The countdown

Well, we are more than ready to leave this little apartment behind. The only thing I will miss is the airconditioning- and the proximity to Manuka shops and restaurants.

We are collecting the keys on Sunday and the removalist is coming Monday. Scott will be working, he is trying to organise a conference in Indonesia. At least, that's what he says, lately he just seems to be going to christmas parties during his lunch hour that take all afternoon. He came home very merry yesterday, having had a christmas lunch followed by about 20 minutes of work before "D.A.W.s" started. Canberra is the city of acronyms and this one, for the uninitiated, means drinks after work. It's a tough life.

The social life hasn't been bad lately, met quite a few new people. We're looking forward to hosting barbecues in our backyard again.

I've been working on my thesis, and going slightly batty. This week has been all about working out who the local gas, electricity, etc suppliers are and organising connections, as well as doing the change of address things that have to be done immediately. This actually means sitting on the floor beside the phone listening to classical music, while a voice interrupts intermittently to say "We apologise for the time it is taking to answer your call. If you would like to leave a message, and have one of our representatives call you back within 24 hours, please press 1 at the tone... or you can continue waiting". Eventually you give up, press 1 and leave your message. Then, 24 hours later, when they have failed to call you back, and you are beginning to worry that the gas won't be connected and you won't be able to do any cooking in your new house, you call them back and the whole process begins again. The thing that cracks me up is that the greeting message is something like "Welcome to Actew AGL, the service that can connect all your utilities with just one call!" Hmmmph. I only wanted them for their gas, anyway. The electricity, phone and internet services they provide are overpriced.

Apparently my cat has completely forgotten us and has now transferred her affections entirely to my mother. This is still not without the occasional hiccup, however. Apparently, the other night, mum was reading in bed with Pippa, the dog, curled up on her legs, when Coffee, the cat leapt up onto the bed, landing straight on the dog. After that, she continued her flight off the other side of the bed, while the dog nearly fell off the bed with surprise and shock, having been rudely awakened from her slumbers. Yep. It should be a fun christmas.