House Hunting in the Big City – might as well be drug dealing

Ok. It’s been a good month of solid Saturday perusing. For a house that is. And my boots aint made for walking anywhere but to the coffee shops on Saturdays, so my feet hurt. The house garage has been a solid state of no-growth. Great for the wallet, as we have no room to purchase and store anything (expect my shoes).

My latest addition to the shoes!

For the time being, you can see our pristine house garage here (flip to the second page, it’s the $360 p/w):

We have enjoyed the house garage and will miss it. But it’s hard to have a good ol’ fashioned fight with each other when there are no doors to slam and no place to go but the other side of the garage, or “upstairs” to the bedroom / living room where you still hear each other breathing and getting on with life. This means we are a pretty peaceful couple. Which is very good now that I think about.

Darren and I have learned is that “neat” and “tidy” “one bedroom” is a clever cover up for twenty year old place with a carpet covering the pissed stained floor. Or, a place that is listed as one bedroom, when really it’s an already furnished STUDIO. Example A – Currently for $285 per week.

 

Another example is the commonly phrased “Floating Floors”, which makes one think…. well I don’t know really what that makes me think. But this is what you commonly get

… a lot of wood. So much wood. And the floating floors you see, are actually parquet floors from some years ago.

Am I burning myself by posting this prior to getting a house? Probably. But I am American and we do things first and ask questions later.

Darren and I thought we were golden on a house, as we were the first to put in an application on a fully furnished one bedder down the road from our current house. This is the phone call I got this week:

Ring Ring

Me: Hello

Real Estate Agent (we will call her Agnes): Yes. Are you still interested in the one bedder?

Me: Yes Yes. We are really serious about it.
Agnes: Right. Well you are in our Top Four Applicants (oh boy… this sounds great to me) And one applicant offered $20 bucks more per week and another offered six months up front AND matched the $20. Whatta you got mate?

Me: What?

Agnes: Whatta you got? Whatta you want me to tell the owner you can do for the house?”

Me: What? (thinking is this legal?… I swallow my surprise, offer to match the raise in rent but say  “I need to discuss this with my husband before I commit”

Agnes: No time mate, I am just sending out the options to the owner.

Me: I should really discuss this with my husband.

Agnes: Fine. Click…..

I call back five minutes later to confirm

Me: Hi it’s Adi calling you back. Ok. Well we can match it.

Agnes: Who are you again?

I call later that day to find out the six month upfronter got it because he/she has 12 Gs in the spare pocket.

And I spend the rest of the day looking like this:

Hot and Bothered

So you see… the Sydney housing market is like the drug market, or maybe just like the used car salesmen market. You have to wheel and deel and schpeel and reeel (the last one only when you don’t get it).

Wish us luck because it’s Friday afternoon as I am writing this and Saturday is just around the corner……

Any Advice mamma?

Longest night

All that isolation when surrounded. It is the strangest thing –

how hard can it be? And yet, each day passes on to the longest night

When it echos so loud in the empty.

 

Hey Mom – I hope you are enjoying your shortest night. Happy summer to the north, from the top of the world.

All in All

We find things to put away. And plug in where we become over whelmed.

Then, with the shut eye lids and the tempted smile, it all comes to focus.

 

 

There can not be anything better in life, then knowing you are loved and that everything falls to pieces to be put back together along the Way. And the Way, can’t be all that bad.

 

Love you Mom. Everyday.

 

Winter Festival- lights, camera action

Ok. I am wearing a turtle neck (kickin’ it old school), but it’s short sleeve (is that too old style school)? Winter is here, so now it’s time to bunker down inside, eat lots of chocolate cake and hot chicken and keep warm, right? WRONG. As it was in New Zealand, it is here, the house garage is colder inside than the winter warmth outside. But the winter warmth outside is actually warmer than the New Zealand summers. So, one has to get out!

To help celebrate the winter’s fresh air and crisp warmth (and also the tropical monsoon type rain), Darren and I headed to Circular Quay and The Rocks for Vivid Sydney — a winter festival that lights up everyone’s favorite famous cityscapes.

What could be cooler than seeing your favorite city icons lit up and dancing?

Jelly lights on Circ Quay

Moon Phase Moon Chime

The PHudson Paint Job - Museum of Contemporary Art

The MCA, above, was wicked cool. After a brief que of ten minutes and feeling like the big kid in a line of totts, you were given a minute and half to “paint” the building with splatter, slops, slips of paint blobs. This was our masterpiece. Not to make Darren feel, ahhh, incompetent, but the right side is his and the much more colorful left, is my doing.

To our surprise, the Customs House was our favorite. Watch the video Darren took below, I think you will get the point.

 

And of course, there was the Opera House (thank you yipsta228)

 

And Mom, did you know how much I missed you today? Love you so much!

Internet Down = Watch This Space

It is not only now that I have just realized that it’s been a month PLUS since my last blog post. Many reasons explain the space. But real truth lies in something called a Dongle. Ultimately, it used because there is no internet in my garage house. There is no phone connection, internet connection, Foxtel(cable TV connection). Nothing. Do you get the impression I live in the red centre and am seeking the quintessential simplified and all knowing life? Heck no! I just got an iPhone and can’t call anyone because I got no connection!

Download Speed Nill

See the download speed? It’s not supposed to be stuck at Zero.

 

I live here, in the buzzing centre of one of the most expensive and cosmopolitan cities in the world. Four million people and growing. With free Wi-Fi (from 9am to 6:30pm weekdays) all around me. And I can’t get a signal. Nadda, except from this thing — which is working oddly enough just for this special post about it not working.

This is a Dead Beat Dongle

So… I will try to get back into it, but please, blame the Dongle….. if you miss me at all that is.

 

Meanwhile, when I am not blogging in my spare time, I have time for the most delish savoury muffins at one of the locale cafes. Honestly people, you got to come try these. yum yum, and so yummy. Ummm, I am eating one just now…

Nosh Nosh!

 

 

 

Miss you SO much Mom!