One week left!

I can't believe the holidays are nearly over. Already. How quickly has that gone.

Niece has settled back in all right. I think. I haven't had to take her to task too often. Just for a couple of silly things mostly. I've replaced her shampoo with the sulfate free one she had been using. The last one was the same brand but not sulfate free. Sulfate free keeps her hair in better condition, and her scalp too I think.

We've had one small disagreement. About boys mostly. I walked into her room just in time to see her hide something. *why do teenagers do that???* I asked but she refused to give it to me at first, and then relented. I read it and then she had the lecture about boys. She thinks she's old enough but really she isn't. Nowhere near mature enough to have a boyfriend. I have suggested her behaviour is called flirting and is inappropriate at work. And with strangers in public. She doesn't understand this and thinks she is old enough for a boyfriend. I keep trying to tell her that her head isn't old enough and the way she behaves shows me this. We discussed the possible repercussions of inappropriate flirting and not being old enough to choose the right boy. Of course, I can tell her this but it will not sink in. However, she knows that it is inappropriate behaviour at work, and I shall remind her. She can talk to boys at school but she may not flirt. I've also told her she needs to concentrate on her school work. I shall have to remind her of this regularly as well. I have discovered a wealth of things in her report card that say she can do, but she certainly can't do them at home.

First thing will have to be coaching her to use the skills they teach her at school outside, in the wider community. For example, they say she knows her fractions and can follow a recipe. However, when she follows a recipe at home, 150ml of water in a measuring jug could be anything above or below that level. She can't judge that 150ml means filling to that line. 1/2 can be recognised when written, but she has to be reminded that half is two equal portions, eg, half a glass of milk with breakfast.

The saga with the bank continues. I've lodged a dispute with the Financial Ombudsman Service office but I doubt the outcome will be any different from anything else. After that, I guess I will have to approach a different financial service to find out what I can do and discuss bankruptcy. It will be the only remaining option I have I think. Otherwise the bank will take me to court to recover costs and apart from the car, I don't know what else I can sell. I need the laptop to study and it wouldn't fetch much anyway.

Jerome has been sick again. There must be something in this house. That's about four times since we moved that he's been sick. Either he's been eating things he shouldn't that I don't know about or he's just getting sick. Terrible green diarrhoea. He sleeps a lot but if you disturb him he's not lethargic. And his bottom in a terrible mess. I had to bathe him again. He almost got away from me this time. MOTH came to "help" and Jerome redoubled his efforts to get away. It was nearly a vet visit this time but today he seems to be relatively fine.

I finally have my half of the rental bond. ALL OF THE YAY! That's the last of the previous house. Not bad for a move on 28 November last year. MOTH received his payment last Monday but mine never arrived. I double checked the account details with my bank. And with the real estate agent. Oops. A mistype. But a call to the RTA confirmed it had been sent out by cheque. Now received and deposited. Whew.

Tee is back on deck after the break. She has now moved north, Autism Queensland has reorganised her shifts again so we have to figure out the fine points of Niece's hours. This might mean getting a new person in do take her out early in the week while Tee takes a couple of hours later in the week. This is going to be a king sized pain. Niece will be back at school so what can you do from 4pm on a week day? Not a whole lot that's for sure. Late night shopping is Thursday and three hours doesn't give much time to organise anything worthwhile.

I was going to pop in something funny MOTH did the other day. But now for the life of me I can't remember what it was. Ah well, rest assured I would have made it into a grand story....

Nose to the grindstone

Annnnd I'm back. Back home from my trip up north. Catching up on my mail. And I had better make a serious effort to get back on track with my assessments. And that complaint. Better get that sorted. It's been a couple of weeks now and I still haven't managed to finish the time line and scan the supporting documents. Sigh. I really don't know where my life is disappearing to right now.

Hmmm. Thanks ladies, I hadn't thought of double bed sheets. I know they would work if I chose two flat sheets, but would Niece be able to handle making the bed up with them? There's no elastic to just snap on the mattress, and I don't have the time or the inclination to convert them. Something to think about.

I took the train trip up north to fetch her back. I'd forgotten how long a six hour trip can feel. Most of the way I shared my row with another lady. She was a good travelling companion. Chatted occasionally but spent most of the time attached to headphones and music. I spent my time in my seat, watching a movie because I didn't know how to attach myself to the sound. I knew there must be some way but I wasn't enthusiastic enough to try to figure it out. I read for a while, and bought lunch. Once I got past the fact that the "traditional gravy" was in fact some sort of mint flavoured sauce or gravy it was actually a very good meal. The meat was tender, and the veges still crisp. *for those not in the know, two flavours i hate with lamb are rosemary, and mint*

There was plenty of leg room. I confess, that's usually at the very bottom of my list of requirements! The only drawback was I had very sore shoulders and a headache. The arm rests are just a bit too high and I was actually unconsciously raising my shoulders to use them.

Elder met me at the station and off we went. Or at least, that was the plan. The car battery was dead. She called her father in law and he came to the rescue. Got mobile, back to her place out of town to swap cars, then back into town to join Ma and Pa *and the rest of the family* for dinner. Take away. They had pizza and I had golden chicken. I always get a 1/4 chicken and veges with gravy. Love it.

Mouse had a pizza called a "butchers block". I don't know what's on it, but even without cheese *one of her dietary no no's* it looked quite all right.

The next morning I spent with Ma and Pa again. Burrich joined us for a short time before he headed off to work. Then off to the next town to ditch me at Teen's place. She was excited, but more I think, for the fact that finally she had someone who could ride the passenger side while she drives. No one else in her group is legally allowed. You have to be on your "opens" for at least 12 months. Bman makes that mark in March or April I think. At one point during the visit, there was no honey. Let's go out and get some! Such excitement that she could just jump in the car and go. Hopefully the license won't be too far away.

I meet Bman's family at a bbq dinner. Everyone seems to be there - his parents, a grandparent, a cousin who lives in the granny flat, and his brother. The dinner was great. Especially since someone else cooked it. Lunch again with his mum a couple of days later and plenty of driving about and trying to teach Fennekin to sit while I scratched her ears. She's a very enthusiastic pup!

Then end of week and back to Elder. That week has just gone so fast! I offer to treat Elder to the movies. I want to see Into The Woods. She thinks she might like Big Hero 6 as well. We stop by the cinema and check screening times. BH6 isn't screening this late. *sorry elder, but i wasn't sorry* and it's Into The Woods. We grab some snacks with the view of getting dinner afterward.

I loved the movie. It's a musical like the original play. Fairy tale based but not necessarily happy endings for those involved. Some messages there in the story line for sure! I'd watch it again and again. Looks like that's on the DVD list.

And when the movie ended, Elder wasn't hungry and I couldn't decided. I eventually went adventurous and tried the steak wrap from Maccas. And found a cousin serving behind the counter. Excellent!

Ma tells me that Niece has been very well behaved this trip. I know there was some reversion to previous behaviour but certainly not to a huge degree. I guess I should be happy with that. But she's come back with her scalp condition. I'm hoping that a change of shampoo will help. The one she has brought back is not the one I buy for her. She needs sulphate free to control the amount of grease. And Ma commented on the fact that the scalp condition had all but disappeared. Her skin has broken out again too, and I think that may have something to do with not limiting her diet and eating too much oily food. I try limit that here too. Cause I'm mean like that.

The trip home was uneventful. Niece handled it well, listening to some music and dozing some. I was a bit peeved since our seat had no power point so I slipped to an empty chair to use theirs. For a few minutes before the next stop and boom. Someone was seated there. Dammit. But this time, the PA announced the correct channel for the movies. Thanks chaps, I could have done with that on the ride up when I actually wanted to watch the movie...

And home to my lovely, wonderful, darling MOTH. Whom I love to the moon and back. And, incidentally, has double paid the rent in my absence. Siiiiiigh....

Good riddance 2014

And so the last day of 2014 dawns hot and humid. And still. Did I mention there is no airconditioning in this house? We have this...

... but if there is no breeze blowing outdoors there isn't much air movement indoors. The only fan just stirs the hot air about. As fans do.

I'm happy I think to be seeing the back end of 2014. It's been difficult. Not the caring side of things really, they haven't been too bad considering. But financially, wow.

The argument with the bank goes on. They won't negotiate, even with the collectors they've appointed. So where to go from here, we shall see what 2015 brings. I hope something works out.

Yay! The weather finally cleared and I can catch up with the washing. Fan-bloody-tastic. I have decided I really like seeing the laundry floor. I don't care that it's the same floor as the rest of the house, I like seeing it. Hello floor!

I think I mentioned that Niece has only one set of sheets. Apart from the winter ones. I really need to look at buying more but she has a king single and sheets are really hard to come by. I think I've only seen them at Target. I took a quick peep yesterday while looking for something else but didn't see any. I probably should have bought a single bed, but I had visions of her trying to sleep with her feet poking over the edge. Heh.

The Christmas tree is up. Yeah! Squint hard, you might see it.

It's the only decoration I have left after the move. I hope Salvation Army managed to find a good home for the rest, and the tree. The very odd looking black and gold foil tree. *ha! that one might have been difficult to adopt*

Niece took her first flight to return to her mum for Christmas. We made our way to the check in queue. I decided against just bag drop so I could check that a request I had made was noted on the booking. It seemed to take forever to get to our turn. Why does it always seem to take forever? I like to make sure I have at least half hour between when I'm checked in and boarding. We had less than that so as far as I was concerned we were cutting it fine. The chap at check in *justin* just laughed. Cutting it close, says he, is checking in 5 minutes before boarding. We made it through security just fine and then had to find the gate. Niece figured out which direction to go to find the gate, until we got to a junction which said that gate 26 to 36 were down this way. She couldn't figure out if 29 came before or after 26 and 36. I had to make her stop and think as she kept trying to guess. But she worked it out.

She was nervous and excited but the Qantas cabin staffer seemed to be lovely. She and the girl at the boarding gate were very helpful. The cabin staffer escorted Niece down the skywalk, across the tarmac, and on to the plane. I waited a little but left it then before take off when MOTH sent me a text to say he was bringing the car round.

Since then, it's been very quiet at home. Ma tells me that Niece survived the trip and to the time we last spoke, had been behaving herself.

Christmas Eve eve we invite Stan over for dinner. He brings with him a bottle of wine and a pottery wine cooler. The wine is my second favourite *yay!* and the cooler is lovely. He leaves it with us as a gift. It's a lovely evening as of all the Club, I like Stan the best.

The day after Boxing day is off to celebrate with Bestie and her family. It's great to catch up with them again, and friends we only see at her house. We meet a new one as well. It's a great way to spend the day.

A friend who has relocated to Sydney has come back to visit her daughter. She comes over for dinner, and bearing cheesecake. Sara Lee admittedly but I'm not going to argue! Yummmmm! Dinner is a simple one - steak and salad with Sizzler style cheese bread. Okay, the others have beef steak, I have kangaroo. I much prefer that to beef. It takes me a little while to work out how to do the bread as the non stick pan is now sticking and the cheese burns to the pan instead of toasting on the bread. I switch pans and presto! Cheese bread. It goes down well.

Today is nearly over but it's still way too hot. I am so missing airconditioning! How did we ever survive without it... ??

What a year...

I can't say I've found 2014 to be a good year. Here's hoping that 2015 is better. For all of us.

I'm also not sure if this house and I are going to get along either. Nothing much has gone right since we moved in....

Now it's Jerome's turn to be sick. He has tummy ache and it's all over the place. And he's puked under the table. All this at 4:30am. And I have to bathe him to get him clean.

Last night, MOTH found something sharp with is foot. It then disappeared. Until I found it. Twice, with my foot. Seems something had broken. Or a box had some broken glass in it. The silly thing is that I've unpacked most everything and I didn't notice anything chipped. I'm sure I would have!

I look at Niece's sheets. She sweats so much there's a nasty stain on the bottom sheet. I confess to not having washed the sheets for a while. A big no no for me, but I haven't had the chance. And the bloody rain won't stop. So I point it out aaaannnnndddd .... it's not a sweat stain she tells me. It's a vomit stain. On her only set of sheets. And it's been nearly two weeks since she was sick... UGH!

I have to wash my doona cover where Jerome has left traces of himself. And my bottom sheet as well. But it's still raining. Off and on, but it's not good drying weather. And here's another crazy thing about this house. The outside rows of the rotary clothes line aren't long enough to take the full width of a queen sized sheet. WTF? Did only single bed users live here? Bloody hell.

But it's still overcast with light misting rain so I have only washed the doona cover and one of my queen sheets from last change. See, no time to wash or dry anything. I really want to see my laundry floor! Niece's sheets will need to soak over night. Luckily I have my airer for the basic clothes drying. Best $50 I've spent getting into this place.

Back on deck!

Yes! Back on board the internet train!

You just don't realise how much you miss it till you haven't got it, right?

I had hoped for good things with this move but it's been a week and I'm not so sure. Time is slipping through my fingers and the bank account is leaking money like a sieve. It's incredible. I estimate we've spent about $9,000 on the move so far and it's still not done. Of course, that does include rent on the previous house and a replacement couch. But still.

On inspection, yes, this can go here and this can go there. But it doesn't. Finding places for things has been a challenge. I bought a new lounge suite to replace the old ratty one. Elder and Burrich took the old sofa and recliners. Get them here and... no room! My desk is relegated to the back corner with my back to everything. There's simply nowhere else to put it. MOTH lost his full size desk and has gone down to a little workstation.

Spaces in this house are weird shapes. The little cupboards you can see either side of the stove? About as big as the ones you would put the sliding rails for a teatowel. Except they have shelves instead of the rack. The one above the range hood? It's about 3 inches deep so obviously only for show! The pantry? Anything tall like the spaghetti cannister must sit on the bottom shelf (floor) because no other space is tall enough. The linen press in the hallway isn't deep enough to hold a bath sheet folded into thirds. It's crazy.

Jerome has picked up some bad habits, scratching at furniture. And I'm sure there are claw marks in the sill above the loo that weren't there when we moved in. Like the fat thing has tried to jump up but missed. More than once.

Niece has lost the plot and regressed. She's reverted to doing things she knows aren't allowed, and I even have to dig her out of bed in the morning. We had been in the house three days and she comes down sick. And uses the bathroom basin instead of the toilet. End result? A basin full of vomitus and blocked drains. Which effected the whole house. Even the toilets. And no plumber for nearly 48 hours. When he did get here, it was worth the wait. Young and goodlooking with not a crack in sight.

Tee has had her roster changed so we won't be getting the Thursday afternoon/evening long break anymore. We've had to look at splitting it into two lots of two hour breaks.

The school hadn't actioned our change of address for the bus so we have to take Niece to the old house for pick up every day, and be there for her drop off in the afternoon. Luckily, we STILL haven't got all our gear from the house so we have a reason to go there. But it's still annoying.

Niece came down with her vomiting bug Monday evening but seemed okay by Tuesday evening. I came down with a tummy bug Thursday afternoon and I'm still recovering. I'd like to think I was losing weight while I starve myself but nope, nothing happening in that area!

It's been raining every day since the move, or threatening storms and my laundry is piling up. And that's not to mention all the curtains I have to somehow wash and dry from the old house. I've even had to buy a clothes airer as there is no internal clothesline here, and no space to mount one.

The 'net is back on after a week's wait and I haven't begun to touch my assessments. Not since I began the house searching and move. SO MUCH TO CATCH UP ON!

So yeah, one of the worst, most protracted moves I've ever undertaken. Remind me next time I think of moving to kick myself in the butt and leave things be, right?

It occurs to me ...

... that it has been a while since I last wrote. Quite a lot seems to be happening at once!

Niece had her Senior Formal last month. It was Hallowe'en themed. It wasn't a full on thing, dress was Hallowe'en themed, smart casual.

We bought a new dress for her. And in typical fashion, things didn't go to plan while we were getting her ready!

She was supposed to wash her hair the night before. She didn't. It was greasy as heck Thursday afternoon when she came home from school. She washed it. She didn't wash it properly and it was all greasy and yet sticky underneath. Back to the shower to do it properly. Her hair is very fine and lacks volume; alas doesn't tolerate shampoos with sulphate. Which rules out most volumising shampoo. Okay. A quick blowdry upside down and hope for the best. Nope, no better. Curls. But I don't have a styling wand so had to make do with my straightener. It didn't quite work properly. No styling mousse either. Hey, I don't style my hair do I.

She put on her dress. And I laughed. Naughty me. It has a side zip, and once again she had put her arm through the zip and was trying to zip it up.

We found some make up ideas on Facebook and had bought some face paint to work with. Alas, the brush turned out to be less than up to the task so it didn't work as well as it might. However, I wasn't going to pay >$100 for a professional face paint kit! We made do. Orange and olive green eye shadow painted with black bats. A green tint in the lippy and presto! Hallowe'en themed.

We arrived at the venue and escorted her to a group of friends. Some of the boys seemed to be in costume but most of the girls had taken the opportunity to dress up and they looked beautiful. MOTH and I knicked off to the nearest shopping centre to waste two and half hours as it wasn't worth returning home just to turn around to come back again. It was about half hour drive home.

Suddenly the house hunting is underway in earnest. I thought we'd ease into it but nope, full on. Endless searching on realestate.com.au and trying to decide which surburbs we want to look at. The school gives me an idea of what areas will do the bus run and mentions that one of the suburbs I chose was outside that so we could live there, but we would have to get her to school ourselves. One of the others was in a different school catchment. What does that mean for other suburbs? We take this to mean that we will choose a suburb and see what happens. There's nothing available in our current suburb within our budget. They're small, 3 bedrooms, and around $370 to $380 a week.

While the current way of thinking is not to pay more than 1/3 of your income in rent, I will happily pay up to 1/2 as I am very fussy. Very fussy. It must look right. It must feel right. It must be clean. I won't live in a place I consider a dump. Most anything that is less than 1/3 of our current income falls in that category I'm afraid. And I won't pay top dollar for a place I will never be happy in. Did I mention I am fussy? Most of the houses we looked at were over 1/3 of our income.

The ones we like in the outer suburbs are the same or newer but $350 to $360 a week. A good saving but higher fuel costs as we drive to and from the school twice a day. Hmmmm. We look at a suburb a little closer. It's a lovely area but the housing is around $360 to $370. Just under half. Suddenly, my calendar is full of reminders about inspections. There are a couple of suburbs we could look at with cheaper rents, old housing commission homes but the areas don't have great reputations. So many nice houses to look at in other surburbs, and we're busily putting in tenancy applications. But they're all knocked back. So depressing!

We look at everything from houses to units. And some of the units were lovely but way too small! I put in an application on one before viewing and what a disappointment. Lovely lovely lovey but only enough room in the living area for 1 x 2 seater couch, coffee table, television unit. And behind the couch, 1 metre to the kitchen bench. Upstairs though were 3 generous sized bedrooms. I think I'd rather the space in the living area.

One pops up in our area. MOTH loves it. It's 3 bedroom and there are a lot of people at the inspection. I like it but I'm not sure quite how I feel about it. However, it DOES have a proper clothes line. They are surely getting rare these days!

And then suddenly, an offer! On the house MOTH really liked. I liked it too but I think he liked it better. And the same day when I contact agents to withdraw any applications we had, I find out we had successfully secured a townhouse. That one was our second choice. 3 bedroom, brand new. Pet friendly. Airconditioned. *the new house doesn't have this. cue trepidation!* Brand new I say! Not hugely spacious, but we could manage. And not far from the local tavern either. I don't think noise would have been a problem as it was set some distance back from the road. Oh wait. That was the one we were shown. But we did express a preference for one in that row. And MOTH informs me that we also had a very good chance on another in a nearby suburb. MOTH did this inspection by himself. *the first time Tee didn't turn up early so i couldn't go* It had an unusual layout that MOTH liked and I liked in the photos.

So now, all systems go while we sort and pack. And try to coordinate things so that it all comes together. Visitors. Volunteering weekend. Graduation. Assessments for my diploma. It all falls at the same time. Wish me luck people!

Looks like I've lost another week

How does time manage to fly by so fast? I simply don't know. I blink and it's days later.

So far *ahem* study seems to be going well. I've completed two assessments of my third unit now and I'm still ahead. I should be working on assessment three even as I update this but you know. Nothing is more urgent than doing housework and such when an assignment is due. This one shouldn't *hopefully* be too difficult; a report discussion some options provided in a scenario.

Jerome has been a .... well, almost a different cat. I don't know why. He runs about wanting me to play with him. That is, chase. And feed him. And he tolerates pats from strangers. And YOWL! Demand, demand, demand. He's so vocal lately!

Almost like a different cat.

He asks for breakfast at 3.30am these days. Occasionally I can hold him off till 4.30 by telling him to shut up, it's too early. Just lately instead of mrrrrting at me until I wake, he's started punching me. He sits at the side of the bed level with my head, stands up and hits me with his paw. Whatever he can reach. First time it was my face. Lately it's my hand. Yoiks.

Did I mention about moving house? There's no way I can continue to pay the current level of rent so at lease it, it's somewhere else we go. I've no idea how we're going to fund it. Moving is expensive and we need to have the new bond before we can take up a new residence.

I can't help myself though, I've started looking already. I probably shouldn't because we can't move for a month at least. The worst part is that we are limited in choice by the school. If I want Niece to continue school I need to be conscious of where the school boundaries lie. There are some suburbs I can look at, but others are out of the area. And all the cheap government funded rents are waaaaay outside.

I've got my priorities right though! Looking at accommodation to see what's about in my price range - not much that's up to my standard. The joys of champagne taste on a beer budget. And I've managed to ... pack one carton. Whoo! Go me! I really should get on that.

Still haven't figured out what to do with Niece over the Christmas break. Maybe Pa can come down and take her back. And then I can go up and bring her back. Ah, who knows. My head wants to pop just thinking about it. Just like Teen's when she was in Grade 2. School made her head pop. Her teacher thought it hilarious.

Elder will be visiting next month too. She thinks she's here to attend stuff and cadge a free bed. Little does she know she's going to be sorting boxes....

You must be so tired, she says.

And I am. So very tired of it all. And nothing seems to sink in.

The constant lying is wearing me down. Even Tee is losing patience with it. She tries to explain that it's not good but the message isn't sinking in. Today I told Tee to just come out and be straight. Call her on it. Don't bother worrying about hurting her feelings but be straight and to the point. Ma told me to never let her get the manipulative upper hand because she will take you for all she can. I passed that on to Tee. I really don't see any other way to deal with it. Trying to get her to think of other's perspective is a waste of time. I know an active fantasy world is part of her condition, and maybe I could make allowances for that. But the constant lying about every little thing has me at my breaking point.

Where is your foot towel? No answer. Don't know. What did you do with it? Don't know. Don't know where it could be. Eventually she tells me she didn't start with one. I let it ride a bit and tell her to get one. Today I ask, did you wash the potato before you put it in the pot? Yes, she says. That's the truth. And one glance at the pot proves it's not. Every. Little. Thing. I'm fast reaching the point where I'm going to explode. Again.

Even Tee commented today she is getting tired of having to constantly try to assess if it's the truth she's getting or not. Especially since the topic is boys. And having to pull Niece up on inappropriate behaviour - waving to strangers, smiling and giggling at boys, and loud comments about ones she thinks are cute. She tells me that even the respite notes have mentioned the boy mad bit. It's driving me crazy. Especially since SHE DOESN'T BEHAVE LIKE THAT WHEN SHE'S WITH ME.

But last weekend we went to Riverfire. I warned Niece that it would be loud. And she was pretty good. No meltdown or anything. But she did find the jet flyover loud, jamming her hands over her ears and shaking with her mouth open. Until I told her "CONTROL IT" and immediately she stopped. Sometimes I don't know what's genuine autistic behaviour or just attention seeking.

We went with Bestie and her family. This year we didn't have to wait for another family and got to the venue in good time. An easy choice of position and even some plastic chairs. Niece seemed to enjoy herself. She had her face painted. But then, so did Bestie's daughter, Bestie, and myself. I love that bit. It was very windy but fun. Bestie's daughter, Niece, and I danced while we waited in line for the face paint. Bestie was in the queue for balloon animals with her son. MOTH and Bestie's hubby were around with the chairs.

I had a great time. And at the end of the evening we took a slightly different way home and it took about 20 minutes. Beautiful.

I've submitted another assessment piece and been graded competent so that's two units down. Yay! I've completed them early as they didn't need to be finished until 18 October. My tutor is happy with my progress. They've released the next two units early so I've begun the first assessment of one of them. I'm doing a Diploma of Event Management. And it seems like about a billion other people are too. All I can do is hope that I manage to get some work out of it when I finish.

Niece cooked dinner tonight. Didn't do too bad a job, except for the whole damned lie about rinsing the potato. But she was happy to cook. It's easier if I do it but I have to let her learn, right? I can only hope that if she goes to visit her mum that she shows them what she can do. And doesn't revert to type.

I have had contact from her previous case worker to find out if she was coming to visit. And maybe they can help with funding, and arrange some things for her and her family to do while she visits. Sounds all right, but there are so many other factors we need to consider. Her previous case worker is too optimistic I think. Heh. Ma and I need to think about how to get her up north. When. I don't really want her here over Christmas, but I don't want to leave MOTH alone over that period while I escort her north. MOTH can't come because of Jerome. But the case worker suggested maybe they could get funding to put Jerome into a cattery or something while we're aware. Not sure I'm comfy with that. I have separation anxiety. Oh wait, that's Jerome, not me. *ha!*

And then there's where would she stay. Ma might take Nephew and Niece can stay with her mum. There's no way they could stay together. There's no way she could stay with Ma. And where would I stay? With Elder? With Teen? And somewhere in there we have to move house. How is that going to work? I can't leave MOTH to do that by himself. So many things to think of...

Oh Jerome!

And I'm watching Miss Marple and trying to figure out who is playing their bass so loud at this time of night. Suddenly it dawns on me, it's from the TV. Yes, it's been that kind of week.

Jerome has been bugging me for food. Again! He had his supper at 5:30pm and now, 3 hours or so later, he wants food again. And I worm him regularly. He's a marvellous cat but his voice is so Siamese yowl.

The Niece has been giving herself grief this week. Her penchant for telling tales has had her in a bit of bother. She has told Tee that her boyfriend has put pictures of her on his Facebook. This is a little worrying. However I can't figure out, and questioning her doesn't provide an answer either, where he may have managed to get the photos. I write a note in the diary for her teacher. I get a call to discuss the matter. A girl Niece travels with on the bus has told her that P had uploaded the photos. Investigation by the teacher who has spoken to the girl and her mother indicates that neither of them have a Facebook account. No idea where the pictures could have come from. And P isn't at school to ask them. Teacher reassures me that she has no idea where they could have gotten the pictures either has they aren't allowed tech at school. No phone in other words. And they aren't in the same class. I mention the tale Niece has told Tee about getting into trouble. Teacher knows nothing of this, she hasn't confiscated any notes and if anyone else has she's not been told. And as far as she knows, Niece would like to be friends with P but he isn't interested.

So. It seems that Niece's penchant for fantasy has gotten her into a great deal of trouble. And not just her. And when I confront her, she tells me that it was all a lie. Even the girl on the bus was a lie. So she's told a tale that has not only gotten her into trouble but a lot of other people as well. And even after explaining this, and the fact that *we've discussed this before!* she can't say that P is her boyfriend if he isn't! She shows me pictures she says he's given her. But he hasn't. He's given them to the girl on the bus. Niece has written OXOX on the bottom and crossed out the other girl's name. *rolls eyes*

And she'll probably feel bad and think about it for about half a day while I try to convince her that P is NOT her boyfriend and to think about all the other people she got in trouble. Not to mention that if she keeps going everyone is going to point and whisper that she's the girl who tells lies and no one will have anything to do with her. But they'll all know about the girl who tells lies. And then it will all go back to where it was at the beginning.

I have finished my first unit! Yay! My tutor is very pleased as I am ahead with my study. This cluster *two units* finish on 18 October 2014. I have one assessment for the second unit to go. My tutor has made arrangements for the next cluster to be released early. Apparently part of my course also involves the gift of an iPad. On loan of course until I graduate. Then it becomes mine. Haven't seen it yet. Maybe it will arrive this week.

It's been decided that we will be moving at the end of the lease. The landlord has offered another 13 months with no increase but the current rent is just too high to sustain. We've registered for the National Rent Assistance Scheme but am not quite sure what it means. Lower rent in NRAS properties but so far they all seem to be townhouses. The agent was adamant that putting our current residence into the system was not feasible so MOTH is no longer worried about staying with the same agency. I think I could cope with a townhouse but MOTH isn't.

And then hopefully we aren't too constricted in our choices by the school. Catchment areas you know....

The Week That Was

I survived Oz Comic-Con. And I didn't even manage to get many photos.

The call for volunteers to arrive on Friday went out. I managed to arrive at 2pm and still there were plenty of people there ahead of me. I found some other Front of House volunteers in the queue. We chatted while we waited. I fronted the desk. What's the first three letters of your last name. T.A.T. He echoes me. T.I.T. I correct him and he's very embarrassed. I think it's hilarious. And every check in the following couple of days I remind him my name is T.A.T.

Bump in is in full swing. We're separating the wrist bands which are all in sheets. It's tedious stuff but has to be done. Some of them are pulling them apart with no worries in the world but I'm terrified I'll tear them. I guess I shouldn't have worried considering. But my feet are killing by the end of the evening. We break for pizza and everyone has fun stacking the boxes to see how high a tower they could make. I think they managed about 50something boxes. I get to collect my shirt. The crew colours are ... lime green. Lovely. I've eaten three slices but I'm still starving. There's a Subway across the street and I tuck into a 6 inch sub as well.

A 7am start today. That means I have to catch the bus out at 6:05am. Nasty. Front of House staff have queuing priority for check in as we need to be on the ball and ready for 7am. I attach myself to a group at a table who are dealing with bands and bags and scanners. Whoo. Seems I'm on 'bagging and tagging'. One of the other girls laughs and tells me they do that in a morgue. Close enough I say. We have a quick orientation and then it begins. It doesn't seem well organised to me and I don't really get a break till nearly 2pm.

I'm not the only one who thinks it's not well organised. But I manage to go on break and .... I'm lost. I can't remember where the volunteer headquarters are where our bags and stuff are stored. All supervised and issued a number and everything. Uh oh. I wander around looking for it. And eventually I ask. And it seems I walked past it at least once. I didn't recognise the doors. Duh!

Lunch is a mess. There are only the canteens inside the venue. We get a lunch voucher but there's no dedicated line and we have to take our chances with everyone else. Sheesh. Who thought of this? I line up with the general crowd but someone swings by and tells me to jump into that queue there because that's going to be a dedicated one. About time. And I finally get something to eat.

Rest of the afternoon I spend helping patrons put their wrist bands on. There's too many of them to bag and tag so they've been left to do it themselves. So many in fact that pay at the door patrons were getting in faster than those with prepaid tickets. Volunteers get a free autograph of the organisers choosing. It turns out to be Booboo Stewart. Apparently he was the baby werewolf in Twilight and is also one of the mutants in X Men: Days of Future Past. I line up toward day's end but am told with others that Booboo has to leave and to come back tomorrow. I did manage to get a photograph with Jason Momoa though!

I don't get back for the autograph. But I did manage to get time off to attend a panel. Jason Momoa's panel. He's a lovely bloke. And very funny. Swears a bit when he gets carried away. I also manage to get away to fetch an autograph from Eddie McClintock of Warehouse 13. He's so friendly. I'm on outdoor duty today. No one wanted that. I know I didn't because ... well, sunshine. And stuff. I did have sunscreen with me but even a 50+ will only protect me for about an hour. Luckily it turns out to be a fairly shady spot on a shady day and hardly anyone queuing at all.

I don't feel like the lunch in the canteen so I think I'll drop by one of the little barista points on the landing outside. They have some sandwiches but nothing special. Looking through the windows seems to indicate that the Subway across the road is busy. Ultra busy. And I don't have the time or the inclination to trundle any further afield. I should have thought of it though. I totally forgot that a block or two further down is ... Southbank. Silly me.

Feet are dead at days end but it has been worth it. The Teen is here to visit and we've arranged to meet at the venue. When she arrives I ask if I can leave for the day. They have no problem with that and when I tell her to wait for me, one of the organisers who has been sorting wrist bands hands her one and tells her she's ok to go in. She's delighted.

And when she's in she finds the Magic the Gathering tables. Snaps them and sends to the boyfriend. Who is totally jealous. Mission accomplished. I grab my gear and we take a wander around the stalls.

She's here for a week but I only get to see her Tuesday and Wednesday as she's busy with friends and gigs. Barbie sleeps over on the nights they're attending gigs together. It's a noisy house. Luckily Niece is off on her first respite weekend in months so misses most of it. Friday night Teen, MOTH, and I were going to go for dinner but she finds that a payment she'd forgotten about has come out of her funds. We stay in and she and I have fun with the limited stock I have in my bar. Facebooking is so much more fun when you're three sheets to the wind I say.

And in this I still have an assessment to complete and submit. It's the last one for this unit and then I will have completed the first unit of my Diploma of Event Management. One down, oh so many to go. There are four assessments in the second unit and I've completed two of those as well. I'm terrified about the third. It's a negotiation role play, done with the tutor over skype. Yoiks.

Ah well, no backing out of it is there! Better get on prepping for that....

Unit 1 copy unit 1

It's been a busy busy week!

Huh. Just about to test Android NFC transfer but got halfway into the other room and remembered I've packed my other phone away. Never mind, I'll see if I can borrow MOTH's. Oh darn. He has bought himself a new, you beaut cover for it. It weighs a ton really and actually screws together to encase the phone. But hey! At least he won't damage the phone if he drops it. Unless it's on his face while he's web surfing in bed. Or he'll damage something anyway. Did I mention it weighs a ton?

Things have died down a little on the Niece front. There was a small hiccup the other day when I caught her swearing at the neighbour's child who was playing noisily in their yard. She's been excited this week thinking about attending the Jamie Oliver Ministry of Food class with her school. It's a four week course that teaches food health, preparation, storage, and other food like things.

The school has finally confirmed that she will be doing an extention year next year. Finally! At least now I know what is going on.

Boys. Yes, she told me about the boy. Of her own accord too. Well, with a little manipulation. Heh. She hides the sketch book she's been working on. I remind her that I will find out what she's bee up to. On the way out of the house the next day to meet the bus she mentions "I don't get in trouble at school. I do at home but not at school". I tell her that of course she does. I know. Sneaking about won't hide anything. Besides, your teacher will tell me. That's what parent/teacher interviews are for. That afternoon she brought me the book to see. I didn't mention that I'd already peeked at it. And that's how I found out about Patrick. *ahem*.

I have my volunteering assignment for Comic-Con. Oh dear. I'm sure I didn't volunteer for this section but I've been allocated to Front of House. FoH looks after the entrance with ticketing, wrist bands, show bags, queues, and maps among other things. It means a fair bit of outdoor work too. I don't like outdoors. I burn easily and I will have to be continually swapping between my sunglasses and eye glasses. Hopefully the way I read the information sheet is correct and rotation is high. And I found some 50+ sunscreen on the shelves the other day. I am very fair skinned so that will protect me for about 45 to 50 minutes I think. On reflection I am pretty sure I volunteered for queueing - autographs. Ah well. The other volunteers seem to be friendly - we have a commmunity page on facebook - and some of us have been chatting.

And at the same time, since I am obviously a glutton for punishment, I have bitten the bullet and enrolled in full time study. A diploma level so it's only 12 month duration. It is very full on though with the aim to lodge one assessment piece a week. I'm two down for my first unit and assessment one for my second. So much study! And I'm wondering why the heck I signed up for this. I've forgotten how much I like my spare time. *cough*

Past your bedtime girl!

Just lately Niece has begun to get sneaky. I guess most teenagers are sneaky. I've found out she has a boyfriend. And they've been getting into trouble at school for writing letters and holding hands. Tonight she's busy drawing. It engrossed her long enough to miss her bed time. She's normally pretty rigorous about that. And then she hides what she's been doing when I tell her it's bed time. Now I'm pretty sure that whatever she's hiding has to do with the boyfriend. I'm finding it difficult to bite my tongue, especially since I am not supposed to know about said boyfriend. Now I'm sure that my teenagers weren't saints, but they weren't so blatantly obvious that they were sneaking. I nearly always found out though! But since they were a bit more compos mentis I also might not have minded so much.

Either that, or I'm getting old and cranky. Certainly something about this particular teenager is setting me on edge.

Knowledge of the boyfriend came from Tee, with a request that I not say anything as that might jeopardise any chance that Niece will tell her anything in the future. Yes, I agree, but boy is it annoying!

Finally I get word from the temp panel that there is a position opened up that I might be suited for. If I get it, I would start on Monday. *today* Oh, they are 'chatting' to another about the position. One of them seems stuck on "academia" but I am not sure what he's getting at. I have worked in a University, "academia" is no different from any other section of the uni, despite what they may think. I don't get the position.

But that might be just as well. I have girded my loins and enrolled in full time study. The course starts Monday. *today* It looks like they would like at least one assessment piece each week to conclude the study on time. There are also role playing modules, and a presentation module. OMG I hate those. So terrified of doing anything like that. Always have been and always will be.

There's an odd noise I can hear. I think it's from outside. Something seems to be scuffling outside the screen door. And now the screen is rattling. Jerome gets low and rushes to the doorway. I follow. Aaaaannnnnd it's the brush turkey, pecking at the door and investigating the mop and bucket just outside. Silly turkey.

I really want to go to Oz Comic-Con. Really. The fact that Orlando Bloom is making an appearance has nothing to do with it! Really. Jason Momoa will be there! It's not really expensive to get in but by the time you add up the cost of the autographs and photos... But then again, it's the same for Supanova I guess. For something to do I look at the website to see if they have volunteers. Yes! They do. Sooooo, guess what I do. And a couple of short days later I receive an email to say I've been accepted. w00t! *ahem. nope. not excited at all* We shall see how volunteering there compares. It's a little different already in that there is no pre event orientation for me to attend. And they'll give me an autograph token for one of the guests of their choosing. Be interesting to see who I get.

Now I just need to try and get saving so I can afford autographs of the ones I want!

Dear Diary, it's been a while since my last entry...

Well. Learned something new. I use a mouse, not the touchpad on the laptop. And look at that! Apparently the touchpad uses gestures. I did not realise this! Fast learner, me.

The only reason I found out it uses gestures is that it stopped working. *screech* I popped the lid open and ... nothing. Black screen with a white mouse pointer. ARRRRGH! It's only about twelve months old. I turn it off. And on. No change. Repeat process about three times. Well. Dammit. I disconnect it from the AC plug. Nope. Nothing. I unhooked the AC connection from the laptop. More than once. And nope, nothing again. Well, heck. What now? I drag out the manual. Oh! Look! The trackpad uses gestures. Huh. But no help as to the problem. Ummm. What next? MOTH has taken over the driver's seat and is trying the things I have already done. Nothing again. I'm trying to see what the status lights mean. There's one on hard *all the time* but I can't see what it is. Then there's the power light. And one that seems to be the disk light. Wireless. Caps lock. Num lock. And what's that one? I can't see the symbol properly. The manual is no help at all. Eventually I decide that the only other option is to pop out the battery. MOTH is still in the driver's seat so he takes it out. I have to tell him where it is. And it works. Thank heavens for that! I'm breathing a lot easier now.

It's been a rough few weeks. Niece has begun the process of "settling in" I believe. Her demeanor has changed; she's surly more often. She lies around not doing much. Her behaviour and manners are becoming inappropriate more frequently. Suddenly she's angry at something *i suspect a cat* and suddenly has a face like a thunder cloud. Tee *her companion. have i mentioned her before??* doesn't know what to do. I kid her out of it, but I'm not impressed. Her jobs are becoming "half arsed". She's beginning to roll her eyes when she's asked to do something. She's stopped taking notice of her grooming. Her hair is no longer done neatly and she gets cranky if I make her redo it. Siiiiigh. All these things Ma told me she does and I thought I was escaping.

Moose arrives and we drive out to the airport to collect her. I'm excited because I don't get to see her often. Our plans are to check out the renovations at a nearby shopping centre, and hit the Ekka. We visit the shopping centre. It has expanded quite considerably, taking over some of the parking. It looks like something that should exist in the city, in a plaza somewhere. Shiny black walls, lots of glass, gold touches. Very upmarket. When MOTH and I stop here we hit the butcher in the food market and order from the hot box. It's always something different, but it's all been good. Moose seems to enjoy her wagu beef burger.

Friday we go to the Ekka. If you pre-purchase your tickets you can get discounted rail travel to and from the event. I like this. And not only that, but if you show your ticket you can get a 30% discount on a return day pass for any other day of the event. Yesss! I know that either Elder or Burrich will be going so I purchase them a ticket. Moose and I look at the animals but don't go through the baby farm. We're more interested in the cat show. That's sponsored by Whiskas and they have a brief information session where you can find out a little about the various breeds. And pat them. Love it.

I buy a dagwood dog from the kiosk just outside the animal pavillion. They have the best 'dogs. We wander briefly through the food hall. One of the stalls sells bagels. Moose has smoked salmon and avocado, mine is smoked salmon and cream cheese. They taste wonderful. We spend some money on new eyeshadow *i can be a sucker for that!* and sweet things.

Moose leaves and I have a couple days to gear up for a visit from Elder and Burrich. All three of us end up going to the Ekka and I leave them mid afternoon to enjoy the arena and night events. When MOTH picks me up from the railway station he tells me that a car in our street had been fingerprinted. Some butt wipes have stolen all four of the wheels. The owner is a young lad, still on his red P plates. This means he's had his license for less than a year. I'm angry on his behalf. How dare some low life help themselves to other people's belongings? They really need public whippings for people like that. It also means that MOTH isn't willing to leave the side gate unlocked for Elder and Burrich and we make room in the garage for them to park there car. The car with the stolen wheels is a sports car of sorts, Burrich only owns a Rio. I guess he's lucky.

Elder makes a comment about the laptop not working. And before I know it MOTH is busy telling her about how he had to remove the battery to get it to work. Now hang on a minute!

Niece is rude again. Very rude. To Burrich. Because he had the gall to be in the toilet when she wanted to go to bed. I make her apologise, she smart mouths me afterward about Burrich's response and I send her to bed with a flea in her ear along with a warning not to get up early because I would still be angry. Elder hugs me afterward and exclaims she hasn't seen me in "mum mode" for a long time and she's glad she's outgrown it!

Next morning Niece is a now show till I dig her out of bed at 10:20am. But it seems she's yelled at the neighbour to "shut up" because they were out talking to visitors on their patio. I explain to her that was very inappropriate, she should have been awake, how the heck would he know she wasn't, and he has every right to be where he was doing what he was. And then I kept her doing chores until after 3:00pm. She seemed chirpy after that, but I'm beginning to remember why and how much I hate teenagers.

Why did I take her on again ... ?

"Explore". So says the catalogue.

Feeling a little more relaxed than last post. Think those cyber hugs may have helped.

So I'm looking through the David Jones *a high end department store* catalogue. And so much fashion and beautiful women. Long and thin. These photos must be 'shopped, even the men. No one has skin that smooth. And as I flip through and the occasional shiny catches my eye I'm wondering where are the toys? Nope, not a tech thing in sight. Only fashion. DJ's you disappoint.

Things are getting hectic. Jerome growls all the time. Sheldon gets naughtier every day. Penny sleeps on the bed to avoid it. Roll on collection date.

Moose's visit and the Ekka roll closer. I wonder how I shall fund that? The ticket price for an adult is $29 and that's just through the gate. Showbags, food, rides, everything else is extra. I'm lucky in that most of the things I like to look at don't cost extra. The animal farm! The lambs birthing! The horses! The cattle! The poultry! The cats and dogs! The food hall! Yeah!

The Elder will be arriving mid August. She also would like to touch down at Ekka but isn't sure she can afford the gate price. That's ok, we can find something else to do that won't cost as much. It's almost a shame she's visiting August and not September. There's something I would love to do September but I don't want to do it alone.

The Teen gives me the date she will be visiting. September! But ... she arrives on the last day of the convention I want to see. Bummer. That's no good to me at all. MOTH isn't geeky enough to enjoy something like that, not really. And then if I did pay for his entry, what do we do with Niece? She doesn't get respite till the following weekend. Talk about lack of timing! Ah well, my wallet wouldn't allow me to go anyway so I guess it doesn't matter and I'll just have to drool from afar.

Up and early for a city trip. I have to catch the 6:30am bus. The information session starts at 7:50am. I'm registering for accreditation for Volunteering Queensland for a major event coming up. I attend the session, provide my ID, a photo for the background check. Then off to station 2 for uniform fittings. Ooohhhhh. I'm totally bummed. Tailored shirts. TROUSERS. Terrible. I wear tailored shirts but they don't fit well usually. And I NEVER wear trousers. I just can't get any to fit. There is no other option though. The tailored shirt is 3/4 sleeve and white. Isn't tunic length either. Great. The trousers are a taupe colour. A kind of darker beige. And having dealt with the company supplying the uniforms before I'm not surprised. I never liked any of the options they had back then either. Anyway, I try them on. I have to go up a size in the shirt, it won't button across my belly. That makes it too big in the shoulders. I try the trousers on. Hipsters. I didn't expect anything else really. ALL trousers are hipsters on me. And an inch gap in the small of my back. I hope the shirt will be long enough to give plenty of cover over the top of the pants. Which don't have much stretch so sitting is going to be a problem. Why do designers never allow for these things?? Luckily I find out I can have them altered. And if they are paying for alterations I am going to have the heck altered out of them, right? Right.

Weary, weary, weary

On the edge at the minute, wishing the Monetary Gods would cut me some slack. Always struggling and no relief in sight. This is so hard....

Too many choices.

It's going to be a busy week coming up....

Tee comes for her second visit. MOTH and I volunteer to take her to one of the other shopping centres. We have so many to choose from. But for shopping, the local one is not so great. Good for food with three supermarkets to choose from, a green grocer, and heaps of cafes and restaurants. But very little by way of shopping. Once at the centre, MOTH and I go one way, Tee and Niece the other.

Actually, trying to think of things I've been doing surely is a brain drain.

I've been paid a small bonus. Whee! I pick up my layby. Hello refurbished little PS3. I love you. What games will I pick? I have four. Lollipop Chainsaw. Very linear and cartoon like with a cheerleader and zombies. Ratchet and Clank. It's fun and rated G I think so Niece can play if I feel generous. The other two are exact opposites to that. Strong story lines, great graphics, and complicated play. Should be interesting. I think I should play them during the day while Niece isn't at home, but I often end up doing other things. Then the only time I can play them is after she goes to bed and I'm too tired to play them.

Niece and I had our first dust up. I can't complain really, it has only taken five months. That's pretty good. For a teenager. I find I am running out of patience, I seriously don't know how Ma managed. I'm finding I am having to mentally grit my teeth as I explain something for the umpteenth time, recheck her work, constantly explain things she hears on television *somehow a 36 year sentence gets translated to 136, but details of ads are registered just fine* and endlessly explain overuse and wastage *for example a roll on deodorant should last more than 3 or 4 weeks yes?*. I know that's what I'm being paid for but oh! Sometimes it's wearying.

I receive a letter to advise that I've made it through to the next round of checks etc for the big volunteering gig toward the end of the year. I know it sounds odd, I mean, volunteering right? And no guarantee you will be selected. This one is orientation for accreditation. I don't know how long it will last but the only suitable slot involves an 8am start. This means catching the 6:30 or 6:48am bus. And in winter. Go me! MOTH wasn't keen on an 8pm arrival home time or being left with Niece all day on the weekend. Ah, the sacrifices I make.

An ex work mate from ages ago is having a Norwex party. I can't make it but place an order. She offers to drop it off to me. Sure thing. She arrives and brings some limes from her tree. Over coffee she assures me they are Tahitian limes and sweeter than the regular ones. And actually they are. We chat over coffee for a while before she heads out. It was great to see her again.

A couple of weeks go by and I think I would like to grab some more limes. This time I think it's my turn to collect from her. I tell her that if I bring my driver *moth* then I will have to bring Niece. Or I can bring the GPS. Just let me know her preference. She opts for the GPS. Oh. Okay I guess. No problem. This shall be an adventure.... However, when I get there on the weekend, I'm grateful to have the time away by myself. We drank coffee, discussed life issues, and authors. It was really great to catch up and I hope we can do it again.

It's tax time. I really should look at that shouldn't I. I have tried to get a payment summary using the online self service but am not able. Dang it. I'll have to visit the office. I phone the tax agent to make and appointment; she suggests we visit an office that is quite a way out of our area. Oh. Never would have thought of that. Sure why not, and we'll take a quick peek at the shops while we are there.

My name is in the queue and we head for a seat. I look at a woman whose face reminds me of someone. She looks at me and suddenly smiles. Hello! As soon as she spoke I knew who she was. I worked with her many years ago! She chat while she waits for her daughter to do a change of address. It was great to catch up. After what feels like a while but really isn't we're seen and our request processed. The Customer Service Officer is a very pleasant chappy and provides the information I want on a piece of paper as the official documents will take at least a week to arrive.

That done, there's a little pocket money and we treat ourselves to a Sizzler lunch.

Tee takes Niece out for her Thursday outing. They get back and .... Niece doesn't have her bag. Uh oh. They look in the car, nope, not there. Oh dear.... I phone the shopping centre and report the loss. It contained her wallet. And a container. I remembered the container later. It hasn't been handed and and they will contact me if it is. That's all I can do. I can't convince MOTH to go back to the shops and look. Someone will find it and hand it in he says. I don't get a phone call, and still haven't. Tee assures me that it wasn't left in Target and Niece put her wallet in the bag as Tee carried the tray to the table. So. I guess Niece has good taste in bags right?

Now I get to sort out what cards were in the wallet and see if I can arrange replacements. One of them was my library card. I guess the only consolation is that I keep her keycard and just that morning I removed her pension card to take to Centrelink and hadn't yet put it back .... That's good, right?

Quick link update....

Supanova. Family oriented fun for a great day/weekend out or those who take their costuming *cosplay* seriously. Supanova Pop Culture Expo

It's been four months now....

And it occurs to me that I've been very slack and not updated my blog. Not only have I not updated, I've also not been reading blogs. Even playing games has died off quite a bit. SHOCKING!

Mostly I can't remember what day it is. I think this sums it up.....

Things are progressing slowly in the garden. We've come to the conclusion that we will have to relocate at the end of the lease. It's too expensive to continue but I so love the location! The neighbour popped over for a quick visit. His house is up for sale but the council had a concern regarding possible access to his pool. Apparently a kid could climb over our fence and get to his pool. Hooookay. *thinks about this* They would have to climb a 6 foot vertical paling fence. Then over the top, drop several feet to their ground and then to the pool. We do have some trees close to the fence but the retaining wall on their side would bring them to a quick halt I think before they got to the pool. Still, it has to be done I guess.

Any work in the garden is stopped since MOTH had a bit of a tangle with the little chainsaw on their last outing together. I'm minding my own business *unusual, yes i know* and I hear him call. Hon, I need some help. I go to see and he has two fingers on his left hand held straight and pressed together. Plenty of blood and I get to see if I can dress them. Up to the hospital and he ends up with about three stitches in one, and some superglue on the other. He's very, very lucky.

Supanova Sydney crops up. The lineup looks great! I so want to volunteer! Yes, I think I will. Getting to the city? The venue? Naaaaah, burn that bridge when I cross it. I get accepted. Swwweeeeet! What now? Oh look! My frequent flyer rewards program says I have almost enough points to get very discounted flights. Both ways. But not quite. I've booked one way and hope I manage to accrue enough points to make the balance. I've sucked up to Froggy and she's agreed to house me for the week. MOTH is left home with Niece. Not a great pairing but hey! Supanova you know!

We have a couple things planned while I'm there. Visit The Rocks and Darling Harbour. Check out her local area. Visit her workplace. We must find that Lindt store.

Wednesday is a good day to check things out. We ride the train. Whoo! THEY HAVE DOUBLE DECKER TRAINS! No, I wasn't excited at all. And LOOK! THE BACK OF THE SEATS MOVE SO YOU CAN CHANGE THE DIRECTION YOU FACE! The inner child and geek are very much appeased.

In the city we didn't look at the Opera House up close. Everyone one does that. Sufficient I have a photo with it in the background. We rode the ferry and sat right at the front outside the cabin. The breeze was crisp but it wasn't icy. Everyone has a photo of the Bridge, but I'm more chuffed I have a photo of the underneath of the Bridge.

Somehow in the rush to find Lindt, we missed Darling Harbour. Maybe next time. We didn't find Lindt but another chocolate shop instead. We were impressed with this one as the counter assistant offered to charge Froggy's phone while we looked around the store. That's customer service! The shop was Josophan's.

I rode the trains solo into the venue for the event. I wasn't available on the previous day for the orientation briefing so I had no time table for my breaks and my team. That's ok, I can work with that. As long as I know my team. I found that out and just fit in with the rest. Whoo! Our team is allocated to line control for Nikolaj Coster-Waldau. *that's jaime lannister from GoT* Envy of some of the other teams! I would have been just as happy to line control for John Barrowman. Bruisingly busy but oh yes indeedy!

Partway through the final day, Nikolaj had to cancel the rest of his appearance. I was on break when the news was delivered. A bit lost for the rest of the day I think! The volunteer PA apologised for sounding a bit abrupt when she delivered the news. I wasn't worried, I wasn't there. But, she said, she wasn't mad at me as I was doing a totally awesome job. Yay!

Dinner that night with the rest of the Volunteers. We had some great people at our table. A couple from our team, a woman who usually attends the Green Room, one who works with volunteers on the Floor *maybe front of house, not sure* and a ring in from a different area. Two of the blokes shared an $80 dish - 1 kilogram of steak, 1 kilogram of ribs and a whole pile of chips. They got trough it! I had to catch the train home that night after supper and that walk from the station to home was freezing! The coldest it had been all week.

The Niece is on school holidays. She finally has a companion for government funded visits for five hours a week. Tee is young, younger than the Teen. She's tall *she mentioned 6'3"* with piercings and purple/magenta hair. So bubbly and fun. She seems to also like some of the things that Niece does. Like Adventure Time and Black Milk Clothing. That one is new for Niece, she was gifted her first piece for her birthday. Loves them to bit.

School results have arrived for Niece. I had often wondered why she seemed to cope at work when at home she had difficulty staying on task. Ah, there you go. She has problem staying on task at work too. The overall results though were excellent per her teachers. That's all we can ask.

Teen and Elder have each just moved house. Funny they have done it within a couple of weeks of each other. Now I have two new addresses to remember.....

Coffee time!

Back on the webs! And I think I got a windburn from going too fast. Whew! What an exciting ride!

I realised just today that it has been nearly six months since I finished work. It has gone so quickly. And I can't say I have missed it. I feel so much better these days. Much happier, more relaxed. I don't have to deal with other people if I don't want to, and I'm loving it. If it wasn't for the fact that our welfare system insists that as I'm healthy I must find work I would never work again. Even the fact that the income MOTH and I receive each fortnight only covers the cost of our rent doesn't phase me much.

On another note, my iron levels are all up in the air again. I've completed a second course of injections but they haven't had much effect. This time my whole bloods also seem to have some clumping so my doctor wasn't sure whether to trust the test or not. Since I have to have more tests in about six weeks and I don't feel any worse, we're leaving it as it is and checking again for the second tests.

MOTH has managed to come down with a nasty viral thing. It started like a sinus headache and went from there. The poor fella has been coughing up a lung for the last few days. He hasn't gone up to join the Club often so he doesn't pass any germs around the old people.

The Niece went off to respite for the weekend. I like the peace and quiet when she does and it doesn't seem long enough. She's no real trouble but it's nice to have the the time alone with MOTH. Niece seems to enjoy it because she gets to see a girl named Zoe whom she seems to get on well with. Another couple of weeks and she's off for the weekend again!

I've been applying for jobs all over the place... well, no not really. I'm fussy about what I apply for. But I'm not thinking anything is going to happen in a hurry. I've been applying for jobs for more than twelve months now and in all that time I've only had one interview.

I have had plenty of interviews for different things. I have had another interview with Centrelink, our welfare agency. I've had an interview with my jobsearch network provider. They can't do anything to help me yet as I haven't been registered as unemployed for thirteen weeks.

I applied for a hardship payment through my superannuation fund to get some of the money I've paid in. I don't qualify though as I haven't been on welfare for a continuous period of twenty-six weeks. I guess from the wording that doesn't take into account any waiting period I would have had to serve before Centrelink paid me. This means I am not eligible for any assistance until mid September.

A quick visit from Elder. She and Burrich are between houses at present, having moved out of the place they were renting. They have been offered another house but it won't be ready for a couple of months. She dropped back Sheldon and Penny. Things didn't take long to get back to normal. They've been here a couple of weeks and the spats have begun. So far, it's not too bad but it's early weeks yet.

MOTH and I decide to spend some time at one of the larger shopping centres. We haven't been there for a while and it has been updated. And oh wow, has it been updated! Now it looks like one of the fancy CBD arcades. Polished floors, shiny black tiles on the walls, gold accents. Very upmarket. I felt like I should have been wearing a suit and high heels. But only briefly!

I have been notified that I have been accepted as a volunteer for Supanova Pop Culture expo again, this time in Sydney. This is great because I get to kill two birds with one stone - attend the expo and visiting time with my sibling Froggy. I can't wait! I only had enough money to book a one way flight and use some of my frequent flyer points for a discount ticket. Hopefully I can still get a cheap fare on the way back!

A friend of mine is hosting a Greatest Morning Tea in support of the Cancer Council. But it's really an afternoon tea. It's a fund raiser so I pay $10 each for the three of us to go. I haven't seen this friend for many years. So long in fact that her youngest daughter was about twelve or thirteen and is now a fully qualified painter and working for herself for a couple of years. It was great to catch up with her. I've eaten so much! A little of her house has changed since I was there last! What hasn't changed is the fact that the park is still there, still full of gum trees. And tucked away in the top of one of the trees was a koala. It brought back good memories.

Another interview this week. I have volunteered through Volunteer Queensland for the G20 which will be held in our city. I have made it through the phone interview and the face to face interview. I just need to wait until early July to find out if I have made it any further. Not really worried if I don't, though being successful will look good on my resume I think.

It meant a trip into the city for me. Yay! I haven't been in for ages! Some things have changed, certainly new shops are in place in the mall. I caught the bus just before 12noon thinking I would catch the train. But then I decided to stay on the bus all the way into town. It takes a little longer I think, not sure. We left the bus stop at the shopping centre and hit the roundabout. Oh, ok, we aren't going the way I thought we would..... wait up. The bus continued to do a full circle around the roundabout and exit on the highway where I thought we should have been going. There you go, I'm not crazy after all.

It was nearly 3:40pm when I arrived home and in all that time, the interview took only ten minutes....

Mind, I did spend money I didn't really have in an effort to sample a pork and prawn dumpling with a dash of soy sauce. It was delish. I managed to eat it with chopsticks too. Reminded me of the time I was eating a noodle dish outside a teppanyaki place with tables full of Asians. I was the only one using chopsticks....

Tapered I am

There seems to be some discussion in the USA about proposed changes to the way ISPs provide a service. I haven't read any of the detail so I'm not really sure of the changes but it sounds like the way they work here.

We have a choice of ISPs who provide a broadband service. They all have different packages and plans. They all charge whatever the heck they feel like for their plans and service. And yet they all use the same infrastructure. Each plan has a download limit; if you go over that your service is tapered and you pay a huge chunk of extra charges. Tapered means slowed. To somewhere between dial up and ADSL. Closer to dial up I think.

Non payment of your account also means tapering or suspension of your service. And that's where I am. I have caught up but the service hasn't been restored. IT'S SO SLLLLOOOOOWWWW that I haven't really bothers to update my blog. No unnecessary trying to use the web.

I'll get back to update if my service is ever restored to normal.