I probably should take next week off work just to be sure.

I’ve got the G700 which only has 3 buttons on the side (but is otherwise much the same) and it’s pretty good, but I think I would struggle with more buttons. I have a game pad I can use for the other hand which works well in combination with the mouse for PC games, but I usually have to write myself out customised instructions for each game so I can figure out what I’m doing.

I think I’ve caught one of the viruses going around, I’m starting to get a sore throat. Covid test was negative at least, so I can still count myself a member of the small “never had Covid” group. But if I’m part of the “feels like swallowing razor blades” group that someone went home from work with yesterday that will be little comfort.

Ring road is good because it changes names from Western Ring Rd to Metropolitan Ring Rd so you have to know which bit you are talking about. Although there is also a Geelong Ring Rd which can lead to confusion too. Personally I tend to think of it as %Ring Rd, because % is the wildcard function on the work computer system so I always use that to prevent problems with a caller misidentifying which bit they are on.

I did it myself. Fortunately in my car it is a bit awkward to reach the globes but not too hard.

Step 1 of sorting out my camping supplies to sell did not go well. Pulled out the self-inflating mattress thinking it just needed a wipe down to remove dust and discovered it has a puncture. It’s a big 4WD matress so wrestling it back down into a more compact roll again and hog-tying it to keep it to a resonable size pending disposal was quite a workout.

The rest of the stuff is in a shed outside and it is very hard to find motivation to deal with it when it is so cold out there. If anyone is in the market for a big canvas tent and assorted heavy weight camping supplies let me know - I would happily give them away rather than having to sort out for a Marketplace listing! Same probably goes for outdoor cupboards and the bunch of old tools (which for some reason includes a rediculous amount of hand saws). I have lost all enthusiasm…

I’m going to try to push myself to do a couple of hours a day, I really need to get this stuff sorted so I can move. At least for the bit in the shed I can turn a heater on to stand in front of I suppose. Hopefully if I list as a couple of bundles for a low price I’ll be able to get rid of them quickly. Why did I ever think having extra space to “put things” was a good idea?

That sounds pretty reasonable. I paid just over $42 to buy 2 headlight globes at Supercheap (and that was only special) recently.

Could I please pre-order a mug of hot chocolate to be ready when I get back from my walk in about half an hour?

Temperatures outside have just risen to be slightly warmer than inside my fridge. I will definitely be rugging up for the morning dog walk.

You know how some days you seem to have really great focus and get all your work done so well you surprise yourself? This is not one of those days. At least there’s only about an hour left, then I’m free to go home and hope my lack of focus does not extend to forgetting to put the bins out tonight.

I managed to mostly miss the sharehouse situations, other than a year in student residence. The idea of a living in a standard sharehouse fills me with horror. I’m moving in with Mum which will make it a bit different, especially as she is starting to need help so I will over time end up taking over all the work of cooking etc. I’ve spent many years perfecting my techniques for cooking for one, now I have to cook for two, plus take into account someone else’s preferences (and dental challenges). A sharp learning curve awaits - along with a major re-evaluation of my kitchen container collection! Hopefully she retains ability to do some cooking for as long as possible though - even if I have to partially pre-pepare meals in advance the idea of being able to go home after work to dinner underway at least occassionally definitely appeals.

Whilst I’m positive about my plans for the future in general I’m a bit apprehensive about moving house too. It’s all the little changes, stuff like where the teaspoons are is pretty much muscle memory now, I’ve been in the same place for 18 years now so the little routines are quite ingrained. Plus I have to get used to sharing space again and all the compromises that entails. All while reassuring a cat and dog who will also be stressed by the transition.

At least by the time everything is sorted out to actually make a move it should be Spring, so I won’t have to contend with either freezing cold or boiling hot temperatures.

Considering my usual standard of care the shock from that sort of treatment might be too much for it. Maybe just a wash. Or more realistically maybe I’ll get around to brushing the cobwebs off the side mirror 🤣

I just realised I have had my car 18 years. Am I supposed to throw it a big party or something?

Australia’s goal is that everyone can own a house which constantly increases in value. There are no practical plans talked about because it is not actually possible, the goal of constantly rising value conflicts with the goal of being available to everyone. Which is why talk about it around and around in circles.

Big Talk with Mum went well. She was worried about some of the same things I was and was relieved I’ve found an option that will work better. Now I just need to make sure there are no major objections from my sister (which I am not anticipating) and we can start actually putting future plans in to place.

It will be a relief getting this all sorted. Having older parents is a double worry, both the direct worry about health problems etc. and also the worry that you don’t have the power/authority to actually do anything to help prevent problems, but will be suddenly put into the position of trying to sort everything out in the middle of a crisis if something goes wrong.

Look at Macquarie. They have 4 point something interest on all accounts (including transaction account) with no strings. You can have as many accounts as you like and can do everything with all the accounts - the only difference between transaction and savings account is whether it has a debit card, there is no requirement to move money to a transaction account so you can spend it like some banks have. It is an online only bank so you can’t deposit cash, if you need to do that you have to put it into another bank and transfer.

I’ll have the porridge too please, but with fruit and yoghurt instead of butter.

cold 🥶

0.8 outside. 11.4 inside so far, the heater will need to work hard this morning.

You could try my emergency measuring method - find a sheet of A4 paper, measure how many lengths of paper the cupboard is, then Google the size of the paper and multiply it by the number of lenghts. You can fold the sheet into 1/4s or 1/8ths etc. to get a more accurate measurement.