Getting Online Again

This is part one of the saga associated with getting online again. We deal with Telstra and Bigpond. I am not complaining about the level of service received. In fact it has been far better this time around than on previous moves where I have ended up abusing the operator because of delays in being hooked up to the telephone, or in one case having to write a long letter of complaint because of the way that I was treated because my name did not appear as the account holder. Thanks to the dumb privacy laws I continue to get treated like a second class citizen.

When we arrived at the house we checked to see if the phone line had been made operational. We have been able to dial out and receive calls. However, what we did not know was that our order could not be completed because of an error in the Telstra system. The error code indicated that the previous owners had not requested a disconnect for their phone line to take place as of the 10th September. Instead, what they had done was to make an order for the disconnect and the reconnect to occur on 8th October when they move into their new home. As a result of their error, Telstra could not proceed to connect us to Bigpond. We were not aware of this issue until we found our computer equipment, and David hooked up the modem, only to be greeted with nothing for an ADSL signal.

Today I made contact with Bigpond regarding the issue. I ended up with a young woman who was not in the slightest bit helpful. She was not able to find the order that had gone through the Internet. I asked to speak to her supervisor, and she wanted to know why, so I asked again. She asked me to hold, and I waited, and waited, and then the telephone dropped out. The stupid bitch must have hung up the phone on me. So, I rang in again, seeking the same information, and eventually, after at least two more calls I found out the reason as to why we did not have our Bigpond connection. I had to ring the Real Estate agent to get him to ask the previous owner to request the disconnect as a matter of urgency. This was completed within 15 to 20 minutes. When I got in touch with Telstra/Bigpond again I was able to sort out the activation. The woman was super friendly and helpful. In the end she contacted David and asked him to cancel the original order so that a fresh request could be made. Everything was then done on the spot.

Everyone was extremely helpful, but I must say that I do not appreciate an operator calling my husband my "partner". I find this to be somewhat insulting because "partner" has the connotation that we are living together and that we are not married (we have been married for 30 years). I did tell the operator that I do not appreciate the use of the word "partner". However, it is not his fault if Telstra is following the latest trend by getting their operators to use the word "partner". It is fair enough if I had not said I am "Mrs", but I introduced myself that way, so he should have used his brains and used the correct terminology.

So, now I am waiting until I can get back online. Part 2 of this story will be the completion of the latest of the sagas involving our move from Sydney to Canberra.

Welcome Neighbour

It is a truly wonderful experience when one arrives in a new place, and one of the neighbours comes along to say welcome. Matthew is only 27 years old, and whatever is in his past, there is just so much goodness, that I am certain he can make a real go of his life.

Matthew helped to carry the dog's kennel, and that has been the beginning of his helpfulness. He has been a really good Neighbour. He has made us feel welcome in the neighbourhood.

However, what is more outstanding is Matthew's thoughtfulness. He offered us the use of his lawnmower because he realized that since we were moving house that it was possible that ours was left behind to keep the lawns neat and trim. To my surprise, Matthew actually mowed the lawns for us. This is a truly wonderful gesture. In Matthew's words, it was his way of bringing around a fruit basket.

In all of the moves that we have undertaken since we have been married, this particular welcome has been the most touching and the most outstanding. To me, this is a young man who understands the truth of the Gospel message, even though he rejects religion at this point in time.

Ruby and Skittles, this is your new home

The trip from Castle Hill to Canberra was uneventful and the animals were well behaved. We reached our destination by early afternoon. It was time to introduce our mulies to their new home.

One of our neighbours helped David with the kennel, and so we were able to offload the kennel and move it around the back so that Ruby could be settled into her new home.

Skittles was still in her cage, and after fetching the key we were able to go inside. I placed Skittles in the bathroom (our ensuite is sufficient for the two of us), and I opened the door of the cage, but Skittles remained firmly entrenched inside the cage. When we left to go to the hotel for the night Skittles was still inside the cage. She had not budged. I left her with some of her favourite meat as well as her favourite dry food. I still had her special box for toilet needs, and she is such a good cat that she immediately began to use the tray that was provided.

When we arrived the following morning I went to check on Skittles. There she was, with her head right up against the wall in a spot that was between the bathroom cabinet and the door. She looked so cute, yet I could see that she was so frightened. By Friday morning Skittles had emerged from the bathroom. At first it was a few small steps, then she would run back into the room where she felt so much comfort. By Saturday, though, she was exploring several rooms, had taken herself downstairs and found herself a hiding place. Today, she took the first step towards her adventures in her new home, and she went outside for the first time. She explored a part of the yard, and as soon as I headed for the door, she was ready to shoot past me and to enter into her safe area.  She has continued her exploring of the house, but I must admit that I am not sure that I want her walking over my bed (and getting caught by David).

Ruby was a little bit unsettled, and she was more than a little bit unfriendly towards the removalists. However, we kept her on the chain whilst our boxes and goods were being delivered. She is now a lot more settled. Her appetite has returned and I do think she is miffed because I have not been giving her the dry food. The morning routine is also back and she knows that she must say "woof" in a certain way (it is doggie for please and thank you) or she cannot have her treats. Ruby is very protective of her new territory and she has not as yet accepted Matthew our new neighbour but given time she will settle down.

There is no swimming pool here for the mulies so they no longer have their large drinking bowl. Ruby has her bucket of water, and Skittles has her bowl of water. I am hoping that they will not miss their big water supply. At least I will be able to knit without my thread ending up getting wet!!

Moving Day - Continued

Tuesday was to be the big day for the uplift. I decided to play hooky for a while and join my friends at Castle Towers for the last time. When I got home after completing my tasks, I was surprised to discover that the removalists were later than expected. They arrived with a large truck, but before they had come to our place they had emptied the contents of the two containers and placed them in this van.

The team on the Tuesday was large, and the guys really got stuck into packing the remainder of what had to be packed. Even so, there were some items that had been missed. My two walking sticks that had been in the house were amongst the missed items. The team was unable to get the refrigerator through the door and so they decided to disassemble the doors. There were some other minor hiccups related to the removal activities but overall it was not too bad. I still think that our move with Independent Removals was the absolute worst that we had ever had to endure.

After the removalists had finished we went around picking up all the odd bits and pieces that we could find. These were mostly items that were going to be taken to the tip the next morning. At last we were able to leave the house and head back to the hotel. We were so very tired, sore and stiff.

The next morning I waited at the house for the arrival of the man to clean the curtains, and to speak to Alberto the cleaner. I gave a front door key to a friend so that he could let in the carpet cleaner the next day. Alberto was supposed to start early in the morning but he had some unexpected appointments. He came around midday, and then he stayed until after 7.00 that night. We had a call from Phillip because some leaking of water was discovered. We realized that this was the result of the water being sloshed about in the bathrooms upstairs. The water leakage dried out.  After David had been to the tip we had to load up the kennels and the animals into our respective cars for the trip to Canberra.

Ruby the dog went in David's car. She was hiding when he arrived from the tip, and I had get her lead attached to her collar. That was achieved, and it was time to get her into the car. Ruby sat down and refused to budge, but we finally managed to lift her into the car. I had already rounded up Skittles and placed her in the cat transport cage in preparation for the trip. I loaded her into my car, and finally we were ready to leave and head to Canberra.

Skittles began to make the loudest noise that comes out of her, which really showed her fear, and she continued until we hit the M7. She was very quiet for the remainder of the trip, and I was genuinely surprised to discover that she was in fact awake when we made a stop for a refill of petrol.

Woman has rare identical quadruplets (AP)

AP - A 35-year-old Canadian woman has given birth to rare identical quadruplets, officials at a Great Falls hospital said Thursday. Karen Jepp of Calgary, Alberta, delivered Autumn, Brooke, Calissa and Dahlia by Caesarian section Sunday afternoon at Benefis Healthcare, said Amy Astin, the hospital's director of community and government relations.

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