man, here's some stuff. idek.
1) australia has no government! woo! first hung parliament in seventy years and PERSONALLY i blame the fact that everyone is getting too middle of the road. they can blame campaign advertising and mismanagement until they're blue in the face but honestly, labor and liberal were too close on a lot of things that there was very little setting them apart. it's all fascinating though, and hopefully with labor cosying up to the greens and more left-wing independents, they'll be a more attractive party to me. not to lots of people who vote for them but oh well. we'll all survive.
2) confirmed the booking for my parents at their hotel again. i didn't hear back after i sent their reservation form so i wanted to check. otherwise i have spent many an hour making spreadsheets for side trips that my parents can do while they're here. what worries me is that today i heard my boss talking about a trip to australia soon and i'm like "um, i'd love to but my parents will be in china." fingers crossed there's lots of stalling on that one.
3) emailed someone back about a gym membership. this is brought about by a lot of things, the straw on the camel's back being that on friday one of the company drivers telling me i'd gotten chubbier and whiter since i started with the company. now, the white thing was a compliment (for him) but the chubbier thing was followed up with "you should watch what you eat". by itself it wouldn't be that bad but i've known this to be true for ages and it's been bumming me out. so, to the gym i go! i'm going to take a class tomorrow and see how i like it. if i do like it, i'll sign up for a year. it's way more expensive than my previous gym, but it's got things like a pool and, you know... changing rooms and showers. it's on the way to/from work, and it's not too far for a weekend swim or whatever. we'll see how it goes. there's lots i could do without paying (my housemate wakes up at 5AM to bike the 30km ring road), but i suck at self-motivation so it's gonna be this. plus, i can do pilates and stuff!
4) spent twenty minutes on hold and twenty minutes with a useless person at the ATO trying to figure out whether i need to pay tax. they put me onto "a specialist" who then told me which survey i needed to fill in that would tell me whether i'm an australian resident for tax purposes. it turns out i'm not, so i don't need to do anything! however, i will ask the accountant next time she's in about chinese taxes and what the rules are for foreigners and ALSO about health insurance. i was told i'd get it but i never submitted any paperwork for it so i should... you know... bring up that topic.
5) the music festival last week was awesome! i didn't spend a lot of time at it (well, less than i could have) but i did see some awesome bands. i was really impressed by SUBS and new pants, both of whom i've never given a proper chance. a lot of the afternoon gigs were disappointing, but there were some stellar acts. i'll be writing up the whole thing for my blog over the next week or so, but i've also got to update the gig guide this week. gosh, my job of passion. so difficult!
6) finished watching season six of house. i love how dark this season began and (sort of) ended and cannot wait for season 7. all the shows are coming back at the end of september so i'm starting/catching up on a lot of shows. OH, and can someone tell me what the fuck was up with V S01E00? i watched it first and then realized it was basically a recap of the first season? at least that's what it seems to be, but looking at the episode guide, it was aired before the fifth episode... does that mean i can start watching from episode five and not be re-watching shit? i think so. either way, at least it's been renewed, it was pretty cool. fringe has so far grossed me out, i can't believe warehouse 13's first episode is 90 mins long, and don't even get me started on catching up on chuck, heroes, medium, and whatever else i have forgotten.
7) that doesn't even count all the unwatched japanese dramas i have sitting on my hard drive. oof.
8) still really want to go see SMAP in october, but as long as someone else is going with me! it'll necessitate taking a day off when i should be working (those makeup days for october holidays is buuuullshiiiiit) but oh well. it can and probably will be done!
9) really need to get started on that head-start for my big bang fic. otherwise i am going to hate myself. but given that i feel a little more on top of my life today (and have been increasingly feeling thus since i got back from australia), i think i will be able to manage. even with everything else going on. 頑張ります！
10) speaking of japanese, anyone know a good japanese textbook/workbook that is a) cheap, b) available at non-exorbitant prices, and c) buyable online? or giveable for my upcoming birthday? lol.
11) the new accountant for the kindergartens is really... weird and annoying. well she's not, really, she's just awkward and talks to me too much. she's been living in australia for ten years or something so sees me as like, the person to get to know or something when i won't have anything to do with her, really. plus she's in the office behind me and sort of slinks around the corner and then starts talking to me about random things. like just now, she came out and was like "i just bought a kobo ebook reader from borders. do you want to see it?" and i mean, i said yes but like... it was totally out of nowhere. related to nothing. we've never talked about books, or ebook readers, or anything. she asked about my computer today but that's about it. it's awkward, and i always find her topics of conversation weird. it's probably hard for her, but i just don't get it.
Originally posted at Dreamwidth.
2) confirmed the booking for my parents at their hotel again. i didn't hear back after i sent their reservation form so i wanted to check. otherwise i have spent many an hour making spreadsheets for side trips that my parents can do while they're here. what worries me is that today i heard my boss talking about a trip to australia soon and i'm like "um, i'd love to but my parents will be in china." fingers crossed there's lots of stalling on that one.
3) emailed someone back about a gym membership. this is brought about by a lot of things, the straw on the camel's back being that on friday one of the company drivers telling me i'd gotten chubbier and whiter since i started with the company. now, the white thing was a compliment (for him) but the chubbier thing was followed up with "you should watch what you eat". by itself it wouldn't be that bad but i've known this to be true for ages and it's been bumming me out. so, to the gym i go! i'm going to take a class tomorrow and see how i like it. if i do like it, i'll sign up for a year. it's way more expensive than my previous gym, but it's got things like a pool and, you know... changing rooms and showers. it's on the way to/from work, and it's not too far for a weekend swim or whatever. we'll see how it goes. there's lots i could do without paying (my housemate wakes up at 5AM to bike the 30km ring road), but i suck at self-motivation so it's gonna be this. plus, i can do pilates and stuff!
4) spent twenty minutes on hold and twenty minutes with a useless person at the ATO trying to figure out whether i need to pay tax. they put me onto "a specialist" who then told me which survey i needed to fill in that would tell me whether i'm an australian resident for tax purposes. it turns out i'm not, so i don't need to do anything! however, i will ask the accountant next time she's in about chinese taxes and what the rules are for foreigners and ALSO about health insurance. i was told i'd get it but i never submitted any paperwork for it so i should... you know... bring up that topic.
5) the music festival last week was awesome! i didn't spend a lot of time at it (well, less than i could have) but i did see some awesome bands. i was really impressed by SUBS and new pants, both of whom i've never given a proper chance. a lot of the afternoon gigs were disappointing, but there were some stellar acts. i'll be writing up the whole thing for my blog over the next week or so, but i've also got to update the gig guide this week. gosh, my job of passion. so difficult!
6) finished watching season six of house. i love how dark this season began and (sort of) ended and cannot wait for season 7. all the shows are coming back at the end of september so i'm starting/catching up on a lot of shows. OH, and can someone tell me what the fuck was up with V S01E00? i watched it first and then realized it was basically a recap of the first season? at least that's what it seems to be, but looking at the episode guide, it was aired before the fifth episode... does that mean i can start watching from episode five and not be re-watching shit? i think so. either way, at least it's been renewed, it was pretty cool. fringe has so far grossed me out, i can't believe warehouse 13's first episode is 90 mins long, and don't even get me started on catching up on chuck, heroes, medium, and whatever else i have forgotten.
7) that doesn't even count all the unwatched japanese dramas i have sitting on my hard drive. oof.
8) still really want to go see SMAP in october, but as long as someone else is going with me! it'll necessitate taking a day off when i should be working (those makeup days for october holidays is buuuullshiiiiit) but oh well. it can and probably will be done!
9) really need to get started on that head-start for my big bang fic. otherwise i am going to hate myself. but given that i feel a little more on top of my life today (and have been increasingly feeling thus since i got back from australia), i think i will be able to manage. even with everything else going on. 頑張ります！
10) speaking of japanese, anyone know a good japanese textbook/workbook that is a) cheap, b) available at non-exorbitant prices, and c) buyable online? or giveable for my upcoming birthday? lol.
11) the new accountant for the kindergartens is really... weird and annoying. well she's not, really, she's just awkward and talks to me too much. she's been living in australia for ten years or something so sees me as like, the person to get to know or something when i won't have anything to do with her, really. plus she's in the office behind me and sort of slinks around the corner and then starts talking to me about random things. like just now, she came out and was like "i just bought a kobo ebook reader from borders. do you want to see it?" and i mean, i said yes but like... it was totally out of nowhere. related to nothing. we've never talked about books, or ebook readers, or anything. she asked about my computer today but that's about it. it's awkward, and i always find her topics of conversation weird. it's probably hard for her, but i just don't get it.
Originally posted at Dreamwidth.