Feel free to skip this post ...

This post may be exceptionally boring and draining, so you may want to skip it today! Don't say I didn't warn ya!!

First off, though, this piccie is for Wendy ... I keep forgetting to answer your question about where my stitching spot is (from the lounge Christmas photos) - in fact I don't sit on any of the lounge suite at all, but rather in my recliner which is facing the TV and the rest of the lounge ... I have a special stitching corner which is permanently made up all the time, just ready to plop down into - and my 2nd most critical corner of the flat is off to the right of my stitching chair in this photo - my computer desk :D



Well, today was an interesting day, and I've had some very interesting discussions. I finally pulled my head out of the sand today before work to get my tyre replaced (I was on a 2pm start, so plenty of time) ... lucky me, though, ended up having to get not just one, but TWO tyres replaced!!! Yup, it seems the right-hand front tyre was getting rather bald and needed to be replaced ... what can I say, but life just keeps on getting better and better! LOL. I had to get on my mobile to transfer over the $100 Mum had paid me back from a credit card charge I did for her as my emergency food money if I ever got totally desperate (thanks Mum, love ya!) ... I had refused to touch it, as I may need it down the track ... well that day was today. The rest of Mr Taxman's money I'd put to one side plus the emergency money has totally wiped out my bank balance yet again - woohoo!! I had to warn the sales guy I'd just had to transfer the funds across, so hopefully it will go through ... leaving me $5-10 in the account double woohoo! So now Mr Taxman has to wait longer, and I'm back to square one again trying to find $500+ ... and in my rebellious mood today I say "b*gger you Mr Taxman, I'm going shopping for veges this payday, and I don't care less what you think about it!" {{big raspberry}} Thank goodness Payday is overnight tonight!!!

I've also come to the realisation that I just can't get ahead living on my own, and I've started putting out some feelers about options. Sheree from work, who was looking for a flatmate months ago, is apparently looking at moving out yet again, as her new male flatmate is really inconsiderate with her being on shift work (at least we have that in common, so there's a basic understanding there between us). The only problem is that she's really fussy and wants a really 'flash' place to live, so it wouldn't necessarily be a 'huge' saving overall (she's paying $200 per week for rent at the moment in a sharing situation as opposed to my $245 on my own yikes!!). Anyway, I've set the seed for her today and I guess we'll chat about it more at some stage after Christmas.

The 2nd alternative is to pack up all my stuff into storage and go house-sitting for a while. One of the girls from work is doing it (she's the one who used to flat with Sheree before), and the outgoings are very minimal, but the downside is that you're constantly on the move to different places. Still, there's no rent to pay, and unless it's a 'longer term' sitting job there are no other bills (apparently most people if its 1-2 weeks sitting don't charge you for electricity usage etc, but she's in one now where she's there until February and the charge is $30 a week to cover bills ... that's pretty minimal considering there's no rent to pay as well!). I used to do house sitting for my boss back in Auckland every now and then when I was younger, so that's not a major issue for me - the big downside would be not having internet access regularly, and I'd have to go to a library or somewhere to get online ... and a major part of what's kept me from going insane here is the support and friendship of you guys online!

Then again, if I'm saving that much I could look at buying a laptop and signing up with "Unwired" which is wireless internet - and my internet connection would travel with me ... while it may be incredibly inconvenient for a while, it would also give me a better chance of getting ahead financially for the longer term, and I'd definitely have to take that into consideration, I guess. I'd have to cost up putting my things into storage etc too ... anyway, it's all food for thought I need to mull over ... 'cos at the moment I'm just going backwards every month. This option would still give me the sense of freedom in that I'd have 'my own space', but there would be the odd day where I wouldn't have a roof over my head (although Ali at work has said I'd be more than welcome to stay with her in Seaford during those times - that's incredibly sweet of her!).

One thing that almost brought me to tears today was the generosity of a fellow blogger ... I have some extra Christmas prezzies now sitting under the tree - and after the shock of having to buy two brand new tyres this morning, opening my mailbox afterwards was a huge morale lifter. I'm being good, though, and not opening anything until Christmas Day - then the contents will be revealed both to me and you :D But I have to say, Katrina, you really really made my day today - you're just gorgeous, and it couldn't have come at a better time! {{hugs}}

In fact, I'm now sitting here in tears writing this. So much for that fighting spirit, huh? I think I'm finally reacting to the stress I've been feeling just lately, but repressing ... and just writing about Katrina's generous gifts has sent me over the edge emotionally ... but in a nice way haha.

Anyway, sorry for the waffling - just the thoughts running through my head today ... as is typical of me, I don't hide anything, and you get the full story with everything - putting things in writing is a great method of 'purging' for me, so this all helps. I'm so sorry I'm not as full of life as I usually am ... and I was hoping to get over all this negative stuff a lot more quickly than I have - I think I'm coping really well, then something else happens to knock me sideways ... hopefully I'll get the fighting spirit back again tomorrow, 'cos tomorrow's another day!

Thanks for all of your comments, and hanging in there with me through all this 'cr*ppy stuff' - it has really helped! {{hugs}}