But here I am. Typing.

It’s pissing down rain today. I could probably swim home. Home to our new flat in Artarmon. Yes, that’s right. We finally moved out. I’m living with Marika and Chandler (no relation to LeBlanc). It took 5 weekends stretched out over about 2 and 1/2 months but we finally succeeded with an application. We spent most of the past weekend moving in our furniture and permanently damaging my back in the process.

Another application that succeeded was Marika’s visa. We finally submitted it just before the ANZAC weekend. About one week after the holiday and $2700 later I noticed a rather battered and discreet envelope beside the front door. This was the letter that the immigration department had sent us to notify Marika that she’d received her residency. Now she can work unhindered and travel in and out of the country as she pleases.

Now that it’s sorted we’re planning a return trip to Eesti later this year. Details still to come.

Unfortunately only 2 of our 3 recent applications have been successful. I bombed out in the last stage of my Air Traffic Control recruitment process. I realised at the time that I’d made a few silly blunders on the day and probably did a lot better back in stage 1. I didn’t feel out of my depth but rather a little off my game. Either way, I didn’t perform well enough and received an email about 2 weeks later letting me know as such. Disappointing and frustrating, but there’s not much that can be done about that.

My current employment is going along reasonably well. I now have an offsider and we have a third engineer working in Queensland. There’s beginning to be enough work involved for it to grow into its own division but it’s not quite the time.

I actually spent a month as the helpdesk team leader. An interesting experience, although my role was mainly as a caretaker rather than innovator. All disasters were handled pretty well and I heard some rumours that everyone was pleased with my work. That’s good enough for me. Nothing fell apart, so I must have done ok. I’m back on the road again now though and definitely enjoy that flexibility.

Poker is still alright. I’m playing more for entertainment these days and am gradually building up my bankroll. I’m seriously considering cashing in 80% of it as there’s beginning to be a lot of talk about the Australian government clamping down on online gambling sites, a la what happened in the USA last month. The whole situation is ridiculous but I won’t go into it here. If they’re going to enforce restrictions here then I’d best get the money out quickly.

Dad broke his ankle a few weeks ago. He’s been wheelchair-bound and/or bed-ridden ever since. Hopefully he’ll be discharged (for the second time) at the end of this week. He slipped in the mud one morning and broke it in two places. He had a plate inserted and later removed after it became infected. We had ramps installed at the house and he’s relocated his surgery by amalgamating it with another practice. It’s forced my parents to consider selling up their real estate and expediting their retirement. I suppose sometimes people need a catalyst.

My new car is nice. Nice and small. With 2 seats. It’s very useful when there are 3 of us sharing a flat. That’s all I can think of for now.