|
| Sunday, July 29, 2007 |
| Marat/Sade |
One of Ata's Actoring Associates is in a local production of Marat/Sade.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marat/Sade
When the play was in rehearsal, he asked Ata if she would like to be in it. Ata said no. On the grounds that she'd had her fill of playing asylum patients.
Now the play is in performance, and Ata quietly ignored the email that came around with performance details, on the grounds that she had had friends perform Marat/Sade in the past, and study it as a text at school, so she had a rough idea of the content. Do you ever see something advertised, and think - "Now, that just doesn't appeal to me." Given that the Marquis de Sade is, as the story goes, the man who inspired the term 'sadism', Ata decided long ago that Marat/Sade was one play she just might miss.
On seeing this particular actoring friend yesterday, Ata was offered a comp ticket to see Marat/Sade. This is something of a compliment - comp. tickets are usually handed out very sparingly, if at all. Actors may get one or two to give away, if they are lucky. Problem is, Ata still doesn't want to see Marat/Sade. She politely thanked her Associate, and turned him down.
Now, this morning, Ata got an email from this particular Associate - explaining that he really really wants her to see this play. That it's a quality play. That the actors are very good. Ata does not dispute this, but here's the basic issue - Ata does not want to see Marat/Sade. She strongly suspects she will walk away depressed and carrying images in her head she just doesn't want to carry. It took a long time for the horror that was A Clockwork Orange to fade in the back of Ata's skull - she doesn't need live action violence to replace it. But now, of course, it's an issue. Ata has been ungracious enough to turn down a comp ticket, and now - if she wants to continue not seeing Marat/Sade - she must be even more firmly rude and insist that she just doesn't want to see it. Once someone has said, "I really want you to see this, I think it's valuable and important and you should see it", it sounds incredibly childish to continuing refusing. So - do I go with feeling childish and petty, or spineless and cowardly? |
posted by Ata @ 10:15 am  |
|
|
|
| Thursday, July 26, 2007 |
| Roswell |
Roswell is very unhappy today. She is unhappy because, nearly two weeks ago, she went to the vet - and now she has a sock on her neck.
Allow me to fill in between those two things. When she went to the vet, she had a blood test to check on the rabies vaccine she had a month previously. The results of the test - due next Monday - will confirm that she is allowed to enter the UK without serving quarantine. So it was not just for fun, it was a genuinely reasonable thing to do. Regardless of what she (and Bosco) had to say about it at the time. To take the blood, the vet shaved a patch on her neck. Again, not for fun - genuinely reasonable thing to do. Despite the grumbling and complaining, she survived and was back to her cheerful self a day later.
The fur was growing back in on the shaved patch. Yesterday morning, however, Roswell was stalking the length of the bed to demand attention from Ata when Ata - from her vantage point of lying down whilst Roswell was standing up - noticed a bald spot on the shaven patch. Closer inspection showed a little bit of scabbing just above the bald patch. Ata surmised that the growing-in fur was itchy, and Roswell had scratched with her back feet, nicking the skin (hence the scab) and then attempted to lick the sore. Problem being, the scab is a little too far up under her chin for her to reach with her tongue, so instead, she has licked as close as she can get - and without the protection of an inch of fur, she has licked the skin bare and bald.
"We'd better do something about that," Ata told Roswell, "Or you'll have to go back to the vet."
When Ata got home from work, the bare-and-bald patch was red-and-weepy. This is where we get to the sock part. To prevent Roswell from licking the patch, Ata had to put something around her neck. Something that would not be easily slipped off, something that would curve a little so it couldn't be pushed aside... in Ata's drawer was a somewhat stretched sock that had lost it's mate. Ata cut the toe out and slid it over Roswell's head. Roswell didn't approve of this manouvre, but Ata is very persistent and not intimidated by bad language from Roswell. Then she cut the side of the sock part-way up to make a bib.
Roswell is not very happy today. But the red-and-weepy patch is less red and less weepy. Ata continues to dress it with Emu Oil (Ata applies Emu Oil to all blisters and grazes that aren't healing - it moisturises and helps with the itch and will not poison cats).
And besides - Roswell looks funny wearing a sock on her neck. |
| posted by Ata @ 8:45 am |
|
|
|
| Friday, July 20, 2007 |
| Confession |
Ata hates getting quotes. Hates it, hates it, hates it.
She doesn't mind shopping around a little. She doesn't like making phone calls, but even that's not too bad. What she really hates is having to get people to come out & quote on a job.
It takes so long. It has to be booked in ahead by at least a day or two, or possibly a week or two. Then one has to explain the job, wait for the tradies to do the measuring and muttering and then wait for them to get back to one with the quote. That alone can take a couple more days. And of course, one can't get just a single quote - one must get two or three. Or, if one is Mr Ata, ten. This creates friction in the Atahome. Ata has two quotes for new gates - one $1300, the other $1350. Ata wants to book the job in. Mr Ata wants her to get more quotes. Ata went to Stratco and got a quote for the materials needed to do the job - about $900, fully assembled (of course, if we actually attempted the installation ourselves, it would no doubt cost more - bolts and nuts and the occasional tool would need purchasing, plus it would likely take four days to do the work).
Ata says, materials would be $900, and we have two near-identical quotes for supply & installation. Can I book it in?
Mr Ata says, get three more quotes.
Ata says, no.
Mr Ata says, fine then, I can't make you.
And Ata says, alright then, I'm booking it.
So the job is booked for next week.
Sigh. Someone is coming next Friday to quote on a shower screen. Ata tried to get a rough price over the phone but couldn't make head or tail of what the girl was asking her. "A door and a full panel and a half return? What? There's only two sides that need a shower screen! How do we need a door and a full panel and a half return? What even IS a half return?".
Ata HATES getting quotes. |
| posted by Ata @ 1:45 pm |
|
|
|
|
| Remembrance |
A friend is getting married.
This makes me both happy and sad. I remember going to her first wedding, as a 13 yr old. I remember being annoyed when she got engaged the first time, because she was marrying my father's best friend. He was like an uncle to me - better than any of my "real" uncles, because he was actually living close by. He and Dad took us fishing, we made radio-controlled gliders and flew them off the sand dunes, he was the one to blame for introducing me to computer games. He promised to teach me to write DOS scripts but never did. He would be our sitter on the rare occasions Mum & Dad went out without us. When we lived at Elcho, he was right next door. He came over for dinner every Wednesday. He had a springer spaniel called Grotty. He and Dad put down both Grotty and our dog, Scotty (not deliberate - he came with that name) when they got heartworm. He had a big saltwater fishtank, bigger than ours. He gave me a book of Henry Lawson poems for my birthday one year that got lost in the move South. My Dad flew in the search party when he (and she, and another couple) failed to return from a boat outing, and we all went to the wharf together to pick them up when they happened to be found by a passing barge after two days. When they got engaged, I was cross because I knew we wouldn't see as much of him any more. I guess, because I was a child, it didn't occur to me that she would become a friend too. When I got engaged, they came to our engagement party because my parents couldn't.
When he was dying of skin cancer, I didn't go to see him as often as I should have, and I felt bad for that. After his death, she moved back North, to Darwin.
And now she's getting married again - of all things, to a guy she met on the internet! So. I'm happy for her, because she was lonely. But sad, because I still remember that first wedding, and walking up the red dirt road to the church with him. |
| posted by Ata @ 8:38 am |
|
|
|
| Thursday, July 19, 2007 |
| Minor Stressors |
Mr Ata told his employer about the Move. They have requested that he keep it quiet for a couple of weeks, but were otherwise gracious. Errr... not delighted, as they were planning to take all their IT support in-house next year, with Mr Ata being the backbone for Unix support, but nevermind.
Ata has been researching private healthcare in the UK. She has discovered that NO-ONE is willing to cover any treatment for pre-existing or chronic conditions. D'oh. And I thought I'd left public hospitals behind for good. Oh well - it's not impossible that I won't need to be hospitalised... I've had five good years in a row before. And I've survived public healthcare before, so it probably wouldn't kill me... right? Right?
The bathroom is nearly finished. The floor tiles are down and the wall tiles are all white... it looks great. Now I just need a vanity and a shower screen, and it'll be Perfect. Oh, okay - it needs a new curtain, too. But at least we get our shower back tomorrow.
Ata has been terribly lazy, and not done nearly as much packing up as she intended to. In her defence, it's very cold. Yesterday she spent the day hiding from the tile paint fumes - alternating between pottering around outside (when it was sunny), and cowering under a blanket in the TV room (when it was not sunny). We have had the heater off to prevent spreading the smell around the house, so it is Very Very Cold indoors. Of course, Ata's Very Very Cold is anything less than 10 degrees Celcius, but that's not the point. It's still cold. Very Very Cold. Roswell agrees, but she - being a cat - gets to stay in bed whenever she feels like it. Lucky beast.
Someone is supposed to be coming around to give a quote on putting new gates in, but they have not called me yet to say when. I think I will ask them to quote on the back door also (new sliding door required, the current one would allow entry fairly easily if someone pushed it rather than slid it open) and fixing one of the built-in robes (the lip of wood that is supposed to be a door handle has broken off. Stupid ancient house.
Someone else is supposed to be contacting us to arrange an appointment to discuss what we should do with the house. We've realised that rent would probably cover the payments on an interest only loan, and that if we move overseas, our Australian house will be considered our primary place of residence for capital gains tax purposes. This means that keeping it could be Profitable. So we might not sell. At least, we might hold it for a few years and then sell. Or tear it down and put up two toy-town houses like the ones that are going up across the road.
Mr Ata's mother has retired from her job. So I suspect we will hear from her on a regular basis. Is it standard practice for women to avoid their mothers-in-law by checking caller ID before answering the phone, even if they have quite nice mothers-in-law that just call a bit too often? Surely it's not just me?
We want to buy a laptop to take OS. Why are there so many things to consider when buying a computer? Stupid technology. Sigh.
I think I will go drink coffee. At least that will make my hands warm. |
| posted by Ata @ 9:37 am |
|
|
|
| Wednesday, July 18, 2007 |
| The Bathroom Guy is Here |
The bathroom guy is here! The bathroom is getting Done! I am so pleased.
He arrived yesterday - we were told he'd be here at 8:30, and he was here at 8:25. I am always caught off-guard when tradies are on time. He stripped out the shower screen & removed the towel rail. He replaced tiles that came off when the basin was removed and also replaced loose tiles around the bath & shower cubicle. He filled cracks and chips and peeled out silicone and regrouted and masked off the walls and departed at 4:30. Today he was here at 8am, and is about to put the first layer of tile paint on. Ata puts her head into the bathroom on a regular basis to see what is happening. After spending all yesterday locked in the laundry, Roswell has taken the sensible option of simply not getting up this morning - she is still curled up on the bed. Yesterday she went into hiding when the bathroom guy arrived. Mr Ata spent some time looking for her. Eventually she was delivered to the kitchen by the bathroom guy - she'd put her head around the corner to see what he was doing, and found herself collected & carried by a stranger - behaviour she would usually not accept. She looked confused as he handed her over to Mr Ata. Then she spent a solid two hours attempting to dig through the cat flap on the laundry door. Bosco took the incarceration with much better grace.
I am supposed to be packing/disposing of non-essential belongings. Instead, I am watching SVU. Bad Ata. |
| posted by Ata @ 9:37 am |
|
|
|
| Tuesday, July 17, 2007 |
| Why I Like Holidays |
1. Because you can buy whatever crap you like, and claim it's a souvenier. Even if you can't remember how to spell souvenier. |
| posted by Ata @ 9:03 am |
|
|
|
| Friday, July 13, 2007 |
| Guess what! |
Oh, I haven't mentioned this yet, have I? While I was in Korea, we received the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme approval to work in the UK! This is a relief, because had that not come through, we would have had to try for a Work Permit. While not impossible, it would make life a little more difficult - the HSMP is much more flexible and allows Mr Ata to look for contract work.
It took us a little by surprise - applications are usually expected to take 1-3 months for processing, but we got the approval in 2.5 weeks. Now we just need to apply for entry clearance, and unless Mr Ata has a history I don't know about, that shouldn't be a problem. Mr Ata wants to tell his current employer that he will be leaving - his employment term doesn't end until the end of November, but as the general expectation is that he will stay on, he wants to give them plenty of time to decide on a replacement. Mr Ata has a great deal of knowledge specific to this company, so finding & training a replacement is not neccessarily straightforward. It is a little nerve-wracking, however, as he is not on a contract as such - so either party can terminate his employment with four weeks notice. While it is unlikely that him stating an intention not to work for them after November will result in dismissal with four weeks notice, it is possible. But Mr Ata is honest to a fault, and the HSMP application documents were returned to him via courier yesterday at his workplace... labelled "First Contact" and "Visa" in obvious lettering on the package. He said the receptionist looked at him funny. |
| posted by Ata @ 8:56 am |
|
|
|
| Thursday, July 12, 2007 |
| Things I Have Learned |
1. Wherever you go in the world, people will be selling food on sticks. People like food on sticks. Also, when travelling, people will tend to assume that food on sticks will automatically taste good. Sometimes, however, it will prove to be deep-fried fish paste.
2. In Australia, food dyed green will usually be peppermint flavoured. Sometimes it will be lime, but usually peppermint.
3. In Singapore, food dyed green will be pandan flavoured. This will come as a surprise if you are expecting peppermint.
4. In Korea, food dyed green will be green tea flavoured. This will come as a surprise if you are expecting pandan.
5. There really is no universal sign for, "It's not mine, I found it on the ground and just wanted to hand it in."
6. On the other hand, it is relatively easy to convey, "I want to try it on - where are the fitting rooms?"
7. You should always eat before you're so hungry you can't think. Otherwise you'll wind up eating either something you later regret because you didn't think hard enough about what it might be, or KFC. Which could be the same thing, depending on your point of view.
8. Singapore and Korea are similar in that most shops don't open until 11am. So you might as well sleep in.
9. Naturally, the one shop selling the exact perfect gift for your bestest friend ever will open at 7 and close at 4. Probably, you won't realise this until you go back at 8pm, when every other seller is in full swing.
10. And finally - cabbage is a much more edible vegetable than I had realised. However, on returning home, I am still glad to eat a meal that is not two-thirds cabbage. |
| posted by Ata @ 8:33 am |
|
|
|
| Tuesday, July 10, 2007 |
| Home again, home again |
I had intended to post while travelling, but as it turns out... I didn't. We were on the move basically from breakfast time until staggering back to our accomodations anywhere from 9pm to midnight (admittedly, breakfast was a little late on a few days!), so despite my best intentions, not only did I not post - I also failed to keep the video diary I'd been planning on. Oh well.
Singapore changes every time I see it. The Satay Club - which Ata's parents loved when they first visited as a childless couple, which Ata loved when she first visited as teenage Ata, and which held bad memories for Mr Ata after getting somewhat shafted by a stallholder when Ata and Mr Ata went there as newlyweds - is no more... querying a local produced directions, but arriving at the location we found a restaurant called "The Satay Club" rather than the collection of stalls that we recalled. We nibbled on a few satays, for old times sake, and then proceeded elsewhere. The whole Clarke Quay area (which, you must remember, Ata has not been to in six years) has become a swanky nightspot full of flash restaurants. And a Hooters bar. The sign outside reads "Delightfully Tacky - Yet Unrefined". All class.
A wedding reception (cocktails and nibbles to the sound of a band performing Oasis songs when we walked past) was in full swing inside a roped-off area, and shining steel and glass was all around. Sculptures and lights and dressed-up locals and bedazzled tourists (yeah... that was us).
Other things remained comfortably familiar - the subway system is still fantastically easy to use, clean and cheap and quick. Lots more English signs than previously, although most signs are also printed in Japanese, Malay, and Chinese.
Seoul was great to get around in too. Not quite so clean and simple as the Singapore MRT, but pretty damn good. Last time we used only the buses, as the subway system was still in it's infancy, but this time we went most places by train. More English spoken than when we were last there (16 years ago!), but still, most signage is in Korean. I regretted not taking the time to learn to read the Korean characters before going, as MLB#1 says that often things are just English words written in Korean characters, so being able to read the script means you can manage much more easily. He has not learned more than a few words of Korean, but having a Korean girlfriend does make life easier (Ata was particularly glad of her presence when an ATM machine swallowed her card... but that's a story for another time).
I arrived back in Adelaide this morning at 7:30 local time, having been left the guesthouse at 5:00am yesterday morning. Nine hours to kill at Changi airport - or was it ten? I can't remember. Then the midnight flight out of Singapore to Adelaide. Despite the late hour, and the fact that many passengers had been travelling for at least as long as Ata, everyone took the security measures well - most of those of us who got asked to stand aside for a light body-search after setting off the metal detectors even managed to look cheerful. I feel like I've shown my passport a million times, and declared every scrap of possibly declarable material I have on me, and now I'm about to rush out again for an appointment. Sleep when I'm dead, right?
Toodles for now! |
| posted by Ata @ 9:40 am |
|
|
|
|
|
