The signs had been there for a while but this Friday they became too big to ignore anymore. My Neon has given up the ghost. It has always had a minor oil leak. Minor turned to major and upon investigation by my mechanic, the repair cost would be about $2000, significantly dwarfing the actual cost of the car.
After some internet and newspaper research, I was pretty much set on a 2005-ish model Corolla or Civic (or the equivalent). This morning I hit a couple of dealers and one had a couple of nice cars that I drove - a 2005 Honda Civic and a 2008 Honda Fit (or Honda Jazz for the Australians). The Fit was particularly nice and after a little bit of haggling and getting approval from Mindy, this one got the nod. Now I just need to get rid of the piece of junk sitting out the front. Maybe someone will smash into it tonight and I will get a check from an insurance company.
Enjoying the cricket immensely. Nice to see some new and young players in there and all doing well. Exciting days ahead. I just hope we can finish this match off properly and not let them get away from us like they did so often in the last series.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Friday, February 27, 2009
Drumming Up A Storm
I got the chance to work from home today hoping for a nice change of pace...but it turned out to be an amazingly busy day in the end...
Started by getting up and watching a bit of the cricket. Nice start to the day with North's century and also Johnson's nice knock. Then off to Naomi's school in time to arrive home to watch a bit more cricket...before taking Fiona to her school. It was then that I noticed the HUGE oil pool underneath my car. I think that Greenpeace will have to come in to supervise the cleanup effort. So...we dropped the car off at the garage to get it sorted out. I then had to run to a doctor's appointment to see about getting a cyst removed from my back...nothing serious and I will spare any readers from any further details.
I then found time to get some work done, which occupied the rest of the afternoon...with the cricket on the TV in the background, of course. A great day's play for Australia and we will see if we can press home the advantage tomorrow. I then got the bad news about the car. A leak that had previously been quite slow was now quite extensive and to get at it, they would have to remove the transmission, turning this into a $2000 problem. So I now need to get another car, hopefully can take care of this relatively quickly.
The day finished by attending a "drumming circle" at the yoga place where Mindy teaches belly dancing. We took the chance to use our drums from Africa and along with the other percussion on offer, there was a lot to choose from. The kids had a great time, messing with the instruments and adding their own interpretive dance routines as well. They were able to handle about an hour of this before it was clear they were running out of steam. Of course, this coincided with the end to the drumming and the beginning of the chanting, so I was quite keen to get the hell out of there as well! There were about 15 people there including us and were exactly the sort of crowd I was expecting. A hippie-ish group who really enjoyed the experience. All except for one bloke who acted like he was dragged there by someone...but was there by himself! I have to say it was more fun than I had expected it to be and the kids had a blast so we may well be back for another one of these.
Started by getting up and watching a bit of the cricket. Nice start to the day with North's century and also Johnson's nice knock. Then off to Naomi's school in time to arrive home to watch a bit more cricket...before taking Fiona to her school. It was then that I noticed the HUGE oil pool underneath my car. I think that Greenpeace will have to come in to supervise the cleanup effort. So...we dropped the car off at the garage to get it sorted out. I then had to run to a doctor's appointment to see about getting a cyst removed from my back...nothing serious and I will spare any readers from any further details.
I then found time to get some work done, which occupied the rest of the afternoon...with the cricket on the TV in the background, of course. A great day's play for Australia and we will see if we can press home the advantage tomorrow. I then got the bad news about the car. A leak that had previously been quite slow was now quite extensive and to get at it, they would have to remove the transmission, turning this into a $2000 problem. So I now need to get another car, hopefully can take care of this relatively quickly.
The day finished by attending a "drumming circle" at the yoga place where Mindy teaches belly dancing. We took the chance to use our drums from Africa and along with the other percussion on offer, there was a lot to choose from. The kids had a great time, messing with the instruments and adding their own interpretive dance routines as well. They were able to handle about an hour of this before it was clear they were running out of steam. Of course, this coincided with the end to the drumming and the beginning of the chanting, so I was quite keen to get the hell out of there as well! There were about 15 people there including us and were exactly the sort of crowd I was expecting. A hippie-ish group who really enjoyed the experience. All except for one bloke who acted like he was dragged there by someone...but was there by himself! I have to say it was more fun than I had expected it to be and the kids had a blast so we may well be back for another one of these.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Sleep Deprived
Partially through my own doing and partially through the sinister scheming of the kids, I pretty much have not slept since last Friday (or that is what it feels like).
Saturday night was poker night. A lot of fun but I was annoyed with how I played, making a few silly decisions that ended up costing me. By the end of the night I was only a few dollars down and so not a bad result overall. However, the "end of the night" was at around 4:00am and I was awake by 7:30 with the kids. Mindy did her best to keep them a little quiet but it really is a tough battle to win.
This week I started an after hours project at work doing some testing for an upcoming SAP release. The result of this is that I have been working late nights to put in the time. For some reason, the kids have decided for this week that 4:00 is an appropriate time to wake up. Certainly by 5:30 they are out of bed and making noise so I still have not really recovered from the weekend I think.
Thankfully there is coffee!!
Saturday night was poker night. A lot of fun but I was annoyed with how I played, making a few silly decisions that ended up costing me. By the end of the night I was only a few dollars down and so not a bad result overall. However, the "end of the night" was at around 4:00am and I was awake by 7:30 with the kids. Mindy did her best to keep them a little quiet but it really is a tough battle to win.
This week I started an after hours project at work doing some testing for an upcoming SAP release. The result of this is that I have been working late nights to put in the time. For some reason, the kids have decided for this week that 4:00 is an appropriate time to wake up. Certainly by 5:30 they are out of bed and making noise so I still have not really recovered from the weekend I think.
Thankfully there is coffee!!
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Long Weekend Full of Calories
This past long weekend we pretty much hung out with friends and ate too much. On Saturday we had a family over for "Valentine's Day Pancakes". It was mainly Mindy's idea and the initial thought was that it would be something fun for all of the kids. Of course, no breakfast like that is not complete without bacon, sausages and eggs. So once you have reached that point you may as well throw in some hash browns as well! It was all good but certainly a lot of food.
Sunday was a quiet day at home, for me. Mindy and the kids went into the city to see a musical of a children's book they like - Pinkalicious. Some friends from out of town were visiting and they had free tickets, so it seemed like a great deal. I took the chance to run a couple of errands then watch some Super 14 rugby - 5 points for the Waratahs so no complaints there!
On Monday we ran a few more errands in the morning and then met some friends for lunch. It was going to involve bowling but the wait time for a lane was over an hour. Mindy and Holly then went to see a movie while Gary and I watched the kids (and also drank beer watching some poker on TV).
In short - we certainly blew our diet! I think we had made a lot of progress over January, so it is a case of "two steps forward and one step back". I am now recommitted to finishing the job and so it will be back to starving for then next month or so.
Sunday was a quiet day at home, for me. Mindy and the kids went into the city to see a musical of a children's book they like - Pinkalicious. Some friends from out of town were visiting and they had free tickets, so it seemed like a great deal. I took the chance to run a couple of errands then watch some Super 14 rugby - 5 points for the Waratahs so no complaints there!
On Monday we ran a few more errands in the morning and then met some friends for lunch. It was going to involve bowling but the wait time for a lane was over an hour. Mindy and Holly then went to see a movie while Gary and I watched the kids (and also drank beer watching some poker on TV).
In short - we certainly blew our diet! I think we had made a lot of progress over January, so it is a case of "two steps forward and one step back". I am now recommitted to finishing the job and so it will be back to starving for then next month or so.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Caramel Sweet
Late last week, we received feedback on Naomi from one of her teachers. She was asked about what she would wish for if she had 3 wishes. Her reply -
1) A hamster
2) A baby brother
3) A rabbit
So...today, we had to drop off the dogs for their checkup. The vet office is attached to the pet store and so we took a look at the hamsters and other rodents. From her reaction, she really did want one, saying that she would use her spending money to buy it and look after it herself. We figured out that with all of the associated junk you need - cage, ball, bedding, etc, etc the total cost would be around $70. We went home and checked their savings - between the two of them they had almost enough. So, we needed to tidy their room in any case and paid them for their help to put them over the top. Mindy commented that she had never seen them this enthusiastic for cleaning. I will have to take her word for it as I was in the basement uploading pictures to Facebook at the time. I guess everyone has to play their part to keep the household functioning.
So now we have a new caramel hamster, hence the name "Caramel Sweet". She is now resting in her cage so nothing much to do yet. We will see whether the girls understand what they have gotten themselves into when they have to clean the cage out.
In other great news, the Poms got bowled out for 51 in a test match. So, despite Australia's recent troubles, it is nice to know that England are doing worse!
1) A hamster
2) A baby brother
3) A rabbit
So...today, we had to drop off the dogs for their checkup. The vet office is attached to the pet store and so we took a look at the hamsters and other rodents. From her reaction, she really did want one, saying that she would use her spending money to buy it and look after it herself. We figured out that with all of the associated junk you need - cage, ball, bedding, etc, etc the total cost would be around $70. We went home and checked their savings - between the two of them they had almost enough. So, we needed to tidy their room in any case and paid them for their help to put them over the top. Mindy commented that she had never seen them this enthusiastic for cleaning. I will have to take her word for it as I was in the basement uploading pictures to Facebook at the time. I guess everyone has to play their part to keep the household functioning.
So now we have a new caramel hamster, hence the name "Caramel Sweet". She is now resting in her cage so nothing much to do yet. We will see whether the girls understand what they have gotten themselves into when they have to clean the cage out.
In other great news, the Poms got bowled out for 51 in a test match. So, despite Australia's recent troubles, it is nice to know that England are doing worse!
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
The Morning After
Waking up with a splitting headache and parched mouth was further evidence of my drinking last night. Shower, medication, food, water and coffee have all combined to make me feel 1/2 human again. I know I spoke to some people on the phone last night but have a very foggy recollection of exactly what was talked about. I am sure that it made very little sense.
Today is the end of the conference. The morning session was one I actually wanted to attend and it was interesting. Soon I will be grabbing lunch, and hoping for some more "networking" until my flight leaves. Back at work tomorrow but at least it is a short week!
Today is the end of the conference. The morning session was one I actually wanted to attend and it was interesting. Soon I will be grabbing lunch, and hoping for some more "networking" until my flight leaves. Back at work tomorrow but at least it is a short week!
Monday, February 2, 2009
San Antonio
I am in San Antonio for a work conference for the first couple of days of the week. It is really an annoying trip - fly in Sunday night for two days here...then back to NJ onTuesday and work again on Wednesday. However, to make the best of it I have tried to drink as much alcohol as possible. The basic format of the conference is based around "educaional sessions" and team meetings. In other words, drink as much as possible and hang out with friends. Tonight was particularly innane - the awards were handed out to the top consultants of the region. I attempted to drink as much Heiniken and red wine as was possible then call friends in Australia (thanks Daniel and Willow for your time). It was an hour of hearing about other consultants pretty much just doing their jobs and getting a free trip to Mexico to celebrate. I amused myself by trying to get the room to clap for completely irrelevent achievements. I managed this feat twice...along with much drinking, making the evening bearable I guess.
Tomorrow I get to go home...and then work as usual on Wednesday.
Tomorrow I get to go home...and then work as usual on Wednesday.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)