73.5 Degrees of Obscurity

So to quote my good friend Kylie… I did it “again”. Unfortunately, as discreetly alluded to in previous post, my Blog was sadly dormant for the better part of 80 days. A lot can happen in 80 days… some have travelled the world. Steve Fossert did not… well not on his most recent attempt it would seem.

So where to begin… so much has happened.

Charters Show… Music Camp… Eisteddfod… all very good. Only lowlight was Concert Band finishing 3rd (out of you know how many)… they blitzed their stuff in a concert the week before, then choked on Eisteddfod night… but, these things happen. Overall a very good week.

Les Miserables was also very enjoyable… Somehow I managed to know what I was doing by the time opening night came. Was very sad to hear about grandma’s fall on her birthday, and was stuck here unable to visit… but as they say ”The go must show on”. Les Mis opened to a strong crowd of about 350, and followed up on the Saturday with about 200 and 350 respectively… The only mishap was a very poorly aimed cane that found its way into the orchestra pit and onto my keyboard. All upthough a big success, and it was good to watch the video and actually see what happens on stage.

Term 3 took its toll a little… and I briefly flirted with the idea of a change of school for next year, however the right option did not present at the right time, and as a result have (mentally) committed to begin next year at the same school. Plan is to re-assess in June and see if the wind is blowing. Meanwhile… the school was in the paper for about 3 weeks amidst speculation they were about to close. The word is that we’re not closing… so I am cautiously optimistic that a job hunt will not be necessary.

House… is getting there slowly. A bit more painting done, but still a bit to go… have measured up the bench top for a little project I’m starting soon… and have decided to install a floating timber floor throughout most of the house… why? Total cost is about $1,000 whereas I’d spend more than that just having the existing one sanded and repaired to a point where I can even think about polishing or staining the timber. House was valued last week to factor in the sub-division. News was not as good as I’d hoped, but planning to get a real-estate value in the coming weeks, and a rental appraisal so I know my options. Photos are below.

Holidays Part 1… A few relaxing days (with that friend most of you know) in marvellous Port Hinchinbrook. A lovely little spot. The views speak for themselves. Relaxed, ate, drank, walked, tennis, spa. All very nice. That friend is not pictured for privacy reasons, but they were there I swear.

Holidays Part 2… Well… It’s not everyday that Hawthorn makes the Grand Final. Infact, 1991 was the last time. So when I couldn’t get football off my mind… I convinced myself that $#### (classified amount) was not too much to spend on going to a football game. So Wednesday I got a ticket… Thursday I flew to Melbourne… Visited Mum and Grandma… Caught up with Sarah during the day… Friday night caught up with Dan, Sheree, Aldo… Saturday went and watched HAWTHORN SMASH GEELONG and WIN THE GRAND FINAL! Sunday caught up with Jan, Grandma, and later Ashlee. Monday I flew home. Well worth it (though I spent my Power pole money… maybe next year).

 

OGT? There have been many good things of late… so I’ll keep it simple. Life is good. Most of the time. Yes Mum. I am looking after myself.

The wheels on the bus…

School has started and it is all very interesting… After somewhat concerning media coverage about viability of regional boarding schools, featuring my school on the picture, I’m glad to say we all got paid on time today, so that was nice. Also got an email advising that 5 new students (all from one family!) are starting next week. So that’s good… 80 more and we’re looking good.

Have been very much swept back into the groove of work. Big Term: Charlie Trouser’s Show, Music Camp, Eisteddfod… and was somehow roped into playing keyboard/piano for the local production of Les Miserables (’Miserable Lesbians’ as a friend of mine puts it). So it’s all happening…

On the home front, my rampant renovations have slowed to a nasty halt. We’ve had a blast of ‘big rain’ for a few days… the Study held out valiantly for about 3 days, but then finally succumbed, allowing  some water to seep in. Nowhere near as bad as in the past though. Am struggling to get free weekends for painting at present. Hopefully will get a bit done. Got my first rates bill yesterday… that was exciting… just like that time I watched paint dry. Fingers are crossed that tax return will help to pay that

Must go now, as I am sleep deprived and in need of sleep.

OGT? Today I passed my (LR) driving test and can now hoon around in the school bus. Look out world!

Interesting times are those in which we live

So I am on holiday… that’s good! Spent a few days in cold Brisbane, and am now here in freezing Melbourne. Also good. Have enjoyed catching up with friends and family… that’s been really good. I met a lady friend a few weeks ago… that’s been okay… nah just kidding… also really good. And have been generally feeling quite at ease with the world, which is great.

So a few holiday highlights???

Ripper of a lunch with sister Nell (and Josh)… hogs breath cafe… mmmmmmm. Interesting adventures in the national park with Kasey (my equal fav nephew). A lovely evening of pizza, chat, and relaxation with Bro-J (rhymes with O-jay) and Sis-K (doesn’t rhyme with O-Jay). Piano and vocal entertainment from Sam and Ab (equal fav nephews and nieces). Bit of Nando’s fire with Lynsey-Lou Rodriguez… who probably isn’t reading this.

Caught up with some church friends. A lovely meal and chats over at Sheree and Aldo’s. Shopping and other hijinx with Quirky Kate (and friend!) . Bit of ‘Scene-It’ action with Sezza McGrezza. Catching up old times with Raloo, Luke, and Damien P. Some wonderful catch-up time with me Mum.

Looking forward to seeing some of the Wind Symph crew tonight. Visiting Grandma tomorrow! Off to cling to my youth and see a pub gig tomorrow night with Sezza. Licorice Allsorts (the Clarinet Gang) on Saturday! Visits to Rae/Dale and then onto Daniel’s on Saturday night! Playing piano at church Sunday morning… then off to see the Hawks DEMOLISH the Swans on Sunday arvo. Hoping to catch some of the gang for a movie Sunday night too!

My sincere super-apologies to those I have not caught up with on this visit… I will come back soon I promise!

In other news…. please disregard the said ‘hair-brained scheme’… it was slightly unrealistic. However… I am going to try and extend my mortgage and have a house built on the new block. Would mean really stretching on the repayments side of things, but beyond gymnastics, a mortgage is the best way to forcibly increase one’s flexibility.

On an unrelated note… the media exposure and controversy re children in art and photography…  the articles and the hundreds of comments posted on news.com.au are absolutely fascinating, and in amongst the one-liners (supporting both arguments) there is some really high-level intellectual argument. I would encourage anyone who is into arts or philosophy to waste a good three hours or so reading up on the debate at hand. The controversial photographer… um… Piertytre Pbhilouvexxoux (or something like that) also has some very interesting essays (and reviews) about her work on her website. I’m not publishing her address as I neither support or admonish her work, but I’m sure uncle Google might help.

Finally, a big “Ohio Gozaimus” to my friends over in the land of the long white… umm… long white… flag with a red dot in the middle. I hope Tokyo Disney and Mount Fuji were even better than the brochure!

OGT? On realisation that I am now as old as my brother used to be, I took a big step and emailed the Currajong Swans FC… training begins January.

Hair-Brained Scheme #JG-001-423

Hello one and all… once again it would seem I’ve been bitten by the old real estate bug. So yesterday, housemate and I went for a bit of a drive over to Ingham. Contrary to popular belief, Ingham is not the home of chicken. But it is the home of many Italian families, the Pub from “Summer of the 17th Doll”, and also (amazingly) has a KFC despite a lower population than Charlie’s Trousers.

So back to hair-brained scheme number 423… Builders are quite expensive in Charters Towers… the Townsville ones cost $$$$$$… and the locals have a waiting list of over 18 months… therefore to build a house on the new block would be… well, troublesome.

To sell out of either the existing house, or sell off the new block would not be very tax effective… and wouldn’t really result in any gain… also means a bit of a loss on legals etc.

So… being natural born problem solvers… we drove to Ingham.

And found…

We walked through the house…. needs painting… but otherwise good. 4 bedrooms. Study. Large open area on ground floor. Bathroom needs a touch-up, but potentially good.

And so… the big question… can this $7,000 house be moved (affordably)  the 290kms from Ingham to Charters Towers.

Before you all start rolling your eyes… here’s my line of thought… If it costs less than $130,000 to relocate and connect the house… then I would go from having a $175K house (and a loan of 89%) to having 2 houses at a conservative $400 (and a loan of 71%).

If it happens I will be renting out current house, and moving in to new one while I renovate.

Only downside would be doubling of loan repayments… but apart from that its highly workable.

Feel free to comment.

OGT? The power is back on. Thanks Ergon!

And Porsches were Fishes…

Hello All… please note the distinctly short period of time between blog entries. If I was good at computer animation, you would now see a picture of me throwing leaves to BJ and SN so they can take one and write a blog entry!

Was sad to hear that grandma took a fall yesterday, and is now in hospital… I’m sure she will be close in her family and friends’ thoughts and prayers in the coming days. Grandma is 89 years old… think of all the stuff she would have seen and lived through. A real trooper! Get better Grandma (she’s not reading this because she has never used a computer… but that’s okay… I love how as we age we are free to resent developments in technology. I am going to resent the i-phone… and I resent phones that are “blackberry” compatible… purely because I choose to perceive blackberries as fruit).

On a more brighter note… received word yesterday that sub-division has been approved. Yay! Now comes the exciting part where it all gets paid for. Not to worry… I’m sure having no money will make me heaps better at saving. Hoping to find a table and chairs at a garage sale sometime soon and then that’s pretty much it as far as buying stuff goes. I will then put my energy into working out how to have a house (or units) built without much cash upfront. It’s all very exciting… things are going well on the housefront, so hopefully naive optimism will continue to get me through. That and the occasional “holiday” where a shit load of work gets done (thanks Dad, Nell & Josh)

Todays plan is a fairly relaxed one… going to hammer in some nails we keep stepping on…. splash some paint on my bedroom door (which is currently unattached)… and later we’re going to an olympic themed trivia night. Should be a bit of alright… I’ve already revised my 3 olympic things I know about… Ben Johnson (88), Berlin (36), and 1964 (Dawn Fraser in trouble). Surely I’ll win with killer knowledge like that.

Finally… no OGT today… but here are some photos showing gradual loungeroom transformation… and some before photos in the kitchen.

And the Kitchen before shot…

If wishes were horses…

Greetings one and all… I sit here at 12:33am, blogging as I have not done for the best part of 3 weeks. As per usual things have been fairly busy… though I took a few minutes out to chat to sister Nell and brother Jim (briefly)… will hopefully chat to Mum tomorrow. I wonder if she was home today???

Tonight I went round to a friends place… pictionary, pizza and general merriment were had by all (4 of us). Charters Towers is a funny place… one moment you love it, the next you’re bored… then you love it’s borishness, then it bores you so much you love it. Well… Pro: it’s the kind of town where the pizza guy forgets your soft-drink, ducks back to the store and drops it back 5 minutes later. Nice hey? It’s also the type of town where you can walk down to the park and try (unsuccessfully) to climb the bull before returning home for the evening… all without any interference.

So today, I finally booked my holiday… Am driving down to Brisbane for a few days, then flying to Melbourne, then flying back to Brisbane and driving home. I can’t wait for the holidays… should be good fun. Most of the Charters people I hang out with are jet-setting off to Japan for a few weeks, so it would have been pretty quiet up this way.

The house… well… it’s still standing. I have now finished painting inside (except for 2 bedrooms which are a “later” project). All lino (except for same 2 bedrooms) has been ripped up. Unfortunately there was some damage to the floorboards in the study from a past termite infestation. There were no signs of current activity, however the ’solution’ used (in 1960 something) was tactical ignorance. Floor had been covered in masonite and then lino over that. Anyway, the floor could have been much worse. On Wed 14th May the newly formed “Charters Towers Regional Council” meets and my application for sub-division is on their agenda. Fingers crossed all will go to plan. I’ve also gotten quote for 8-year termite protection… so hopefully this will go ahead. Today I painted my bedroom door (currently sitting outside the house) and started digging away the soil build up around one side of the house.

On a lighter note… when sick at the thought of mowing my lawn this weekend, decided to get a quote for lawn mowing… $70 for lawn and whipper snipping. For those who’ve seen my yard, that works out to about $14 for every hour it would have taken me. Suffice to say… the lawns are getting done this week, and not by me.

Tomorrows plan includes a light sleep-in, french toast, and a fair bit of school work. Time pushes on relentlessly.

OGT? As I look up, and slightly to the left, I see 3 wonderful posters which I have framed and put on my study wall. Powderfinger/Silverchair “Across the great Divide” which I didn’t actually go to, Missy Higgins “For One Night Only” which I did go to and it was spectacular, and finally The Cat Empire “The Cat Empire” which I also did go to and who were infinitely fantastic!!!

No Rest for the Wicked, and Other One Act Plays

Where to start… Apologies to all whom I have neglected to catch up with of late. Alot has been happening… mostly good and interesting things. I went back to work on 7th April to begin our 12 week Term. Wooh! Gotta love 12 week Terms. However, we are already 16.66% through and time is flying faster than I’d like to think.

So… an update of what’s been happening hey? Well over the holidays Sister Nell, Dad, and Josh came to visit which was great fun for me. I think it was hard work for them… Check out the photos of Sister Nell & Dad’s handy work on her blog (link is to your right somewhere). We painted, cleaned, built, sanded, filled, screened, gardened and stripped like there was no tomorrow (Lino… not our clothes)… A few moments of R&R were enjoyed also though… Fishing out at the Anabranch (an off-shoot of the Burdekin River) was a highlight. So peaceful. Some fish were caught as were several Turtles. The legendary Barra remain exactly that… legendary.

After the visitors embarked on their (return) 23 hour train journey I spent the next day or so panicking about school. Did stuff all work during the break so had to pull a few late ones in week one. Arrived at school to the nice surprise of a slightly reduced load for this Term… I have an extra 3 hours per week of release time that was not available in Term 1 so that was a welcome change. Current focus is preparing a rather diminutive school band to march on Anzac Day next Friday… We are playing Colonel Bogey March. It’s all sounding very sluggish at present but I’m hopeful it will all come together. It usually does. Otherwise, have been concentrating on trying to enjoy teaching… the best bits (by far) are those that one actually spends teaching people stuff.

Hmm what else… am hoping to organise travel plans for the next holidays. Aiming to visit both Melbourne and Brisbane. Looking forward to seeing those I haven’t seen for a while (and those I have seen in a while!) Was all excited about doing a house-sitting holiday but subsequently decided that it is all too stressful and annoying to organise.

Charters Towers (sometimes called “Charlie’s Trousers”) has been fairly quiet of late, save for the 50 metre road trains that pop past every 30 mins or so each night. Not much news around the town. Country Music Festival starts in about 2 weeks. Did a bit of a clean-up in the yard this morning… Tip run with the (old) kitchen floor and a Ute load of sticks and branches. Once again I need to mow the stupid lawn… I’d swear someone must be secretly watering it. Went into Townsville today and bought a quilt cover set for my bed, some slippers (Yes it actually feels cold in the mornings!)  and also 4 pairs of socks… I seem to be losing more socks as I age. I hope this trend does not continue.

Finally… I know over-analytical crazies such as myself pay way too much attention to real-estate trends… but as at least 4.7% of my blog audience are similarly minded, I must share the following:

Mar 2006: Dep Principal purchases 5br house (Charters Towers) for $170K

Feb 2007: Sad to be selling so soon, but tidy profit selling at $225K

Fridays Newspaper: Same house on market… asking price $419,500

OGT? We did not find any slithering creatures when loading the old lino and masonite into the Ute this morning… We now assume that our slithering  friend has moved onto greener pastures… I’m sure soon we’ll stop sleeping with a shovel under our pillows Just kidding

Merrily We Roll Along…

Well… you know… err… you see….. no. I should drop it… no. Not going to…. In the grand old scheme of things, there are certain things one would expect in their day to day working life. What’s that? Examples? Sure, I can give examples…. One would expect not to see a rocket ship blasting through the sky with little ribbons of silver and blue tailing behind. One would expect not to hear a spontaneous barbershop quartet emerge in the middle of a Chemistry class…. and one would SURELY expect that work colleagues will generally avoid saying “THAT’s MR GOODMAN’s HOUSE” whilst driving a bunch of Rugby Playing Philistine Neanderthals in the school bus. I’ll leave it to all you super-sleuths out there to work out which of those 3 things actually happened today.

Anyway… back to more pleasant matters. I am very excitedly awaiting my visitors who arrive on Friday. That will surely be a Good day. I have finished painting the front two rooms (with help from housemate), and now have a nice bed, and some drawers etc. Next project (entirely coincidentally planned around the fact I have captive visitors for about 10 days) includes some sanding and polishing of floors… some painting of hallways… and maybe even painting around the rest of the house. Depending on how keen Sister Nell is about house stuff, might even try to whip up some curtains.

Stumping (or re-stumping) will not happen at this stage because the people wanted circa $25K for a full re-stump. I am not willing to spend this at this time. Possibly not at that other time either. Might end up just finishing internal renovations and sticking up the ‘for sale’ sign. Application goes in this week to sub-divide the block…. so hopefully exciting news on that front in about 6 weeks time.

Other fun-ish thing of late has been playing keyboard… have (strangely) been finding several hours a week, mainly late at night now I have earphones, to work on my jazz/blues stuff. Will hopefully be getting a lesson or two next term from this piano guy I heard about in Townsville. Am hoping to maybe even do some recording next summer. Probably do that back in Melbourne with Luke Hart. How is Luke Hart? Does anyone know if he’s still around?  

School is just about finished up for the Term. Lots of paper work to catch-up, but I’ll get there. Can’t wait until 3:05pm tomorrow when the little cherubs all go home for a few weeks… They’re pretty good really, but holidays will be nice. Hoping to find a good fishing spot over the break

OGT? Am quite proud to say that one of my Year 8 classes, after just 7 (compulsory)lessons were able to “Merrily Roll Along” today on their Flutes, Clarinets, Saxes, Trumpets and Trombones. Here’s hoping there will be more Merry Rolling when I have the other Yr 8 class tomorrow. 

I want to be unique and individual… just like everyone else

Its interesting how young people, and perhaps old people, will do almost anything to stand out from the crowd; to be noted as something different and therefore valid and important… and yet, at the same time we often avoid standing out like the plague. Have we reached a point where it is imperative that we stand out so that we can blend in with the others around us?

Anyway… enough pondering, it makes my head hurt. Speaking of hurts, and heads… never move a ladder when there is a chisel sitting on the top rung. They are distinctively painful. Last night I finished painting (first coat) in the front bedroom. I’ve made myself a list of jobs to be finished before visitors arrive on Friday week… And I’ve made the list of jobs to tackle with visitors’ help but I won’t go into detail incase they miss the train!

This week is essentially survival mode… 7 school days to go this Term. I can’t wait. School is going okay, but its starting to mess with my freedom a bit. My week generally goes as such…

Monday 8 to 4:30 then 6:30 to 8:30 (Stage Band)

Tuesday 8 to 3 then piano teaching from 3:30 to 5:30 and 7:30-8:30

Wednesday 8 to 4:30 (Band)

Thursday 8 to 6:30 (Drum teaching)

Friday 8 to 3 (Escape as quickly as possible).

OGT? Stage Band has been kind of good for my soul of late… good bunch of people mostly.

Hole is a Very Strong Word… I prefer “Transitional Flooring”

So the lounge room renovations have moved along… and all told I’m very happy thus far. The official shades are “Brookside Moss” green on 3 walls, and “Fieldcrest” green on 1 wall. The effect is an unusual one… depending on the light, and where you stand, and the time of day or night, the colour blend will vary. They are similar greens, but just different enough to be noticable. Overall paint job has come up very well… though we accidentally made a few scratches whilst ripping up the lino afterwards.

Here is where we get to the “Transitional Flooring”… that being any kind of flooring that clearly needs some form of transition in order to be considered more like flooring. I have one floorboard that has clearly been eaten. It has a hole approximately 30cm long by about 6cm wide, and another about 3cm by 5cm wide about a metre away…. having poked  around within the larger hole I discovered one good thing (see below), and one not-so-good thing. Not so good was that this floorboard is essentially hollow and crumbly for about one metre of it’s length. It does take my weight, but I shall endeavour to replace this section of timber in the very near future.

On the whole though, the boards look very good, and should make for a very lovely lounge room once they are polished up. No “after photos” yet though. Not until Sister Nell and I polish the floorboards in a few weeks time

To my surprise I’m getting gradually more handy. In recent weeks I have: mowed lawns alot (eeeeww!), installed a lock on the security door, killed weeds and removed them from the ground, used gap filler, and learnt to kill cockroaches without freaking out.

OGT? No sign of the dreaded white ant at this stage. Hopefully none to come, touch wood…. get it? wood? lol