Category: Daily Life

This year was very disorganised, a pang of guilt every time a card arrived in the mail because I didn’t get any out on time. I hope people don’t think I don’t love them.

It was all about eating. Breakfast at Nan’s, lunch at Mum and Dad’s then an evening of snacking haphazardly. Now I can’t sleep! although I was snoozing quite contentedly on the couch just before we turned in for bed.

Some lovely gifts. H gave me season 4 Doctor Who, and a couple of gold crucifix necklaces – one plain gold and the other encrusted with small diamonds. From family I received gift cards, diary, address book, head bands, a cute collectible Japanese doll and a tea/coffee hamper. Work colleagues gave me a birthday book, chocolates, imported biscuits and some lovely smelling bath items from Lush.

Three more days off! I want to get some study done, some paperwork for my volunteer work out of the way and would you believe I brought home some work from Hospice. Insane. But I will try to cram some relaxation time in somewhere.

I’ve had my Westpac Mastercard for nearly 20 years, and it has been very useful in that time. These days I rarely use it, if I do I usually pay off the balance pretty quickly. So I was surprised to find a “missed payment fee” of $35 on my statement this month. I had made a few small purchases over the past few weeks and my lasr statement had listed a minimum payment of $10 by 10th December.

I’m sure it is in the fine print somewhere that I get whacked with this fee but it is crazy. My balance was only around $70 and the previous month I had paid $2,000 into it to reimburse my study fees. It is a “no annual fee” card, and the bank has been trying to get me to switch to another product for years. I guess it’s by hook or by crook that they sting you somewhere along the line.

Giving me the pips at the moment. Had to replace ink cartridge and discovered I’d been sent the wrong one. So switched from black and colour cartridge to just black, and for some reason the printer can’t detect it and wont print anything.

But at least I can drive again! Doctor says my leg may take 2 – 4 weeks to heal, and I should keep weight off it during that time.

Being on crutches has its good and bad points.

Bad:
they get in the way
sore arms and hands
can’t carry stuff
untidy house

Good:
great talking point
people offer to help
handy pointing device
stairs are an interesting challenge

Actually, the offers of help has been a difficult thing to accept. I am so accustomed to my own self-reliance it is a shock to realise I can’t even carry a cuppa to my desk (unless I want it over my shirt). I think it is natural for people to want to help, and I have to actively resist my own natural urge to politely decline.

During yesterday’s storm the gum tree behind our shed finally dropped the huge branch we’ve been worried about. Right onto the garage roof over our car port. Left quite a mess, put a hole through and bent the steel frame.

After the storm, H was straight onto the branch with his chainsaw. As he freed the branch, the thing flicked him off the roof – he and the chainsaw went flying. In different directions luckily, although H still did some damage to himself. Seems ok, poor bugger has had everything happen this weekend, will be going back to work tomorrow to relax!

Gayle’s farewell dinner. I don’t want to go. I don’t really care what people think, but I worry that I am letting negativity get the better of me.

We’ve had our differences, and I’ve been a lot happier since she left. When I think about what she said about me making “more” enemies it still stings. I’d been behaving like a bit of a cow but that was harsh. Oh boo hoo, I know. I need to let it go.

Earlier today I thought up a personal motto “cherish what you have, respect what you have not”. I guess this means I should show some respect and attend this dinner on Wednesday night.