Happy Xmas to us, happy Xmas to us …
23 Dec 05
We’ve exchanged contracts. Whew. Our own home at last.
House Buying
10 Dec 05
Well, if all goes as it should, tomorrow will be my last day free of major debt*. Because on Monday my girlfriend and I will be signing an agreement which will make us obligated to paying off an obscene amount of money over an unimaginable amount of time (30 years). However, I have several consolations while facing this frightening prospect: a) I think we’ve got a pretty good house at an OK price; b) millions of people take on the same amount of debt every day and manage to survive; c) now that I’m working from home, my mortgage payment is still less than what I used to pay on home rent plus studio rent; d) I’m lucky enough to be entering into this agreement alongside a wonderful girl I love and e) I’m almost 40, how much longer can I put off this mortgage thing anyway?
It’s been a stressful ride, and it ain’t over yet, but it may actually work out. From what my more responsible and have-their-shit-together friends tell me, it gets easy after the first year or two.
I keep joking to my girl that soon she’ll be up on a ladder in white overalls and I’ll put a dab of paint on her nose and then we’ll both laugh. And we’ll spend all our weekends ‘doing things around the house’. And thumbing through Ideal Homes Magazine (quick, be the first to identify that Joe Jackson song!) But on the whole it seems like the right time to be doing this stuff. And what a pleasure it’s going to be to hang a picture without worrying about getting the bond back.
PS Yeah I know I said I wouldn’t talk about real estate. But hey, this is big stuff for me OK?
PPS No, it’s not this place. (Sorry, I never did check it out.)
*Maybe. Maybe the debt starts when we settle in seven weeks—hmmm, I must check that…
Tiny Room in Purgatory
29 Nov 05
My girlfriend and I are looking to buy a place of our own at the moment. And while usually I dislike talking or writing about real estate, I had to share with you this little gem she discovered yesterday: ‘Too Good to Be True.’
Let’s look at this paragon of the advertising art for just a moment. Everything about it screams care and attention to detail. Linger on the way it’s all written in capitals, so it feels like the agent is shouting at you. Delight in the spelling: “TO GOOD TO BE TRUE” … “AVAILBALE FOR INSPECTION”. Wonder at the tempting adjectives and the way they work together: “IMPRESSIVE” and “LIVEABLE”. And then, the piece de resistance, the photo … yes, that is the only photo. But don’t despair, you can click on it to get a larger view and revel in the glorious detail of the image!
I don’t know about you, but I’m reaching for my chequebook as we speak …
The boots were made for etc
27 Sep 05
I’ve been working from home again for almost two months now, and the temptation to turn into a mindless slob who spends all of his time staring mindlessly at a glowing computer screen is so strong, I’ve recently begun forcing myself to get up and go for a walk. Sure, I walk up to the shops with my little Thermos mug and get a large takeway cappuccino ever morning, but I’m talking about a decent, mile-munching late afternoon/early evening leg-stretcher.
And what a difference it makes. After a day at the coal face—others may call it a 15 inch Mac LCD screen of course—there’s nothing more mind- and lung-expanding than striding about the back streets of your neighbourhood for half an hour. I’ll put some good walking music on the shuffle (today happened to be Turin Brakes, Coldplay, Spain and Aimee Mann) and head off in my chosen direction. Slowly I’m forcing myself to remember to get a good whiff of the flowers I pass, or register the tasty smells of what people are cooking for their evening meal. I’ll stop and say hello to the odd friendly cat. And in just a few minutes I’ve forgotten about the design I’m working on and my senses take over and give my brain a rest.
I highly recommend it. But you may have other ways of rewinding after a long day’s work, especially those of you who work from home. What are they?
Cardboard! Figures! Dice! Beer!
14 Jul 05
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The joy of gaming … late night Doom game.
Heron Island
13 Apr 05
If you’re ever down in Australia and feel like a ‘resort holiday’, I can highly recommend Heron Island. Five nights there felt like a month’s break. I also managed to fit in six dives on the Great Barrier Reef, and the highlight was encountering two huge (at least 2.5 metres from wingtip to wingtip) manta rays, slowly circling above a coral outcrop 15 metres below the surface.
The island, at least when we were there, swarms with birds chattering away all day and all night; a bit noisy when you first arrive but you soon find the calls relaxing, and it sure beats traffic noise. Every evening we went down to the beach (a complete circuit of the tiny island takes about forty minutes) to watch baby turtles crawl out of the sand and make their desperate rush to the sea. Truly the cutest baby animals on the planet, the staff know them as ‘sea biscuits’ because of the unfortunate fact that just about every form of wildlife in the sea or flying above it loves to snack on them. Only about 1 in a 1,000 make it to adulthood. Trying to improve the odds, we would protect them from gulls and, at least for a little way into the water, small reef sharks and eels.
The city seems a mad, noisy, smelly place after a tropical island. Check out some shots on the Photos page.
PS. Sorry for the lack of updates. I’ll back in the swing of things soon.
Attack from the Deep
21 Feb 05
Us Australians laugh at the cliche that the country is swarming with deadly beasties with the capacity to kill a human with a single bite. I’ve seen a few television specials that really pump up this angle, going into great detail about shark attacks, funnel-web spiders, snakes, stonefish, crocodiles etc etc. You’d think they’re jostling for space down Pitt Street in Sydney (along with the kangaroos). Your average Australian has a good laugh and plunges back into the surf or embarks on another bushwalk.
My girlfriend and I were swimming at Soldier’s Beach on the Central Coast on Sunday, however, and for the first time since I was about six I was stung by a bluebottle. That’s a Portuguese Man-of-War to you overseas readers; a small blue jellyfish with long, streaming stingers that is often washed up onto Australian beaches by westerly winds. It’s also an integral part of the childhood of anyone who grew up near the coast.
Unfortunately, my girlfriend was stung as well, and considering she’s not 100% comfortable in the surf and I was slowly encouraging her to be more confident, I was surprised by the bad luck. Despite the press, you don’t often get bitten or stung here in Australia. Fortunately, it was a minor ‘attack’. A bit of ice to the stings eased the pain, though I have a row of itchy red bumps down my right wrist as I write (note to forgetful self: don’t scratch bluebottle stings).
In a way, it was good she was stung. It’s like a rite of passage in Australia, getting stung by a bluebottle. Everyone should try it.
Update: I’ve changed my mind. You shouldn’t. She’s fine but I’m suffering rows of itchy red welts on my arm, leg and foot. Guess I’m allergic to bluebottle stings as well as mosquitos…
Barbie and Ken go on a Trek (TM)
25 Jan 05
A friend took this photo in a toy store in Tokyo recently. Actually, when you think about it, Barbie and Ken would be perfect on the Enterprise. Shame she’s a ‘red shirt’ though, they never last long …
Happy Birthday to Me, Happy Birthday to Me …
30 Dec 04
The day closes on my 39th birthday, and what an excellent birthday it was, largely due to my wonderful girlfriend who showered me with thoughtful gifts and attention. Books (1001 Films to See Before You Die, The Poems of Edgar Allan Poe), games (Corsairi and Babel), a DVD (Edward Scissorhands), an Edward Gorey-illustrated Dracula stage play cardboard set, a bottle of Moet, and an original 1954 bakelite ViewMaster. What taste! Now, I just have to get used to the concept of only one year of my thirties being left …
The Meaning of the Meaning of Life
11 Nov 04
Listening to the radio in the car today I learned this fascinating tidbit. If it were possible to drill a shaft from the precise point of the North Pole to the precise point of the South Pole, and if you could fall through the shaft without friction (and without all the other annoying inconveniences; stick with me here, this is theoretical), you would speed up until, at the centre of the earth, you were at escape velocity (11 kilometres per second) then, as you passed the centre, you would begin slowing down, until you emerged at the other end of your journey slowed to a stop. Amazing, no? Well there’s more. The journey would take precisely 42 minutes. Forty-two. According to Douglas Adams, the answer to the question of the Meaning of Life. Co-incidence? Or … not?
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