2003.04.13 Week in Review
By Oli
At 12:45 AM · Sunday, 13 April · 2003
To Diary
It’s been one of those weeks. I got done over (very politely though) by the Immigration Department when getting my new visa. I came down with some kinda crazy ‘flu at the start of the week, and am still feeling it a week later. And then I went and crashed Miwa’s car on Saturday. It was a typical (stupid) nose-to-tail collision. No one was hurt, thank God (not in the least because this would lead to my license being cancelled). However lacking first party insurance it does mean my wallet is going to be in intensive care. I was just beginning to feel I’d got out of the hole, after being both broke and in debt for much of the last 9 months. Here we go again. Crap. As an aside does ABS really stand for ‘Anti-Brake Skidding’? It sure seemed to.
On a brighter note I must now list gardening among my hobbies (how ‘old geezer’ is that?!). We’ve got sage, parsley, rosemary and thyme from last year. This year I’ve bought mini-tomatoes, lettuces and chilli as ‘ready to plant’ seedlings. I’ve planted coriander/cilantro, basil (normal and Thai), chives, rocket and more parsley. I even made a stand to give me double level planter storage in the sunny corner of the apartment. From now cooking at home is gonna get even better! Woop.
Work is also looking up. I’ve now got five different English classes going, with another to start (the mythical home juku Miwa and I have been talking about for the last 6 months). I’ve also had my first freelance web ‘design’ contract, with the potential for more. All of this should give me an equivalent salary to Miwa - not quite as good as JET, but I’m doing a lot more of what I like (and still not working too hard). The only downside is some serious commuting - three hour drives up to five days a week on my busy week (one a fortnight). Still, two jobs are until September/October so I can turn those nights into teaching at home later this year. I’m very happy to be working from home some of the time - it’s a great feeling (although possibly too relaxing). The potential of more web design is also fantastic.
In the next week or so Miwa’s parents are moving out of their house, so they can demolish it and build a new one. They’re moving in with Miwa’s Grandad (the youngest 92 year old ever) for the duration. I’m helping where I can, and although I’ve complained a lot about the ole’ place (mainly in winter - baka samukatta na), I’ll be sorry to see it go. At least until I see the new place! ;-) I was really surprised to hear that second-hand (recycle) stores don’t want old doors, because there are too many different sizes. There’s no DIY culture over here like New Zealand has. No panel beaters either - even a minor ding means a replacement panel (ouch).
