There was a time in my not too distant past when the very prospect of kids Trick or Treating on Halloween would have had me angrily shouting about American cultural imperialism. Maybe I’m mellowing. This past weekend the Bentleigh Shopping Centre organised a Halloween dress-up. Many participated, including my own children (though I didn’t organise ... [More]
Spotted on Friday night: On the tram up Bourke Street, a quietly-spoken Irish couple asking how to get to Telstra Dome. Getting off the tram, many International Rules (Australia vs Ireland) fans. Along the Bourke Street bridge, some enthusiastically doing Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi Oi Oi. Then boisterously providing a rendition of a whole chorus ... [More]
My new suburb is Bentleigh. It’s about 5 minutes further out of the city than my old stomping grounds of Glen Huntly or Carnegie, and certainly further into suburbia. It’s still in zone 1. That was a requirement when house-hunting. Mind you it’s the last station in zone 1. I’m pretty close to the station, ... [More]
When one thinks of Melbourne’s inner suburbs, one might imagine gentrified streets full of yuppies sipping lattes as they admire the street furniture and watch the crowds and trams pass by. But they’re not all like that. Yesterday I journeyed into the industrial heart of Port Melbourne, to return the rental keys. Gawd knows why ... [More]
Call today from a representative of the agent of the property I’ve just moved out of. “We’re just updating contact details for all our tenants. Are you still at…” “You know I’ve ended the lease and I’m returning the keys tomorrow, don’t you?” “Oh. … Probably not so necessary then.” … Uncomfortable pause … “Well, ... [More]
In summary: it’s done. And I never have to move again. Which is good, because I have too much stuff, and I hate moving. The plan Possibly I was over-compensating for the last time I moved, when the movers turned up to find many as-yet unpacked boxes, and the truck headed off leaving a lot ... [More]
I’ve moved. I’m now very tired, and have a headache. But I’ve moved. More later.
Unexpected day at home today: I felt sick overnight, and didn’t sleep at all well. Possibly a repeat of my last house move. Checked the fridge to find I was out of my preferred “feeling sick” drink, lemonade. Thankfully Marita was on hand to get some from the milkbar down the street. Just as last ... [More]
My home internet connection has cut out. Knowing that it takes about 5 days, on Monday I requested the ADSL connection be moved. If I’d thought about it a bit more (and taken advice from friends) I would have ordered a brand-spanking new connection from somebody else, rather than relocate my Netspace one, so there’d ... [More]
From MX, Melbourne’s free afternoon commuter newspaper, 19/10/2005 page 1: Trains in an instant Inga Gilchrist Trains would run every 10 minutes during peak hour on all lines under a radical plan to boost Melbourne’s public transport. The Public Transport Users Association today called for a massive lift in train frequency to ease overcrowding in ... [More]
Our mission yesterday: to take the bicycles to the new house. Why? Because it’s a tradition (well, we’ve done it once before, in 2003). Because it was good exercise. To avoid the hassle of moving them in the truck on moving day. And because it was a nice day… so why not? I’d taken yesterday ... [More]
I got into something of a lather over the weekend, when I noted that my washing machine appeared to be about 65cm wide, wider than the space for the washing machine in the new house, which is about 60cm wide. This caused something of a panic, since if it couldn’t fit in that space, it ... [More]