I got in!

I applied to go to University a while back and last Wednesday I got the letter.
I have won a place at Charles Darwin University to study a Bachelor of Teaching.
I'll be doing it externally which means it is all either online or posted. Yippee!

I have a fantastic learning support network and organised a wonderful mentor.

How I am going to fit it all in is something I haven't figured out yet.

At least this means that I don't have to:

• Drop 2 - 3 days work/pay to physically attend Uni. I can keep us in the manner to which we have become accustomed (late night chocolate binges and Iced Coffee always in the fridge)
• Get someone to look after Miss A while I attend. (she can sit right next to me and bug me play on the old computer while I study - yeah we'll see how long that'll last ;)
• Worry about being back in time to pick up Miss A. (As usual she'll be with me 24/7......)
• Spend $$ getting to Uni and back. (helps to pay for the new computer)

It does mean that I won't have as much time to knit, so I better get cracking on Miss A's Central Park Hoody before she outgrows it.

And because it is going to be mostly online, I've invested in Broadband which should be here by next weekend I hope and a new computer. My old one is totally full and will not stand up to the rigours of late night, long hours of studying. Can you believe I am only getting on average around 32Kbps! Damn slow. At it's worst my broadband will be 64Kbps twice as fast, kewl. Oh and have 4 connections so that Miss A can access it at the same time, Neopets here she comes.

So this weekend was spent setting up the old computer for Miss A (she has to earn her computer time mwuahaha) and the new one for myself. Vista sure is purdy. Guess what was easier....

I had a good idea to update the old one to SP2, all well and good but the installation went awry and I ended up with the computer not recognising the modem! What! no internet for 2 days!!! I have just worked out what was wrong and fixed it, phew, that only took nearly 2 full days. A quick reinstall of the Operating System and a few tweaks...

I tried to install Internet Explorer 7 and that went belly up too I think it has something to do with Windows Update ( which also went belly up but is now fixed after having half a day spent on it) So I will try again now that the updating program is working. (something about not being able to connect to the internet to update itself - I hope......)

I have integrated my antivirus, firewall and anti spyware into Windows Live One Care, not linking cos I've spent too many hours at that bl**dy website searching it for fixes, and that seems to be going well. One subscription instead of two, and it was cheaper than one subscription on its own.

So hopefully in a few days I'll be able to report a full thumbs up on the computer system here at Chez Bankrupt.

Oh my stars

Now who says that the horoscopes are all generic and broad?

How about mine, dated the 9th (Friday) which I just saw today:

Remember that material possessions are just that - material. At some point in your life, you are either going to lose them, ruin then, or throw them away. The only question is when and how. Don't put yourself through unnecessary emotional turmoil over the loss or damage of something tangible. Attach yourself to people, rather than material things. Good friends and loyal family members will be there for you until the end.

Spooky huh?
Bearing in mind a few days before it did say that my luck was going to change. Yippee I thought until I realised that luck can also change from reasonably okay luck - and you don't know that that is your good luck - to bad luck and not always to really good luck.

That scarf has told me it wants to try and be a Grape Hyacinth scarf pfft! yeah right have you seen the pattern for that? I've had three goes at just the ribbing so far. But it is looking like it needs to be this scarf so I will keep trying.

Anyway now I am sick as well as Miss A, we have a burning need for groceries and I am not feeling very well which means I have to push myself to drive the car (shudders - when I think of the car I get this funny twitch..... ) to the nearest grocery store for milk, iced coffee and more chocolate and cheese and cat food and kitty litter and...............

Of scarves and things...

Recently finished the Stress Relief Scarf, this was a kit available in stores by Patons, if I remember correctly. It came with a circular needle, a sewing needle, instructions, yarn (Zhivago) and a nifty zippered bag. I have made several of these now and from different yarns. This one is Velveteen and it was a quick knit.



I have decided not to fringe this one.

I liked being in between projects, that delicious time of choosing what's next. Maybe some Karaoke, or that nice Alpaca from Bendigo, Noro, hmm what else is in the stash?

I thought that I'd try the Irish Hiking Scarf but as I only have one ball of the Bendy Alpaca, I left off a cable repeat so this one will only have two cables. i like my scarves narrow and long, I'll see how it goes and if it likes this or wants to be something else - I was thinking of Coronet.

So far it's okay.

Oh an update on my car....
the leak is indeed fixed - a simple sump plug problem, now the skeptic in me wants to know if it was this simple to fix all along or were there really mega buck leaks.....we willl never know.

A bit sad on Friday after work when I went to my car to find that the idiot next to me had opened his/her door onto my car and taken some lovely chunks right out of my driver's door!!
Hmmm, white on dark blue does stand out terribly. So this morning was spent finding some touch up paint.

Thanks to the wonderful guy at the crash repairs who colour matched and mixed up a jar of paint for me and then asked if I needed help to apply it. "That would be great," I replied "then I can see how to do it"

After doing the door he then proceeded to check the whole car and spent some time touching it up - the car - and as he did we chatted and I told him how much bad luck I was having with it. When it came time to pay he said not to worry about it and that maybe that would help to change my luck....wasn't that nice of him? Phew something nice for a change, now if I'd just been able to get his phone number.....

Miss A is sick this weekend so we are in for a real quiet time of knitting and dvd's in bed.

Turning UFOs into FOs

I don't know what it is but lately I have felt the need to complete some UFOs.
Fetching number 3 for me is finished.
Doll blanket number 1 is finished...can't remember where or what Doll Blanket number 2 is?
Here's the pictures:



Completed blanket



Blanket in use


Here is the reason Barbie and Ken were not happy last night:



Kitty (top observation deck) and Andy (penthouse) decided they needed a room for the night.


In other news, remember that I bought a smaller, newer, modern, sleek, fantastic car in December??

Yeah, well fantastic car has had an oil leak, so after taking it back to the car yard where I bought it for repairs and being fobbed off, told it was fixed, nope nothing wrong, etc - it was still leaking so I decided to take it to the local dealer for independent tests and repairs.

After the dealer having it for 2 and a half weeks I just got my little car back on Friday. So Miss A and I took it for a drive to the beach and got a celebratory icecream, ducked into Foodland for some tea and when I came back there was a stupid A**hole parked 2 inches - I kid you not 2 inches!!- from the back of my car!!! I just got in and forgot to take his number and forgot to check for dings thinking that no, nothing would be amiss (trusting soul aren't I)....

Next day I remembered to check....yep bumper was scratched and lower down has some scratches and a chip of paint taken out of the lower bumper.

Not to mention how pleased I was on Saturday morning to find out that the car was still leaking in the exact same spot and worse than when I took it in to be repaired!! AARGGHH!!!
2.5 weeks and $1800 later I am back to square one.

They had the engine, transmission, Air Conditioner, everything, all out - rear main seal they declared - big expensive job, so everything they did to it was unnecessary because it still leaks, I paid for work that didn't need to be done because it still leaks.

They will be getting a call from me come Monday morning!
Is there no one that can find and fix an oil leak?
Is it because I am a woman they think they don't really need to fix it?
Did they just overlook it? honest mistake?

I don't know whether to laugh or cry.

I know it's just a car and worse thing are happening out there.
Mr Ex thinks this is funny and taunts me about it.
This is typical of my life anything can and does f*ck up like this. Constantly. I am tired of it. I want to cry. I can feel the depression monster stalking me so don't be surprised if I don't blog for a while.

Edited to add:
Okay I've had a bit of a cry and a lay down (and some chocolate ;) )and I am feeling a little better about the whole situation. Fingers crossed we can get it sorted out soon.