Still Here

July 29, 2009 at 7:23 pm (admin, life)

..just had a bad couple of weeks that turned into a minor life arrest.

Am recovering pretty well, all things considered. The privileged few can read my private blatherings about it, but this is not the place for it.

Am attempting to come back with some real writing. I promises. Cross everything.

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Apropos of absolutely nothing…

July 14, 2009 at 6:30 pm (Uncategorized)

here is a song.

Details to follow, after we’ve broken the news to a few key people. Did I say we? I meant I, obviously.

:-D

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For those who came in late…

July 13, 2009 at 9:09 pm (Uncategorized)

Or, things that may have changed since I last wrote Anything Of Consequence.

Choirs / music excursions of any kind continue to play a major role in keeping me sane. MonUCS is still the base of my social circle, though I’ve gotten a bit slack in attending rehearsals and performing in concerts. I have started singing in an occasional choral group (no, not that one) which has been challenging and lots of fun. We joined in with ROCS for their anniversary gig, and are vaguely talking about a concert later in the year.

I had an unexpected success earlier in the year when I was asked to cater at the last MonUCS rehearsal camp. Despite not a lot of notice and some less than ideal conditions to work in, it all came together. I miss not being able to play silly buggers all weekend, but perhaps I’m better confined to the kitchen, who knows? I was asked to do it again, and foolishly I agreed. I’ve been plotting recipes, and we’ll see how they develop in the month or so I have to tinker.

As exciting as it is cooking for a lot of people, I’m struggling with the motivation to cook for myself.  I’ve tried inviting people over and bribing them with dinner, but my efforts have had a mixed reception. So, if you’re curious to see what I can come up with, or just hurt that I apparently haven’t invited you over, let me know and see what piquing my curiosity will produce.

As I alluded to in the “woe” section of my last post, not having Madam around makes life very difficult at times.  Still, she continues to come up with interesting things for us to get up to in the time she has here with me. Last excursion, we saw Avenue Q, which I loved. Next weekend, we’re off on an “interactive dining experience” for our anniversary (our “Ooh, hello” anniversary rather than anything more traditional) which sounds like lots of fun, not to mention food. We’re doing the Melbourne Show as well, and hoping that things may change not too long after that.

More noodling to follow. I have been away for a while, haven’t I?

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Life or something like it

July 12, 2009 at 3:20 pm (Friends, Madam, being married, being social, being well, big fat rant, house, life, wyrk)

Hello again. Yes, I’m following up my announcement of my return with actual content. Are you surprised? I am, a little. I’m still getting my head together, and I think all of the paragraphs below could grow into posts of their own if I had the inclination. We shall see what develops.

Melbourne, I have gone native. I still don’t really know the geography outside of my stomping ground, but I’m putting roots down. Having had a decent visit to Canberra, I really don’t miss that city at all. Some of the inhabitants I miss a hell of a lot, but I’m not going back there.

Madam is still in Canberra. We’re both at the point where we are both really tired of living apart, and we’re both miserable. Her career has gone well, so I’m glad she stayed there for that sake, at least (she’s now earning more than I am, which apparently I should feel threatened about? I don’t think so). Still, we’ve done the long distance thing before, hated it then, and still hate it. We’re still seeing each other every three or four weeks, which helps when it’s not a source of frustration to us both. A New Plan is developing, and we hope to have it together by September or so. Here’s hoping stuff works out.

So, for this reason I’ve been a thoroughly miserable sod. Apologies to anyone who’s had to put up with me lately. I am trying to get my act together so I cope a little better with the world, and am trying to be a bit more sociable. I’m off to dinner with a few friends tonight, which will be nice.

I’m also trying to do a bit of necessary (and long overdue) self-maintenance. Tomorrow I’m going to a shiatsu place near work to get myself crunched. Also on the to-do list for this week, I’m finding myself a GP and getting a checkup. I’m hoping this is a more positive experience than the last time I saw a doctor. I’m also *cringe* waiting to see *twitch* a dentist. This fellow was recommended by my thoroughly nice Canberra dentist, so I’m hoping he’ll be nice too.

Work is mostly going well. We’ve lost a few people recently due to budgetary machinations, so things are getting a wee bit busy, but at least I’m in no danger of running out of work. As predicted, I’m now bored with most of my work, but I’m comfortable rather than getting complacent. I’m now very used to working in the city, and am seriously rocking my daily commute. I’ve put my name down for some weekend overtime in another office, which could be interesting (and the moneys will be helpful too). I’m at the point where I should start looking around for other opportunities, I suppose. There doesn’t seem to be much potential for advancement in my section, but we’ll see what develops.

More meanderings to come…

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Well, I’m back.

July 9, 2009 at 11:20 pm (admin, life)

And I have things to say. Indeed I do.

However, it is far too late on a Thursday night to go into details. Expect more interesting stuff to follow.

Did you miss me? I missed you.

EDIT: Yeesh. “Possibly Related Posts” is seriously screwed up (probably due to me using such high-powered words as “stuff”. Will try and fix / remove them, but don’t have time this morning.

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Still here.

April 20, 2009 at 1:45 pm (admin, brain stuff, melbourne, sick)

Am home sick today.  Have been trying to write for ages, but can’t get the impetus. Just so you know (especially since I’ve been getting a little more attention lately) I’m here, and I’ll be back with more random witterings.

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I’m back.

November 24, 2008 at 5:13 am (being social, melancholia, melbourne)

Whaddya mean, from where? Surely I… oh.

I’ve been at my new choir’s rehearsal camp this past weekend. From a logistical perspective, it may not have been the cleverest thing to do (as I still have a house full of boxen) but it was good for my mental health.

Some things were Not So Good. I won’t go into them in any detail here – some of them were just karma, and some couldn’t be helped (a drive along a windy road through National Park, with wind and rain and fog and trees down on the road – it’s never going to be pleasant is it?).

I found myself without the motivation to rehearse too much. I’m already a little bored with the music, and was suffering from being unable to talk to Madam much (my phone’s battery went flat pretty quickly as it was). I helped out a little in the kitchen, and spent a little more time laying about feeling sorry for myself. There were, however, certain Lovely People who came and sat on me – literally, in at least one case – and made sure I was doing OK. I then resolved to have fun with my weekend. This involved giving a lot of massages (seven, I think – there was at least one repeat offender client) and generally hanging out and not singing much. I did manage to get a revue act together for Saturday night, which was a little daunting as the performance standard has gone up somewhat since I last performed there, but I was reasonably well received.

On the whole, things went very well. I made a couple of friends, and got to know some people a lot better. I ended the weekend exhausted but feeling loved. Which is the point, isn’t it? Am now home and caught up with Madam. Still pretty tired, but content. Now off to work. Oh. Joy.

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House.

November 16, 2008 at 7:19 pm (Madam, house, melancholia, melbourne, moving)

The moving is done. It has been a very long day, but I’m happy everything is done.

Today started Far Too Early, and finished mid-afternoon. I now have everything in roughly the right place (including internets, obviously!) and am set up well enough to get to work tomorrow.

Father In Law and Brother In Law seriously saved my bacon, and I am most grateful. I am also far too tired to write about much, but I will say the following about New House -

  • Everything fits! Holy crap! It’s a little chaotic due to the boxes and stuff, but everything will be fine.
  • I have a very, very good shower. I am now in love with gas powered hot water.
  • The pizza place up the street is very good. I will start cooking again. I will. I will.
  • Believe it or not, I got used to sharing a house with a cat. I haven’t been annoyed by anything small and furry since breakfast time, and I’m getting a little twitchy.
  • I miss Madam a hell of a lot. Life is better, on the whole, so I’ve probably stopped complaining so much (apologies to my LJ friends list), but I’m still missing half my heart. And all of my wifely snuggles. Which makes me terribly sad a lot of the time.

More later, when I’ve recovered from today’s exercise program.

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Work, life and other things

November 13, 2008 at 6:22 am (melbourne, wyrk)

Morning all. Here’s a brief squeak before I head off to work.

Yes, work! Day One went pretty well. I am rocking the morning commute, thanks to good planning and the paranoia I learned from relying on Canberra’s bus network (which is not the most trustworthy I’ve ever encountered). I know the locals aren’t too impressed with the public transport here, but I’m finding in perfectly acceptable.

I’m in the middle of my induction, which has been interesting so far. Lots of useful discussion about the ethical issues one can strike in A Certain Department, together with lots of client service and the necessary admin bits and pieces.

New House looks fantastic. The owners were in yesterday doing a couple of bits of maintenance I requested, and it has all gone well. I still don’t have utilities, which I’m not impressed with, but Nice Agent is having a word with the connection company today. I hoped to be moving in this weekend, but Father In Law has been unwell on an interstate trip and isn’t home yet, so I’m not holding out much hope. Thankfully, the Lord and Lady are understanding, and don’t mind if I stay in Spare Oom a little longer.

I’ve been here a little over two weeks now. I should have something more profound to say about that, but I’ve got to get dressed and out of the house. More later, possibly tonight.

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Melbourne, Week One (and a bit)

November 8, 2008 at 9:26 pm (Friends, Madam, being social, choral, family, house, melbourne, moving, wyrk)

Hello again. Time to put the fractured posts into perspective, I think.

I last reported to you (coherently) last Wednesday. True to my word, I went to Chadstone (home of the largest shopping centre in the known universe, I’m told) to shop for supplies. I also began trawling the net for properties, and soon had a collection of properties to look at. I soon found, however, that most properties showed at 11 in the morning, and the rest showed at 3 in the afternoon. I begged assistance, and people were good enough to offer to help.

Thursday and Friday were mostly spent continuing to pester agencies. I went for a wander through A Certain Suburb in an attempt to charm agents directly, but discovered that they were as capable of being rude in person as via phone/internet. This was kinda disheartening, but I pressed on.

Saturday was a special day (and not in the Hallmark way). Ms Kate and Ms Kat were good enough to drive me places that I couldn’t reach on my own, and I am very grateful. With their help, I saw four properties in Bentleigh and one in Malvern. One agent didn’t show up, one property was far too small, one was (in my opinion) dishonestly advertised (apparently if the garden shed has windows, it’s a bungalow? Who would have thought?) and one hadn’t had its plumbing or wiring updated in the past century. I determined to apply for the final property, and gave up the rest of the day as a loss (after rewarding Ms Kat with peppermint tea and hugs, which was entirely worthwhile).

Also, the Lord and Lady of the manor set off on their anniversary trip at sparrow’s fart, and I found myself alone (apart from Mistress Leela, the four-pawed lady of the house). This turned out to be a bad thing for my mental state.

Sunday, the blues set in and lasted most of the next day. On Monday morning, I made a trip in on a morning train to my future workplace, which was a useful excursion, but I didn’t get much else of use done. Madam took care of me as best she could long distance, and made sure I kept sending those emails.

Tuesday was Melbourne Cup Day, and an unusual day. I headed out to meet some Lovely People for a picnic in the park, which turned out to be an interesting adventure on public transport. After an afternoon of lolling about with far too much food, I let the lovely Ms Gaby take me home, where I met her mother and got to see her Evil Twin and collect some much-needed hugs. We then headed in to choir, where some equally necessary therapy was had by me.

Wednesday was another hard day. Due to the public holiday the day before, none of my emails had been answered, so I got busy kicking heads making polite enquiries. It was then I discovered that many of the properties I’d been chasing had already been leased, including the no-show from Saturday. This was when the penny dropped and I began to despair. Much telephone and internet therapy got me through the day, but only just. I saw another property, didn’t particularly like it, but decided to apply anyway. I’d pretty much given up at this point.

Thursday morning, I took stock of my inspections for the weekend. Three properties in three different suburbs. All showing at 11am on Saturday. I gritted my teeth and tried to prioritise. Then came the call from Nice Agent – I’d contacted her office about two properties, and she offered me inspection times. 11am and 11:15am on Saturday. I took a deep breath and asked her nicely if there was any way I could see them earlier, mentioning I had nothing on that day. She asked if I could come around “right now”. When it became apparent I was using public transport, she invited me to meet her at her office and she’d drive me to both.

At this point I became light-headed. An agent that actually wanted to work to make a lease? Unheard of in this city, I tells ya. Needless to say, I took her up on her offer.

Big House was old, well maintained but odd. Nice Agent could tell I wasn’t terribly interested and didn’t press the point. Then, I saw the unit.

(note – I haven’t given the new place a catchy name. It’ll come to me, just give me time. I’ve been watching too much Doctor Who / Torchwood to use the word “unit“, trust me.)

Location – The complex is on a main road, about 1100m from the railway station. It’s a relaxed fifteen minute walk to the station, or about three on the bus. There’s a little shopping precinct a short walk down the street, a bigger one at the station or the local bus goes direct to Chadstone. It’ll be a twenty to twenty five minute train ride to work.

The Unit – Two bedrooms, one common wall with next door, single carport. Courtyard, zero maintenance garden. New paint, new floorboards, new kitchen, security system. A little small, but we’ll cope. Not the sort of place one can have dinner parties in, but meh. I’ll settle for communal snuggles in front of the TV.

So, I liked it and I applied. In the afternoon, my referees started getting called (Nice Agent asked Madam if I was “clean”). At 4:30, I got a message from Nice Agent saying my application had been passed to the landlords for approval. At 6pm, I got another call saying I’d been approved and did I still want the property?

Holy crap. Hence the tone of my last post (which I made after calling everyone I could think of who might care). After my many days of angst, I had the whole process done in less than eight hours.

Friday, funnily enough, was much better than the last few days had been. I went to Nice Agent’s office with a bond cheque and signed all the necessary paperwork. Although I don’t take over the property til Thursday, she offered me some keys so I could take a few photos and show Madam. I did this, and also took the time to check out some of the nearby eateries. Nice Agent then met me at the property and dropped me off at the station (did I mention this lady was nice? Geez). I then headed home to bury the bodies clean up a little before the Lord and Lady got home. They soon arrived back, much refreshed from their holiday and happy to be home.

Friday night, I was actually sociable. Man With Hat was celebrating his birthday at a cocktail bar, and we three came along to celebrate. I had my good news to pass on, and there was much rejoicing. I had a very large and entertaining drink (it arrived in a bowl with flaming passionfruit shells on top, I kid you not) and ate some very tasty nibbles while watching people drink many entertaining things. The Lord and Lady headed off to dance the night away, while I headed off with people to eat pizza and critique X Men 3 (which was on the TV in the pizza place). At long last, we saw various lovely people off, then Evil Woman and I caught a train home. I was still buzzing enough that I walked home from the station, feeling loved and generally happy.

Today involved a couple of intelligence-gathering trips to Ikea, some shopping and generally lying about. All very pleasant.

The near future will be interesting.

On Tuesday afternoon, I get to collect the keys for my new unit. Does anyone want to come on an adventure with me? It’ll be fun, and you’ll get to be a sticky beak.

Wednesday is my first day at work. Well, I’ll be at my induction rather than real work, but it’ll be interesting getting back into the swing of things (two weeks is long enough to completely disorient me).

Next weekend, I ought to be able to move in. Any volunteers would be most welcome to help either at the storage place or at the house itself – please contact me if you’re available / interested.

I have started to feel a little at home in Melbourne. I still miss Madam terribly, but I feel like I have my sense of mission back. Let’s see how the next little while goes.

Disclaimer – You’ll note I haven’t named Nice Agent or her agency. I won’t hesitate to recommend her, but contact me if you want details. We’ll have none of that commercial rubbish on this blog, thankee squire.

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