Melbourne

In honour of the dreadful weather today I will be making a beef roast with yorkshire pudding for dinner. With lots of gravy.

The good news is that the weird not quite right feeling I have had all week was just a cold coming not (not return of the BIG SAD). The bad news is that my throat and face hurt 🤕. Have put on 'the gentle art of Swedish death cleaning' as company while I do some cleaning on my own in between little rests on the couch.

I'm really chuffed with my new car stereo! Ahhh, modern comforts in an old car. So good to be able to use Android Auto again (though it sucks balls vs CarPlay - hopeless at voice commands, laggy as hell with confirming messages to be sent). Still, no more squinting at a phone in a cradle to see directions, and not being able to see or respond to urgent messages. No more phone blocking the vents or crackly radio either.

Sadly the front right speaker intermittently working seems to be a speaker issue, not a wire issue :/ it doesn't sound nearly as bad now that the audio is much clearer, but gosh it would be nice to have that speaker working. I wonder if it's possible to replace just one speaker, because the others are perfectly fine...

Here it is already heavily smudged by moi (I must remember to have a little glass wiping cloth in the car)

yay!

E: in less happy news I feel so incredibly sick right now. So headachey and exhausted. If this doesnt clear up by Sunday night I'm booking a drs appt. Worried I might have got pneumonia or something

So many things to do and some are such big tasks my brain gets stuck so I'm just doing lots of little tasks and eventually the pile of jobs will look manageable.

One thing I have done is sorted books and chucked out all the outdated stuff or stuff that will never be read, a whole shelf of books is gone. 👍

Next I will tidy up Miss Seagoon's things that she has in storage here. ( no chucking out, just tidying )

Did the family movie cinemas thing this afternoon. $65 for a family of four - was actually not that bad. Despicable Me 4 - had a good laugh or two.

Edit - two good spoof references too

Just got home from big day. 7 hours out and about, 4 of which were socialising. Feeling content and tired

I'm here! Despite a hangover and waking up at 3am again!

First time at Etihad Stadium, and Essendon isn't even playing (don't speak to me about last night haha 😭)

Fourth night in a row of night sweats... Ugh... This thing isn't lifting any time soon... Theres some satisfying phlegm coming out now, but my throat is still sore and I'm exhausted. The weather outside is frightful... Car radio replacement guy is meant to be coming later today after bringing the wrong unit yesterday, I hope they do make it and don't eff it up...

It’s done! The storage unit is finally cleared! The remaining boxes to be sorted are piled in the shed, but at least we won’t have the monthly fee to pay anymore.

I've been sorting out my sewing supplies and so far I have found 16 small screwdrivers.

Sitting in bed in the warmth with a kitty on my lap is bliss when it's cold and raining outside.

Hair = cut
New pillow, doona set, sheet set = bought
Tummy = full
Now just three hours to kill....

Feeling grumbly and lazy. Haven't gotten out of bed and struggling to find a reason to. Everything just feels hard today. Might be the wind?!

At about 10, I got an email back from the constable handling the case. It wasn't really much of an update, he just thanked me for the info I provided and said he would update the report and let me know what happens next. As far as I'm aware, old mate doesn't even know I know what he's stolen yet. Don't think the police would've even contacted him yet. And my org don't seem like the type who'd go and recover my stuff.

I'm still struggling with a lot of anxiety about it all, though. When I got home today, I found the shed door wide open and a couple of things that were previously in there out on the ground outside. Unfortunately he fucked up that lock before he left, so it no longer locks (we aren't meant to have access to the shed, but he liked to smoke and drink with his dodgy mates in there, so he just broke the lock). It was held shut by 2 paint cans in front of it, so probably wouldn't have come undone through the wind. But I didn't see anybody go through the side gate (which is just a simple latch, no key), which my camera has a small view of. That makes me think either it was the wind, and I'm overthinking this, or he took a clone of a key to come in through the back fence gate, or just jumped the fence.

Also, I still haven't signed my enrolment paperwork for the TAFE course…. I had questions about some info that seemed inaccurate in the report when they sent it to me at 4:48pm on Wednesday, so I replied to the intake or sales lady asking for clarification, and she never replied. I had a busy day yesterday, so I didn't follow up, and now it's the weekend… I'm meant to start this Tuesday! It's all feeling really overwhelming and like it's too soon now, since I'll have 24 hours (at most) after the paperwork is signed before I start — and I missed the intake last week. I don't want to bail, but I don't think I'll have enough time to prepare and get myself ready, mentally or practically (there's apparently some learner handbook thing I'm meant to read before I rock up that I can't access until I am enrolled and can access their LMS thingy).

Thoughts, wise DT people? Should I call first thing on Monday and just go for it anyways? Should I ask to swap to a course starting at a later date (they seem to run this course fairly frequently, so it'd most likely just be a month or so wait)?

I had grand plans for all sorts of tasks today but have achieved nothing so far. The drizzly cold is not helping motivation levels. It’s now officially a do nothing day except make dinner. Having slow cooked osso bucco with mash. Will be consumed with a good wine.

Yes, I'm on a meal plan. No, you cannot stop me from eating this giant Costco cookie.

Is this what they call dirty bulking?

Edit for anyone doing a late night read: I ate three of them and I have no regrets.

I feel like absolute shit today. I have no idea why. Aching all over, woke up with a sore big toe for some reason. Really fatigued. Blah

Roast beef for dinner was a touch rarer than anticipated, but very very yummy. I ended up eating quite a lot, and Mr Woof enjoyed the plateful of juices that oozed out while it was cooling.

I purchased another security cam which is going to face the back shed area. Unfortunately I can't actually find a position for it to watch over the back road gate/fence and the shed at the same time, so I settled for just a view of the fence. Maybe when my 3 stolen phones eventually get replaced, I could look at setting them up around the other sides of the house, just to keep an eye on everything. That was the original plan, anyway.

But this morning I noticed the paint cans keeping the shed door closed had been moved again. This time there's no doubt in my mind that it was not the wind, although I don't quite feel certain it was the other kid yet. I mean, logically, that's pretty much the only person it could be, but why? What would he get from moving paint cans and opening the shed door? It's just an odd thing to do. There's not even anything in the shed anymore, because he stole all the old equipment and such that we had in there. Here's a rather shitty MS paint drawing of what I mean:

I don't think it's possible for the wind to do that.

Slipped in cat sick on lino at like 6.30 in the morning. Thankfully I managed to catch myself, that could have been bad.

Was going out tonight but not feeling well from adjusting sleep schedule.

Also got caught in the rain for 45 mins without an umbrella which really sucked ☔

I love party pies. They're easier to control than the big guys.

So umm... What do people do on weekends if they don't have a computer

The car stereo guy is here and working on my car! I'm too tired to overthink about whether he'll do a good job or leave things half-done that I have to follow up on. I'm just going to Believe in the Universe and that this is a company that I can trust enough to do what's needed...

While he's at it, I hope he can fix the loose wire that causes the rhs speaker and back speakers to cut in and out. It absolutely shits me atm.

Really can't wait to have proper Bluetooth and Android Auto in the car, and a reversing camera (pretty cheap one they're installing but something is better than nothing). That way it'll be easier to teach my niece some driving, and it'll be a much nicer experience for me for years to come. A 13 year old Civic with 200k on it and a good service history still has a ways to go, hopefully...

Ended up not making the paella as it turned out I didn't have any stock or stock cubes in the house, and actually I felt more like a stir fry anyway. So I made a satay-ish one with chilli and felt the better for it, esp. with some Stones Green Ginger wine.
Curled up on the couch with Zooks for a while, and have just crawled into bed with Sammi.

Omg the fuck cancer episode of the Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning. 😭😭😭

Okay… I think I’ve honoured my part.

I didn’t make it halfway through (Choeung Ek) without having a bit of a cry though and I didn’t go into the Stupa.

One thing I respect (and I know it’s not for everyone), they don’t sugarcoat it. They just say it how it is.

I’m generally a sucker for the heavy stuff, but this wasn’t actually high on my list of plans. What on earth does my brain do sometimes?

Anyway if anything, present me is now thankful for my bougie hotel splurge at my next stop. (Recovery and helping the economy is going to be my mantra.)

Anti-gratitude thread.

Waking up with a blocked nose, probably because I'm a stomach sleeper. Might have to build a wall around myself so I don't roll onto my stomach.

On that note, does anyone experience that weird itch in their body that tells them to change positions when trying to sleep?

Okayyyyy I guess I'm going to be productive and go into the city to get a haircut and buy some stuff from Kmart I should have bought weeks ago. Then I'll go to Udon yasan of crossways for lunch. My friend also picked the worst evening for it to be her birthday. Pub for dinner and drinks tonight for her bday

Ooooh ima gonna buy me a heated hoodie today. Mwaha

Is anyone intersted in Craftsy membership for free? I just signed up for a year and can give "guest membership" to three other people. There are cooking classes as well as various crafts. If you are interested send me a DM with your email and I can invite you.

Gratitude thread

Grateful for my mum making my dinner last night. Also the cheat cookies I ate.

I finished watching Once Upon a Time In Hollywood and I understood it but I'm still confused why it got such rave reviews. Did I miss something? I thought it had no real story line.

I don't understand why it had real people in it but not the truth.

Woke up automatically at 6:45am which is great.

Did got back to bed because it's freezing lol

Yikes just jumped up on the roof to suss whether the gutter guards I put in were still in place after that wind.

Turns out I have a lot gutter cleaning to do :( I swore I just did them recently.

Which brings us to a rave choon. Fuck the gutter

moon bright

Beep Beep 🚚
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What are the odds the card readers at my usual market stops will be working? I need to know if I should take cash to shop with

So no secret here that I pay obnoxious amounts for coffee. Not particularly a coffee snob, but heh, I get around.

The most expensive so far I think I’ve paid for was at Greece Airport.

So far:

• Changi Airport - Kenangan Coffee $6
• Jewel (Changi Airport): % Arabica $10 (that’s on par with the airport above, price-wise)
• Melbourne Coffee (Phnom Penh): $1.88 USD

The last equates to under $3 AUD. I gave $2 (USD) and said to keep the change…

I’m now sitting in a park contemplating how this feels like it’s socioeconomically representative. Not from what we can afford, but what they charge. % Arabica, was good but just the general level I’d expect in Melbourne from a minimalist white designed cafe, but not for that price point which was around $8 SGD to begin with.

Props to Kenangan, though. Man who made my coffee, hard to tell with age, but easily 50s, maybe 60s?

Probably can go on a holiday with my coffee money.

I legit don’t know how people do the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum without breaking down. I’m usually sooky with poor sleep, but this took just about all my will power.