I have spent quite some time at work over the past few weeks and it seems that I am missing something. Without fail, on almost every desk I sit at, the permanent occupant of said desk usually has at least one - sometimes multiple photos displayed of their (I assume) "someone/s special".
On New Years evening, I was at work gazing at the photo of three kids on my desk, not quite remembering how or when I had given birth to them or even who the father was. I feel I need to bring in a photo of my "someone special", to cease this inadequete feeling I am getting. Thinking of who or perhaps what is rather questionable, however I think perhaps a picture of my computer at home may have to suffice for now. Or maybe cut some little known spunky bloke out of a magazine and put him in a frame on my desk for all to see, telling all he is the love of my life - even if he doesn't know it. I don't know. Or maybe just get married and have kids. That would solve the problem. ahahar. blah...
New Years was great as I got to work with some people who I haven't worked with since training. I was the first one here and another girl arrived a little after me. She unwisely choose the desk facing me so I warned her that "careful she would have to look at me all night". She then responded with a smile, "I can't think of anything I would rather be looking at". Even though she likes blokes and I like blokes, that was still pretty special and gave me a good laugh. kekekeke. mmmm.
Although I am strictly into males (however they do not seem to be strictly into me), this reminded me of a time when I kept having stupid crushes on blokes that ended up being either taken or gay. I said to a girl I was working with at the time that if this kept going the same way as it was, I may need to turn and become a lesbian. She responded by saying, "I'm not a lesbian, but if I was and you were I would go out with you." I was touched. Err..not literally...but ahh how sweet.
The closest I got to "turning" was at a Good News Week taping. I was sitting in the back row with a girl. The taping had just started and I really needed to use the bathroom. Something that although it is allowed, is not recommended as anyone who does recieves a tirade of heckles from the cast of the show. Being to Good News Week before, I knew I was in for around a four or so hour wait until I could relieve the bladder. So, anyhoos to console me she held my hand through the whole show.
There was a couple that attended tapings almost every week who always got picked on by hosts Paul and Mikey who wanted them to stop touching each other or come out the front of the audience and make out. They never did have the courage to go up the front, and I was hoping that my hand holding activities would not be discovered or perhaps I would meet the same fate as the couple had - being asked to make out in front of the audience!
Anyhoos, I thought this chick was cool as, and I ended up seeing her again at a few other tapings, and also another time when she went to see a Wil Anderson show with me. She went back to my place and for some reason she started to try to give me a back massage. Despite being fully clothed and so forth, I kinda freaked a bit not being used to being touched by anyone - let alone a girl! Not that I'm saying being touched by a girl is necessarily a bad thing. Going by my luck with males, perhaps I should have turned that night, but alas did not and have little desire to do so now.
Hmm..that's probably more than enough information than anyone needed to know...but blah I like to share.
I was asleep this afternoon when I got a phone call today around 12pm from the mother. As previously noted here I don't really like having much to do with the mother as whenever she calls I end up upset. Today was no exception. As I am writing this I am still very upset and have just thrown up. I have to work today too. Fuck.
She said she was outside my place. I go, "what???". She repeated that she was outside my place. "Why?". She explained her boyfriend/man friend/whatever was in Rockhampton for work and she was here with him. She also explained she had done some shopping for me. After having a positive couple of weeks I really didn't want to deal with this.
So I open the door up and she's there with a few bags of stuff and she walks up the stairs with them. On her way out she had a snoop around my apartment but that was about it. I didnt ask her to stay or profusely thank her or anything. I just was put on the spot and didn't know what to do and I certainly wasn't enthused by seeing her. So five minutes later, it was all over.
The shopping she bought me included two jumbo size boxes of tissues. Must have knew what reaction I would have to her visit?
Yes, anyone reading this with a perfect family relationship would be currently forming judgements on how rude and disrespectful I am to mother, but really...whatever. I do not care. You did not live in my house while you were growing up. You did not spend every day at school getting picked on by all the other kids only to get home and have your mother and father screaming at you/each other. You did not retreat to your bedroom every night to cry for hours. You did not have your hopes constantly raised that mother was going to help you do something with your life you really wanted to do - only to let you down again and again.
So, please reserve your judgements unless you have had the same or similar experience. Thank you.
It's 1.33am in the morning, and I can't sleep. Figured now is as good a time as any for a diary update.
I have been feeling disappointed that I broke the somewhat positive run of posts with my previous diary entry, and reading it back, it is rather morbid and depressing. I am feeling okay now, so anyone who was concerned that they would be reading in the newspaper about someone finding me in a bathtub with my wrists slashed (or something like that), never fear - I am okay. I wouldn't do anything stupid like that. In fact, I am starting to get a rather perverse sense of satisfaction reporting my *erm* adventures here, so certainly wouldn't do anything that would cause my diary updates to cease. Honest!
The dramatics have continued this week. One of the 10 or so fire alarms (yes 10 - the owner is a nutter!) installed where I live has started to emit an annoying beep. If I request to get it fixed, it will involve another interaction with the owner of the property who I get along with *sooooo* well. I decided it would be best to give it a miss. Until it gets very annoying. Annoying enough to warrant the stress of another interaction with said owner. My pay has also been screwed up the last two weeks in a row and the agency are being less than helpful. Not impressed...then again, hardly a surprise. I knew it had to happen.
A work collegue asked me the other night if I had had any problems with people banging on my front door. I said no. That night, I went home and a few hours later I heard this massive bang which to me sounded like someone had forced themselves through the front door. I looked at the door and it was closed, but yikes - scared the shit out of me. I sat looking at the door, mobile phone in hand with the police number ready to be dialed if need be. I then heard some voices about five minutes later, one of which that I did not recognise said "yep, we scared the shit out of her". I hope that it was just a drunken person passing by, not someone who had anything against me. As far as I know, no one in Rockhampton detests me enough to do something like that. Needless to say, I did not sleep well that night.
My lease finishes on the 28th of February. I did check with the real estate agent if I could continue the lease without signing anything else and it was okay as long as I gave the new finish date in writing. This may come in handy if my current temp job continues much longer. Unfortunately, I do not have an exact end date though, which makes it difficult. Being a temp job they can drop us whenever they want, so I would hate to sign up for another month here if the next day I found out the job was over. Apparently the job *should* go until sometime in March - but not sure. I just am a little concerned about the longevity of this work as there seems to be so many shifts where I and others are sitting around doing virtually nothing. In addition to that, I really do not want the hassle of complaining about my pay being wrong every week either. Yet another reason to move on the 28th.
I have been looking at places to rent in Sydney for a while, still not sure if I should go back, but now I think I probably should give it another go. My idea is to go back, and stay in really cheap accomodation like a boarding house. I have found some for around $80 a week. You have to share bathrooms and kitchens...but...well...for $80 a week, what bad things can you really say to that. I lived in boarding houses for the first year I was in Sydney and whilst it wasn't the classiest sort of accomodation, it was cheap. I guess the main thing about boarding houses is that every time you go to the bathroom, its like using a public toilet - you never know what special messages you are going to find. Certainly never sit down without looking. Keke. Yick. Have a pair of thongs handy to use the shower too.
There's also a place I have been looking at which has been sitting on a real estate site for months. They seem desparate to lease it out and have dropped the price by around $20 already, yet it is still sitting there. It appears to have its own bathroom and kitchen, and is furnished - but looks to be about a quarter of the size of my current loungeroom. IE. enough space for a single bed and that is about it. It is so cheap though, and in a rather convienient (although slightly dodgy) location. I would also consider it as a place to live - as long as I could squeeze my computer in there somewhere.
The idea with staying in these cheap, tiny, dodgy places is that I would not have to stress so much on rent (in the past in Sydney I have consistantly paid between $240 and $330 in rent per week). I could start up my eBay stuff again, and also try to get some work in website design. Not all boarding houses have phone lines so I would need to find one that does. I could further bump up the finances by doing temp work. That way, no commitment, no stress - except perhaps if people were trying to break in to my place! I was thinking though that even if someone broke in, the only thing of any real value is the computer and I figure that with the massive amount of money saved on rent, it wouldn't be so bad to have to purchase another one anyway. Not to say that it wouldn't suck big time though if that happened. Living in a shitty little box would also (hopefully) encourage me to get out a bit more often.
Of course, the alternative to going to Sydney would be to put in an application for a home loan in Norseman - problem being all the houses under $20K seem to have been sold - people must have been reading my diary...maybe not. You can still get a house for $30K though. Mmmm. Mount Morgan also has cheap places still but have been told that there's apparently a lake there which is full of toxic stuff that kills you if you were to go swimming in it. Not that I would be looking at going swimming...but...apparently its causing lots of problems cause toxins are spreading all over the place. Not too sure on the accuracy of that information, but apparently it's quite a dodgy place to live. I still want to check it out though!
The other alternative would be to stay in Rockhampton and endevour to get a full time job where I am working now. This place probably has the highest wages in Rockhampton for what I am doing. I doubt I could find somewhere in Sydney who paid this much. I am still not convinced that full time, permanent work is for me. It would be nice to get in front though money wise. However, I think I can do that in Sydney too if I find the right cheap and nasty type of place to live in.
Oh, and to add another alternative - however, probably not a realistic one. I just thought of putting my stuff in storage and going for a walk. Not sure where but just walk around Australia until I find where I want to be. Yes, it is nuts. Yes, it is dangerous. But...well...just one of the many dodgy thoughts that have passed through my head on more than one occasion that I figured I would put into writing, just so I could look back on it someday and go what a dumbass idea that was...
Hmmm...it's 2.33 am and I am still wide awake. Noiseworks are on Sunrise this morning and I *really* want to see them, but I don't know if I can keep awake for that long (or at least figure out how to set the vcr!) One of my favourite Aussie bands...oh, and Jon Stevens - what a legend! At least I saw Noiseworks on the telly last week in the Reach Out fundraising concert, which was awesome. Speaking of which, the Rove McManus/Bert Newton pash during same said telethon was also pretty special. I would have sent a few bucks to pash Mr Stevens, but sure his wife and kids would not have been impressed. *smirk*. kekeke. mmm.
Firstly, I willed myself to wake up in time nice and early for Sunrise to see Noiseworks. This was advertised on both Sunrise (on air on Thursday) and the Sunrise site as being a Noiseworks performance. In fact, it was not. It was a Jon Stevens solo performance. Not a Noiseworks band member or even a Noiseworks tune in sight. Not that seeing Mr Stevens was a bad thing, but oh what a let down when you are looking at getting a little nostalgic. Oh well.
Later in the day, I continued to attempt to sort out my pay. I was told I was wrong (again) and they were right. I got some paperwork from the agency that was meant to prove once and for all that they were right, and I was wrong. I then spent around an hour looking at said paperwork working out exactly how they went wrong. Oh such excitement it was for me when I finally worked out what they had done.
Myself and my collegues had recieved an email from our employer (not our agency) prior to Christmas stating that 25th, 26th, 27th, and 28th would be paid as public holidays. I had originally been correctly paid for Christmas day (ie as a public holiday). Unfortunately the 28th was not paid as a public holiday, hence why I was originally short. A correction was later made to the 28th (at public holiday rates, which was then correct). The dumbasses then reversed what they had originally paid me for Christmas Day - and then paid me again only at normal time for Christmas Day!!!!! They did not bother to to give me the courtesy of sharing this reversal with me.
After I discovered what was going on, I gave the agency a call. I was then promptly told that Christmas Day was NOT a public holiday. Their theory was that they decided to make Monday a public holiday given that Christmas day fell on a Saturday. I was like wtf??? I have NEVER worked Christmas Day (or any other public holiday for that matter) and not gotten paid as a public holiday. Even if there was any question about it being paid as a public holiday, there was that email that confirmed that the 25th, 26th, 27th, and 28th were all going to be paid as a public holiday. Furthermore, even if Christmas Day was to be paid at normal rates, the courtesy surely would have been to make employees aware of this?
Apparently the agency did not get the email that was sent to us, so they were not to know that we were to be paid for a public holiday on the 25th, 26th, 27th, 28th. This of course was my fault - even though it is the responsibility of the company I am working for to do this, not mine. Even so, I could not even comprehend how I could possibly know that Christmas Day suddenly was not being paid as a public holiday anyway! Approximately two weeks ago, when first following up my pay error, I clearly mentioned the email, also stating the dates which I was told I was going to be paid as public holidays. Regretably, none of the questions I asked, nor any of the information I provided was followed up. I was the one who did all the following up, recieving no empathy or assistance from any staff at the agency.
So, one could imagine I was a bit stirred up having been wasting my time for the last two weeks trying to sort this out, only to be told that Christmas was not a public holiday. If I was not infuriated enough at this stage of the phone call, the bloke from the agency thought he would push it some more. In a very patronising tone, he said, "Are you sure that you have not made a mistake?". I went nuts. The phone call ended shortly after and I was fuming.
I got an email from the agency about 10 minutes later, again reiterating that they were right, and I was wrong. In addition they had spoken to the company I was working for and they knew nothing of an email stating that there would be 4 public holidays paid over Christmas. I was suitably pissed. Then...oh...just if that was not enough to make my day...the phone rings. It is the bloke from the agency I have just been on the phone to and who had sent the email. Turns out he got a callback from the company I am working for and they now recall sending the email.
His phone call confirmed I was right, he was wrong. No apology from him for the two weeks of stuffing around with his stupid agency staff, but at least confirmation that my pay would be corrected and in my bank next week. People really should think twice before trying to mess with me. What an unbelievable waste of time.
Anyways, that experience almost convinced me to finish up this job when the lease finishes on the 28th February. I won't give any sort of notice yet though as I am still not sure what's best to do. I checked up with a storage place in Rockhampton yesterday and for around $60 a month they can store all my stuff. That is great news considering I thought it would probably cost more than that. It will be cool to search for somewhere to live without having to drag all my stuff with me. Awesome.
I am really looking forward to paying under $100 a week rent in the not too distant future. mmmmmmmmm.
I really wish I detested my current job and had a huge dislike for the people I worked with. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Yes, I detest the agency I work for, but not the place I'm actually working. I am making a massive amount of money as their payrates are insane. Next week (if the agency pays me right), I will have around $1300 (before tax). I usually get around 20 hours a week, but next week I have been rostered on for 35. Awesome. The people I work with are great. The job itself is great. My credit card is almost paid off for the first time in history...and...well...yeah...everything is...er...great...sortof!!!
It would be so easy to walk away from this job if I hated everything about it, but I don't, hence the prediciment I currently find myself in. Yes, it is only a temp job and will finish sometime soon...but I just do not know when. My lease runs out on the 28th of February and yes I can stay...but...I want to go! My idea was to put everything in storage and stay somewhere in the city, but from my research it's probably going to cost me almost as much, and not be as convienient as having my own place. Sooooo, now I have to work out if I want to give a date, say a month away from now perhaps where I will vacate the place I am renting, or instead move out as planned on the 28th and stay at dodgy places around town until the job finishes up.
I am leaning towards staying here for another month or so, but still not quite sure. The main reason I guess is a financial one - getting way in front money wise for the first time in a long time, before I move back to Sydney. I also like the people and place I am working with so there really is not any reason to leave. Also, people are starting to leave, so more hours will hopefully come available, hence even more cash for me for doing a job which isnt too taxing on the brain. I also get heaps of time to update my website during my work hours, so that is also a good thing - finally getting paid to work on this stupid thing! Oh, and the place is airconditioned - unlike my apartment. It's still very hot and unpleasant here, so getting paid to sit in aircon is good.
Some of my workmates read this diary, so maybe the next time I see them they can be rude and nasty to me, hopefully enough to make me cry and run out screaming how much I hate working in this place. Somehow I don't think that would happen, cause they all rock and stuff...but ah, it would make my decision to go far more easier...
It's 1.27am and I can not sleep. I should also mention that at the present time, I am extremely pissed off.
My domain name epod-central.com expired today - therefore, my entire site has disappeared from the web. No more site updates, nor will this diary entry be up for all to see until I get this massively huge mess sorted out. On the 3rd January, 2005, I paid the stupid company who I bought the domain from originally to renew it for another year. A few days ago, just before the domain was about to expire, I got a warning notice to pay for my domain or lose it on the 27th January, 2005. (that's USA time, for anyone confused)
First thing I did was email the company saying...um...I paid - why are you telling me you are going to can my domain if I do not pay? Then, in the (unlikely) event that I had screwed up in some way - eg perhaps had my credit card payment declined, I called my bank. Nope, payment had been taken out. Unfortunately, the company in question was quite disinterested in helping with my somewhat urgent request for assistance in solving this problem prior to the domain in question actually expiring, hence the site is down, as well as my email...oh, and did I mention, I am pissed. Well, not pissed as in alcohol pissed kinda way, cause I don't drink. However, it's moments like this that I shake my head and wonder why I haven't taken it up at some point in my life.
I have gone to try to purchase the domain elsewhere, and it is saying it is not available. I have also done a whois search (which should bring up me - or someone else as the owner), but there's absolutely no details there either. My site is going to be down indefinately until I work out how to fix it with nothing other than email communication with some shoddy company in the USA who have essentially stolen my money from me. I will continue to check if my domain becomes available to purchase, but have this sick feeling of omg what if it becomes available and someone else purchases it before me.
In addition to the above, this week I got a few other weird and somewhat concerning emails in regards to a couple of other domains I own through a different web company. The emails said that they were to notify me that my two domain names had been transferred elsewhere and not to respond if I did not approve. Then I got another email saying the domains had been transferred as they had been auto-approved??? This is something that I had not done. I figured that hmmm....maybe these are just scam emails, but emailed the company to confirm if the emails were legit and if so, what was going on. I got this back...(no, I haven't edited it, this is the reply exactly as it was recieved)
Please note that as per the court order below Dodora has retained being the registrar of the domain name rather than our new registrar. Your domain will still be completely accessible and manageable by yourself.
http://webserv5.dodora.net/directi.php Thank you for your patience.
I just don't understand, but can not help but wonder if both the events with the two different companies above are related. Maybe both companies are/were resellers for the same domain name company? I don't know. See...because, the second company also seemed to have a problem with updating their records once I had paid to renew two domains through them earlier this month. However, they were kind enough to answer my email promptly and also amend their records to say I had paid, hence no problems with the specific domains I purchased through them...well, except that they are not currently available to view due to epod-central being down which is where they are pointing to!
Um...yeah. Crap.
Okies, an update...its 10.51 am and I have just woken up. It appears my site has magically re-appeared sometime between when I wrote the above and now. I have also got a reciept for my payment overnight (for the payment that was made on the 3rd of January 2005) as well as an email from the shitty web company saying my domain has now been renewed. No apologies, nothing. It looks like they have done whatever they needed to do to renew my domain name today, not when it was first paid for. Ah, but it is back, so I guess all is good. *smirk*. Thankfully this was not the massive disaster that I envisaged it to be.
There has been so much stuff going through my head that it's hard to know where to start this entry...but I guess I will give it a go!
I have found a place that is only $70 a week rent that is in Rockhampton. It's through the same real estate that I am currently renting with and is the same sort of boarding house type place that I will probably be staying in if/when I go back to Sydney. It has its own kitchen, and you just have to share a bathroom with the other tenants. Apparently most rooms have their own phone lines, and any that did not, I would be able to get the phone connected. Tops. I contacted the real estate agent today and asked if there was any chance they would let me sign a lease for three months and they said they would look into if it was possible. If it is, that would be unreal.
If that doesn't work out, I am 99% sure that I will stay in the flat that I am currently living in for at least another month, or maybe two after my lease finishes on the 28th February. This would allow me to stay until the temp job I am doing finishes. Still not sure when that will be exactly, but I am a temp employed over storm season, and from what I have gathered, storm season runs through until March or perhaps April. The actual length of storm season of course could mean nothing, as being a temp, I can be asked to leave tomorrow. But...hopefully that is not going to happen as I am loving the cash I am making for doing this!
Staying in Rockhampton also allows me to get back to selling on eBay, which was what I had originally intended to do when I first moved here. I gave up on eBay temporarily a couple of months ago, because I was so over it, but listed some auctions the other day with some of my left over stock. The auctions are going really well, and as a consequence, I am happy as. Happy enough to get some new stock actually...err...maybe!
I heard that permanent jobs are going to be advertised in March at the place I am currently working as a temp. Although it is tempting to apply for one and have a full time, permanent job with a high paying, great company, I just can not convince myself to think it is something that I really want to do. The main reason why is that I know that if I got the job, it would involve another four weeks training. It was frustrating enough being stuck in a room doing training for two weeks for my current job, let alone four weeks. Yikes. I also don't have any great passion for what I am doing here, so I just figure that perhaps it's not the place for me.
I still think that my original plan of going to Sydney and living in a cheap boarding house type of place is the way to go and will do that in the next month or two. Whenever I get myself sorted I guess. I could then do eBay full time, as well as hopefully get some more webdesign work. Then, if I really got stuck financially (unlikely considering I would be paying less than $100 a week rent) or just wanted some extra cash, there's always a stack of temp work available. Oh, but on the other hand I could stay in Rockhampton and get this permanent, full time job. LOL. arrrr!
I went to Melbourne for a couple of days last week. My Melbourne visit started off in a less than positive way, firstly with a massive amount of turbulence on the airplane on the way to Melbourne, which scared the shit out of me. I think I have watched way too many air crash investigation type shows and consequently have a much heightened sense of paranoia. Arriving at Melbourne airport, it was pissing down rain. The flight crew at least had a good sense of humour. One of the crew announced it was a scorching 11 degrees in Melbourne, and that they hoped everyone had bought their boardshorts and bikinis. Hmm. yes. kekeke.
In the rain, I managed to find the bus that I needed to catch from the airport to get near to where I was staying. When the bus dropped me off, it was still raining. I desperately scanned around trying to find the closest place where there was somewhere undercover I could go, but sadly there wasn't anywhere close. I didn't really know which way to go, but decided I had better get moving and was pretty much soaked instantly. kekeke. yay.
Not to be deterred, I decided to go exploring even though it was raining. I don't usually mind wandering around in the rain but it wasn't really what I wanted to do given that I had just spent around 4-5 hours getting to Melbourne. I did think of catching a train and going somewhere random but after a couple of hours of wandering around, I ended up being really slack and just went to my hotel room. I just sat there thinking about how lame it was that I flew all the way to Melbourne and here I am watching the telly. It was still raining later when I went out again to get something to eat. The closest (but still around 15 min walk) was Maccas, so I went there even though I've been quite over Maccas for quite a while.
That night there was a massive storm. Something that although it went all night, I didn't really realise how serious it was until the next day when I was again sitting around in my hotel room feeling sorry for myself and watching the telly. Apparently, it was the biggest downpour since 1856 when records first began being kept. Yikes. I went for a wander near the river I had looked at the previous day thinking I would go for a walk around there, but found that it now was really flooded.
The remainder of my time in Melbourne was awesome and was spent with a friend who is quite possibly one of the most special people I have ever met. A small paragraph here is hardly enough, or anywhere near appropriate to describe my thoughts..but yeah...just really special okay! We talked about heaps of things, including a lot of really intense stuff that I have never really felt comfortable talking about with anyone else. We also went for a drive/wander around Melbourne and then all too soon, I was back at the airport waiting for my flight to go back to Rockhampton. So...yeah, despite getting off to a dodgy start in Melbourne, overall my visit was cool as. I arrived back in Rockhampton safely and am back at work - looking forward to my next adventure, whenever it may be.
It's a little frustrating being in Rockhampton at the moment, knowing that a heap of comedy stuff is going to be happening in Sydney and Melbourne next month. The kinda bizarre thing is that there are two comedy festivals running in Sydney next month, both of which are running at pretty much the same time as each other. There's The Big Laugh (which has been running for the last few years), as well as the Cracker Comedy Festival which is a new festival. Then, later that same month, there's the Melbourne Comedy Festival. It will be interesting to see how the Sydney festivals go. Although there's stuff I would love to see at both Sydney festivals, I personally really want to go to Melbourne to see Stewart Lee.
There is a comedy related discussion board that I read frequently, but rarely post to as I have found some (not all) of the occupants there to be rather feral. I was a little bored the other night and figured that I would add my say into a discussion here. In response to me mentioning the cost of the websites I design, the comment was then made "I wish I had no ethics so the thought of designing less than great websites for an unreasonable amount of money per hour didn't disgust me. Oh well.".
A riot pretty much ensued, the thread was then split and another discussion was started about it here. This lead to a couple of pages of Epod bashing, and around 400 hits to said thread (and counting). I was more amused than distressed at the comments that were being made there about me, but yikes, it was certainly not something I expected. Nice to have some free publicity though, whether it is good or bad it doesn't really matter.
Another interesting but rather disturbing discussion unrelated to any of the above took place on an eBay discussion board, The Chin Wag last week. It was discovered that one of eBay's regular "boardies" had been outed by The Courier Mail for taking pictures and video movies of children without the knowledge of their parents and putting them on the internet for all to see. The most interesting thing that I found about this is that what he was doing was technically not illegal. However, there may be plans to change laws pertaining to this sort of photography in the future as a result of this story.
After the site owner started a thread protesting his innocence on the eBay boards (basically he was saying he was NOT a pedofile, and that what he did was simply a "photographic challenge"), I went through Google to look at what was left of his site (hardly nothing). I then looked at the cache of his site through Google - where I was able to see some of the pictures in question. What I saw, although the children were all clothed, made me feel so very uncomfortable. If I felt like that looking at kids that were not my own, I can only imagine what a parent would think if they stumbled across the site. The general theme of the site was kids splashing around in water with wet, clingy clothes. Oh, they were of little girls only, no boys. Not that having boys there would have changed my feelings of the site, I guess it was just odd considering the comments he makes on his site and on eBay of his love of photographing children.
"I have long felt that the best place to take unposed pictures of children having a great time was in or near water. They are far too busy having fun to notice the camera! I use a very popular water park where locals and tourists alike spend their Sundays, as well as the beach and various 'water features' around town. Wherever there is water, there are children having fun..."
He seems indignant that what he was doing was harmless, but on the same token, the thread he posted to eBay mentioned that permission was not asked to take the photos because he knew permission would not be granted. That comment in itself tends to suggest that he indeed does know what is right and wrong but...yeah. I don't know. I just found it to be creepy. As for it being a "photographic challenge", I did not see anything on the site that would be anything but very basic photography - if you could even call it that. Nothing special, just a heap of screengrabs from various video movies really. Bottom line though is that what he was doing was not illegal, and he had every right in the world to do what he was doing. That of course does not make it right.
Hmmm....and on that note, that's all I have to write about at the moment methinks....
I awoke rather enthusiastically early yesterday morning, inspired to get the accomodation side of things sorted out, and to also get a ticket to see Gud. Sadly my enthusiasm quickly waned, and I went back to bed. Oh well.
When I woke up again, I ended up going on a massive walk, which considering how hot and unpleasant it is here, was a stupid idea. Particularly going right in the middle of the day. It was a stupid idea the last time I did it as well, but yet here I was doing it again. All up, I was wandering around in the hot sun for around 4 hours. However, I was on a mission, so I guess that makes it all okay.
I walked from one side of Rockhampton to the other and back. Firstly to pick up the key to inspect this new place from the real estate agent, who kindly has allowed me to sign a lease for only three months. Then, I went to check out my possible new abode, on the other side of the city, not really expecting much. I was suprised how pleasant it was, considering some of the places I had seen in Sydney. Sure some of the stuff in the room wasn't in spectacular condition, however all things considered, it was not too bad.
Right inside the front door was a bookshelf full of books and some lounge chairs, which I guess was to encourage socialising with the other tenants. Not sure if I will be partaking in any socialising, but yeah was rather homely I guess. One of the other tenants saw me walk in and showed me which room was mine, as well as giving me the tour of the bathrooms and laundry. I then got to check out my room.
It was actually quite impressive. Fully furnished. No need to purchase a fridge cause there was one already there. Oh, and there was a real bed as well. The bed and matress looked in pretty good shape, so will be nice to sleep on a real bed after sleeping for months on my airbed. Lots of cupboards and storage space, so yeah - great stuff. The only really dodgy thing I saw were the showers.
The back and front door of the house were open and there was another open door inside which lead to two showers and the toilets, which were in the same room. The showers had two shower curtains up, no locks - just shower curtains. I guess it would be selfish to the other tenants to lock the door to the bathrooms if I was having a shower, so essentially people can just wander in. Hopefully they lock the front and back doors at a certain time each night so that people can't wander in and say hello there while you are in the shower. Yikes.
Anyhoos, I decided to sign up for it and the real estate agent pretty much said it was mine on the spot. Geez it must be dodgy. LOL.
After I had finished all the paperwork at the real estate, I went to get my Gud ticket. The lady in the box office asked if I would like a front row seat. Ah, no thanks I said, not wanting to be close enough for Paul McDermott to give me any grief. The seat I got is in the third row from the stage, so mmm...hopefully far away enough. Kekeke.
I have spent the morning finding how much it will cost me to move from this place to the other and can't help but think omg what have I done. Its going to cost between $59 and $209 to get the phoneline on. Telstra have not been able to find my address on the system, so it could get dodgy. It's going to cost $200 to get the carpet of both places cleaned. The $200 includes the moving of a heap of furniture which has to stay at the place I am currently renting, as well as pest control. Nonetheless, it's a huge amount of money and I was certainly not expecting it. I have never had to get pest control done anywhere I have lived in the past, so finding that I had to (on the day I signed my lease), was a bit of a surprise. Yikes. I also need to move all my crap to the new place, but there's not too much, so hopefully will not be very much or I can find some nice person to help me move.
I guess I have to look at it positively and keep in mind that instead of paying $150 a week from the 28th, I will only be paying $70. Thats $80 less a week. Just having these thoughts today though of going into work and being told, "sorry, we don't need you anymore". It could happen.
Today it is finally raining and I am really happy cause its been sooo hot here. Been sleeping with just a sheet wrapped around me and have been a little paranoid of omg what if some major disaster happens or maybe a break in, and here I am wrapped only in a sheet. Kekeke. I pity the poor person who would find me.
Not that it is my intention to try to give anyone nightmares, but yeah. mmm...kekeke. heh heh. sorry!
On Saturday evening, I had an interesting discussion with a collegue at work in regards to creepy stuff that has happened to them and others in Rockhampton. Stuff included being spied on in a public toilet (twice) as well as having a peeping tom at their bedroom window. I thanked my collegue for sharing this with me and said that I would sleep well that night. They insisted that I would be fine and to try not to worry. Er...yeah. Okay.
On Sunday afternoon, I decided to go for a walk. I ended up going to Subway to get a feed, and then went and sat on the Fitzroy River board walk by myself. I was sitting and watching the river when I heard a chick yell out a number of expletives, which were seemingly directed at a person that was going past on a bicycle. Unfortunately the expletives continued after the bicycle rider had left, and considering that I was the only one in the immediate proximity, I was starting to get a little concerned. It was then that I chose to get up, after having a quick glance at who was actually screaming. I had never seen this person in my life, so still figured I was okay. Not so.
Next thing she was screaming at me saying, "What are you looking at bitch"? She kept walking towards me until she was arms length away from me, being extremely agressive and saying that she was going to hit me. At this point, I was scared shitless not knowing exactly what to do. I said to her that I had just called the police and that they were on the way, hoping that this would make her run away. It didn't. She started yelling more abuse at me and so before she could hit me, I ran screaming, hoping to get someone's attention, and hoping to scare her away.
I ended up in front of these people who were enjoying a nice family outing to the river. There was also another bloke close by who was fishing. At this point, I was absolutely hysterical and very upset, and I was hoping that the girl would not come back to hassle me with all these people around. The river bank is a nice, friendly, family orientated place, so I did not come here to expect any of this. It was such a shock to me. At some point between first being hassled by this girl and subsequently running away, I had called the Police, so I was hoping that they were somewhere nearby.
I believed at that point that my experience was over, but oh how wrong was I. She came over to where I was and started swinging and swearing at me again. At this point I noticed that I had not just stopped in front of people, but a family. Two really young kids, a grandma, plus a mum and dad. The mum and dad stepped up trying to protect me and their kids from this chick, who by this time I figured was only around 15-16, but extremely riled up, and very strong. Then the kids started to cry and I just felt terrible. Kids don't need to see stuff like this. Hell, none of the family needed to see any of this, they were just having a pleasant family outing on the river.
Next thing she's swinging madly trying to hit the father, and the mother, who were right in front of me trying to protect me and their family from this chick. This sort of scuffle went on for a few minutes, where I was asked to call the police again, which I did - although nothing I was saying was anywhere near coherent. At some point she decided to start spitting too, so we all copped copious amounts of spit from this charming young girl. Both the mother and the father were hit at some point also.The kids were hysterical. I was hysterical. This was not at all what I was expecting. I was just after a nice walk by the river.
Eventually some other people joined in and although I did not see what happened exactly, she ran away. The Police arrived at some point a few minutes later (although, admittedly it seemed like much longer) and managed to pick her up, just up the street. I was left with around 10 people who I had unknowingly involved in my life, all incredibly shocked at what had just happened. Both the mother and father were hit and spat on. I escaped with just being spat on. I learnt later that I had actually been "seriously assaulted". Spitting on someone is actually serious assualt due to the possibility of disease being passed on through saliva.
I know I should have been more worried about the assaults that had just occured, but I was more concerned in inadverently involving all these people in my life and ruining their afternoons. I don't like seeing kids involved in any sort of abuse and seeing them so upset and screaming out "don't hurt Mummy", "don't hurt Daddy" etc was a bit too much for me to handle. I figured I needed to calm myself down as me being hysterical was only adding to the drama.
Anyways, the lot of us all ended up at the Police station making statements and pressing charges. Turned out the family with the small kids had just arrived a couple of minutes before I ran up to them. The other family was from Gladstone on a weekend break. They had had a great weekend it seemed as their youngest child had spent some time at the hospital earlier the same day after having breathing difficulties. I felt so bad involving all these people and ruining their weekends. They all said the same sort of thing though - that it wasn't my fault and had I not stopped with them, I would have ended up in hospital. I still felt really bad though. I am used to doing things alone and not involving anyone. Yet here I was in the Police station with all these people whose Sunday arvo I had unintentionally disrupted.
It took forever to get statements and the Policeman who came out took me in first. I think I should have been last cause I wanted the other people to be able to go as soon as possible so that they didn't have to keep waiting. But they all said for me to go in, so I did. Waited some more for the copper to come and take my statement. He mentioned he typed really slow and I was like yeah okay I type 70 words per minute. He mentioned that he was nowhere near as fast as that and two hours later when my statement of what happened during that five minutes or so on the river was finally done, I realised that he had not been exaggerating.
The last thing he asked to add to my statement was the following "I did not give anyone permission or authority to assault me in any way". When I quizzed him why this statement was being added, he said that if it was not there, in court it may be used as a defence. IE. I hit this person because they gave me permission to. Unbelieveable. The other thing that made me feel uneasy was when he mentioned that my full name would be passed on to the defendant as they had the right to know who had made a complaint about them. I will certainly be watching my back even more around town in the future.
I asked the copper if it was likely that she would remember me or any of the others involved and he was fairly evasive. Although I did not smell it, the mother who was closer to her said she smelt like paint, so she had probably been sniffing paint prior to accosting us. I hope that when she comes down from whatever she was on (if anything), that she has little recollection of what she has done, or who was involved. You just never know I guess.
I have tried to start this diary entry a few times at work but have found myself getting distracted either with work (shock horror!), or conversing with my collegues. Tonight I have a four hour shift, and I intend to spend it wisely doing a much anticipated (by whom I wonder?) diary update. Oh...and I *may* do some work or conversing as well. Who knows really!
Firstly, a few people have expressed some concern as to whether I am okay following the "incident" written about in the last update. I am fine. If anything, I guess that I am more worried about the state of all the other people involved - including the actual person who did the assaulting. Yes, the person who assaulted me deserves to be punished for what they did - but - I guess what I would like to say is that it is really sad for a 15-16 year old to be getting themselves into that sort of situation in the first place. ie. what sort of home environment is this kid coming from if they are that agressive and spend their weekend sniffing paint (or whatever it was they were doing).
Maybe the kid was just a little shit who hated the world for no reason and just wanted to cause some trouble. I don't know. Having come from an abusive home though, I know how easy it could have been for me to turn into a kid like that. I was lucky enough to be so involved in a couple of community organisations that gave me the inspiration to use my time productively, hence keeping me off the streets and away from alcohol and drugs that could have seriously screwed me up.
This week was spent moving as well as organising all the fun *cough* stuff that goes with moving. Moving sucks in a big way, however, I am happy to report that the move has now taken place. Apart from just generally being an irritating thing to do, there were very few problems other than a slight bit of misinformation from the real estate agent as well as an incident involving Telstra.
The real estate had told me on multiple occasions that the place I was moving to had definately had a phone line installed previously, which turned out not to be the case. When I had inspected the property originally, I had looked at everything bar whether there was a phone connection on the wall, but just assumed from what they told me that there was one there, I just had not seen it. Unfortunately, it turned out the place had never been connected.
Yes, I should have checked when I went to inspect the property. Unfortunately, that day I had been on another of my huge walks - ie from the Rockhampton CBD, to the real estate agent over at North Rockhampton, to the new property on the other side of Rockhampton, and then back to North Rockhampton, so I was a little exhausted and managed to check everything else in the property except for the phone line. I realised this halfway back to the real estate agent, but decided to instead take their word for it rather than walk all the way back again.
So...yeah. I rung Telstra, who quoted me $209 for a new connection. I wasn't overly impressed with having to pay this when the whole idea with moving was to keep my costs way down. I asked the real estate if they would pay it considering they had told me that there was a phone line there already (had there been a line there already, it would have only been $59 to connect). Luckily, after much delay, the real estate came through and agreed that they would pay.
The Telstra technician arrived and worked for two hours connecting my phone. He then handed me a piece of paper to sign, which I did. However, prior to handing it back to him, I noticed that the total amount at the bottom of the page was left blank. I immediately felt like a dickhead for signing for a blank amount of money and queried him why he had not filled in a total amount. He said that he never did and this was just the way it was done. He could not give me a final amount, but mentioned that he had charged me at least $44 for additional work he had done. He said that additional work was $22 per 15 minutes.
This was quite a surprise to me considering that this was a "new connection" - what additional work could possibly be involved in a "new connection" that was not covered in the initial $209 fee? I have no idea. I was not told that extra work may be required, or even quoted that this extra work was $22 per 15 minutes. Not quoted by the technician prior to commencing this "extra" work, nor quoted by Telstra when I rang up to set up the new connection. So, there I was peeved that this guy wanted to walk out with this piece of paper I had just signed which had the amount owing as blank, as well as apparently also being hit up for an additional $44 extra in fees. Unbelieveable.
At this point, I tried to reason with him and said I would be happy for him to walk out now if he added a note to the top of the page stating that the maximum amount of the new connection would be $209, as quoted, however he would not do this. So, all I could think of doing next was bailing this bloke up at my place whilst I rang Telstra. I did ask him if he had a supervisor he could ring but apparently he did not. What a load of bs. I finally got to speak to someone at the call centre, (luckiliy he had connected my phone properly hey!) who confirmed they would leave a note on my account stating the maximum I would pay would be $209 and that the other amounts would not be payable as they were not quoted. The Telstra technician was then able to leave my premises unscathed.
Next bit of excitement was finding how much carpet cleaning and pest control would be for the place I was moving out of. $200 - yikes. Something I was certainly not expecting. To be fair, the place I moved out of was pretty big, plus had a lot of furniture that needed moving and so forth, so I guess it kinda makes sense, but wow, such a lot of money. I do hope I get my full bond back.
So far, the new place is okay, although my jaw dropped when I read a sign on the wall. Basically it said that any male visits must be kept to a minimum, and that males were definately not to stay overnight or use the bathrooms under any circumstances. I am certainly curious if the other residents abide by this or if there is a regular stream of male companions appearing at the premises. It does seem from the sign, however, that in the unlikely event that I wanted to bring someone home with me, the only way I could get away with it was if I was a lesbian!
At my new place, I have only identified one possibly annoying person who seems to lurk in the corridors waiting to say hello to people, or maybe she's just stalking me? There's around 8 other rooms in this place, yet this is the only person that I consistantly have run into. The other day she goes, "I keep running into you". I was almost ready to say, "Er, duh...I live here." But didn't cause I am such a nice person...so far.
Sharing bathrooms/toilets has been an intersting experiences. The toilets do not come equipped with paper, so every time you need to go, you have to remember your paper or you would be left in a bit of a prediciment. For the first time in years, I do not have a clothes dryer, so today was much excitement hanging the clothes on the line. I haven't done any washing of dishes since I moved in cause theres no frikken plug in the sink. Yes, it is a small thing but oh so annoying.
Work is still good, although the hours are dropping down a little on next months roster, so it may almost be the end. Apparently there are jobs coming up here soon, so I may apply for one of them, or maybe just go back to doing eBay full time, however frustrating it may be. Also putting an ad in the local paper about my web design services too, probably on the weekend so will see how that goes. I am also considering doing a letterbox drop to advertise my web design stuff. Will see what happens I guess, but whatever I end up out doing, I am determined to have a much better year this year than I did last year.
This week has been an interesting experience for me, both with work and living in my new place. My mind has been frequently swinging between positive and negative phases - although admittedly, and regrettably, mainly negative. Hopefully though, I can keep myself in a positive frame of mind for the remainder of the month. *insert shaking, rolling of eyes and manic laughter here*.
I have come to the conclusion that I will probably live here for a very long time. Not because its really where I want to be - because I don't even know. Simple fact is that it is cheap, friendly, homely, and very cool. By cool, I mean I can actually open windows, put the fan on and actually get fresh air into my room. Wow. Something that has proven difficult in the other places I have previously lived. The only other place I have lived in that I felt truly comfortable and at home with was in Elizabeth Street in Sydney, where I lived for three years. Difference being, there I paid $240 a week (oh and had no opening windows), and here I am paying $70 a week. No electricity bill to pay here either! mmm...
Something unusual...with the exception of a few nights, I have also been sleeping rather well. Whilst I still don't (and probably never will) have a set sleep pattern, and am still awake weird hours, I am at least getting some decent sleep for a change...until my stupid alarm clock wakes me up to go to work that is! I think after work finishes I will try to to set the alarm so I am at least up at a certain time each day. Perhaps a goal to aim for is to wake up in time for Dr Phil. Kekeke. mmm. I've said it before, but will say it again - yes, my priorities are in the right place.
At age 28, I have a large collection of posters which I have collected over the years of people and bands that I really admire. If it was to be compared to say, a 15 year old pre-pubescent teenagers collection of posters, mine would win hands down. Perhaps not. My guess is that I would probably lose out due to my lack of Avril Lavringe posters. Oh well. Anyways, I didn't put the posters up at the other place I was living in Rocky as I was too scared of the owner going ape shit about it (even though the walls and pretty much everything else was in shite condition anyway).
I managed to accidentally on purpose overlook the bit of my current lease which says that blu-tack was not permitted to be used on walls, and did a bit of decorating overnight during a short spurt of inspiration. The inspiration was mainly due to my poster hanging session coinciding with the fabulous Scissor Scissors guest programming Rage. I have now essentially totally wallpapered one wall with my pictures, which looks awesome and cool as. So much so, I constantly find myself staring at it thinking, "Oh, I am good." I am looking forward to getting to decorate the other walls also when I get another spare second to do so. The first real estate inspection should also be fun. Kekekeke.
I've decided to put an ad in the paper, as well as do a flyer drop in Rockhampton to hopefully get some more clientelle interested in my website design. I have been saying that I am going to be doing this for the last couple of weeks, but have honestly had hardly any time as I have had a few really long shifts at work as well as the move, both of which have kept me very busy. Storm season almost being over, I will probably be dropped from work soon, so will then have plenty of time on my hands. I really want to start (hopefully) earning an income before that happens though.
I am stoked. My credit card is one week from being totally paid off for the first time in my life. I have had this card ever since I was 18 or something like that, and it has always been over the limit, or at the very least totally right up to the limit. Yes, I started my adult life being incredibly responsible about my spending...not. *cough*. Now, I don't seem to have the desire to spend massive amounts of money that I do not have. I have also been thinking perhaps if I really want a house, I shouldn't go for a loan, no matter how small it might be. The way to go perhaps is to just keep living where I am living until I save the full amount. It would also give me ample opportunity to change my mind for the 100th time in regards to what I want to do with my life.
Right up until late last week, my plan was to apply for one of the two temporary positions that were coming up where I was working. I was all set to apply, mainly because I was feeling so confident that I was doing such a good job. Unfortunately, my illusions were very quickly shattered when I had a chat with my team leader after the latest round of recording of my calls. I apparently am rude/abrupt, mainly due to the way I am wording and responding to questions that I am asking callers.
For example, I am saying, "What is your name/phone number/address/etc?", as opposed to "May I have your name/phone number/address?". I am also not hitting the quota of "thank yous", which are meant to be said each time a customer provides me with information. Eg. A call should go something like this. "May I have your name?"...customer provides name..."Thank you". "May I have your address?"...customer provides address. "May I have your contact number"...customer provides contact number..."Thank you"...and so on!
Additionally, when we log calls through to the crews, we have to put information into a report. I got a number of errors back which was also quite a shock. This is after being here for around three months, and not getting any feedback about this prior to last week. To say I was shocked at some of the stuff I had been doing wrong, was an understatement. I don't mind feedback, I just think it is important to get feedback as soon after the mistake has been made, rather than a number of months later. I quizzed my team leader as to why this wasn't the case and she simply said that I mustn't have got any of these reports back in the past, as I mustn't have any other errors. I said I found it hard to believe that I got here on day one and did not make an error for the first month or so, but basically left it at that.
I finished the discussion extremely disappointed and quite shocked and frustrated. I also decided at that point that it was pretty pointless even considering going for a job here if my standard of work is so lowly regarded. It took me a few days to get over it, but well...I have, and have just taken everything said on board and am trying to improve my manners in order to keep everyone here happy. I do like it here very much, and it's a great place to work. This is the only place I have worked that I have found really looks after it's staff (with the exception of eBay, which was also great).
Anyone who regularly checks out Epodcentral would have noticed a drop in the number of updates recently. This is mainly because of work/moving (as mentioned above) but also cause I have had the computer rather precariously balanced on this extremely dodgy tiny table. I had been searching for a new sturdy, larger table over the last couple of weeks, but didn't want to pay hundreds of dollars for it. I ended up finding this awesome charity shop in my wanders where I picked up this unreal table, with 3 metal drawers in it for the measly sum of $10. I asked if they could deliver it and they said sure, and told me delivery was only $10. So, I now have myself a rather fabulous table for only $20. So, standby for some more regular updates again!
I am the web designer for Jimbo's official site, so am perhaps a little biased, however, I highly recommend anyone reading this to check out his new diary which is all about his adventures on the road. As well as writing some pretty amazing stuff, it's also accompanied by some unreal pictures to document his travels. I love reading it, even though it does make me quite envious, reading of his many experiences and adventures!
The body of Paul Hester was found in a park after failing to return home from walking his dogs on Saturday night. He was 46. The news reports say that Paul took his own life after a long battle with depression. He leaves behind two young kids, and a girlfriend (who he was to marry in May). It is very sad and so disappointing to me that people have to go to the extreme of killing themselves. Hell, my life is shithouse for a large percentage of the time, but I don't entertain thoughts of ever doing something like that.
I went on a bit of dvd buying spree last week. Amongst a few other things, I picked up dvds of The Whitlams, INXS, and Crowded House. I was watching the Whitlams dvd (in fact, the most impressive of all the dvds), which features their video clips, as well as some early live performances and interviews. I was immediately taken by how young and carefree they looked. It was sad to know that two of the three young blokes that looked so happy and full of life in the dvd were no longer with us due to suicide. Same deal with the INXS dvd. Watching the immensely talented and gorgeous man, Micheal Hutchence, who would have thought he would be found hanging from the back of a hotel room door a few years back? And now, Paul Hester of Crowded House is now gone. I guess you never know. RIP I guess. *sighs*
At work we were given the impression at the end of last week that it was probably going to be the last roster and that the current roster (ending on 3rd April) was probably going to be the last one before all the temps were given the flick. They did add though that they were not sure if this was indeed the case. Although I was only given 16 hours for both weeks of the current roster, it was looking pretty good, mainly due to there being 4 days off at the end of this (perhaps) final roster ever. I decided that I wanted to get to the Melbourne Comedy Festival and that it would be perfect to get a ticket to go there for those four days, and stay a bit longer if it was indeed the last roster as I had picked out quite a few shows that I wanted to see.
I was so close to buying my plane ticket to Melbourne, but luckily I didn't. The next day the roster was changed, which gave me a few more hours, but took away my four days in a row off. Since then it has changed again, and I now have a full 37.5 hours for next week. As well as this, I aquired an extra 8.5 hour shift last week. I just don't get it. We are given the impression that the job is almost ready to wind up, then I am given a massive amount of hours! Don't get me wrong, getting all these hours is unreal and I am happy as - I just wish they would make up their minds! I'm happy to stay doing what I'm doing for however long it lasts. The money is too good to even consider looking elsewhere for work for the moment.
Still thinking about making some flyers for my website design. Haven't done it yet though. Yes, I am slack. I have also thought of perhaps organising my own under 18's dance party. Haven't done too much there either. It is simply a thought, mainly because I really want to get back into my DJing. With the dance party, I guess the main thing that scares me is failure. I have the cash to put one on, but all the what ifs are getting in the way. I will keep thinking before doing anything, but it's still something I would really like to do. Was thinking of perhaps not running one myself but instead approaching the coppers here about Blue Light discos. That way I could play the music and not worry about all the other crap. I don't know exactly what to do yet. It is just one of the many ideas in my head that needs a bit more thought, then hopefully some action!
Perhaps I have been reading Beck's blog for too long...but anyways...I gave up chocolate and coca cola on the 22nd March. I'm not going on a diet as such, I just think that giving up these two things is likely...well...hopefully...going to make a bit of a difference to my health, and perhaps my weight. I had been thinking for a while also how pointless it is - me sitting in my room on the internet, whilst consuming massive amounts of chocolate and coca cola daily. Now, all chocolate and coca cola have been banished from my fridge and I haven't had any massive cravings. Yet. All is good. Water is a much better alternative to coca cola. It is amazing how reliant I had become to just having a coke with just about everything and now I am living without it without any trouble. Yet. I did have headaches for a few days though - withdrawal symptons perhaps? They seem to have gone away now.
I was curious enough to purchase a set of scales the other day too. I had planned to go on another of my big walks over to the shopping centre on the other side of Rockhampton, but it didn't happen as I got a call from a work friend who offered to drive me there. Cool as. I honestly would not have minded the walk, as I do it so often and it only takes around an hour or so to get there. I'm not into catching buses or taxis, so walking is cool for me to do. Saves the $$ too. So, yeah...walked out of Big W, equipped with my first ever set of scales.
I went to pick up some more toilet paper from the shop the other day and on my arrival back home, I was astonished to find 10 neatly stacked rolls of toilet paper in front of my door. I was immediately thinking...'hmm yay...um...so what's all that about', and then glanced down the hallway only to find that everyone else also had been given this special gift of toilet paper. It was soon explained to me by another tennant that this was in fact a special present we are all given once a month. No electricity bills to worry about here, now I don't need to buy toilet paper either. Doesn't get more exciting than that *cough*. kekekke.
I decided to socialise with my neighbours late last night. I figured why not, particularly because I had been invited to socialise and had not yet done so. We had quite a long chat, which ended up lasting for about 2 hours. These ladies have been and there, done that and mentioned that they wished that the young ones would take their advice so that they did not make the same mistakes as they had. One (who is around 60), mentioned that they regret spending all their superannuation on a house in the bush, only to lose the house because they got ill and needed to live close enough to a doctor. She said that she had always wanted to go to Egypt and see the pyramids, and also travel to see The Great Wall of China. But no, she bought a house because she didn't want to pay rent anymore. She said to me, "And here I am, paying rent, after all that and I did not get to see any of those things."
She's got a lot of medical problems, so she'd have trouble getting to either of those places, even if she could.
Sure did make me think about my desire for house buying. They did seem quite supportive, however, in regards to my idea to move into the middle of nowhere. Mainly after I explained that I could do my job (website design) from anywhere in Australia, and also that I would only be looking to purchase a really cheap house. The latest cheap house find is at Jericho, listed at $37k. I have mentioned this to people at work and got the usual scoffs and "oh look at the bathroom - yuck!" types of comments when I showed them the listing for the place. I would be interested in checking it out though. I'm still interested in checking out Mount Morgan too. It's got cheap houses as well, and it is only 30 mins away from Rockhampton. Jericho is around 6
hours away from Rockhampton, but has regular bus and trains that go through it, so its still accessible enough for me even though I do not have a car.
During our conversation last night, the toilet seat issue was bought up. This was something that had been puzzling me for quite some time. See, the toilet seat always seemed to be up and I had it in my head that hmmm....maybe there is a male staying over that is leaving it up. For those who don't know, there is a note in the foyer here which states that males can only stay for a short time, and definately not overnight. It also states that males are unable to use the bathrooms. Anyways, it turns out that this lady leaves the seat up because when the toilet flushes, it flushes too high which makes the seat wet. So, she puts the seat up and then flushes. Total classic. She wondered why no one else had caught on and done the same thing. I then told her my theory about how I thought a bloke must be staying and leaving it up and she cracked up. So funny. heh heh.
She said that the other ladies had blokes visiting and that she hoped that none of the blokes had been blamed for the toilet seat being up. She honestly had not thought of it from that angle she said. kekekeke. Anyways, they went on to say that (in the unlikely event) a bloke wanted to stay, he was welcome. They just don't want any nasty types that get drunk and abusive and so forth. She said that if she had a bloke, he would definately be staying with her, but at her age she said it was a lot harder to find one. So yes, my question has now been answered about blokes. Not that they will need to worry about having a rapid influx of male visitors to my place, but yeah. Haha. Unreal.
Once upon a time, quite a few years back in Mackay, there was a couple of fantastic bands I used to love. The first being Acid Rain, which had the absolutely brilliant singer, Clint Boge fronting them. Here's a really old picture of me holding a photo of them. After Acid Rain broke up, there was another band that Clint was in called, Black. This guy is amazingly talented, gorgeous, and has some of the best vocals I have ever heard, and I always thought he would go on to bigger and better things. That, he did do. He's the lead singer from the band, The Butterfly Effect. I could have died when I saw a poster advertising that they would be doing a gig in Rockhampton on Sunday 17th April at Rockhampton Music Bowl. Not only that, but it is free.
Something that I will definately go to, even if it means missing a Sunday shift at work (that is, if I am still working then!). I am so excited, you could say I was excited.