I'm glad it's nearly the weekend

Adrian and I have had quite an eventful week!

Monday: building reports, bad news and more bad news

On Monday we had the building report done for the second house we'd made an offer on, in Kelson. The first house we made an offer on was cancelled because we were unhappy with ITS builder's report. But we like this second one quite a bit more than the first, and it seemed like it would be more structurally sound (after all, what could be worse than the last one, right? It needed over $10k in maintenance done!). However, on Monday we found out, that house B was actually worse than house A. Bugger! It had had a lot of jobs done on the cheap, so it appeared, which needed modifying to bring them up to building code requirements, or otherwise just for common-sensible safety reasons. So... we were quite disappointed, again. Another lot of money spent on lawyer's fees and a building report. And thoughts of which piece of furniture would go where...

Also, our landlords rang and told us they had sold the house. Great! So not only had we to find a house we liked, could afford, and that would continue to stand upright, but now we had to do it within 6 weeks.

So that was Monday.

Tuesday: House C, Adrian's not a learner anymore

On Tuesday, Adrian had his restricted motorcycle licence practical test. And passed! Yay. He also saw a(nother) house in Kelson, house C, which was smaller, newer but still at the same price. So we figured, you know, that we'd have to compromise on size if we didn't want to go any higher in price but wanted somewhere more structurally sound. And the agent made us aware that it was a 'multiple-offer-situation' so we had to put in our very best offer. So... we made another offer! Before the other wone was even cancelled :S Our offer was 'second-best' and so it was rejected.

So that was Tuesday.

Wednesday: Nerves, nerves, nerves and bad, bad weather

On Wednesday, we let the vendor of house B know that we wanted to cancel the contract for that sale. She was disappointed, needless to say, and Adrian explained that we were too, but there was just too much modification needed for two people who really aren't DIY minded. I had my restricted motorcycle licence practical test. The weather was shocking... I've never ridden in weather like that, and I think no rider in their right mind would, if they had a choice, either. I had to bike to work since I was taking my test at 4pm. The first alarm bell was that my helmet didn't fit on my head when there was also a beanie on it[my head]. I muttered to myself "Of course it wouldn't!". It was raining, and I felt like it was the first time I'd biked to work again. I was nervous, and the road was slippery. It was cold, and my fingers were numb when I got to work. I left my helmet on while removing my bag from the pack rack because otherwise my head would have got soaked.

So, by lunchtime, although my nerves were increasing, the weather appeared to be getting better. Hmm. By 3.30pm, when I had to leave, it was windier, rainier, and colder than that morning and than I'd ever ridden in before. I was rather nervous. I didn't really want to go, to tell the truth. However, I donned my still-wet gear and high-vis vest and took off to the AA for my test. People looked at me with pity when I arrived and made my way to the 'Practical Driving Tests' waiting area, dripping with rain and not looking happy at all. I was very nervous now. I met my examiner - she seemed nice enough.

We went through all the rigmarole and then she told me to leave on her command through my earpiece. The bike wouldn't start. Great! Eventually while I was waiting for her command, it started so I sat with it in neutral, readied the bike's position for take-off and thought positive thoughts. A man walked past, studying me and the bike with great... intrigue. I wondered what the hell he was looking at. "Remember to put your stand up, mate!" he says. GOD! Here I was, telling myself that these positive thoughts were the only thing going to get me throught the test, and I was about to drive off with my bloody stand down. That man was a god-send. I was in the middle of profusely thanking him when I got Mrs. Examiner's command in my ear.

Test time. First u-turn: not very good at all, however no spilt Claire. Second u-turn [are you serious? She's making me do another one?]: a little better, but not good either. I'm thinking, man, I've failed already. POSITIVE! POSITIVE! No more u-turns! Make it better now! It went ok for a little while longer, despite the very low visibility and that fact that my fingers and thighs felt like ice. After another blunder, involving gravel, a sharp turn, potholes, puddles and trees, I thought well, if the u-turns didn't fail me, then that surely has. However, I was on the way back to the AA now, so I felt a little relieved that at least the hard bits of the test were over now.

I passed! I'm not sure how. The lady was very understanding (even though they drive cars for the tests, they are obviously moto-riders too) and said she thought I was probably a bit more 'doddery' than normal considering the weather. No s***! I was actually quite scared. I think she also realised that by choice, I would never ride in weather like that. So I got my restricted too! No more L plate on the bike.

Then I had an hour to relax, then 45 minutes with my personal trainer. By some twist of good fortune, she chose this night to unleash on me a new, 'relaxing' exercise set to try. Yes, I was very grateful!

So that was Wednesday.

Thursday: Sneezes, 69 Major Dr and Squash

On Thursday, I left work early because I felt quite cold-y - light-headed, really really cold, tired and sniffly and sneezy. I studied for my computer programming test, which I had the next day. I had an appointment in Miramar to see a house for sale (one of the last contenders). It was a no-go. I left the city, waded through rush-hour, dark and wet traffic, and at 6.15pm turned up at house (house D) Adrian had already arrived at for rent in Kelson. Within about ten minutes of getting there we told the property mananger we'd like to take the property. We filled out a form with details and references so he could check us out.

At 7 Adrian and I turned up to the squash court. My opponent for the night was there, but we were fourth in order to play, so there was a good 40 minutes at least before I'd be on court. We hadn't had tea, so went over the road and shared a pizza. At 8 after hurriedly gobbling the pizza we went back over to the court. Within about ten minutes I was on.

I lost the first two games. We play first to 3, maximum sets 5. So I wasn't too happy about that. In fact I felt like I could have cried. But I managed to turn something around in my head. Went back on court, and won the next set. We had a bit of an audience. Next set: Claire. Next set: Claire! I won! Lost the first two, won the next three. Awesome. I was so proud, and so was Adrian, and he said that my teammates who were watching me from above were real proud too. Yay! Plus, I like it when I get to play 5 sets cos it means it's a better workout.

So that was yesterday.

Friday: Renting, being tested and netball

This morning I rang the manager of house D and reiterated that we definitely wanted the house and told him which date we could move in. He said he had to check references and then he would ring me back with a time to sign the agreement. Then I rang another property manager to cancel an appointment that we had to see another rental (house Z).

At work, I studied for my test. At 2pm, I sat my test. As expected, it wasn't very easy. Especially because the lecturer had plugged in an especially curly mission for the program in the second question. It's hard to explain, but the first few questions are usually relatively easy. I knew how to write the structure of program snippet that it wanted, but I didn't know how to compute what it actually wanted. Bastard. I nearly wrote a note on the test, saying, "You're mean, I know how to do the important bits!". In fact, the only reason I didn't write that was because I ran out of time and forgot.

The last question, as you can imagine, is usually the hardest. In the practice tests I've been doing, I usually don't even bother with the last question, since I can spend my time more wisely making sure I get the first few questions right. However, with this one, I thought, "yeah, I can tackle you.". So I did. Not sure if the tackle was successful. We'll see who comes out with the concussion. Question 6 vs. Claire.

Now I'm in Adrian's lab with third year students doing the work he's set for them. We are going to wait till the lab finishes at 5, then drive back to the Hutt. I have netball at 6. Hopefully I will get there in time - I have my gear in the car but the traffic has been pretty bad and unpredictable lately.

After that, it's the weekend.

I'm glad it's the weekend.