue", a deliciously soft and creamy medium strength blue... my mouth waters... also up there was red hill's "merricks mist", a wonderful, gooey organic "normandy style" mouthful of goodness. oh, and woodside cheese wrights' "edith", billed as "a special goat milk cheese... the cheese is ashed and develops almost blue flavours as it matures"... oh, bliss!
ashed cheese seems to be the flavour of the month (although how much flavour the ash actually imparts varies from cheese to cheese). the washed rinds, i thought, were a mixed bunch, with the milawa washed rinds tasting absolutely gorgeous, and the hunter valley "smear ripened" (?) cheese also right up there, yet others possibly needing to mature a little more. it was brought home to me how in love i am with goat cheese of most descriptions, but i was a little put out by the buffalo cheeses by shaw river - the smoked buffalino was nice, but the others... i think it might be an aqcuired taste (and i am all up for acquiring it). there weren't many exceptionally strong cheeses, though the jindi top paddock wine washed rind ("washed with a special blend of red wine and spices") was delicious. i'd never heard of heidi farm before, but their gruyere was grand - nutty and smoky - as was their tilsit. binnorie dairy's labna or yoghurt balls were devine. tarrago river's triple cream was a suprisingly acidic and gooey cheese, quite salty but very light on the tongue. oh, gosh. shall i go on?
let's just say that for breakfast today i ate fresh cucumber and capsicum, and drank herbal tea.
*
and, over a year from the taking of photos in dorset, we have put some up on the web - thanks to our LOVELY NEW COMPUTER!!! they're in the secon album, under "dorset".
perhaps my favourite of all the cheese i tasted was the king island dairy "discovery ash blue", a deliciously soft and creamy medium strength blue... my mouth waters... also up there was red hill's "merricks mist", a wonderful, gooey organic "normandy style" mouthful of goodness. oh, and woodside cheese wrights' "edith", billed as "a special goat milk cheese... the cheese is ashed and develops almost blue flavours as it matures"... oh, bliss!
ashed cheese seems to be the flavour of the month (although how much flavour the ash actually imparts varies from cheese to cheese). the washed rinds, i thought, were a mixed bunch, with the milawa washed rinds tasting absolutely gorgeous, and the hunter valley "smear ripened" (?) cheese also right up there, yet others possibly needing to mature a little more. it was brought home to me how in love i am with goat cheese of most descriptions, but i was a little put out by the buffalo cheeses by shaw river - the smoked buffalino was nice, but the others... i think it might be an aqcuired taste (and i am all up for acquiring it). there weren't many exceptionally strong cheeses, though the jindi top paddock wine washed rind ("washed with a special blend of red wine and spices") was delicious. i'd never heard of heidi farm before, but their gruyere was grand - nutty and smoky - as was their tilsit. binnorie dairy's labna or yoghurt balls were devine. tarrago river's triple cream was a suprisingly acidic and gooey cheese, quite salty but very light on the tongue. oh, gosh. shall i go on?
let's just say that for breakfast today i ate fresh cucumber and capsicum, and drank herbal tea.
*
and, over a year from the taking of photos in dorset, we have put some up on the web - thanks to our LOVELY NEW COMPUTER!!! they're in the secon album, under "dorset".
11 August 2006
GIVING FANTASY FICTION A BAD NAME
more acurately, giving fantasy fiction the name it has. i'm reading cecilia dart-thornton's bitterbynde trilogy. i bought all three at book affair, so i am compelled to read the lot. and they are TERRIBLE. the writing is overwrought, the plots so... non-existent, the characters empty. every time i open a fantasy novel i HOPE that it's going to be good, because there's so much shit out there. but with this series it was not to be. yes, there are some interesting things going on - especially with the protagonist who, though free of personality, is the vehicle for some interesting exploration of identity. there are many things i am willing to forgive - i am used to reading bad fantasy. and yet... i ask myself why i am reading them (now onto the 3rd book, and they're getting slightly better). i think it's because they are so bad i can't look away. it's abject. it's like driving slowly past a car crash. i quote:
Birds uttered uneasy, sporadic sounds from the trees and the duck-pond far below. Their quacks and trills increased in porportion to the strength of the iron glow in the east, whose warm facade was smudged by the cloud floatlets as a smith's ruddy countenance is smirched by soot and ash. Above, the profound blue drained from the sky and the stars dissolved. ("The Ill-Made Mute", p36)
And when two characters first meet a third:
They emerged into the open and approached. The stranger did not move from his position. He smiled up at them, a dark smile that struck Imrhien like the note of a great bell. A dazzle ran straight through her like a silver needle [...] Lean and angular was his face, the features chiseled, high-boned. Beneath straight eyebrows his dark eyes seemed to burn with a cold fire, piercing. His jaw was strong and clean-shaven, although brushed with rough shadow. The hair, glossy black as a raven's wing, was swept carelessly back from his brow, the front locks pulled loosely back and knotted together behind his head and falling, bound, nearly to the waist. Unfastened - she imagined - it would be a cloud of soft darkness, a cascade of shadow. ("The Ill-Made Mute", p300 & 301)
he had in fact, wandered into this world from a mills & boon romance.
I POKE MY EYES OUT!
on the up-side, surely if this can get published, i can get published.
Birds uttered uneasy, sporadic sounds from the trees and the duck-pond far below. Their quacks and trills increased in porportion to the strength of the iron glow in the east, whose warm facade was smudged by the cloud floatlets as a smith's ruddy countenance is smirched by soot and ash. Above, the profound blue drained from the sky and the stars dissolved. ("The Ill-Made Mute", p36)
And when two characters first meet a third:
They emerged into the open and approached. The stranger did not move from his position. He smiled up at them, a dark smile that struck Imrhien like the note of a great bell. A dazzle ran straight through her like a silver needle [...] Lean and angular was his face, the features chiseled, high-boned. Beneath straight eyebrows his dark eyes seemed to burn with a cold fire, piercing. His jaw was strong and clean-shaven, although brushed with rough shadow. The hair, glossy black as a raven's wing, was swept carelessly back from his brow, the front locks pulled loosely back and knotted together behind his head and falling, bound, nearly to the waist. Unfastened - she imagined - it would be a cloud of soft darkness, a cascade of shadow. ("The Ill-Made Mute", p300 & 301)
he had in fact, wandered into this world from a mills & boon romance.
I POKE MY EYES OUT!
on the up-side, surely if this can get published, i can get published.
31 July 2006
THREE LITTLE DUCKS WENT OUT ONE DAY
over the hill and far away
the mother duck said, quack quack quack quack
but only two little ducks came back
i thought this song was the saddest song EVAH, when i was a kid... with one exception:
Hush-a-bye, don't you cry,
Go to sleepy little baby,
When you wake, you shall have
All the pretty little horses.
Blacks and bays, dapples and greys,
Go to six-a white horses,
Hush-a-bye, don't you cry,
Go to sleepy little baby...
for no particular reason, this lullaby made me cry EVERY TIME I HEARD IT!!! but i still liked hearing it. we'd sing "when you wake, you shall have..." though on the net the line is "when you wake, you'll have cake..." and where i hear "go to six-a" the lyric is "coach and six-a". excuse me while i kiss this guy.
there is another verse i never knew until i googled it just then:
Way down yonder, down in the meadow,
There's a poor wee little lamby.
The bees and the butterflies pickin' at its eyes,
The poor wee thing cried for her mammy.
NO WONDER I CRIED!!! what an eeevil nursery rhyme!
however... i was just going to say something like: why is they all be overseas? erin and michelle and julia and rachel and ross. all overseas.
but enough of this whining (is that the correct spelling?). dan and i will be in ingerland in october for 3-4 weeks, and we have started looking/booking accommodation for our walk along the thames. we decided long ago that we wanted it to be a bit special, and we wantedt o stay in B&Bs so we didn't have to carry tent and/or sleeping bags. and also, there aren't many other options in the area. and we love B&Bs. so it will be expensive accommodation, but we will be doing lots of free stuff during the day, so it will be LOVELY!
night one: kemble
night two: cricklade
night three: lechlade
night four: tadpole bridge
night five: northmoor
night six: oxford (haven't chosen a place yet)
we will arrive in london on the friday, and train over to kemble on the monday, do a bit of a walk - up to the thames head (source) and have a poke around the area, and generally enjoy being relaxed. we'll leave oxford and go back t london on the sunday. we also have a day-long walk (approk 10mi) planned for one of london's green belts - hopefully we can convince some of dan's family to come along.
ok, off to do some actual work, and a load of washing (got to wash our new quilt cover before putting it on our new doona and sleeping under it and on top of our new sheet on our new bed! so much new stuff!).
the mother duck said, quack quack quack quack
but only two little ducks came back
i thought this song was the saddest song EVAH, when i was a kid... with one exception:
Hush-a-bye, don't you cry,
Go to sleepy little baby,
When you wake, you shall have
All the pretty little horses.
Blacks and bays, dapples and greys,
Go to six-a white horses,
Hush-a-bye, don't you cry,
Go to sleepy little baby...
for no particular reason, this lullaby made me cry EVERY TIME I HEARD IT!!! but i still liked hearing it. we'd sing "when you wake, you shall have..." though on the net the line is "when you wake, you'll have cake..." and where i hear "go to six-a" the lyric is "coach and six-a". excuse me while i kiss this guy.
there is another verse i never knew until i googled it just then:
Way down yonder, down in the meadow,
There's a poor wee little lamby.
The bees and the butterflies pickin' at its eyes,
The poor wee thing cried for her mammy.
NO WONDER I CRIED!!! what an eeevil nursery rhyme!
however... i was just going to say something like: why is they all be overseas? erin and michelle and julia and rachel and ross. all overseas.
but enough of this whining (is that the correct spelling?). dan and i will be in ingerland in october for 3-4 weeks, and we have started looking/booking accommodation for our walk along the thames. we decided long ago that we wanted it to be a bit special, and we wantedt o stay in B&Bs so we didn't have to carry tent and/or sleeping bags. and also, there aren't many other options in the area. and we love B&Bs. so it will be expensive accommodation, but we will be doing lots of free stuff during the day, so it will be LOVELY!
night one: kemble
night two: cricklade
night three: lechlade
night four: tadpole bridge
night five: northmoor
night six: oxford (haven't chosen a place yet)
we will arrive in london on the friday, and train over to kemble on the monday, do a bit of a walk - up to the thames head (source) and have a poke around the area, and generally enjoy being relaxed. we'll leave oxford and go back t london on the sunday. we also have a day-long walk (approk 10mi) planned for one of london's green belts - hopefully we can convince some of dan's family to come along.
ok, off to do some actual work, and a load of washing (got to wash our new quilt cover before putting it on our new doona and sleeping under it and on top of our new sheet on our new bed! so much new stuff!).
19 July 2006
FUTUREME
this has to be my website of the day
send an email to your future self!
it's actually a strange thing to do - it sent me into a fit of melancholy and made me realise just how chaotic life is. i chose to send to january 2009, when i should be almost finished with my PhD...
send an email to your future self!
it's actually a strange thing to do - it sent me into a fit of melancholy and made me realise just how chaotic life is. i chose to send to january 2009, when i should be almost finished with my PhD...
17 July 2006
INVITATION TO OUR HOUSEWARMING
You are cordially invited to join us in our new home
From 2pm on Sunday 23rd July
For an afternoon tea of various consumable treats (all vegetarian: vegans and coeliacs also catered for)
There will be socialising and merrymaking throughout the afternoon and into the early evening
Please feel free to bring yourselves, your partner/friend, your drink of choice (tea, coffee and non-alcoholic beverages provided), and a happy disposition!
For more information (address, dress code, and secret password) email, text and/or give us a call.
*
In very recent news (two updates on our thrilling lives in one day!) Julia just called us from the train station in Firenze (wanker!Florence), where she was waiting to board a train to a place without the euro – Slovenia! It was great to hear from her, and we are envious-o-rama of her time being a WOOFer in Tuscany!
From 2pm on Sunday 23rd July
For an afternoon tea of various consumable treats (all vegetarian: vegans and coeliacs also catered for)
There will be socialising and merrymaking throughout the afternoon and into the early evening
Please feel free to bring yourselves, your partner/friend, your drink of choice (tea, coffee and non-alcoholic beverages provided), and a happy disposition!
For more information (address, dress code, and secret password) email, text and/or give us a call.
*
In very recent news (two updates on our thrilling lives in one day!) Julia just called us from the train station in Firenze (wanker!Florence), where she was waiting to board a train to a place without the euro – Slovenia! It was great to hear from her, and we are envious-o-rama of her time being a WOOFer in Tuscany!
ANNIVERSARY GOODNESS
yesterday dan and i had our 4 year anniversary. it was spent drinking tea and having a leisurely stroll along the merri creek, in cool cloudy weather. walked to the fairfield boathouse with my parents, and ate scones with jam and cream. mmm. and then went to my grandparents' place for my aunt's 50th birthday (dad's side). played music with cousins, ate delicious food (oh, lovely, lovely cheese!), and chatted with family. in the evening we went to the cinema to see pirates of the carribean: dead man's chest with the parents, esther j and her housemates etc. yay for that!
one year ago, we celebrated our... ummm... three year anniversary (!) driving to wales via whitehorse, reading harry potter 6, eating delicious breakfasts at the b&b, walking the brecon beacons in the hot and sunshiney weather... wonder what next year will bring?!
one year ago, we celebrated our... ummm... three year anniversary (!) driving to wales via whitehorse, reading harry potter 6, eating delicious breakfasts at the b&b, walking the brecon beacons in the hot and sunshiney weather... wonder what next year will bring?!
11 July 2006
BEANIES AND BADDIES
so. over the last week, i have lost TWO BEANIES.
careless? yes. annoyed? yes.
one of them i have had for over 2 years - the blue stripey one with ear covers. hardcore. from an outdoors shop. went all the way around europe with me, through heat and cold, wind and rain, across many a border. only to be left on the tram last thursday.
the other was new. yes, new! i bought it from target, on special. grey and wool, with a peak. just like i've always wanted. left on tram this morning.
yeah, i know. i should pay more attention to where i put my belongings. my bad.
but what really pisses me off is that, in both instances, there were people sitting next to/opposite me, and not one person either noticed or told me i'd dropped it or left it behind. not one. i don't get it. if someone drops something, i always run after them and hand it back - a wallet, a scarf, their pants, their boyfriend, doesn't matter: i'm after them!
i guess i should get off my lazy bum and call yarra trams and see if either of them have been handed in. but if they weren't turned in, i would be even more pissed off with fellow tram-users. and if they were, well, i'd have to go and pick them up or something, which is far more boring than actually buying another one.
maybe someone on scroungey centrelink payments picked them up and now has a warm head. in that case, good. but really, all you people on the tram - I HOPE YOU DROP SOMETHING REALLY IMPORTANT ONE DAY AND NOBODY TELLS YOU! actually, i don't. i hope you leave something behind today, and I pick it up and give it to you, and you recognise me as the person who you didn't think was worth the effort of saying, "oh, you dropped this," or "excuse me, is this yours". and i hope you feel guilty! FOREVER!!!
careless? yes. annoyed? yes.
one of them i have had for over 2 years - the blue stripey one with ear covers. hardcore. from an outdoors shop. went all the way around europe with me, through heat and cold, wind and rain, across many a border. only to be left on the tram last thursday.
the other was new. yes, new! i bought it from target, on special. grey and wool, with a peak. just like i've always wanted. left on tram this morning.
yeah, i know. i should pay more attention to where i put my belongings. my bad.
but what really pisses me off is that, in both instances, there were people sitting next to/opposite me, and not one person either noticed or told me i'd dropped it or left it behind. not one. i don't get it. if someone drops something, i always run after them and hand it back - a wallet, a scarf, their pants, their boyfriend, doesn't matter: i'm after them!
i guess i should get off my lazy bum and call yarra trams and see if either of them have been handed in. but if they weren't turned in, i would be even more pissed off with fellow tram-users. and if they were, well, i'd have to go and pick them up or something, which is far more boring than actually buying another one.
maybe someone on scroungey centrelink payments picked them up and now has a warm head. in that case, good. but really, all you people on the tram - I HOPE YOU DROP SOMETHING REALLY IMPORTANT ONE DAY AND NOBODY TELLS YOU! actually, i don't. i hope you leave something behind today, and I pick it up and give it to you, and you recognise me as the person who you didn't think was worth the effort of saying, "oh, you dropped this," or "excuse me, is this yours". and i hope you feel guilty! FOREVER!!!
10 July 2006
I HAD A DREAM
no, really.
i had a dream that i was derrida, and that i/we was part of some spy/gambling network. my/our job was to get agents out of trouble, which they seemed to get into fairly frequently. it so happened that my/our good pal, wittgenstein was in deep waters - i think he stole a horse, or paid off a trainer or jockey for something - and was being pursued by some black-clad louts. as wittgenstein and i/we were (hush-hush) ex/lovers, the job of getting him out of danger was fraught not only with logistical, but emotional obstacles. luckily, we found a room (like the room of requirement) in the creative arts building (something like a mixture of levels 1 and 3, also with heavy velvet drapes and a 4 poster bed...)
i love dreams!
i LOVE wittgenstein!!!
i had a dream that i was derrida, and that i/we was part of some spy/gambling network. my/our job was to get agents out of trouble, which they seemed to get into fairly frequently. it so happened that my/our good pal, wittgenstein was in deep waters - i think he stole a horse, or paid off a trainer or jockey for something - and was being pursued by some black-clad louts. as wittgenstein and i/we were (hush-hush) ex/lovers, the job of getting him out of danger was fraught not only with logistical, but emotional obstacles. luckily, we found a room (like the room of requirement) in the creative arts building (something like a mixture of levels 1 and 3, also with heavy velvet drapes and a 4 poster bed...)
i love dreams!
i LOVE wittgenstein!!!
4 July 2006
NERDLICIOUS
i'm just amused that there are so many options... i thought there were only geeks, jocks and smokers. must be from a small town, huh?
 | You scored as Drama nerd.
What's Your High School Stereotype? created with QuizFarm.com |
29 June 2006
RANDOM SQUEE
so, look at THESE!
i may be currently obsessed. HOW CUTE ARE THEY?
in other news, otters are also cute, and there was a frost ont he grass and the fence today. i hope my plants are ok.
i may be currently obsessed. HOW CUTE ARE THEY?
in other news, otters are also cute, and there was a frost ont he grass and the fence today. i hope my plants are ok.
28 June 2006
FLAMING GALAHS!
We swear by the Southern Cross to stand truly by each other and fight to defend our rights and liberties.
Just come from rallying against the IR laws. Fun. Big! People gathered at parliament and at both ends of Swanston (Esther J and I hooked up with the teachers at Feddo) and marched to the corner of Bourke and Swanston, making a giant Eureka flag. Songs were sung, chants were chanted, and we all said the Eureka Oath, fists in the air. (Kim Beasley and Steve Bracks were there buying votes too...)
*
At the end of our street, there is a tree with pointy red and gold leaves (now mostly fallen) and prickly seedpods. Yesterday and today the tree was also adorned with galahs! Yay for their pinkness! And their uncoordinated attmpts at holding onto the seedpods!
*
Last night Dan and I had our first of (most probably, and hopefully) many Indian take-away nights. We were all out of red wine, however (ALARM!)... Luckily, in this time of dire need, a CAN OF WINE (yes, you heard) - bequeathed by Erin and Julia when they were Erin-and-Julia - made an appearance. At first we were afraid, we were petrified... but the thought of dining sans wine was too hard to bear and so we cracked it open. It was suprisingly nice. Thanks guys!
Just come from rallying against the IR laws. Fun. Big! People gathered at parliament and at both ends of Swanston (Esther J and I hooked up with the teachers at Feddo) and marched to the corner of Bourke and Swanston, making a giant Eureka flag. Songs were sung, chants were chanted, and we all said the Eureka Oath, fists in the air. (Kim Beasley and Steve Bracks were there buying votes too...)
*
At the end of our street, there is a tree with pointy red and gold leaves (now mostly fallen) and prickly seedpods. Yesterday and today the tree was also adorned with galahs! Yay for their pinkness! And their uncoordinated attmpts at holding onto the seedpods!
*
Last night Dan and I had our first of (most probably, and hopefully) many Indian take-away nights. We were all out of red wine, however (ALARM!)... Luckily, in this time of dire need, a CAN OF WINE (yes, you heard) - bequeathed by Erin and Julia when they were Erin-and-Julia - made an appearance. At first we were afraid, we were petrified... but the thought of dining sans wine was too hard to bear and so we cracked it open. It was suprisingly nice. Thanks guys!
15 June 2006
NOW IT REALLY IS OURS
so, at 2:30 on tuesday we got the call...
... saying that settlement couldn't go through.
because we gave them TOO MUCH MONEY. that's right. too much.
so i was pretty annoyed. because we'd done EVERYTHING right, but someone somewhere hadn't calculated the first homeowners grant into/out of the amount we owed. so we'd given them $10k too much, and they wouldn't give us the keys.
then our lawyer did a lot of phone-calling around to the vendor's conveyancer etc, and eventually they came up with the idea of getting us to sign a contract saying that we could only have the keys to the house that day if (among other things) we used the property only for residential purposes. so, there went our plan for an opium den, brothel etc. never mind. another day.
so we signed things and faxed them (the grumpy post office man was even nice to us! whacko!) and taxied to the estate agent for the keys. picture this: us on one side of the desk, agent on the other side of the desk, keys in envelope on top of desk... we considered doing the proverbial runner with the envelope, but decided we should try to make it all legal. eventually, at 5:10, the agent gets the call from the vendor's lawyer saying it's all good.
WE HAD THE KEYS! WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG?!
actually, surprisingly, nothing!
we went to the apartment (OUR apartment) did the rounds with candles and incense, opened and closed the cupboards, laughed at the heater (it is attached to the wall, and the cord is about 15cm too short to plug into the power point!), peeled an enormous sheet of wallpaper off the wall (whoops!)... erin, rachel and esther came over for pizza and cheese and wine (thanks ej!) and champagne (thanks erin!). managed to spill champagne on the carpet, and IT DOESN'T MATTER because the carpet is OURS!
dan and i slept over on the floor on tuesday night. cold, uncomfortable, etc. but an adventure!
yesterday may and sara-jane helped us move a heap of boxes (thanks guys!), drink tea, eat huge luncheons at sugardough on lygon st, etc. we all went for a constitutional walk along the creek (so close!), and at about 2:50 we got the call...
... saying IT'S OURS!!!
it felt different after that!
the agents gave us a hamper with wine and chocolates. free stuff! we should buy a house more often!
yay! house! ours!
... saying that settlement couldn't go through.
because we gave them TOO MUCH MONEY. that's right. too much.
so i was pretty annoyed. because we'd done EVERYTHING right, but someone somewhere hadn't calculated the first homeowners grant into/out of the amount we owed. so we'd given them $10k too much, and they wouldn't give us the keys.
then our lawyer did a lot of phone-calling around to the vendor's conveyancer etc, and eventually they came up with the idea of getting us to sign a contract saying that we could only have the keys to the house that day if (among other things) we used the property only for residential purposes. so, there went our plan for an opium den, brothel etc. never mind. another day.
so we signed things and faxed them (the grumpy post office man was even nice to us! whacko!) and taxied to the estate agent for the keys. picture this: us on one side of the desk, agent on the other side of the desk, keys in envelope on top of desk... we considered doing the proverbial runner with the envelope, but decided we should try to make it all legal. eventually, at 5:10, the agent gets the call from the vendor's lawyer saying it's all good.
WE HAD THE KEYS! WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG?!
actually, surprisingly, nothing!
we went to the apartment (OUR apartment) did the rounds with candles and incense, opened and closed the cupboards, laughed at the heater (it is attached to the wall, and the cord is about 15cm too short to plug into the power point!), peeled an enormous sheet of wallpaper off the wall (whoops!)... erin, rachel and esther came over for pizza and cheese and wine (thanks ej!) and champagne (thanks erin!). managed to spill champagne on the carpet, and IT DOESN'T MATTER because the carpet is OURS!
dan and i slept over on the floor on tuesday night. cold, uncomfortable, etc. but an adventure!
yesterday may and sara-jane helped us move a heap of boxes (thanks guys!), drink tea, eat huge luncheons at sugardough on lygon st, etc. we all went for a constitutional walk along the creek (so close!), and at about 2:50 we got the call...
... saying IT'S OURS!!!
it felt different after that!
the agents gave us a hamper with wine and chocolates. free stuff! we should buy a house more often!
yay! house! ours!
13 June 2006
SETTLEMENT DAY
so here it is. the big day has arrived - settlement goes through at 2.30 this afternoon, we get our keys and take possesion of our NEW HOME!!! we shall be spending our first night there tonight, camping it up in sleeping bags. yay!
as you can imagine, there is lots to do and we are sort of running around like headless chooks. so this is the end of this post.
as you can imagine, there is lots to do and we are sort of running around like headless chooks. so this is the end of this post.
8 June 2006
MOVING
settlement is in FIVE DAYS! woohoo!!!
we are wondering if anyone would like to spend a part of wednesday or thursday next week driving boxes from one place to another... i know, i know, a pretty fun sounding day!!! we can go out for lunch or dinner to make up for it!
(seriously, if you can, please text, call or email!)
we are wondering if anyone would like to spend a part of wednesday or thursday next week driving boxes from one place to another... i know, i know, a pretty fun sounding day!!! we can go out for lunch or dinner to make up for it!
(seriously, if you can, please text, call or email!)
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