That is one of the many reasons I decided to leave that job. My last day is Wednesday, and BOY am I excited. This company really is crumbling, and even though I quit 7 weeks ago, after only a few other people quit, now I’m one of the only ones left after everyone else quit in the meantime. I wish I hadn’t agreed to stick around this long (the boss realised how badly she needed me and asked me to stay). Every day it gets harder and harder to get out of bed and face this place. Back on the day I quit, Boss Lady decided I was to blame for all her problems. I’d had a really terrible and stressful two weeks before that, having a lot of pressure put on me while the other web designer was away, so I just snapped when she began to tear into me. Normally at times like that I would retreat, but by then I was just fed up. I stuck up for myself, and showed a side of myself I haven’t let out in a long time. I don’t regret it, but I wouldn’t be hasty in doing it again.

So I have a holiday coming up in July. Much needed. But also needed is a source of income, so it’s straight to Centrelink for me. That’s okay.

So anyway, many things have happened these past months, the most obvious of which for those that see me would be my tragically rapid weight gain. Good god, I need to get this sorted. Office work is really taking its toll. Not to mention the weekly pizza they feed us here, and the many places to buy junk food on the way to the train station. This job is poison in my life. I thought it would be great. There aren’t any food places really close to here except for a liquor shop, I was going to walk to and from Central every day, which is a 25-30 minute walk each way. I was going to be active on the weekend. I was going to keep my life in order with a set routine that included Wii Fit and the Biggest Loser Wii game.

What happened to all that?

Let’s analyse.

• The liquor shop nearby has soft drinks, and it has chocolate bars. When I’m really hungry, they seem like a great idea.
• The weather got colder, it started to rain more, so I started catching trams and buses from Central. Especially since the MyMulti travel passes came in, I’ve been getting buses.
• I’ve been so tired constantly of late that the thought of playing a physically active video game is one of the least appealing things when I’m at home.
• I’m a comfort eater, and work in general (the volume of work combined with having to travel 5 hours a day) has been stressful. Stressful to the point where I have had a recurring apthous ulcer in my mouth since April. I have never had an apthous ulcer (aka canker sore) before.
• Since I get home so late, I either buy my dinner or just eat the most convenient thing at home, which is often something bad for me.

So, as you can see, I don’t have a lot going my way in terms of weight loss. So I hope to turn things around when my holiday starts, at least in terms of activity and physical exertion.

So, hopefully I will get the chance to update you on the goals I’ve achieved since my last post, but I can’t right now, so see you later.

Enjpoy ur stay ;D D

Well, I hope you enjoyed my little April Fools prank

Have a good Easter weekend!

Now, tonight I will be shaving my head for the World’s Greatest Shave. It would be awesome to get a few more donations than just me and my sister… If anyone is interested? The Leukaemia Foundation needs our support! Click here to donate

BTW in doing this I’ll be able to tick another item off my list: radically changing my hairstyle!

So be a sport and support, so I can be brave and shave!

I’ll be blogging about this a little later on. It deserves its own post.

Allyson’s friend Natasha (whose face you might have seen at Woolworths, as the face of Unit Pricing – or maybe you saw her as a cheerleader for the St George Dragons) was the first non-family guest to our new abode, and she complimented us. There’s not really a story in it though, unfortunately.

I took Mum and Dad to Murphy’s Bar and Grill in Figtree for dinner a couple of weeks ago. It has delicious food, but it’s EXPENSIVE. Like, cheapest meal being $23 expensive. Cheapest dessert was $9.50, cheapest starter was two slices of garlic bread for $3.50. Not worth it. Don’t bother going there. Go to Hog’s Breath Cafe instead. They’re like $8 less per meal and they have basically the same food. In other news…. I bought something today maybe I shouldn’t have. *cough*wacomcintiq*cough*

• Run home from the gym
• Go in the Contours 6 week challenge

Because I am forced to close my membership with Contours, I can’t do them anymore, which is sad – but it does open up two places for different goals, which is rather exciting! So, I’ve been thinking about it and decided to change them to these:

• Get a DSLR Camera
• Settle into a smooth weekly routine

The second one is so whitebread, isn’t it? But, I rather miss the days as a kid where I didn’t have to think too hard about what I was going to do at any given time, because it was normally already decided. Of course it will never be THAT simple again, but I want to run my life as efficiently as I can, so I don’t have to think hard about the things I know I have to do. I know that when I do think hard…. I tend to procrastinate. As much as I HATE procrastination, it’s my default state…. to do nothing. To have fun over taking care of necessary evils. It’s only rewarding in the short term and I really need to break the habit! I think that a good routine should allow me to do that.

As for the camera- well, I do not currently own a camera. I use my sister’s point-and-shoot if I have to have one, but I want my own… and I thought, I really want to take GOOD photos for once. I can take decent ones with a P&S, but I really would like to get to know a manual focus. I much prefer the depth effect of a more professional photo than the flat image you get with a P&S camera. Hence, I’ve decided to buy a beginner’s DSLR. For those that don’t know, it’s the kind of camera professionals use (though the one I get will be on the cheaper end – I can’t spend thousands thanks!!), with removable lenses and all kinds of manual settings. I don’t know much about them yet, but I figure I will learn as I go. I am definitely interested in learning. Photography is something that will partner very well with my CG graphics. I can even write it off as a business expense.

You know what that means? I can check several things off my list!

However, I have been forced to leave Contours gym, meaning there are a couple of goals I will need to change, as they are no longer viable. I’ll blog more about that a little later.

Sadly, I’m using mobile broadband to post this, as we are waiting for our phone and internet to be connected. It’s going to be hard. This stick is S L O W as all hell much of the time. Still, at least I had the foresight to buy the prepaid stick a few weeks ago.

Anyway, see you later. I’m off to organise my bedroom.

Well, I had but four remaining shifts to get this – yesterday I managed it. I don’t know how, but it probably had something to do with:

1. I was sent on my break early enough that I wasn’t yet tired and pissed off
2. For my last two and half hours I was cleaning, refilling bags and stocking the drinks fridges… i.e. not using a checkout.

Phew, I was beginning to think I would have to rewrite that goal.

Today I put in my resignation at Woolworths, thanks to working full time with QC Seminars (for now at least), and made pancakes to celebrate.

On Australia Day I had a picnic on the grass with Allyson.
When I made this list, I quite playing bejeweled right away. Now that it’s been almost a month since then, I think I can safely tick it off.

Mangerton is such an ugly word. With other suburbs in Wollongong having names such as Fairy Meadow and Figtree, Mangerton is a pretty unappealing name for a place to live. But, really it’s a lovely area.

Which is just as well, since we’re moving there on the 12th of February.

Yes, we were offered the Mangerton house. And the Figtree place, too. But, they wanted us in there too soon.  We were pleased as punch today, after two harrowing inspections that turned out to be a waste of time, to be called by the real estate agent and told our application was accepted.

We are going to have a dishwasher. Is that not incredible?

It is to me… I detest washing the dishes, at least during summer where I am drenched with sweat by the end.

On the date we sign the lease, I will be able to tick off #69 on my 101 things list.

Best of all, we’re going to have more space… and a dining room. And we get to take a month to pack up rather than a week.

See, we signed a 6 month lease, which runs out on that date. The owner, who had just bought the home, used her First Home Buyer’s Grant, which has a catch: you must live in the home for 6 months in the first year of ownership, or else you lose the grant. Hence why we’re getting kicked out.

We are going to miss that place.

But it’s not all bad news. This time, we are going to move away from Warilla, to somewhere closer to Wollongong, so that if either of us get a job in Sydney it will take significantly less time to commute.

Looks like 2010 is going to be a year full of change. Just like last year was. And the year before. And… the year before that. Yes.

Anyway, we’ve spent the past 5 days or so going crazy with looking at places and submitting applications. The earliest response we’re going to get is this afternoon. If it’s good news that would be awesome. For that place, in Figtree, right near Westfield, would be a really good place to live.

We can also expect a response on Wednesday for a place in Mangerton. It is an average location, but the house itself is FAB. I’m talking dishwasher, lots of space, split level and quiet as. If we were to be offered both, we’d take Mangerton, even though it’s 2 bedroom and the other one is 3 bedroom. However, should we be offered Figtree but not Mangerton, we’d still be very pleased.

Those are our two top ones. There is another terrific one in Unanderra, but there were too many people at the inspection – it wouldn’t be likely we’d be offered it.

The units we looked at were all very so-so. There was one in Wollongong that had absolutely amazing ocean views and was only $260/week… but the apartment was filthy and not very big, and the doors were all unpainted and ugly. Also there wasn’t any storage space.

We have a bit of time, but obviously we don’t want the 17th to creep up on us, as time likes to do when I’m in a hurry.