Something new to play with

I don't have anything of interest to write about, I'm simply playing around with this Word template I found and hoping it works. Carry on :)

Times a changing

This is proving to be a very busy but very exciting time for us at the moment. I don't know about Glen but I love being engaged! Our wedding seems so far away but it's exciting to prepare for a lifetime together.

Our big project at the moment before we even think about the wedding is the building of our house. After much stalling thanks to the bank, we've finally signed the building contract and are moving ahead at a frantic pace so that we can get the design and plans approved so the builder can give us the bank pack which they need before they'll finalise the loan and which we need soon to be able to get the First Home Owners Grant. Phew! Bloody paperwork...

Our builders have so far been great in moving things ahead though. We got our drawn plans last week finalised and today we got all the info for making building selections in the post. Tomorrow I'll be ringing the companies and making some appointments for us to get all our selections finalised. Very fun stuff! Thankfully Glen and I aren't in horrible disagreement over anything... yet.

In amongst all this my studies have been going well although it's approaching the busy part of the semester so I hope I can maintain my focus for just a few more weeks and continue to get good grades.

I've also got more responsibilities at work which means very full days and somewhat stressful days but I'm trying, for the sake of my health, to not let things in the workplace get me down so much that I'm thinking about them at all hours of the night. Work will be madness now until at least August, and although the extra pay I'm getting is very helpful and very welcome, I don't want it to be at the expense of my health. As an aside I also interviewed for a higher paid position last week - hopefully I find out how that went soon.

I don't believe anyone visits here anymore but I refuse to remove this page! Hope any that still pop by are well :)

Random thoughts

My bad luck with buses lately is concerning. It seems whenever I'm in a rush they are so late that I may as well have caught the later bus and not rushed so much. Then when the bus is only 1 stop from Uni the bus driver will decide to get out and go to the toilet when already running somewhat late. Apparently my train curse has now shifted to buses being that I don't drive near any train crossings anymore.

Random thought 2: There is a mature age student in one of my classes who is very strange. Example - she will ask someone where the toilet is, the person gets up to show her and point her in the right direction and while the person is explaining she will turn around and sit back down. What was the point of asking? I don't mind eccentric people but the behaviour has to make some kind of sense.

Random thought 3: Threatening public servants with going to Today Tonight or that we'll be hearing from lawyers and "a bunch of people we don't want to hear from" won't actually change any outcome you're unhappy with, but it certainly does amuse us in the office.

2009 already?

I can't quite believe we are already midway through January 2009. Where has the time gone?! Life got so busy with Uni and work that I'm forever neglecting to update this site. I could just give up and close it down but that would be a bit of a shame, so instead, sporadic updates it is.

Uni finished well last year and in a couple of months it'll start up again. I ended up with a High Distinction and a Distinction for the subjects I did last year and I hope to do as well again, which is made easier by the fact that I really love what I'm doing. I'm also hoping to finish off TAFE this semester so that that's behind me.

Our Christmas was the nice and quiet usual family get-together on Christmas Eve and then Christmas Day itself was pretty relaxing. On Boxing Day Glen and I left for Mackay where we had a nice time with his parents despite the heat and humidity which was stifling. I truly enjoyed having the time though to just sit in the air conditioned comfort and be able to read as much as I wanted. We went fishing a couple of times, once on the beach and once on the boat (which was an experience) and did a little sight-seeing. We had a quiet NYE but no complaints from me on that, I think it was just what I needed.

We flew home on January 3rd and since then I've just been working and not doing much else. This afternoon will be my first session at the gym since before Christmas because I got a crappy cold that knocked me around a bit when I came back but it's not too bad getting back into a routine again. Our focus this year is getting this house built so it helps to have such a big goal driving me.

Anyway, time to be off, more later (although how much later only time will tell).

Bloody slack Mel

I know, I know, I'm very slack for not posting at least boring every day stuff here regularly anymore. Life is just very busy with working full-time and studying part-time at both Uni and TAFE. Thankfully there's only another semester of TAFE to do and then at least that will be one thing crossed off the list.

Can't think of much to write about but thought I might kill some time while here at Uni waiting for my next lecture to begin instead of, you know, studying.

The main piece of news is that the block of land finally settled on October 7th. I say finally because it was supposed to happen back in July but no matter, all done now! So now begins the fun part of finding a place we like, choosing a builder and getting the place built :)

Xy and I went and looked at some places last weekend and so far we're in agreement about what we like and what we want and what we don't want which has been great. We've also made a shortlist of builders and hoping to catch up with the one on top of the list this weekend to discuss additional costs, inclusions etc.

In other news we've booked a week in Mackay over New Year's Eve so that Xy can see his parents. I am looking forward to meeting them but a little nervous too.

There hasn't been much going on besides work and study really apart from a weekend away to Angaston recently over the last long weekend which was beautiful. We were lucky enough to have perfect weather, the B & B we stayed in was nice and the wine was very tasty indeed. The only downside to the weekend away was the family staying in the B & B upstairs from us who were Noisy As Hell. Apparently naturally walking around was impossible and all they could do was stomp around the house, or better still, run and scream. Brilliant. Kinda killed the peaceful romantic retreat idea but we did still have a nice time :)

Anyway I had better publish this very belated and boring post and make my way to the lecture theatre. Bye!

Catchup kinda

Ok, too much has happened since I last updated this Blog to list it all, but I figured it shouldn't mean I stop updating entirely so I'll start it from here I guess.

A few months ago, while looking through the newspaper, I saw an advert for a new course being offered by UniSA that sounded like what I'd wanted to do ever since I was a little girl - Bachelor of Arts (Writing & Creative Communication). They were accepting mid-year intake so I bit the bullet and decided to apply, and I'm now into my 4th week of University! I am still working full-time so am starting almost every day at 7am so that I can make it to lectures and tutorials in the afternoons, and I'm still finishing my Certificate IV in Government at TAFE, so needless to say I'm a very busy girl these days. Most days I am out of the house around 6am, home after 6pm and then have a few hours to study and/or relax before having to go to bed and start all over again.

Glen has also gotten work too, which means he has long days now also. I know he's been very busy and tired, but otherwise he seems to like the people he's working with which is probably the main thing, so he's been doing well.

We're now living with my parents to save on rent money while the house is built, although it is yet to begin because the settlement for the land has been pushed back, but it's okay, it'll all be worth it in the end when we have our own brand new house. It hasn't been too bad living with them although they are difficult to please most of the time, but truth be told we don't see them very much anyway because everyone's working (apart from Mum who broke her ankle and is still recovering, but that's another story).

In a way it's good living there, because the last few months we've had a lot of family dramas and so we've had to help each other through them. Most recently my grandfather in Yugoslavia passed away. I had met him a few times and he was a beautiful man. It obviously really hit my Dad hard though, and although he's now more "back to normal" I think when father's day rolls around it might resurface, as it hasn't even been a week yet since Grandpa died and it's all still a bit fresh for Dad understandably.

Anyway, apologies for leaving it on a sad note but I think people have given up on me updating and probably don't drop by here very often anymore, and also I have to get to my next Lecture and then race to the gym to try and fit a workout in.

Hope all are well :)

Pew pew!

The last week has been great, due largely in part to the awesome weekend I had last weekend.

On Friday night Xy and I went with my work social club to Marksman's Indoor Range for some pistol shooting and it was incredible! We had a package where we got to fire 24 rounds with a .357 revolver and 30 rounds with a Glock 9mm. What can I saw but "WOW!". What an incredible experience! I have to admit my nerves were high even though it was something I've always wanted to do, so I waited for a little while before I gave it a "shot" (ha ha). Eventually the nervousness passed so I started with the .357 and it was incredible. Even with our ear protection on the noise was intense and my heart immediately started racing and didn't stop for the whole 24 rounds. When other people in the range fired I couldn't help but jump a little, the adrenalin was running rampant. Anyway, my first shot went right through the bullseye! I managed to do pretty well with the .357, not great but not too shabby. I then moved onto the 9mm which I didn't enjoy quite as much and which I did far worse at, firing too low for some reason. Maybe because by this point my heart wouldn't slow down, not sure. Anyway, Friday night was awesome! The rest of my week pales in comparison.

On Saturday my auntie took us all out for lunch to the Para Hills Community Centre which was pretty decent actually, so it was a day with the family because Maria and Steve weren't gonna be around on Mother's Day. The place was pretty good, there was an area for kids to play to Susanna got to have a bit of fun with some other little kids. Yes I know I'm biased, but she's so beautiful. If anyone ever hurt her I don't know what I'd do, I want the best for that little girl. I wonder if all Aunt's feel this way.

Anyway Sunday was Mother's Day but I had a major assignment to do which was due on Tuesday so I spent most of the day working on that. We did go to Mum and Dad's for a couple of hours but didn't stay too long as I really wanted to get it done (which I did).

Since then the rest of the week has ofcourse been "blegh" due to work, and we haven't been up to too much otherwise. I've just been gaming a bit and Xy and I have been watching episodes of Dexter which we finished last night and oh my goodness, it is such a good show! Very well written even if I did seem to guess the plot on occasion. Looking forward to the next season!

Work still sucks but admittedly I haven't found much worth applying for, but I'm still looking. I'm still not being paid my higher duties which has pissed me off no end, but what can I do? It's hard to find something else I'm qualified for with decent pay... Better get back to it *sighs*.