And now he’s not being deployed…

There’s an old saying in the military that goes “Greatcoats on, greatcoats off” meaning that decisions change constantly.  And that’s what’s happened here.  With only four days to go, Eddie’s deployment has been cancelled.

However… watch this space!  There may be another deployment coming sometime in the future.  The good side is that we have a lot of things done now that needed to be done, and if/when he goes sometime later then we don’t have to worry about them!

Employment and a posting?

I got the news yesterday that the job I had applied for recently, that I really wanted, I didn’t get. I was ‘outstanding’ on my application and interview, couldn’t fault me at all and I should be applying for higher level positions. However…. the job went to someone who had done Executive Assistant work for the last 20 years! So we’re looking at the possibility of me not having work again when my contract finishes at the end of june.

To top yesterday off, I was waiting for Eddie after work, and his boss mentioned that Eddie’s career manager wants to post him again. His position is being upgraded to the next higher rank wef next january, and they want to post someone else in on promotion. Which means reposting Eddie. He’s known about it for a few weeks, but didn’t tell me because he knew I’d freak. Which I did. He was planning on telling me when it was decided one way or another, so I wouldn’t be worried and stressed in the meantime.

It was literally a year ago that Eddie rang to tell me we were posting back to Canberra.

I’ve just been speaking to Eddie about the posting stuff, and we’ve decided that if the army insists on posting us, then we’ll ask to stay in Canberra first, if they have to post us out then we want to go to either Brisbane or Queenscliff in Vic. Either way, we’ll have family there and people we know. My sister and BIL are moving to Brisbane around Nov this year, from London, and I have other rellies in northern NSW. The in-laws are all down in VIC.

If they can’t post us to any of those three locations then he’ll discharge. It’s literally worth about an extra $100,000+ for Eddie to do another three years, we don’t want to lose that by being too inflexible. All three of those locations have heaps of positions for his rank and trade.

Kids and bullying again

Where do I start? These last two weeks are kind of a blur! We’ve all had the flu, Eddie was first, then Dian, in fact she didn’t go to school at all last week, then I had/have it. Thankfully we’re all on the mend.

Dian’s been getting bullied at school, we think that is under control at the moment and things are looking up, and then she came home yesterday with this story. She goes to school on the bus, and recently has been sitting next to a 15yo (possibly mentally disabled or autistic) boy, J. I’m not sure how severe his impairment is. Anyway, she’s been telling us that he likes her, and he used to like another girl in her class. That’s bad enough, so I’ve been telling her to sit somewhere else. Yesterday, the only seat available on the bus home was next to Jack.

He told her that tomorrow he was going to bring a knife with him, told her she had to come to his party so he could flog her, and then proceeded to push her head down to her knees and sit on her five or six times! Apparently the kids sitting near told him to stop but he wouldn’t, and the bus driver didn’t notice.

I’ve reported it to Dian’s school, and the deputy principal rang J’s school. They are all horrified, as they should be, and we’ve been told that we can report it to the police if we choose to, as an assault. I’ve chosen not to at this point, but if he ever touches Dian again then it will definately be reported!

Tribunal hearing tomorrow

We were granted a phone hearing for the Tenancy Tribunal and had to send all our information, photo’s etc in so it would be received by the 10th (sunday). Plus a copy to the landlord. We managed to get it in on saturday and have a signed receipt to say they received it. The hearing is tomorrow at 3.00pm. Yay…

Actually, I can’t wait until it’s over and finished. Just to have it finished. I’m fed up with dealing with this, the uncertainty and waiting.

You’re kidding me, right?

No, he’s not kidding. I just spoke to a guy from Defence about our damages from the move. They will repair the bed and the hutch, we need to get a report on the DVD player to state what is wrong/broken and if the damage was moving related. They’re going to pay for the crystal vase, the damage to the fridge and for replacing the microwave. Sounds good, right???? The microwave is four years old, so we are only being paid $100 for it. It costs over $300 to buy the same one new. Hello???? We had a working microwave three weeks ago, it has been damaged/destroyed because the army moved us and now they don’t even give proper replacement value????? Give me a break!!!!!!

When I asked about it I was told that it’s because we are assumed to be replacing like with like meaning that we are expected to go and buy a four year old microwave. Not that I have a problem with buying second-hand, but a microwave is not something I want to buy used with no knowledge of how it’s been treated and used or abused.

The Landlord

We received a summons to the Magistrates Court yesterday, hearing scheduled for 13th February, from the landlord over the bond issue. We have a few problems with this:

1. The actual hearing is invalid and should not have been accepted by the court. The landlord had ten working days from the day we vacated the property to lodge his application and he lodged it thirteen working days after we left. He was informed at least twice of the ten day time limit, and still insisted on lodging it.

2. Being that we now live nine hours away from the law courts, we can request a telephone hearing. No guarantees that we will get it. Plus I will need to either have someone in the court to take in photo’s etc or work out some other way to get them there. Then again, it would cost us less to drive down and argue it than just to pay it!

3. The landlord is asking for $586 to replace some of the blinds (that’s total replacement, not just the bent fins), replace the roses that blew over in the storms (Um, yeah sure, we’re responsible for the weather…) and for scrubbing the brickwork that two property managers both said was fine.

And just to top this week off, we have an inspection sometime next week from our current landlords! I did have the opportunity to delay that for a few weeks or months if I wished, I chose not to as I’d rather get it over with! I’m just not feeling too keen on any landlords right at the moment.

I’m back!!!!

We’ve moved, and as of today have more than basic, slow as a snail, dial-up internet! So I’m back!

The move….. yes, well…. here’s a quick run-down of the highlights of the last two weeks;

Tue 1 Jan, back home after holidays at the in-laws. Trying to clean Dian’s room, and her comment when told the removalists are coming tomorrow? “Nobody told me!” Argh!!!! Also I managed to flood the laundry, including everything inside the laundry cupboards! It was then the cleanest room in the house.

Wed 2 Jan, Removalists come in and pack up the house into boxes. Discovered my car is leaking petrol. Luckily Eddie found the leak, a loose clamp, and was able to fix it.

Thurs 3 Jan, everything went on the truck. Real Estate Agent rings in the morning to say that our final inspection, which I had booked a month ago for 3.00pm friday 4th Jan, was being rescheduled to the next monday because the Landlord wanted to have it then. I almost had a meltdown, it wasn’t even his appointment! Got nowhere, so now we have to leave the house and have the final inspection (with an extremely grumpy, picky landlord) without being present. Then the Real Estate agents says “Oh, you’re still in the house? I’ve got people coming through this afternoon to look at it!” Well, we’re moving, they can come and look but it’s messy!

Fri 4 Jan, Cleaned the house. Had in interim/unofficial inspection. Took photo’s of all the venetian blinds as the landlord had blamed us for bending the ends a few weeks earlier. Took the guinea pigs to the hotel with us for the night and sneaked them in to the room.

Sat 5 Jan, picked the cat up from the cattery at 7.30am. Drove to Canberra in convoy with Eddie. Stinking hot day. About an hour out of Canberra I rang the Cattery there to confirm when we would be there to drop Suzy off. Got their answering service! Major panic as I didn’t have their address, and if they weren’t there I had a cat and nowhere for her to go! Rang my friend who was going to look after the guinea pigs and went to drop them off first. The cattery rang back, everything ok, so was able to leave the cat there. Went and picked up Eddie from the other side of Canberra, drove all the way back and went to a hotel for the night.

Sun 6 Jan, drove 3 1/2 hours up to my mums.

Tues 8 Jan, received a phone call from the Real Estate Agent, the Landlord wants us to replace all the blinds because ten slats are bent slightly at the ends. She told him that was unreasonable, but he could ask us to pay for the damaged slats. I said I thought that was unreasonable, it should be considered fair wear and tear, and since the blind cords were damaged when we moved in no-one could say that they were in perfect condition. Back to negotiate…

Thurs 10 Jan, drove back to Canberra and picked up the keys to the house. It seems to be the only house in this suburb that doesn’t have air-conditioning or a dishwasher! Yikes!!!!

Fri 11 Jan, the removal truck turned up and 7.30am, unloaded everything and was gone by 9.45am!!!!! So far the damages are: a hole through the back of my china cabinet, broken crystal vase (all the cheap glass vases are ok, why did it have to be one of my crystal ones???) the top of the microwave is seriously dented, marks and scratches on most wooden and metal furniture, and our bed’s footpiece broken. It’s solid wood, how the heck did they manage that??????
Had my first decent nights sleep in over two weeks, which means that I managed to get more than five hours!

Mon 14 Jan, discovered that in this very high rent, McMansion, upmarket suburb only ten minutes from the nations capital, you can’t get adsl broadband. I actually cried, it was the last straw!!!!!! Found out a cheap wireless deal from the neighbour who is also very unimpressed! The Real Estate Agent rang to say that the landlord wasn’t happy, would we consider offering some compensation for the blinds? I said no, it was fair wear and tear, and if he wished he could take it to the Tenancy Tribunal. I’m expecting to hear from them soon.

Wed 16 Jan, Dian’s grandmother who we haven’t seen for over a year drove over three hours to take her out for the day! What a champion woman!!!!! She and Dian had a great day and then she drove the more than three hours back home!

Thurs 17 Jan, (today) Dian’s 10th birthday. I took her out shopping, had a great time. Had a car accident. I was coming up to a give way sign, and a car cut the corner in front of me. I was still moving and we connected. My front bumper and number plate are cactus, his driver side rear door and wheel hub are dented. Far out!!!!!!!!!!!! Apparently I swore when we hit, although I don’t remember it! Picked up our wireless modems, yay!

We’re still surrounded by boxes, I have a client next monday or tuesday and I can’t find my files that tell me what day or time. I have a horrible feeling that I have double booked him with Dian’s birthday party on monday…

What the?????

When I was in Sydney for my Nanna’s funeral in early October I drove through a tollway without paying. The rental car didn’t have an electronic tag, and there were no cash booths. I had three days to phone up and pay the toll and I didn’t get to do that until a week later. I was told that it was too late, I’d have to wait for the notice to go to the car rental company, come back to Roam (the owner of the Tollway) and I’d have an extra $10 administration fee to pay. Ok, I should have rung up earlier. I can live with that…

Last week I received the notice, and paid the fee of $16.29 over the internet. The due date on it was 4 December. So being that I paid it on 22 November, no problem right????

Today (30 November) I received a Final Notice to pay! “As you have not yet paid yada yada yada…” What?????? Note above, the due date on the original notice was 4 December!

So I ring them up. They can’t find my payment, and the girl I’m talking to says “The due dates really aren’t important, we need to find your payment.” Well hello!!!! It’s important to me!!! Ok, they both are. They’re going to investigate and get back to me about the payment. And then I’ll figure out how I intend to complain about the overlapping notices. Grrrrrrr……

A reflection on our society

Dian came home from school today and told me that “We did a practise drill today for when a bad person comes into the school” Huh???? They are practising drills for “when a robber comes in, and lots of kids have been shot at school.” Sad isn’t it. I remember fire drills, and now our kids are practising for gunmen in their schools.

Just FYI, if the alarm goes off the teacher locks the door and the kids all get under the desks. If it’s really bad, they all go into the (tiny) back storeroom and lock themselves in there.

Three days and he’s back!!!

Eddie’s been away for the last two and a half weeks on another Army course, he was only home for about four or five weeks since the last one! I can’t wait until he gets home on friday, I’m so fed up with having him gone. I’ve found this time much harder than the first time he was away, haven’t coped as well as before. Dian had tummy aches for several days when he left, all related to stress. I can’t even begin to imagine what it would be like to have him away for a year in somewhere like Iraq! He’d be happy to go, but I sure don’t want him to!

Three days and my boy is home!!! Then it’s school holidays and we’re going away for a week or so!