Someone has had three hip replacements....

... it was part of a news article. MOTH thinks he's overdone it. He's only got two.

Oh. I forgot to mention the GM got the boot did I? Well. How remiss of me.

He went. Last year. I had heard on the grapevine, then was told to check the company web site. Yep, his name was gone. I still don't know all the details but I've been gathering some of the information. On the day he left, he was called to a meeting with the Director. Apparently he was sacked on the spot and not allowed to return to the office until after 5pm. So the story goes. I was most joyous. The general consensus regarding his replacement is an improvement. The new one did restructure things slightly. But it seems to be for the better.

I still have too much fortnight left over at the end of my budget. On paper it looks great. In reality, not so good.

I did sacrifice some bills to have lunch with the GTs today. It was great to catch up. There was a different bunch this time. This was a replacement for the cancelled lunch last week. We didn't do anything special but ate at the shopping centre food court. This was a grand choice as no pressure to split bills at expensive eateries. I managed to catch a glimpse of a daughter. Find out how a spouse has been. Chatter about the latest *ahem* networking information. And eat. Lunch today was a chicken and prawn laksa from FantAsia. I haven't eaten the laksa from there before but by golly it was good. Almost as good as the noodle place up the road. Almost.

Niece met her new AQ buddy tonight. She seems all right. She's older than Tee with lots of experience so we'll see how that goes. They've gone out to the shops tonight. That's niece's favourite pass time. And it's quiet. I have missed that. Another hour before they get home.

But I know I'm ready for nappage right now. Right. Now. Damn.

Some are growing up. Others, not so much.

Poor Frustrated Froggy. Yes, I think I can understand you there. But both my kids will tell you that I've nagged them for years with the mantra "if a job's worth doing, it's worth doing properly" and that hasn't changed. I'm just frustrating myself I think because my standards are high and they are not being met.

I had a chat to Niece's teacher this week. We are on the same page and it's kind of reassuring to know that some of the behaviours I have noticed are not restricted to home. Teacher thinks that unless things improve Niece will never be picked for a job. She simply cannot stay focussed on a task. There may be other options we can look at for after school but I will have to look at following those up myself. These are places that offer some post school training and a little like work environments but they cost so we would have seek funding. However, Teacher has noticed the brain farts. I mentioned Ma's assessment of manipulative, and Teacher has noticed that too. Also the boys. Very much still focussed on boys and simply cannot/will not stay within the appropriate boundaries of male/female interaction. She's noticed that Niece knows it's not allowed but still does it when she thinks no adults are around. She agrees that Niece's behaviour is simply not safe but also has no idea how to curb it.

Speaking of funding I looked briefly at doing the paperwork for having funding paid directly to me instead of through an agency selected by a Government department. If that happens I need to have a dedicated bank account, keep track of all spending, and justify each expenditure to the funding body but it means that I get to choose how the funding is spent. I'm pretty sure I could handle that but I don't think it's a viable option if Niece is not to stay with me on a permanent basis. AQ at the moment are being quite slack regarding a replacement for Tee who is supposed to be finishing at the end of the month. In fact, she only has two more shifts with Niece but at the moment is having a great deal of car trouble and very little income so we are still owed those two visits. Hopefully that can be fixed soon.

Went out to lunch with a couple of my old workmates. No sooner did they get there then they had to go back. The manager of the GTs had to return because the new General Manager *have i mentioned previously the old GM i didn't like got the boot* had scheduled an immediate appointment. Since he'd given two of the others a lift they decided to return with him. Never mind. The one I baby sit for on a regular basis decided to stay and lunch and we returned him to the office later.

We've arranged to catch up again next Thursday. Plenty of time for someone to throw a spanner in the works between now and then. Heh.

Speaking of growing up...

BMAN HAS BOUGHT A HOUSE!

Yes, you heard me right. He's bought a house. Settlement has gone through and they have picked up the keys. I don't know if Teen's name is on the deeds as well. But she's happy. And I think he is too. It's not new, but the yard is big, it's fenced and there is room for both cars. I think there are some things that need a little renovating but Bman is perfectly happy with that since that was the original plan.

Man, so grown up!! Dammit, next they'll be telling me they want kids *ugh*

Exciting. And yet frustrating!

Welcome to the first day of Autumn. It doesn't really feel like it yet. The temperature has cooled down a little now but around midday it was a bit of a stinker. Actually mid morning. Of course, doing housework didn't help. At all. Yes people, that's right, I DID HOUSEWORK! Shocking I know. I vacuumed and mopped. Niece helped a little by vacuuming some of the space. Then I mopped.

She helped me with hanging out the washing this morning too. Another thing ticked off the housework list. And she wasn't too bad. But this weekend she has been distracted and it's so FRUSTRATING! I have visitors this weekend and even though they are out all day and far past her bedtime, she just doesn't seem to be able to hold her head together.

I'm at the end of my tether. She spelled a word wrong yesterday. It took some time to get her to figure out what spelling was correct. I had to write it a couple of different ways on the board, and then I get her to re-write it while leaving the word on the board. And she spelled it wrong. She didn't unpack the dishwasher properly. I asked her to bring the washing in, take her stuff off last so she didn't have to sort through it all, then put the basket under the clothes drying rack. So she brings it in, disappears to her room and takes longer than she should. I go in and she's sorting through the basket to get her stuff. Siiiiiigh. I'm short about 4 forks in the drawer. Ask her where they are. She didn't have them. But she didn't do her job properly when she unpacked the dishwasher. She's washed her hair this afternoon but hasn't shown me her shampoo measure. And she hasn't put her clothes away from when she bought the washing in. SO DAMNED FRUSTRATING!

But on the upside, Elder and Burrich are visiting for Soundwave. Yes, they only visit on the way through to the concert. They leave in the morning and don't get home till after 10pm. So really, there's no excuse for Niece to have brain farts. She had better not be late getting ready for school tomorrow.

Elder and Burrich arrived very early Friday morning. It had been raining a little and I thought she was a bit wet and bedraggled. Nope, turns out she's coloured her hair and let it dry unwashed while she travelled. Luckily it's a vegan dye so leaving it in does not harm the hair. In fact, it's recommended that the longer you leave it in the better the colour takes. So now she's lime green, darker green, turquoise, and magenta. I really like it. They go home tomorrow and I shall be sads. All sad panda on myself.

I look at the Supanova guest line up for Gold Coast, and again for Sydney. I want so much to volunteer but I don't have the Qantas points for discounted flights this year. Nor do I have a credit card I can rely on for accommodation. Ah well. It might be cheaper to buy a ticket for a day entry, but not half as much fun.

The study continues. Actually, that's what I should be doing right now. But I'm good at procrastinating. Maybe I'll have my second wind tonight and I can finish up the last of this assignment and submit it so I can start on number 3 for this unit. Yeah, maybe that's what I'll do...