Today is first day of spring, and what a great start! It is like all the trees got programmed to get their leaves out over-night and the sun is shining with not a cloud in sight. It was very hot walking to work and I can only imagine what it will be like in the summer. I'll have to take the bus to get the benefit of air conditioning. Getting home I found the thermometer on the balcony and it was showing 31 degrees - which is not bad for spring. I went away planning for our first dinner on the sunny balcony, but had to re-plan as I suddenly got reminded that it was only first day of spring - not summer. The sun went down :-( It still gets dark before 6pm.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
No posh lunch today
For the first time since arriving we have not had a Sunday lunch in a posh eatery, for various reasons.
a) We've done all the obvious waterfront seafood eateries - Lars & Mia, need some suggestions please
b) It was not sunny
c) They had an event called Malaysia Day - so thought we could pick up some decent Malaysian food
d) We had lots of unpacking to do, so could not really motivate spending several hours on lunch, given the reasons above
The Malaysia Day did not provide anything delicious, so we stopped for a quick burger on the way home. Overall the event was not very interesting
Unpacking is moving forward. We have almost fitted all the furniture in a reasonable configuration and most of the books are unpacked as well. It will be another week or so of chaos but we are doing much better than normally when moving houses
On the news today we were told it had been the coldest August in Sydney for 65 years. Hmm, considering it is in the middle of the winter I had expected worse. Most days has been 8-10 degrees in the morning and 15-20 in the afternoon, which I consider a very decent winter. However my friends at work have been complaining a lot.
a) We've done all the obvious waterfront seafood eateries - Lars & Mia, need some suggestions please
b) It was not sunny
c) They had an event called Malaysia Day - so thought we could pick up some decent Malaysian food
d) We had lots of unpacking to do, so could not really motivate spending several hours on lunch, given the reasons above
The Malaysia Day did not provide anything delicious, so we stopped for a quick burger on the way home. Overall the event was not very interesting
Unpacking is moving forward. We have almost fitted all the furniture in a reasonable configuration and most of the books are unpacked as well. It will be another week or so of chaos but we are doing much better than normally when moving houses
On the news today we were told it had been the coldest August in Sydney for 65 years. Hmm, considering it is in the middle of the winter I had expected worse. Most days has been 8-10 degrees in the morning and 15-20 in the afternoon, which I consider a very decent winter. However my friends at work have been complaining a lot.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
The tedious task of un-packing
Last night we went out to watch the cricket in the bar next door and for once England did a good job and beat South Africa. Unfortunately due to the time difference we could only watch the first session and had to listen to the radio when we got home.
We have started un-packing and re-organising. It is not entirely easy to fit all of our belongings into 88 square meters, or just your normal 2 bedroom flat, but we are making progress. Martin is making me un-pack absolutely everything, even boxes I have not opened since I left Sweden last in 1999. I guess he has a point, un-pack and use or throw it away. Today I think we have done around 30 boxes and there are only about 10 or so left.
Unfortunately the bed was not put together properly, so we are back sleeping on the sofa bed, until we find the missing part, but at least we have a proper mattress etc.
The garage I rented for Little Car did not work out, so today I have also been looking for another one. As he is still stuck in customs, I have bought a little bit of time.
Tomorrow we will meet the people we have swapped cars with and get the keys to their Mazda 121, which we will use as "shopping & exploring" car. They got the keys to our Audi yesterday and did not complain yet about the fact that I spilled 5 litres of paint in the back seat just before I left.
We have started un-packing and re-organising. It is not entirely easy to fit all of our belongings into 88 square meters, or just your normal 2 bedroom flat, but we are making progress. Martin is making me un-pack absolutely everything, even boxes I have not opened since I left Sweden last in 1999. I guess he has a point, un-pack and use or throw it away. Today I think we have done around 30 boxes and there are only about 10 or so left.
Unfortunately the bed was not put together properly, so we are back sleeping on the sofa bed, until we find the missing part, but at least we have a proper mattress etc.
The garage I rented for Little Car did not work out, so today I have also been looking for another one. As he is still stuck in customs, I have bought a little bit of time.
Tomorrow we will meet the people we have swapped cars with and get the keys to their Mazda 121, which we will use as "shopping & exploring" car. They got the keys to our Audi yesterday and did not complain yet about the fact that I spilled 5 litres of paint in the back seat just before I left.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Our stuff has arrived
On wednesday our stuff arrived minus boat and car which are still stuck in customs. I was right - the flat is way too small. It was very chaotic when they tried to fit everything in and un-pack. We still have probably 50 boxes left to un-pack but we are getting there. I found one I had not un-packed since I left Sweden in 1999, so probably don't need the things in there. However it is nice to sleep in a bed and sit on a sofa and have a table to put things on. There is no room for a dining table so happy we did not ship that. We will have all our dinner parties on the balcony.
In the middle of un-packing and cooking of dinner the firealarm went off. I am sure it was not me, as I had to disable the smoke alarms early on in order to be able to cook dinner each evening ;-). We waited for a while and looked out from the balcony, but could not see any smoke, but as it did not stop we went out in the lobby where we met our neighbours. The guys at the fron of the building could not see anything either and just when we decided to go back in, the speaker system told us to evacuate. We thought of taking the lift, but in the end decided to be good and walk down the 19 floors.
around floor 13 we could no longer hear the alarm, so got out to the lobby to take the lift back up. The lift was full of firemen who asked if we had a swipe-card for the 20th floor. We offered to take them to 19 and they could walk one. Scary, what if there really is a fire on a specific floor and the firement can't get access?
In the middle of un-packing and cooking of dinner the firealarm went off. I am sure it was not me, as I had to disable the smoke alarms early on in order to be able to cook dinner each evening ;-). We waited for a while and looked out from the balcony, but could not see any smoke, but as it did not stop we went out in the lobby where we met our neighbours. The guys at the fron of the building could not see anything either and just when we decided to go back in, the speaker system told us to evacuate. We thought of taking the lift, but in the end decided to be good and walk down the 19 floors.
around floor 13 we could no longer hear the alarm, so got out to the lobby to take the lift back up. The lift was full of firemen who asked if we had a swipe-card for the 20th floor. We offered to take them to 19 and they could walk one. Scary, what if there really is a fire on a specific floor and the firement can't get access?
Saturday, August 23, 2008
I hate shopping!
I really do hate shopping. They never have anything I want, or if they do - they don't have my size.
Bored with the contents of Sydney City we ventured out on the train and the bus (no car yet) to the big outlet stores. I was after some work trousers, just plain cotton chinos. Normal trousers nothing strange or odd. In the Ralph Lauren store they had Ladies ones which had low waist and flared legs, and Men's ones which were normal and straight but not my size. I have figured out I can by kiddie ones size 16-18 years, but they did not have those either.
So, off to the Tommy store. Same thing there. Girlie ones were weird. Gave up on trousers, off to get some boat shoes. They had them in several shops but only men's sizes. Are there no women sailors out there? Were do you buy your shoes?
Finally I found a shirt, which Martin bought for me (together with his trousers which were very nice). The shirt was typical me though, stripes in three colours. Mainly blue, but one red sleeve and one green sleeve.
Just got the keys to the garage I rented for Little car and Little boat ;-)
Bored with the contents of Sydney City we ventured out on the train and the bus (no car yet) to the big outlet stores. I was after some work trousers, just plain cotton chinos. Normal trousers nothing strange or odd. In the Ralph Lauren store they had Ladies ones which had low waist and flared legs, and Men's ones which were normal and straight but not my size. I have figured out I can by kiddie ones size 16-18 years, but they did not have those either.
So, off to the Tommy store. Same thing there. Girlie ones were weird. Gave up on trousers, off to get some boat shoes. They had them in several shops but only men's sizes. Are there no women sailors out there? Were do you buy your shoes?
Finally I found a shirt, which Martin bought for me (together with his trousers which were very nice). The shirt was typical me though, stripes in three colours. Mainly blue, but one red sleeve and one green sleeve.
Just got the keys to the garage I rented for Little car and Little boat ;-)
Friday, August 22, 2008
Belongings on their way
My stuff is arriving!
The only thing so far is that Quarantine complained about the wheels on Martins boat-trolley. They were apparently dirty and we were charged 350 AUD for cleaning them. That is about 175 pounds or 1800 Swedish kronor. You might ask, buy bother paying that much for cleaning - the only other option was to have them disposed of. That cost 275 dollars as they still have to clean them.
Anyhow, if everything goes to plan they will be moving in everything except the boat and the car in the flat on Wednesday. I have no idea how everything will fit, but will be working from home and direct the removal lads - and if some things don't fit, I now have a parking space for little car, with some additional storage space. I will sign the contract tomorrow and it feels good to have somewhere to store the surplus items and that Little car has a dry and safe place to live. I am not sure when he will arrive as he has not cleared custome yet.
I think I will have to do some more clearing out anyway and sell some more things on Ebay (Tradera). The thing is, the flat is 88 square meters which is really not small for 2 people.
Will let you know how it goes and how much does not fit ;-). I know some of you are reading my ramblings (as I have a counter), but not who - feel free to leave comments - so it is not just a one-way communication. I think you can choose if your comments are private or public ;-)
The only thing so far is that Quarantine complained about the wheels on Martins boat-trolley. They were apparently dirty and we were charged 350 AUD for cleaning them. That is about 175 pounds or 1800 Swedish kronor. You might ask, buy bother paying that much for cleaning - the only other option was to have them disposed of. That cost 275 dollars as they still have to clean them.
Anyhow, if everything goes to plan they will be moving in everything except the boat and the car in the flat on Wednesday. I have no idea how everything will fit, but will be working from home and direct the removal lads - and if some things don't fit, I now have a parking space for little car, with some additional storage space. I will sign the contract tomorrow and it feels good to have somewhere to store the surplus items and that Little car has a dry and safe place to live. I am not sure when he will arrive as he has not cleared custome yet.
I think I will have to do some more clearing out anyway and sell some more things on Ebay (Tradera). The thing is, the flat is 88 square meters which is really not small for 2 people.
Will let you know how it goes and how much does not fit ;-). I know some of you are reading my ramblings (as I have a counter), but not who - feel free to leave comments - so it is not just a one-way communication. I think you can choose if your comments are private or public ;-)
When in doubt - Use Excel
Have spent the morning analyzing the effects of the sales team giving away things on my project for free - again! At lunch time we agreed it was just a small disaster for my department, but not for the company as a whole, so they got OK. I however had to analyze the changes to explain the difference between my expected baseline and the newly proposed one. After several hours of trying to understand the extent and reasons for the changes and get the figures to tie up, I made a brand new Excel spreadsheet to analyze how things were linked. It did not tie up (I was not as stupid as I thought) so asked a work mate to help finding the variance. It turned out there was a mistake in a previous spreadsheet that had not been spotted. This lowered my margin even more. At least now, all figures tie up - and I can spend the weekend working on explanations.
But not tonight - need a few hours off. Martin is buying and cooking something exciting for dinner.
But not tonight - need a few hours off. Martin is buying and cooking something exciting for dinner.
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