Melbourne Excitement

It was hard not to get excited this Friday as in front of 100,000 spectators the Los Angeles Rams lost to the San Francisco 49ers, and without knowing the scoring system, it sounds like a score 7 to 27 is a decisive win to the 49ers. A trouncing perhaps.

This made Melburnians very happy. The US football team, the 49ers had been in Melbourne for several days before the match, acclimatising to the weather, around a cool but ok daytime average of 15/59 this week, and of course the time change. The team made itself popular by being out and about around town, spotted my many. Melbourne chalked up great respect for the team.

This contrasts with the LA Rams, who arrived the day before the game, and we never got to know them. All about hearts and minds, and don't forget that.

I suppose it was a coincidence that the match was played on 9/11, or 11/09 here, probably 8/11 in the US. Now that vile creature #47 is claiming he was carried from the site by firefighters, without any trace of evidence that anyone can find. But he is not spoiling my post. 

The match was a great spectacle for our city, although there are only guesses about what it cost our State of Victoria, AU$15 million to AU$45 million. It is, psst, commercial in confidence. I have the view that taxpayers are entitled to know. 

Sister and Bone Doctor arrived at 3pm the evening before to stay the night. They went into town to soak up the atmosphere, and returned at 5.15 for drinks and nibbles and I had invited HH up to meet them for the first time. They were super impressed to learn about her son who was an international Australian Rugby Union champion player, and her daughter's son being a worker at Hobbiton in New Zealand.

I had invited HH to join us for dinner in town but she had tickets to see the stage show musical Pretty Women with a friend. We three dined at the Swiss Club in town and soaked up the atmosphere in the city.

Next morning was an early start as they needed to be at the football venue by 9.00 and we went out for breakfast first, at around 7.30. That totally turned my normal morning upside down, and my arthritis kicked in with a vengeance. I try not to take painkillers, but I did Friday morning.

Eventually by midday I felt ready to go out again, where I visited Hosier Lane to check out the NFL murals. I'll post them Monday.

A woman boarded the tram as I did, with two young boys. She looked familiar. Here is an edited text of what I sent to HH. The woman on the tram was our neighbour for a couple of years.

I boarded the tram below to travel to the city today and a woman got on at the same stop with two young boys. She looked familiar. I thought is it or isn't it? I was guessing the age of the boys and it added up. I was going to get off at Flinders Street to take photos of the NFL murals in Hosier Lane, but they left at the Arts Centre. I made a last minute decision and jumped off too. I still wasn't 100% sure, so with her back to me I called out S. No harm if it wasn't her. She spun around and sure enough, and funny that we mentioned her the other day, it was S and her boys R and D. She has lost weight and looked pretty good. I had a chat to her for a few minutes and then the boys began to get restless, so they went off to visit the Gallery and I caught the next tram to Flinders Street. She and T are living in Mount Martha, and he is working in Emergency at I assume, F Hospital. He was at the NFL match, having caught a bus from F at 7.00 this morning and they were all staying a couple of nights in the city, perhaps nearby. Of course she didn't know about Ray's death so I filled her in but there wasn't much time to chat.  

Anyway, it was a nice little catch up.   

After the match Bone Doctor went back to Geelong Station by train, to take Jo's car home. Sister arrived back here around 5.00 and Jo is in town with friends as I type and she will come here and then Sister and Jo will drive home.

Phyllis has cooked butter chicken, rice and Kosov is heating some roti for dinner and there is enough to share with Sister. 

I suppose we all know a bit more about NFL now, and what we used to call Gridiron, has been a great success. Probably just a one off though, although we will remain 49ers supporters if we ever hear any news about them.

Photos from the evening before:

Flinders Street Station.

               

My fingers run away

Phyllis has an excellent command of written and spoken English, and even without the usual Indian accent.

Kosov has excellent written English but his speaking is quirky. He struggles to explain anything complicated. But then I probably do too. At times I have had to restart explaining something. 

Neither of them have good mental arithmetic. If they want an instant answer to simple arithmetic, they ask me. And my mental arithmetic is far from perfect but faster than theirs, and more accurate.

When a new calendar arrives each year, Phyllis marks the calendar when the fortnightly rent is to be paid. I picked up that he mucked that up during the change from last year's calendar. He wasn't trying to cheat me, as his mistake was in my favour by one week. They are now paying rent four weeks in advance, but again Phyllis mucked up, and marked the calendar one month after he last paid four weeks rent. No, no. That short changes me by a few days each month. He understood and realised his mistake. I have no doubt it was unintentional. He knows I am smart with minor amounts of money, just not so smart with larger amounts. Yep, I look after pennies, not necessarily the pounds.

Speaking of pennies, for a long time I've wondered why Americans refer to coins as pennies. Aren't they cents? Aren't dollars and cents the standard?

Some good news here today. Food delivery drivers will now receive an hourly wage of around AU$31 an hour while they are working, plus some accident and personal injury insurance paid for by their employing companies. My lads never look to the future about shopping and we had run out of cat litter, which is not in my job description. Kosov didn't want to go out to get some after being told to do so, so he had it delivered from Aldi, for a fee of $4.50. That is simply a ridiculously low delivery fee. It may rise now that proper wages have to be paid to delivery drivers. Good.

What a horrible business in England, where a professor was driven to suicide, mostly by the Murdoch media. I can never remember an academic being attacked by media as he was. 

In Israel, Netanyahu is trying to build bridges with far right parliamentary members who want to bomb Arab countries to bits before a forthcoming election, while #47 continues his nonsense, now having being humiliated by Iran. Yeah, all about oil, but #47, you have huge problems in your own country. Yet the fuckwit is against his own citizens and businesses who use and promote renewable energy, thus reducing the reliance on Middle Eastern oil. Follow the money for him and his corrupt cronies and you will find out why.

Now Kosov has his Master's degree and no longer a student, he had to apply for a two year post study visa. My god, how Australia rips off overseas students. Now it is an AU$500 for a medical check and chest x-ray. He has spent many hours online applying for his visa. Stepping out of my personal interest in having them stay, they are hard working, decent and honest young men, in a committed relationship. As much as they are taking from Australia, they are giving more back to the country. 

Oh yes, the three of us had a very nice couple of hours out with HH last Friday night. I was going to insist on paying for my two glasses of wine but I knew what her reaction would be, so it was pointless. She can certainly talk, but I noticed her conversational skills, by the way she engaged Phyllis and Kosov in conversations. You'd be surprised how well an 80 year old straight white Australian woman could talk with two Indian born gay overseas former students who have lived in Australia for a couple of years.

Personal Bits

The zed/zee battle with Phyllis and Kesav is ongoing.

It has become a bit of a joke about Kosov visiting the rest room. I now wish him well with his visit to the rest room, which can be half an hour, and later ask him if he enjoyed his rest. Their is a bucket and scoop in the toilet, so I guess some washing happens. Both of the lads only shower about every third or fourth day, and that is when they wash their hair. They are always perfectly clean and wash their hand appropriately. 

Is it not enough that we seem intent on destroying our own planet, now we are starting to destroy the moon too, with one of Musk Rat's space craft crashing into the lovely Mr Moon, with a huge ground explosion. Scumbag. His daughter hates him so much, she changed her surname, and effectively called him a racist Boer. 

Friday, neighbour HH is taking us out for dinner, and Phyllis has chosen an Italian place in Brunswick Street, Fitzroy. We will catch two trams to travel to the popular, rather grungy and alternative area. I said to HH, "Eighty year old Nonna will be able to brag to her children and grandchildren that she has been for dinner on the 'wild side'". 

I thought the twin boys would be last in my life time to be born in my immediate family, but no. Hippie Niece is pregnant with a boy. The mother of the now nine year old 'Cafe Latte' twins had a terrible pregnancy and horrible post natal depression, which became ongoing psychiatric issues. She was hospitalised for a time in a mental health unit, she wasn't to be alone with her daughters and was provided with a daily carer for some hours each day. She is now in a stable relationship, with two step daughters of a similar age to hers, and manages well enough. The whole family were dreading this happening, yet we've all decided to be very positive about the impending arrival of her son. At the age of 34, she is older and more mature, and I think she will be ok. So, I will have five great nieces and four great nephews, my youngest brother being their paternal grandfather, and Ex Sis in Law being their maternal grandmother.

I put it to Phyllis and Kosov, what should I do next at home in the way of renewal and improving my home. I gave alternatives, new modern overhead lighting? Replace the 20 year old plus lounge room furniture? Have new floor tiles put over the top of the old ones in the kitchen, toilet and bathrooms?  The vote went for the new tiles. 

I saw an ad on tv featuring a gay male couple with a baby. Kosov, I asked him, if you and Phyllis adopted a baby or child, which sex would you prefer? He said, either, but Phyllis would like a girl. I replied, 'So he and your daughter could share make up and nail polish?' The discussion went on about child adoption and I asked him if he would consider adopting a child in India. He emphatically said no, which seemed odd. Why so? 'If it was a he, he might turn out to look one of the three guys who raped me at school. Every time I see someone who looks like one of them, I just hate Indian men so much.' Well, that rather sent me sideways. 

We had a gay Anglo Indian friend from about 1980 to 1995, and he was raped at one of Calcutta's most prestigious boys' school, but in his case, he said he quite enjoyed it, and really fancied one of the guys.

I don't know any detail. There could have been violence or not involved. Warren already knew he liked guys and Kosov identified as straight then. Oh what damage men do.

Perl is out and about

Last week Phyllis asked if he could take Perl to a party in Box Hill. He hasn't asked to use the car for over a week aside from one trip to Aldi to buy bulk cat food and cat litter, so cautiously I said yes, where are going and what time will you return.

They met up with friends in South Yarra for a meal, returned here (I quickly turned on the full living area lamps to impress, but not the overhead lights), and they were here for an hour. The friends are a couple, she of Indian heritage and he of Asian heritage. Translating for English people, she is Asian and he is Chinese, except he isn't from China.

From my computer chair, I at times chipped in with a witty remark, as best as 68 year old can do with twenty year old's. 

They piled into Perl and off they went. I am pleased I have the front and rear dashcam. I looked at it today to watch what happened when my car went into for new car service, one month later after purchase. Jeez, all the motor mechanic staff are Indian. When you think about restricting immigration, be very careful what you wish for. Didn't we learn that post Covid when there were no staff for cafes, shops and other businesses? 

I don't like Perl being out late at night, and I've warned Phyllis and Kosov that if there is incident and they are under threat from a road rager, to not put the car into Park whereby the doors will unlock, but into Neutral and apply the electric handbrake.

The next time I drove Perl, all floors were covered in sand. Phyllis or Kosov, or both, will take the Dyson V7 Tiger with its short attachment to vacuum the car floors. I wonder where they went that was so sandy? Not my business. 

Later: Phyllis worked today, Tuesday all day at one job and asked if he could take Perl. It is a decent walk from the train station, and it was wet, so I said yes. Later he messaged me to say he was going to work at his other job, so the car is out for ages today, 10am to midnight. 

I am lunching with HH later today after she returned from New Zealand, and she may want to go somewhere that is easiest by car, so I checked and yes, the sand has been vacuumed out. 

What to write?

I find somethin'.

Last Wednesday, I lunched with my neighbour HH. We drove in Perl to a Port Melbourne bakery. She ordered a vegetable pastie and I ordered a curried egg sandwich. I asked for half on a plate and half to take away in a paper bag, as I used to do with Ray at the same bakery. 

HH talked and was slow to eat her pastie, and eventually I opened the package and ate my other half of my curried egg sandwich. I then went up to the counter and ordered a fruit tart and coffee. 

I asked if HH minded if I bought a packet of frozen mixed vegetables, requested by Phyllis, and a 2 litre container of light milk at the supermarket. HH waited for me inside the supermarket and had spied a bottle of sweet chilli sauce to buy for herself. 

Do you mind if we visit the florist for a bunch of flowers for home, HH? The flowers were so expensive, I suppose because it is winter here. I didn't buy any. 

Do you mind HH if we give Perl a wash on the way home, HH. No problem, so I went through the car wash.

Once home before parting, HH said, I would like to take you, Phyllis and Kosov out for dinner to thank you for you kindness and care over the last few weeks after I had my fall. 

It was no big deal to help her, and she never really asked. She gracefully accepted offers of help and meals cooked by Phyllis and Kosov.

I went out again in Perl in the afternoon and it was an absolute disaster, mainly because I forgot my phone. from basic paying, to not have store cards, to paying for parking without my phone app, for buying the wrong thing and having to have money refunded, to extraordinary key and remote juggling because of recent changes. I just should not have gone out again, and my phone is as essential to me to go out as my car keys.

Jass, be safe

Someone, or more than one, mentioned about Jass on the balcony. We, that is Phyllis, Kosov and I were incredibly cautious when Jass first went on to the balcony, ready to grab her or pull her back. 

She would stick her head under the glass to look at the birdies nesting on the balcony below. Her body could have fitted under the glass. If she stuck her neck out too far, we would just call her name and she would pull her head back in.

She has shown no inclination to jump on the balcony, though she is an expert jumper, and only rarely sits on my balcony seat. She mostly just sits at floor level and watches. I just sit on a seat and watch, so I get that. Well, she did in warmer weather. She doesn't like the balcony in winter.

 

I see it as risk assessment, as you might do with your children. Yes, there is a risk to them if you let them out on their own, but I must say, young children who used to be let out on their own to learn the ways of the world, are now so mollycoddled and supervised, I doubt it does them good. 

Segueing, Neighbour HH is so stressed about her 23 year old granddaughter staying in her apartment while HH is in New Zealand, her son had to bring HH back to earth. 'Mum, she has travelled all over Europe, stayed with strangers, and had a wonderful time. She will manage without Nonna being there'. No, HH is not Italian and it's a long story why she is called Nonna, which I forget. 

Nevertheless, I will let the granddaughter into the building and show her where the key and fob is hidden in HH's  apartment, as I have access to HH's apartment. For id purposes, HH sent me a photo of her granddaughter, who I think is 23 and very attractive. There are already some written instructions pinned up in HH's apartment for her granddaughter. Lordy, HH is more of a control freak than I am.

In other news, I did not know Australian mudlarks swoop people, and I was swooped. Apparently they go for your eyes, but in this case one just bumped on my cap twice. I never saw the bird. I've been swooped by wattle birds who don't make contact, with just making a clicking kind of sound as you feal the flutter of their wings. I've not been swooped by the worst, Australian magpies, that are very different to magpies elsewhere in the world. My horror is encountering a drop bear, but as an inner suburban dweller, I am safe. It's just when I leave the city environs that I'm at risk. You just at times have to take your chances.

Every few days we give Jass a wet meal, that is tinned food. She doesn't really like it but we persist and she eats some of it. But oh my, aren't the ingredients such wankery, bought by Phyllis at $4 a tin. Jass, did not eat the long grain rice, and whatever else she left in her bowl was probably spinach, spinach being part of normal cat's diet. No? 

Frightful Friday

The new lounge chairs were scheduled for delivery late Friday afternoon. I received a call that they would be here in twenty minutes. I was in the lane waiting for them and they soon arrived but just before, Phyllis called. I had said he could take the car to a job interview and Kosov was with him.

"Andrew, Pearl won't start. What should I do?"

I was puzzled. By this time the delivery had arrived. I said, remember I told you to put the phone number of the Royal Australian Automobile Association into your phone? Yes Andrew. Well call the number to get help. 

The boxes would not fit through the door from the carpark into the building, so the men had to open the boxes to bring the furniture up. No big deal, but Phyllis called again. He needed my RACV membership number and my registration number. He didn't realise that was the car plate number. The rego number should have been enough but I could not drop what I was doing with the delivery. When I had a chance, I found the number and called him, and explained the registration number and gave him my membership number. 

He soon called back and said the RACV would be there in less than an hour, and it wasn't too long before he called back and said the man had arrived, and as I had guessed, Pearl needed a new battery. $400, ka-ching. Phyllis paid for it and I reimbursed him. 

As I was letting the delivery men out, they must have taken a little pity on this old man, and asked if there was somewhere where they could put the boxes. Not removing the packaging was clearly noted on the contract. They squashed the boxes through a door, down stairs and through two more doors and put them in the recycling room in the basement. 

Phyllis called again, the car is fine now and we are just leaving. 

Meanwhile I had to turn huge sturdy boxes into flattened cardboard to go into the cardboard recycling skip bin. I took down a cutting knife but it was too weak. Back upstairs, I found the Stanley knife with a blunt blade and used that. Over thirty minutes later, I had cut up all the boxes and stacked what wouldn't fit into the skip, next to it. This is a proper cutting knife, and I was only slightly tempted to use to cut a vein in my own arm. 

And wow, did I have sweat up. I try to avoid anything that makes me sweat. I also have purple bruises on my arm of the type that anyone who takes blood thinners will know about.

That done, I checked if there was congestion on the West Gate Bridge or wherever as Phyllis wasn't back yet. Sometime later he arrived. 

"Oh Andrew. I missed the freeway exit and had to go through the tunnel."

His convoluted explanation as why he could not use the Power Street exit, the next before the tunnel before the was beyond my understanding. More ka-ching for taking the car through the tolled tunnel.

Remember a couple of weeks ago when I had new blinds installed. The company took the old ones away. I also had a quote from the company neighbour HH used for new blinds and its policy was to not take the blinds away. HH used the company and insisted the old blind removal should be part of the deal, and it agreed. 

I am a bad consumer. I should have insisted the old chairs be taken away, along with the packaging. If the company wants the sale, it will oblige, and perhaps charge a bit more. The stress of getting rid of the packaging, and having the old lounge chairs still here is not worth getting a bargain. There will be part two to this post. Jass is most unhappy with the disruption to her life.  

Views

My apartment has good views, slightly north east, majorly to the east, to the south east and south, even the south west.

But my neighbour HH on the other side of the building, has fantastic views. There are advantages and disadvantages to both apartments. My apartment balcony gets blasted by cold and gusty southerly winds, while HH gets blasted by hot northerly winds.

I took a few photos of the views from her balcony. The first looks more like a view from my balcony...maybe.

City views, with the war memorial, Shrine of Remembrance, in The (King's) Domain in the foreground. 

The most prestigious boys school in Melbourne, The Church of England's Melbourne Boys' Grammar School. Some of the boys will go on to great careers, and perhaps some will become politicians. It is not unknown for some them to become very well spoken drug users and/or homeless. 

HH still has the easterly views I have. 

And she can see down St Kilda Road.

As predicted

As I type, the full extent of the destruction caused by bushfires in my state is not known. Many houses have been destroyed, including that of my neighbour HH's daughter. It is her second home, mostly used by her husband when teaching in the area, and not their principal residence now. 

Ironically, for her work during the 2009 fires that affected the same area, along with with her volunteer lifesaver work, the daughter was awarded an OAM (Order of Australia) , well deserved in her case, going far beyond her hospital job description; just napping in her office for two weeks straight without stopping her help to victims of the 2009 fires. Now her house in the same area has been burnt to cinders. 

The full extent of the destruction will become apparent in the days to come, but we already know many animals, pets, livestock and native animals were killed. There hasn't been any confirmation of lives lost, yet.

A man visited this morning to quote for new lounge room venetian blinds. I went across the road after he left for coffee and it was quite cool. Maybe 20/68 degrees. I then caught a 58 tram for two stops to the local Woolworths Metro supermarket. I bought a sandwich and a pastry. I forgot about the pastry, and it is still on the kitchen bench. By the time I reached home, the temperature had risen by over 10 degrees. 

The new aircon unit coped very well, and next to the external part of it, the hot air blasting out felt like it was burning my skin as the temperature reached 43/110. Inside, thermometers said 23/73.

Another blind man visited in the afternoon to give his quote. As he was here, the quote from the morning man arrived to my desktop email and he noticed it was from another company. What fun!

The hard sell from the second bloke began. Pay a 50% deposit today, and that will be $100 less. I did not as I await another quote. The two quotes I received are the same in dollars, but I know I can beat them down. 

Jass found it too hot outside on the balcony, but at carpet level, I think she found it cold.

When the new lounge chairs arrive in March, Jass will lose her refuge under the chairs and no longer will be able to show her pink bits.

Personal catch up

Just a bit of personal stuff. I employed a window cleaner last Tuesday, to clean the lounge room and balcony glass. Superficially, his work seemed ok, but after he left, I noticed he hadn't cleaned down the outside window sills, and the next morning with the sun on the balcony glass, the window cleaning was obviously very poor.

 I explained to him that the window tinting was old and ready to decay if not treated very gently, and so to be careful. He managed to damage the window tinting. This could have well happened if I cleaned the windows, so I am not so annoyed about that, but the basics of window cleaning should have been brilliant, and it wasn't. Window tinting now costs a fortune, but I guess I will get it done. Three windows in my apartment have already been redone. 

I'm trying to live up to Ray's mantra, shrouds don't have pockets. I've spent a lot of money since Ray died and the inheritance came through from my mother and then Ray, mostly on home improvements, and I will continue to do so. I have no one to leave money to. My siblings are fine for money. Phyllis and Kosov may get some money from me, but hey are already treated generously. 

Last Friday was my neighbour HH's 80th birthday. She said she would be away and had made a plan to catch the train to Adelaide, a city she knows reasonably well, but then decided she would stay home. In conspiracy with her son, I helped him on the day to have delivered to her a bottle of Baileys, and later flowers. Her daughter surprised her by taking her to a show about Don Lane, presented by his son P. J. Lane. After the show, she got to chat to John Michael Howson and newsreader Peter Hitchener, I think. Victorians of a certain age will remember these people. 

Thinking she may be away on the day of her birthday, two days earlier the three of us trooped downstairs to give her the gift I had bought. She showed Phyllis and Kosov around her apartment and we chatted for a bit. I gave her a notebook with the cover of local silo art, as she had taken a silo tour earlier this year, and knowing she drinks peppermint tea and lemon and ginger tea, I bought her an advent calendar that has a different tea bag for each of the 24 days. She adored it and the photo doesn't do the interior of the box justice. She said she would mount the box on her wall after she finished the teas. 

I had lunch with HH yesterday and caught up on her news. She is very social and outgoing. We walked to the lunch venue and on the way back she chatted to a postman, who I can't remember but he used to deliver to our building. They each asked other about respective families, and one day when all her dividend letters arrived and nearly filled her letter box, he called her on the intercom to tell her. There is much kindness in the building where I live, and I know people who I can trust. HH is going to feed Jass while we are away at the end of the month. 

Anyway, here are some pics of the T2 gift. It is quite large.