Happy happy joy joy

Happy happy joy joy #1

There was a letter in the mail box from my real estate agent when I got home tonight. The sight of it made my heart pound. You see, my lease expires in less than two months and I've been preparing myself to get a notice to vacate so the new owners can redevelop the building.

Fortunately before I opened it I twigged that a notice to vacate would have been sent by registered post so the poundy heart stopped. I opened it and -YAYS! They're putting new carpet in the stairwell in January!

No, I'm not especially thrilled about new carpet - the expenditure on new floor coverings means they won't be redeveloping any time soon and I get to stay! Hurrah! *happy dance*

My flatmate (who's now back from her trip) told me last night she's going to look for a place of her own when the lease is up. If we had to vacate, I would have done the same, but I love living here so much that I'd prefer to stay and get a new flatmate.

This is such a relief. I've lived here for five years - hard to believe it's now the longest I've lived anywhere since I left home in 1992 - and for probably three of those five years I've been living with the possibility of vacating so the owners can redevelop.

Of course there is always the possibility they will still redevelop in the future, but you'd think after spending money to carpet three flights of stairs, they won't be doing it for at least a couple of years. It's not like the existing carpet is a safety hazard or horrendously worn out.

Hopefully when the time comes to find a new flatmate it will be as effortless as it was last time, and the new flattie will be as good as Anna.

Happy happy joy joy #2

I have got a whole three weeks off work, starting on Christmas Eve. I'm SO hanging out for it. I haven't had a full week off work all year (mostly because I've been trying to save my annual leave). Not that I've been working hard or anything. I'm not burnt out...just sort of drained by the boredom. 

My office closes on 24 December and re-opens on January 11 so everyone has to take that time off, but I'm taking a couple of extra days.

I'm going to visit my mother in New South Wales for about 10 days over the Christmas-New Year period and then the rest of the time I will be having a staycation in Melbourne, which, as many of you might recall, I love to do. I get almost as excited by that as the prospect of having a proper holiday.  

I'm already compiling a list of things to do with my time off...

Champagne and Reefer

Can't recall if I've posted this video already, but I love the song so much I'm gonna do it again. This is from the Rolling Stones concert doco Shine a Light - the Stones featuring special guest Buddy Guy.

Love the blues. Love Buddy Guy's enormous voice and his guitar work. Love the harmonica. It gives me goosebumps.