Just so you know why we'll be conspicuously silent for the next few weeks, today's our official last day at the guesthouse. Tomorrow morning, we'll be up real early to make the (final) 1-hr commute to Werribee to set up our new home!
A new home
Thanks be to God, we finally have a place to stay for the next 12 months. Our new add is Unit 1/2 Pitanga Gardens, Werribee, VIC 3030. It's near the W town centre, train station and most amenities, the neighbourhood is spanking new, and the house itself is newly constructed and has all the latest mod cons (split aircond with heating).
We collected the keys yest and did an inspection as per the Condition Report given by the agent. Everything is in order, save that the LL requires us to connect the phone line and put in 3 wall plugs. We will pay for these first and he will deduct the cost off our next rental bill.
There's an ample carport which we can use to store our 68 boxes, which will be shipped out next week. There's an enclosed backyard which is larger than we initially thought, so Scottie should be quite comfortable outside, as the LL does not allow pets into the house. We might have to put up some kind of shelter in summer tho', as the days are looking to be really dry and hot. And we're to water the garden and make sure the newly planted turf doesn't wither away either....Stage 1 water restrictions notwithstanding!
Utilities come under our care, and these were connected yest. What's left is the phone line and Internet access. We are exploring bundled plans offered by various service providers (e.g. a full service of fixed phone line + internet access makes for a more competitive price than standalone service).
Connectivity issues
Unfortunately, the western suburbs are lagging behind in connectivity, and tho' the Telstra Cable Network website tells us that W has access to cable broadband and Next G, this does not extend to where we are going to stay, i.e. no broadband!
After 1 month at the guesthouse (where broadband is no issue as we tap on to Latrobe Uni's network) and our blissfully fast MaxOnline experience back home, it's a shock to discover that we can at best get ADSL access in W, and even that is no guarantee, cos it depends on our proximity to a phone exchange. So - double horror! - we may find ourselves relegated to the dark ages of dial-up access until the higher powers do something abt the connectivity situation in W.
I can just hear my friend in Newport clucking and going, "Did I not tell you, don't stay in W??"
Anyway, we've put in an application with AAPT (excellent phone customer service!) and they're checking our ADSL eligibility. We don't qualify with Optus or Telstra/Big Pond...except for dial-up access. If AAPT gives us the go-ahead, the connection will still take 10-14 working days to set up, and that's being optimistic. In the interim, we'll probably have to make regular trips to the library in town to use their PCs to check emails and stay connected.
Furnishing the New Home
What's great about Oz is the variety of options you get. Back home, we would have just gone to Park Mall or Courts or Harvey Norman to get an idea of how much a new sofa set or electrical appliance cost.
Here, if you're on a budget, you can consider garage sales (we check the Internet and classifieds in the newspapers), auctions (where you can get stuff off liquidators really cheap as they sell in lots, but there's a 12.5% premium to watch out for), discount warehouses (we discovered a lot of these located off the highway while driving around - Bunnings Warehouse, Thriftway Furniture, The Good Guys), shops that sell reconditioned used whitegoods (fridges, washers, dryers) and factory rejects (The Reject Shop).
Some shops also offer to price match, meaning that if you discover a competitor's product sells for less, the first shop will reduce its price to match the competitor's. And at places like The Good Guys, you pay less if you pay cash.
On our 1st expedition, we got:
- a sofa that converts to a sofa bed,
- a 5 pc dining set,
- a bed frame and QB mattress
from a discount warehouse, all new for just under $1300 - delivery included!
Unbeatable prices, great customer service from the boss, great product quality - you can't ask for more. Yest we drove past a shop that sells used whitegoods and spied a reconditioned 210 litre Samsung fridge going for $290. That's at least half the going rate for a brand new equivalent at The Good Guys!
Once the fridge and washer are in place, we can settle back and wait for the shipment to arrive. In the meantime, we're looking fwd to using the built-in oven in our new home!
Pregnancy Progress
I am 29 weeks this week. Just did a 2-hour blood sugar test this week at Latrobe Uni Medical Centre to check for gestational diabetes. The results will be sent directly to the gynae, whom I'm seeing again next Tue night. Thankfully, Latrobe does bulk billing....so Medicare picks up the bill!
Bb looks to be as active as Beth. She kicks really vigorously every 3 hrs or so, and has ways of making it known if she doesn't like a particular position. If I lie on my side, she protests. Early this morning, I found a strange hard knot right in the middle of my bump...Cheng Ann reckoned bb was putting her fist out...not sure what she was trying to say tho'!
It's just lovely that this time, Beth gets to participate as well. She gets all excited when she lays a hand on my bump and bb responds with flips, rolls and flutters. Beth will giggle, "That is mei mei. She's saying, who's there? Is it jie jie?" And she will talk about all the fun things they'll do together. Already, she has marked out the room in our new place where she and bb will call their own. "Mei mei's cot goes here, and my bed goes there," she instructed yest as we toured the rooms. It's great that she's so positive about the new arrival!
Jobs and Stuff
Do continue to keep us in prayer as this has been an area of challenge. We are doing all we can and have no doubt that God is more than able to meet our needs, but our human nature also demands to know what will happen and when, and if nothing happens, why. As if it were all about us! (an idea Rick Warren dispels in his intro to The Purpose Driven Life). Experience on the road of faith tells us that everything happens in God's perfect timing. The difficulty is in hanging on to that knowledge and not getting distracted or overwhelmed when well-wishers ask, "So, have you found a job yet?"
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