Yep it has happened! We now own a house.
However you will not believe how close it came to all falling over. Just picture Paul sprinting from one side of the city to the other with a cheque in hand to give it to our solicitor at the door of the building where settlement was happening. Why you may ask - well it definitely wasn't our fault! How exactly does a bank "lose" $7000! Hmm - long story! But for now I have a team meeting to go to and then have a house to move into! So till next time (when we finally get broadband connected at the new place)
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Settlement day arrives
VERY EXCITING!!!
Yes that's right - today is settlement day on our new house and I couldn't be more excited. Very soon I will get an email from our solicitor telling me how much the difference between our loan and the settlement figure is (remaining house price, minus rates plus blah blah etc) and then I will walk down to MECU and get a bank cheque for that amount. I will then drop it off to Paul who will take it to our solicitor who will take it along to settlement at 3pm! That's right folks - not long after 3pm Paul and I will officially be the owners of our house.
Of course since we have to be out of our flat by 5pm tomorrow, with the carpets having been professionally cleaned (and receipt to prove it given to our evil property manager) we will be moving into our new house today as well. Yay! Lance is all set to come around after work (yep I text him Debz) so all we have to do is pray that it doesn't rain. I know - wash my mouth out with soap for saying it shouldn't rain but it's been "showering" for a few days and brisbane showers are just not the same as NZ showers - the heavens tend to open up and drop a rather large quantity of water in a very short period of time. Now that happening while moving our furniture from A to B would not be very good!
Well really better do some work!
Yes that's right - today is settlement day on our new house and I couldn't be more excited. Very soon I will get an email from our solicitor telling me how much the difference between our loan and the settlement figure is (remaining house price, minus rates plus blah blah etc) and then I will walk down to MECU and get a bank cheque for that amount. I will then drop it off to Paul who will take it to our solicitor who will take it along to settlement at 3pm! That's right folks - not long after 3pm Paul and I will officially be the owners of our house.
Of course since we have to be out of our flat by 5pm tomorrow, with the carpets having been professionally cleaned (and receipt to prove it given to our evil property manager) we will be moving into our new house today as well. Yay! Lance is all set to come around after work (yep I text him Debz) so all we have to do is pray that it doesn't rain. I know - wash my mouth out with soap for saying it shouldn't rain but it's been "showering" for a few days and brisbane showers are just not the same as NZ showers - the heavens tend to open up and drop a rather large quantity of water in a very short period of time. Now that happening while moving our furniture from A to B would not be very good!
Well really better do some work!
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Be quiet ... please!!
Don't you just hate people who are overly loud & opinionated! Ok ... no I'm not talking about me ;-)
The story:
I'm sitting on the bus on the way into work this morning with my nose buried in Digital Fortress by Dan Brown (great book by the way). The next thing I know I look up and we're pulling out of a bus stop and the bus driver is trying to nose it's way in front of a truck waiting at the lights by the hospital (a very normal occurrence). Well the truck driver wasn't too happy about this (since we were approx 5 mm away from the side of the truck by now) and tooted it's horn (that's about the time my nose came out of my book). Fortunately our bus driver waited in the end for the truck to go first and then we crossed over the to far lane. But the truck driver was a bit peeved by now and hung around going slowly in the middle lane waiting to do who knows what to the bus driver. Fortunately for us the bus driver sped off a lot quicker than the truck and so nothing further happened there.
So you would think that was the point of my story right - wrong. What we were then subjected to was this opinionated twit a couple of seats behind me sounding off for the rest of the trip - all 20 minutes of it! He just went on and on and on, talking really loudly in one of those really put on "gay" voices (the one's that actual gay people don't use). At first he was going on about the bus drivers "road rage" and how he was risking all our lives blah blah blah. And just when I was about to breathe a sigh of relief thinking he would shut up ... no, he then started to tell his friend, in an even louder voice about his bad experiences with "Indian call centres" (being a bit racist really) and all this sort of stuff.
It was so distracting that in that 20 minutes I only manged to read 1.5 pages of my book. I just wanted to turn around and tell him that the rest of the bus really didn't care and could he just be quiet. But with people like that it's just not worth it - that would only make it worse. When he finally got off the bus on the 2nd to last stop (outside Paul's work) the rest of the bus breathed a big sigh of relief!
What a way to start the day aye! I definitely needed a coffee after that one!
The story:
I'm sitting on the bus on the way into work this morning with my nose buried in Digital Fortress by Dan Brown (great book by the way). The next thing I know I look up and we're pulling out of a bus stop and the bus driver is trying to nose it's way in front of a truck waiting at the lights by the hospital (a very normal occurrence). Well the truck driver wasn't too happy about this (since we were approx 5 mm away from the side of the truck by now) and tooted it's horn (that's about the time my nose came out of my book). Fortunately our bus driver waited in the end for the truck to go first and then we crossed over the to far lane. But the truck driver was a bit peeved by now and hung around going slowly in the middle lane waiting to do who knows what to the bus driver. Fortunately for us the bus driver sped off a lot quicker than the truck and so nothing further happened there.
So you would think that was the point of my story right - wrong. What we were then subjected to was this opinionated twit a couple of seats behind me sounding off for the rest of the trip - all 20 minutes of it! He just went on and on and on, talking really loudly in one of those really put on "gay" voices (the one's that actual gay people don't use). At first he was going on about the bus drivers "road rage" and how he was risking all our lives blah blah blah. And just when I was about to breathe a sigh of relief thinking he would shut up ... no, he then started to tell his friend, in an even louder voice about his bad experiences with "Indian call centres" (being a bit racist really) and all this sort of stuff.
It was so distracting that in that 20 minutes I only manged to read 1.5 pages of my book. I just wanted to turn around and tell him that the rest of the bus really didn't care and could he just be quiet. But with people like that it's just not worth it - that would only make it worse. When he finally got off the bus on the 2nd to last stop (outside Paul's work) the rest of the bus breathed a big sigh of relief!
What a way to start the day aye! I definitely needed a coffee after that one!
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
The countdown continues ...
Well just a couple more days to go till Paul and I get to move into our new house. It's all very exciting! It seems that Paul's doing the "it's scary" side of things and I'm doing the "it's exciting" side of things :-)
Today we are going to visit the house at 5:15pm for our final inspection before settlement on Thursday. I can't wait! I haven't seen the house since we first looked at it as Paul was the only one who went to the building & pest inspection as I was too busy at work. So tomorrow will be the last day of having any money for the next 15 - 20 years. I'd like to pay off the mortgage within 15 years but who knows where life will lead us between now & then. So all we can do is pay as much as possible off now as that'll have huge implications later on :-)
Well best be doing some work now :-)
Ange
Today we are going to visit the house at 5:15pm for our final inspection before settlement on Thursday. I can't wait! I haven't seen the house since we first looked at it as Paul was the only one who went to the building & pest inspection as I was too busy at work. So tomorrow will be the last day of having any money for the next 15 - 20 years. I'd like to pay off the mortgage within 15 years but who knows where life will lead us between now & then. So all we can do is pay as much as possible off now as that'll have huge implications later on :-)
Well best be doing some work now :-)
Ange
Monday, November 26, 2007
Safe travels Debz
Well Debz is off with all the kids for her big NZ Christmas trip today (and as of 5pm yesterday hadn't yet packed ;-) ). Considering the high in Wellington is 13 today I think you just might freeze when you arrive around midnight.
So safe travels Debz! Hope you have a fantastic trip and that the flight goes well.
So safe travels Debz! Hope you have a fantastic trip and that the flight goes well.
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
We're buying a house
Yes it is now official - Paul and I are buying a house!
It's all very exciting really :-) We went unconditional on Monday afternoon so now it's really happening! Yay! It's in Keperra (about 10km from the city) and is walking distance to the train that goes 2 blocks from my work, a walk to church, around the corner from a mall with a few supermarkets, takeaways. bakery etc and a short drive to Brookside which is a huge mall.
It is a very nice post war raised 3 bedroom house on a 718sqm section (the standard is 607) so we're very happy about the section size. It has really nice timber floors, fans in every room - including one on the back deck, safety screens on a window in every room (so can leave windows open during the day) and has air con in the lounge and in the main bedroom - sweet!
So settlement day is Thursday Nov 29th - thats only 8 days away! Wahoo! Lance (Debz husband) is being a total sweetheart and is coming around with his work truck after he finishes work on the Thursday and is going to help us move our big furniture. Then on the Friday Paul and I have taken the day off so we can move everything else in the car. We have to be out of our flat by 5pm Friday so it will be a big couple of days. Fortunately we don't have very much stuff yet so the move shouldn't take too long.
Anway - so here are pics of our place :-) I love it!!!
The view of the house from the gate
The kitchen - not much storage.
But it does come with a gas cook top and normal electric oven :-)
The lounge - viewed form the kitchen
View from lounge towards kitchen/dining area.
I love the doors out onto the deck! Very nice!
The back yard - nice big trees for shade :-)
Another view of the back yard - this one form the car port.
View towards the front gate from the front door.
Note the car port - rain generally tend to go vertical here not horizontal like in Wellington ;-)
It's all very exciting really :-) We went unconditional on Monday afternoon so now it's really happening! Yay! It's in Keperra (about 10km from the city) and is walking distance to the train that goes 2 blocks from my work, a walk to church, around the corner from a mall with a few supermarkets, takeaways. bakery etc and a short drive to Brookside which is a huge mall.
It is a very nice post war raised 3 bedroom house on a 718sqm section (the standard is 607) so we're very happy about the section size. It has really nice timber floors, fans in every room - including one on the back deck, safety screens on a window in every room (so can leave windows open during the day) and has air con in the lounge and in the main bedroom - sweet!
So settlement day is Thursday Nov 29th - thats only 8 days away! Wahoo! Lance (Debz husband) is being a total sweetheart and is coming around with his work truck after he finishes work on the Thursday and is going to help us move our big furniture. Then on the Friday Paul and I have taken the day off so we can move everything else in the car. We have to be out of our flat by 5pm Friday so it will be a big couple of days. Fortunately we don't have very much stuff yet so the move shouldn't take too long.
Anway - so here are pics of our place :-) I love it!!!
The view of the house from the front
The view of the house from the gate
The back deck - very nice!
I will be spending weekend mornings out here with a coffee and a good book.
And note the fan and lights there :-) There are even electrical plugs for the stereo etc (oh hang on - we don't own on yet ;-) te he)
I will be spending weekend mornings out here with a coffee and a good book.
And note the fan and lights there :-) There are even electrical plugs for the stereo etc (oh hang on - we don't own on yet ;-) te he)
The kitchen - not much storage.But it does come with a gas cook top and normal electric oven :-)
The lounge - viewed form the kitchen
View from lounge towards kitchen/dining area.
I love the doors out onto the deck! Very nice!
The back yard - nice big trees for shade :-)Will need to make sure they are mulched though so they don't fall over on our house because of the drought,
Another view of the back yard - this one form the car port.
View towards the front gate from the front door.
Note the car port - rain generally tend to go vertical here not horizontal like in Wellington ;-)
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Aren't I boring
I've gone onto my blog a few times times this week to update it and then have been like - I have nothing to say. Yes, it's true - I am very boring this week ;-) Te he he! Work is just so busy at the moment that my life seems to be a never ending cycle of sleep, get up, go to work, come home, sleep.
I'm not looking forward to Debz going to NZ for a month. There's something sad about your only friend going away for 5 weeks - boo hoo! Hope you have a blast though Debz! Actually the first thing should be to say that I hope you survive the flight with the kids by yourself! The word legend comes to mind there aye :-D
The next week is going to be very busy again - work is going to be mad and then Paul and I actually have social things to do on the weekend - woohoo. Some of you may not realise but it's election day on Saturday next weekend (yay the whining ads on tv will finally stop). So Paul and I are going to be helping at the Jubilee parish's world youth day fundraising bbq while the Aussies are voting :-) Then we are going to an election night party - that should be interesting since we have no major interest in the election. Then on Sunday evening there is a meet & greet for our world youth day group.
Well - have to get back to doing our budget for the next few weeks! While saving may be a good thing and I appreciate the outcome of it - I can't wait to have some money! Another month or so and the pressure will be off! Yay!
Hope everyone is doing well :-) Miss you all!
*hug*
Ange
I'm not looking forward to Debz going to NZ for a month. There's something sad about your only friend going away for 5 weeks - boo hoo! Hope you have a blast though Debz! Actually the first thing should be to say that I hope you survive the flight with the kids by yourself! The word legend comes to mind there aye :-D
The next week is going to be very busy again - work is going to be mad and then Paul and I actually have social things to do on the weekend - woohoo. Some of you may not realise but it's election day on Saturday next weekend (yay the whining ads on tv will finally stop). So Paul and I are going to be helping at the Jubilee parish's world youth day fundraising bbq while the Aussies are voting :-) Then we are going to an election night party - that should be interesting since we have no major interest in the election. Then on Sunday evening there is a meet & greet for our world youth day group.
Well - have to get back to doing our budget for the next few weeks! While saving may be a good thing and I appreciate the outcome of it - I can't wait to have some money! Another month or so and the pressure will be off! Yay!
Hope everyone is doing well :-) Miss you all!
*hug*
Ange
Sunday, November 11, 2007
banning fireworks!
I was just reading an entry on my friends Teresa's blog about fireworks (blog entry) that I agreed with so much that I had to write about it on my blog too.
Teresa - I totally agree with you. I love watching fireworks - although I've always been a little too chicken to enjoy burning them myself. But I totally support a ban on public sales! Why - because of those few morons out there who ruin it for everyone - some may be young and not realise the consequences of their actions - but many others do know and still do it anyway.
Years of being traumatised reading stories in the paper about people hurting animals, hurting other people and burning down building/bush etc on the few nights around guy fawkes have led me to believe that they should definitely be banned from public sale!
Now the interesting thing is that Paul doesn't agree with me. He was extremely gutted last week to discover that guy fawkes just doesn't exist here in Brisbane - people look at you strangely if you talk about guy fawkes night (well, more strangely than normal anyway ;-) ). So instead we had to rush home from work to watch the coverage of the wellington display on the met service website (yay for the met service). But why it's ok for Paul to like lighting fireworks is that he's "responsible" with them. But there are enough out there who aren't responsible that it's just not worth the risk.
Anyway - rant over. Got to go and get ready to go to the soccer - yay :-)
Teresa - I totally agree with you. I love watching fireworks - although I've always been a little too chicken to enjoy burning them myself. But I totally support a ban on public sales! Why - because of those few morons out there who ruin it for everyone - some may be young and not realise the consequences of their actions - but many others do know and still do it anyway.
Years of being traumatised reading stories in the paper about people hurting animals, hurting other people and burning down building/bush etc on the few nights around guy fawkes have led me to believe that they should definitely be banned from public sale!
Now the interesting thing is that Paul doesn't agree with me. He was extremely gutted last week to discover that guy fawkes just doesn't exist here in Brisbane - people look at you strangely if you talk about guy fawkes night (well, more strangely than normal anyway ;-) ). So instead we had to rush home from work to watch the coverage of the wellington display on the met service website (yay for the met service). But why it's ok for Paul to like lighting fireworks is that he's "responsible" with them. But there are enough out there who aren't responsible that it's just not worth the risk.
Anyway - rant over. Got to go and get ready to go to the soccer - yay :-)
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Bike riding along the Boondall wetlands
Well Paul decided that since it was a colder day today (has been all week really) that we should go for a bike ride somewhere. We decided on the Boondall wetlands ride which started near the Brisbane Entertainment Centre in Boondall and ended up at Nudgee Beach. And thanks to the nice fella who loaned us his bike pump when we found ours was leaking, we actually got to go for a ride :-)
So it was great getting out of the house and doing something active as I don't seem to do much exercise these days. It gets dark too early at night and I start work too early to go in the morning. And going out at lunchtime is just silly as you end up a sweaty heap (and that's just from walking)! So weekends are really the only opportunity to do something active. If only gyms weren't so expensive aye ;-)
Anyway so here are a few pics from our bike ride :-)
So it was great getting out of the house and doing something active as I don't seem to do much exercise these days. It gets dark too early at night and I start work too early to go in the morning. And going out at lunchtime is just silly as you end up a sweaty heap (and that's just from walking)! So weekends are really the only opportunity to do something active. If only gyms weren't so expensive aye ;-)
Anyway so here are a few pics from our bike ride :-)
Friday, November 9, 2007
My sister ... the motor home geek!
Well it looks like my sister Marea is turning into one of those self built motor home (aka converted van) geeks you hear about. Her and Dan are getting prepped for their big Europe tour next year! To be fair it actually sounds very exciting and I'm very jealous - but we won't tell her that now will we. You can read all about it on their blog - you can link to it from "What my friends are up to" - but for now you can link here The Adventures of Marea and Dan.
Well the full name is actually Marea and Daniel as Marea has a thing about calling her fellas by their full names - but sorry Dan I am the opposite - I tend to call people by nicknames whether they like it or not - whoops ;-)
Anyway, surprise surprise, Marea is being very good at updating her blog! There's been something new to read with my breakfast every day - I am impressed! Just keep it up I say!
Well gotta do some work! Yay it's Friday!!
Well the full name is actually Marea and Daniel as Marea has a thing about calling her fellas by their full names - but sorry Dan I am the opposite - I tend to call people by nicknames whether they like it or not - whoops ;-)
Anyway, surprise surprise, Marea is being very good at updating her blog! There's been something new to read with my breakfast every day - I am impressed! Just keep it up I say!
Marea & Dan's new purchase - vote for its name of their blog!!
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Joke of the day ...
Ha ha - I got the following from an email my friend Amy sent me :-) Quite amusing!!! Even if they're made up they're still funny!
These were posted on a NZ Tourism Website and the answers are the actual responses by the website officials, who obviously have a sense of humour.
Q: Does it ever get windy in NZ? I have never seen it rain on TV, how do the plants grow? ( UK ).
A: We import all plants fully grown and then just sit around watching them die.
Q: Will I be able to see kiwi birds in the street? ( USA )
A: Depends how much you've been drinking.
Q: I want to walk from Auckland to Wellington - can I follow the railroad tracks? ( Sweden )
A: Sure, it's only three thousand miles, take lots of water.
Q: Are there any ATMs (cash machines) in NZ? Can you send me a list of them in Auckland , Wellington , Christchurch and Queenstown ? ( UK )
A: What did your last slave die of?
Q: Can you give me some information about hippo racing in NZ ? ( USA )
A: A-fri-ca is the big triangle shaped continent south of Europe ...
New- Zea -l and is that island in the middle of the Pacific which does not ... oh forget it. Sure, the hippo racing is every Tuesday night in Auckland city . Come naked.
Q: Which direction is North in NZ ? ( USA )
A: Face south and then turn 180 degrees. Contact us when you get here and we'll send the rest of the directions.
Q: Can I bring cutlery into NZ ? ( UK )
A: Why? Just use your fingers like we do.
Q: Can you send me the Vienna Boys' Choir schedule? ( USA )
A: - New-zea- la is that quaint little country , which is ... oh forget it. Sure, the Vienna Boys Choir plays every Tuesday night in Auckland city , straight after the hippo races. Come naked.
Q: Are there supermarkets in Auckland and is milk available all year round? ( Germany )
A: No, we are a peaceful civilization of vegan hunter/gatherers. Milk is illegal.
Q: Please send a list of all doctors in NZ who can Dispense spider serum. ( USA )
A: poisonous spiders live in A-meri-ca which is where YOU come from.
All NZ spiders are perfectly harmless, can be safely handled and make good pets. You should find some for yourself when you get here. Especially the ones with white tails.
Q: I have a question about a famous animal in NZ , but I forget its name. It's a kind animal and lives in trees. ( USA )
A: It's called a Drop Bear. They are so called because they drop out of Gum trees and eat the brains of anyone walking underneath them. You can scare them off by spraying yourself with human urine before you go out walking.
Q: I have developed a new product that is the fountain of youth. Can you tell me where I can sell it in NZ ? ( USA )
A: Anywhere significant numbers of Americans gather.
Q: Can you tell me the regions in Auckland where the female population is smaller than the male population? ( Italy )
A: Yes, gay night clubs.
Q: Do you celebrate Christmas in NZ ? ( France )
A: Only at Christmas.
Q: I was in NZ in 1969 on R+R, and I want to contact the Girl I dated while I was staying in Wellington *. Can you help? ( USA )
A: Yes, and you will still have to pay her by the hour.
Q: Will I be able to speak English most places I go? ( USA )
A: Yes, but you'll have to learn it first.
Monday, November 5, 2007
Photos of the tunnel machine
The rather tall people out entertaining the crowd. They were kinda funny!
The front of the tunneling machine from the viewing platform! It was really big!
Me on the viewing platform with the front of the tunnel machine behind me
The middle section of the tunnel machine. In total the whole thing is about 250 metres long!!!
Photo taken from Paul's cell phone right by the head of the machine! SO COOL!!
Paul in his "marshall" gears in front of the head of the machine! Love the pic quality aye :-)
The south bound tunnel - they've already dug about 250 metres in
Both the tunnels! With the little tunnel machine in front of it.
Joke for the week....
Ha ha - got this from my bosses weekly update email :-)
Joke for the week....
I rear-ended a car this morning on the way to work. I knew right then and there that it was going to be a REALLY bad day. The driver got out of the other car and wouldn't you know it, he was a dwarf.
He stormed over to my car, looked up at me and said "I'm NOT f*#%ing happy!" So I said "Well, which f*#%ing one are you then?" And that's how the fight started......
hot hot hot!!
Man was yesterday a scorcher! Actually the whole weekend was pretty hot and Paul and I were out and about in it!
On Saturday we went house hunting as usual - some good news to come on that front - but I'm not counting my chickens till each one has hatched - so watch this space!
On Sunday we went to the open day to see the big tunnel boring machine that they're using to build the north south bypass tunnel! You know those huge machines you see documentaries about on discovery channel. Paul was volunteering for the afternoon (marshalling people around) so we got free tickets! We only got them to the viewing platform above the machine - but it was still pretty impressive! I have a few photos but they're on the computer at home so I'll put them on tonight (promise ;-) ). Later in the afternoon Paul got to go on one of the bus trips which took you right up to the front of machine! I'm SO jealous! Unfortunately I didn't leave my camera with him - but he did get a couple of photos on his cell phone! So we'll see how they turn out (once he finds his cable to get the photos off the phone that is).
The downsides of the heat - apart from the grotty sweating factor, is that (a) lots of ants decided to take up residence in our kitchen (SO gross to come home to) and (b) lots of flies hatched yesterday! Paul and I went for a walk when he got home, just before sunset, and the flies were so gross! They don't leave you alone and kept flying into my ears and stuff. I must have looked like a freak as I was walking along swinging my arms trying to get them the hell away from me and cursing at them to f off! Flies in your ears are SO gross!! YUK! In the end I just pulled my hair out from my cap and pulled it over my ears! I must have looked so sexy (NOT) but at least they weren't in my ears anymore!
Well really got to do some work - have a very busy month ahead!
On Saturday we went house hunting as usual - some good news to come on that front - but I'm not counting my chickens till each one has hatched - so watch this space!
On Sunday we went to the open day to see the big tunnel boring machine that they're using to build the north south bypass tunnel! You know those huge machines you see documentaries about on discovery channel. Paul was volunteering for the afternoon (marshalling people around) so we got free tickets! We only got them to the viewing platform above the machine - but it was still pretty impressive! I have a few photos but they're on the computer at home so I'll put them on tonight (promise ;-) ). Later in the afternoon Paul got to go on one of the bus trips which took you right up to the front of machine! I'm SO jealous! Unfortunately I didn't leave my camera with him - but he did get a couple of photos on his cell phone! So we'll see how they turn out (once he finds his cable to get the photos off the phone that is).
The downsides of the heat - apart from the grotty sweating factor, is that (a) lots of ants decided to take up residence in our kitchen (SO gross to come home to) and (b) lots of flies hatched yesterday! Paul and I went for a walk when he got home, just before sunset, and the flies were so gross! They don't leave you alone and kept flying into my ears and stuff. I must have looked like a freak as I was walking along swinging my arms trying to get them the hell away from me and cursing at them to f off! Flies in your ears are SO gross!! YUK! In the end I just pulled my hair out from my cap and pulled it over my ears! I must have looked so sexy (NOT) but at least they weren't in my ears anymore!
Well really got to do some work - have a very busy month ahead!
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