Women In Voice

Who'd have thought that moving out of home could be so expensive? I have no idea how I managed to do it all those years ago. I guess moving into a furnished apartment was a big help. And having no bond was a big one (I almost wrote no bong there, but that wouldn't be quite true). And not having to pay two weeks rent up front probably didn't hurt either. Still, money is disappearing from my bank account in great puffs of purchasing.

So on Saturday Ria and I went to have a look at getting some appliances. We were able to secure a bed, a washer, a fridge and a microwave. This was all done at Harvey Norman, who were kind enough to give us a 40 months interest free loan. How kind of them. What I found to be disturbing, though, was how easily they gave us the money. I handed them my driver's license, they asked me 5 questions. Whereabouts did I work? How long had I been there? How much is my weekly take home pay? What is my credit limit on my cards? And how much do I owe? 2 minutes later they approved me for up to $6000. It was crazy! I could have made all of the answers and they wouldn't know. People could get themselves into all sorts of trouble if they don't think about what they are doing. And the other scary thing was the interest rate after the 40 months. It was up around 25%. That's scary.

The purchasing of the appliances took a couple of hours, and we had a look at a few couches for an hour or so. It was actually a little bit exciting. Unfortunately Ria and I could not really remember the size of the apartment, so we're holding off on buying couches and things like that until we get in there again. We did buy some cutlery though.

In the afternoon on Saturday we went to an Indian Bazaar. It was a festival, a little bit like Paniyiri, but nowhere near as good. The food at my friend Kapila's store was easily the best. The rest was very average. We hung out there for an hour, ate too much food, then retired back to the house to digest it all. We were tired from eating and shopping.

There was an accident outside the Lord Stanley on Saturday night. I didn't want to go and stickybeak, I didn't want to be one of those people. But there was a loud BANG and then 20 minutes later the fire brigade turned up. Then some tow trucks. Then the police. Then the ambulance. When I drove past there the next morning there was a little bit of glass on the street, not much.

Sunday morning I was up and at 'em early. I was heading down the coast for a row with the boys. The weather was a little bit chilly to start off with, and the conditions in the surf were not very clean. Still I had a good time, we caught a few waves and it was a good start to the day. I managed to get a nice blue bruise on my thigh, I don't know how. And at some point I managed to get my wrist into a very awkward position. It is weak now.

Last night Ria and I signed the lease on the new place. We were given a copy of the by-laws. They seem pretty strict. If I have some time I might put them up here. They don't bring much mirth.

Now I'm going to try and get some power and gas accounts. That'll be more money. And I'm looking for a TV. I would like to get an LCD one, so we'll see what happens. Boys need their toys don't they? Other things I need to buy soon are a laptop, a couple of couches, some stools, a table, some glasses, some mugs, maybe a rug, a toaster, an iron, a frame and some other stuff. I've been looking at graysonline for the television. Does anybody know of anywhere else?

Oh, I had a pair of jeans arrive. I'm not buying anymore pants online.