16/12/16

Sitting here in Clk, already it has been 30 minutes, which is my usual wait time, and still no response - just how long should one wait? There is a bloke here who just said he waited two (2) hours the other day, and then gave up!
Oh this is just abysmal! I mean, seriously, WTF???
Went for a ride earlier, out on Ole's circuit up Princes Road, and then back in along Portalington Road - worked out to 40 km, so that maybe a better circuit to try? Saw Greg turning off Boundary Road, gave him a wave. Spent most of the ride on a higher ratio (50-18?), which made for an 'interesting' ride ... was glad I got out there & rode, however - in fact, initially I got up at 6, sprayed for thrips, came back in, and ended up crawling back into bed ... still dressed in my knicks & jersey!
Fuck this wait is so interminable, and the music irritating - although, to be fair, any music would be after this long ...
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Well, discussing all that took three (3) hours, aka 180 minutes!
Turns out that my application, which was received 18/09/16, had not been entered, so the CSR did it for me there & then ... whilst I was put on hold & had to wait ... anyway, promised that it would be done ASAP, but to allow 42 days to process the application! WTF?
Discussed that I was in severe hardship, etc & was forced to eat the last of veggies, including the kale - well, at least that got a laugh!
Anyway, promised to expedite things, which should change the wait time to six (6) weeks ...
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Interestingly, some money ($$$) arrived just before the end of 2016 ... a better ending to a horrible year?

26/11/16

Well, off & away again ... finally ... on Wednesday, I was so confused by the incipient violence, both overt & implicit, that I went to SLSC, had a few of the Balter XPAs, and decided that the additional expense of flying home early would balance out my feelings of being unsafe ...
Now, as I sit here flying back, I wonder if I have (perhaps) also confused the time for arrival - I have a sneaky thought that I may have said 1400, and the plane won't get in until 1500 - oops :( mind you, for some reason (see above), I thought it was departing at 1010, so made everyone get up & moving at 0830 ... they all stopped for coffee, then I managed to get them (finally) to leave ... used the remaining time to call PA, who is recovering from bi-lateral mastectomies, due to breast cancer, and is a bit confused; M has also been quite ill, and is taking some time to establish what the priorities in life are ...
Still not quite sure what is happening with study - do I push on, or take the semester off? Of course, if I do stop, what will I do instead? :p apart from the garden, the house, riding, etc.
Seriously, this keyboard can be quite frustrating! Hitting keys & getting no response is never a good thing - although, it could be that I have too gentle a touch? Perhaps in being designed for children, other considerations come to the forefront?
Not much other news ... R big toe is swollen up - bit like the 1st p/e in fact - and is quite painful :( Trying to discuss it with Mother was interesting - it is gout, and would not hear of anything different ... talk about closed ears! Apparently I am also severely overweight, and should be 80kg ... a number which I do not (necessarily) dispute, but it was such an arbitrary number, and one that she could not explain the justification for ... yet still she stuck to it, as if her saying it made it the number to aim for ... of course, she said 'ask your brother what he weighs', to which he 'declined' to answer - 'why, what do you weigh'? and then said that was what he weighed ... did I mention I am glad to be out of that environment?

I will die alone, you know ...