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Archive for January, 2011

panic-buying

January 13th, 2011 at 05:52 am

Everyone has gone crazy panic buying. There is no fuel at any service stations, except reserves for emergency vehicles. There was word that trucks might have been delayed with the flood (they either were for a few hours, or had half-stock deliveries which wasn't too bad), so it seems like everyone has decided they need to go and fill their houses with food for some irrational reason. I have enough petrol to last me til Sunday or Monday, I filled up my tank yesterday but unfortunately with three trips to work and back, it will use all that up pretty swiftly (My tank is small, obviously).
(Note: I would have a different opinion had I been living in some of the worser off parts of Queensland, but I live in a part that was only very minimally hit, therefore there is NO reason for people to be behaving like this!).
My best friend said she saw a lady buying 20 loaves of bread at the supermarket yesterday. TWENTY. I must be strange, because if it so happened that the truck didn't make it and I couldn't get bread for a few days, I'd just sort something else out. I'd eat a wrap, use rice-cakes. Goodness, if it were carbs I was seriously after, I'd boil some pasta if I was desperate!

There were people stocking up on tinned food at Aldi, trolleys full. Seriously! Again, I'd understand if we were in a part that had been hit bad by flooding, but we're not! These people are going to open their pantries next week, look in and go 'Why the HELL did I buy fifteen tins of fruit salad and pumpkin soup?'.

I just don't get it. People make the situation worse when they do this, it makes possible shortages a reality, not because the food can't make it here, but because people don't think rationally.

The only thing I can hope for is that SOME of that food was indeed being bought for donations to be sent to the parts that actually need food - now THAT would make me happier!

I am hoping that the farmers market will be up and running on Saturday but I have my doubts. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

On a completely different note, DF and I finally bought a 2011 wall-calender. I think it's pretty funky. It's a DIY decoration one. It's black card, which means you have to write on it with those metallic gel pens (which we already had) and each month has a space where you can put photos or drawings.

And I bought a new diary for 2011. I like to be organised, but it took me a couple of weeks to find one that I liked. This one has on the cover 'Keep Calm & Stop Carrying On' in bold letters. It's very 'me'.

And, finally, our wedding rings are ready to pick up. I told them I would pick them up tomorrow, but I might leave them until next week. So odd: I was waiting for their call, as they told me they would call when they arrived. They also told me they would take 10-14 days. Well, a month later I decided to call, just to check what was going on. At first they couldn't find any record of my name or my order, but then they obviously found it and told me the rings had been at the shop for a couple of weeks. Nice of them to call and let me know!!!

Now off to do some studying. What a change! Big Grin

flooding pics

January 12th, 2011 at 07:47 am

A couple of pictures of what it is like in my town at the moment. This was after some of the water had subsided. We were hit no-where near as bad as what other towns were, so my pictures don't really do the flood justice. Basically, just imagine an extra 6 feet of water on top of what is in this picture, at least! and that is what most of the state is like at the moment.


This path leads to a walkway underneath the bridge that is in the background, it is where I walk my dogs sometimes. Normally the river is about 15 feet below the level it is at now.


This is at the bottom of our street. To the right of this frame, there is a convenience store with an attached house where the owners live. Their hills-hoist clothesline in their backyard was submerged save for the very top of it poking out of the water. Murky brown water crept up to the verandah of their house, which is two storeys tall!


Local supermarket (carpark underneath)


View from inside the supermarket - stairwell that used to lead to the carpark!




updates of all kinds

January 10th, 2011 at 09:02 am

Hi everyone. It's about time for my weekly update Big Grin I don't get much time these days.

Only 3 weeks until my exams! Scary stuff! I feel like I'm not 100% on all of my learning objectives, but I guess I have a few weeks to really revise everything so that's good at least. I guess it's just scary because it's the first time at doing this, so I don't know what to expect.

Next semester I am doing Data Analysis and Business Law.

But! I am thinking maybe I should downgrade to just one subject for the next semester. I have a lot going on in the next few months, is all. But then again, I don't want to appear to be 'precious'. I am, after all, only doing this part-time. People study full time AND work full time (some even have kids to look after too!).

I just don't want to look back and go 'I could have done an extra subject, now look, you've got another five months of studying to do that you could have already done!'

But, I don't know... We are getting married in a little over a month, then having a party to celebrate it three months later which, while no-where near what a wedding would take, requires some planning and preparation.

On the other hand, the next semester has more weeks in it than the one I am currently completing (yet still have to do the same amount of work) so therefore I might actually have some more free time.

*sigh* just one of those things I guess I have to decide on, and soon.

Normally I am fine, but this week I have just been thinking about some things I would like to be doing with my time. Then I think 'oh, but I should be doing uni work'. (like painting, drawing, gardening, exercising etc) Not that I'd probably do a LOT of it, but it'd be nice to have the time to choose to if I wanted! Lately my time seems to be spent working, studying, sleeping and an hour sitting with DF and my little sister watching tv and eating dinner! And any time left over is trying to get more sleep (I actually have a nap nearly every day now - not sure why, I am just so tired) and the tiny bit of left over time I try to spend with my best friend.

My little sis seems to be doing alright. I am letting her get away with some things because she is on holidays until the end of January. She paid off all her debts Big Grin She also picked up extra shifts at work over the holidays which was good. WHile I am making it a point to mention that she will have to save once she goes back to school, and reminding her that there are things that I will not buy for her (conditioner, razors, deodorant, makeup etc... my reason is: I had to buy these things for myself when I was her age, so she should too) I am also allowing her to make her own choices. She has bought herself a few pairs of new shoes and a lot of clothes. Probably things she won't be able to buy once she goes back to school and stops getting extra shifts, so I am letting it slide.

I have worked out (after much frustration) that she is one of 'those' people that needs prompting to do chores. She is willing to do them - she just needs to be told. I am ok with it now - it was just frustrating to come home to my place being a mess when she could have clearly helped out instead of sitting on the computer on facebook all day. :S As I said, it's holidays, so I am letting it slide. She doesn't get angry or annoyed when we ask her to do things, so atleast we are lucky in that perspective.

She also has a boyfriend Big Grin It's kind of cute - even though she has had a couple, it is the first she has asked us to meet. We let her invite him over to watch movies and play xbox. DF and I (and actually, my parents and his parents too) are fairly liberal in that area. I know some people have problems with their children dating etc but have never really had that problem with my parents. Sometimes, having a problem with that sort of thing can *create* problems. But each to their own. Personally respect and honesty have always been key with my parents, and is something I will teach my kids (and currently, my sister).

Not sure if news travels very far over in the US, but my state is experiencing extreme flooding at the moment. Thankfully not hugely around my immediate area, but I do know people who have been evacuated because their homes are literally under water - up to their roof, or over.
I haven't experienced any major problems, apart from that I had to drive home from work today a different way (added 30 minutes onto my 25 minute trip) because one of the main roads was covered in 4 feet of water (and I had driven that road 8 hours previous where it was only covered with 1 foot of water and I was able to get through!).

Our doggies are well, getting a little fat from not being walked with all this rain. They snuggle in one kennel together most of the time because the wind and rain scares them a bit I think. Pretty cute - but I can never get a photo of it.

I stopped drinking coffee and now only drink it on the weekends, or socially with friends. (Technically, that's not stopping, but it's an improvement). It's a money saver, better for my health, and saves time in the morning too! I can now get up and get ready for work in 10 minutes. Heh heh.

DF suggested we make this our 'get fit & healthy' year. DF wants to start surfing (I wouldn't mind learning either) and running more often. And going to the beach more often. We have not been for over a year and only live 20 minutes away.
Foodwise we are probably better off than some families, but one of my main aims is to reduce our consumption of processed food. Seeing as it's probably lower than average anyway, it's going to take some work. But overall, can only be good for our health and the environment.

DF and I finally decided, after much umming and aahing, to go to the Soundwave concert I mentioned in other entries. Tickets are $160 each. So, I go to the website to buy them, and find that they have finally sold out, only three days prior! Argh! And a look on eBay shows that we can buy tickets for $255 each at the cheapest. SIGH.