Categories
tree removal

Trees are like bird apartments

tree removal MelbourneFor the past couple of years we’ve had a family of magpies living in our eucalypt. They built their nest there in the spring and have been living happily ever since. The pair have had two sets of chicks since that year and this year have added a couple of colourful additions to their nest including a shiny bottle cap and red ribbon. My partner and I love hearing their birdcall in the morning. IT’s a very soothing way to start the day!

Sadly, we recently had to call a Melbourne tree removal company. The eucalyptus tree was getting way too big for the backyard, getting the way of powerlines and upsetting the earth under the foundation of the house. We didn’t know what we were going to do about the poor family of magpied. Obviously we didn’t want to just lop down their home in the tree felling process. I thought of those poor little birds flying back to their nest in the evening to find their bed completely vanished. Then I started to worry that they’d even lid some eggs already as it was coming into spring and I didn’t want to destroy the poor hatchlings.

What we did was we pulled out the old ladder and climbed up to the nest. Thankfully, there were no egg inside. We thought we’d take the nest out and put it in another tree .Perhaps the birds would never go back to it and have to build a new one but at least we did what we could. I was just thankful that we weren’t hurting the baby birds at all. After putting the nest in a nearby tree, we left the rest to the Melbourne arborist. They did a nice clean job of felling the tree, but hopefully we won’t have to go through this again. I’d hate to destroy another bird’s home.

Categories
game design courses

My Ultimate App Plan

appsHouse hunting is simultaneously soul-crushing and exciting. After all, this is a home…something you’ll be living in forever, and you’re browsing through entries and squinting and photos like you’re at the toy shop. It’s exhilarating, looking through the listings and seeing what’s new, trying to get in before anyone else…and then you realise that your budget isn’t unlimited and there are plenty of people like you vying for positions, and it all becomes little bit of a slog filling out form after form and knowing that you’re probably going to get rejected.

Fortunately, I have a cunning plan. My cousin’s second cousin’s aunt’s step-daughter is doing an app development course, and I got them to hook me up with some killer app designers. What I want isn’t just something that alerts you to new houses, because those already exist. No, I need something streamlined, something designed just for us to give us the edge in the hunt for houses. I’ve already supplied a list of ‘ingredients’ as such for the app, though without proper experience I don’t know if any of them are possible. Hey, what am I…an app development student? I’m not one of those!

I’d like the app to send me a buzz whenever there’s a new house available, obviously. That’s just a given. But I need to it to really get my attention, so I want it to produce a high-pitched whine, the sound that gives you a feeling in your ears like nails on a blackboard. Then, it’ll scream all the details so we know how much cupboard space and how big the back garden is (for the dog). I want a child-friendly rating out of ten, also screamed in the voice of a major celebrity, and by that time I just have to pull out my phone and take a look. Oh, and I want it to instantly send a pre-filled application when the house is made available. If we look and see that it’s not what we want, we’ll withdraw. Easy as that.

I’m still thinking about what I want, but this seems pretty efficient for a start. Hopefully just being in an app design course means one is able to make such a thing. But what would I know? House searching is really tiring…I need to make this quick.

-Ben

Categories
Uncategorised

Nurturing myself after menopause

anti wrinkle injectionsGoing through menopause was one of the most stressful experience of my life. It was a transformation that I wasn’t ready for, an initiation into true maturity. Aside from the strain it took on my body, menopause also took a toll on my emotional well being. By the time it was over, I was utterly exhausted. During the period after my menopause I took my beautiful daughter’s advice and decided to take extra special care of myself.

I splurged on everything from massages to spas, day trips to the country and even painting as a new form of self expression. However, the real self-healing came when I took a renewed interest in my appearance. I’d been neglecting my looks for the past twenty years or so – you know the story, I was just too busy raising kids, paying off the mortgage, working full time, the list goes on. There simply wasn’t time to primp and pamper. I also had the silly notion that older women have no emotional need to look and feel beautiful. I quickly discovered how very wrong I was.

Again, it was my daughter who suggested I get anti wrinkle injections. Melbourne clinics can give you treatments based on the latest innovations in skin care. After getting it done, couldn’t believe the impact it had on my self-esteem. Not only did I look fresher and revitalised, I felt the part too! It just goes to show that you’re never too old, never too young, never too anything to take pride in your appearance, and the emotional benefits are what it’s all about. I’m even thinking of driving out to the new clinic for lip injections. Ballarat recently got the same services as Melbourne – yay!


My husband didn’t notice that I’d had injection any more than he’d noticed my new haircut (men, typical!) but he did notice there was something different about me. ‘You’re in a good mood today!’ he said, ‘Whatever it is you’re doing, keep doing it. You’re acting about ten years younger!’

Categories
laser hair removal

From feminist to fashionista in 30 days

laser hair removalBack when I was at uni I really got into the whole female empowerment thing. I read Simone de Beauvoir and Germaine Greer, went to marches and hung out with a lot of women. Being a strong woman has its perks. You get to tell chauvinistic people off and stuff like that. But at the end of the day I found it easier to be relax a little. Instead of struggling against the all-consuming patriarchy I decided to embrace my power and go with the flow. So that’s when I made my conversion. Now, my aim in life is to please myself and gain my own confidence through self improvement.

The first step of my transformation to femme fatale was to shave off all that body hair that some people hate so much. Shaving gave me a lot of painful ingrowns though so I decided to take a more extreme and permanent measure: laser hair removal. Melbourne literally has tonnes of clinic that can perform this treatment and a few months later you’re practically hair-free. After laser hair removal, I was well on my way to becoming my best self.

I loved the benefits of laser hair removal so much that I started looking into more cosmetic style treatments can could enhance not just my body but also my entire visage. That’s when I stumbled upon lip fillers. Melbourne just happens to be full of clinics that do this kind of thing so it was no trouble finding a really good clinician. You know, I always thought there was a lot wrong with my lips, when I discovered that dermal fillers actually exist I though, hey, if it’s going to make me feel better about myself then why not? So I got the lip fillers too at that Melbourne clinic and my lips look amazing! I’m just starting to wonder though, how come so many women get these services done to improve their appearance and men don’t?

Categories
game design courses

From technophobe to tech addict

gamedesigncoursesMy story is a bit of a strange one. I went from being terrified of technology to addicted to it in a matter of months. Usually people are one way or the other, but somehow my personality totally flipped one-eighty degrees. It all started when a mate of mine was looking into game design courses in Melbourne. I thought this was a rather ambitious undertaking on his part, as he wasn’t particularly arty or creative. I also didn’t realise how much IT and programming was involved in studying gaming. But when he started his course, he really surprised me with how smart he was.

I guess this mate of mine had a particular talent at dumbing down techy concepts for an outsider like me to comprehend. Whenever I had problems with my computer, my other friends would scoff at my ignorance while my mate who was studying video game design was much more patient. He would explain in everyday language how I could do simple and then complex things using on the computer. I started to realised that computers aren’t all that arcane after all. In fact, most problems or queries can be solved by looking up simple instructions with a google search.

I think the reason why it took me so long to overcome my technophobia was because I tend to become flustered when the computer doesn’t do what I’m expecting it to do, and because it’s not human, I can’t even talk to it! This to me felt like reaching a frustrating impasse, but these days I’m less intimidated by computers like my friend in the video game design course. Melbourne has a few courses like these and I actually find game design and web development quite fascinating. And now that I’m pretty much glued to my computer screen, I’m actually thinking about taking one of these game design courses  myself! Thank God I’m not the hopeless technophobe I used to be!

Categories
funeral homes

Becoming a funeral director

funeral servicesI have no idea why but I’ve been to an inordinate number of funerals. Nobody in my immediate family has died, thankfully, but still a lot of people close to me: all of my grandparents, some aunts and uncles and even a couple of friends. I’ve seen a lot of death and grief and been to a few funeral homes in Perth. Throughout this time I’ve had dealings with some really great funeral directors and learnt a thing or two about funeral services and how the whole process works.

What I’ve noticed is that different funeral directors have different ways of organising everything and handling the grieving, sometimes stressed, relatives. Some take the cool and calm approach, while others take the compassionate, caring approach. Each has their unique personality, or perhaps they change their personality to accommodate the grieving family and their special needs.

People sometimes don’t realise how busy directors get at funerals. Perth has a lot of great funeral homes and directors but they’re only human and there’s only so much they can do. As a result, I’ve found myself in the position of having to take charge of some things and help grieving relatives. It was weird that I kept finding myself in that role, perhaps because I cope well during difficult emotional times, and perhaps also because people recognise this strength in me. I found people turning to me not just for practical assistance but also for a shoulder to cry on. I also get a deep sense of satisfaction out of helping people out in this way. Funeral services are a really difficult time and it makes me feel like I’m doing some positive work in the world, kind of like a social worker or philanthropist I guess. Now I’m even considering a career in funeral homes and funeral direction. It’s satisfying work, and with the aging population of Perth, sadly we’ll be having a few funerals in the coming years. It’s a strange vocation in life, but oddly satisfying despite the sadness.

Categories
drain unblocking

Sustainability Geekery

drain unblockingOkay so I’ve become a bit of an enviro nerd over the past couple of years. Issues like climate change and pollution have been affecting me. Basically, I don’t want our world to melt before my kids grow up and get the chance to experience all of the beautiful things that I’ve seen and done. And this has meant taking sustainability into my own hands as much as possible.

Most people are aware that they can do things like offset carbon emissions by paying a little extra for a flight, or ride the bike to work instead of driving, but even I didn’t realise what could be done around the home. Recently we had a serious problem with a blocked drain in the bathroom. I saw the warning signs like bad smell and damp spots but ignored them because I was busy. By the time I looked up drain inspections in Melbourne metropolitan region the problem was twice as big, the cost twice as high and I realised I should have called the drain repair company sooner. Anyway, the guy came around and used a drain camera to locate the blockage in the pipe, which was a nifty trick because then he didn’t have to excavate the whole bathroom to find the source. He then used some heavy duty blockage treatment to fix the problem, and did some work to repair the damaged pipe. To my relief, he got the job done in no time.

It’s pretty amazing that something as simple as drain unblocking in Melbourne got me thinking about sustainability. I realised that if I had kept up to date with cleaning the drains, the damage probably wouldn’t have gotten as bad as it did. However, I also didn’t want to pour nasty chemicals into the drain because they’re bad for the earth. That’s when I discovered an all natural, eco-friendly method for drain maintenance using bicarb soda and vinegar. This does the trick, is perfectly safe to use around the home, and best of all, doesn’t cost the earth anything.

Categories
trigger point dry needling courses

A fresh new start

trigger point dry needlingI had never set foot overseas until the ripe old age of twenty nine. I’d just liberated myself from one of those emotionally draining and long-expired relationships when my thoughts turned to travel for the very first time. I met an Italian backpacker at the bar one night while drowning my sorrows, and I know backpackers can have a bad rep but this woman was amazing. She’d had so many crazy experiences which she relayed to me over her gin and tonic, and had even learnt to have basic conversations in five languages. I sat there thinking that I had to get out there and see the world for myself.

That’s when I made the move to Auckland. Unlike many travellers who spend a few weeks in each country they visit, I wanted to settle into the place and become more familiar with the culture and customs over a period of time. So I enrolled in a trigger point dry needling course (which is what I would have done had I stayed in Australia anyway) and started to build a life in Auckland. Dry needling courses are quite affordable and have the potential to lead to a good career. I mean, it’s a legitimate medical treatment for serious ailments involving muscular pain around joints, orthopaedic and sporting conditions, and one you’ve got the accredited certificate in dry needling you can even open your own practice. I really can’t say enough good things about dry needling courses. New Zealand too proved to be quite an adventure for me. Perhaps I was feeling good about life now that I was studying dry needling and my life was back on track, but I guess that optimism infiltrated other parts of my life because I ended up making new friends, finding a brilliant apartment, and even falling in love with a Kiwi boy. And it was all thanks to my chance rendezvous with a backpacker in Oz. Thanks, Maria!

Categories
Marquee Hire

My 21st

My 21st birthday party was only a month away so the search for a party hire marquee began. i had been to many 18th Birthdays party’s recently where small marquee hires had been used and wanted to replicate something similar. I had heard many positive reviews about Marquees & Events who specialise in offering quality affordable marquee hire. Because of this i decided to get in contact with them through email at first and then via phone call. i spoke to a very friendly sales person who suggested i should look at a clear roof marquee hire as they look much more impressive than your standard white roof marquee.

Once i had learnt more about what it means to rent a marquee i decided to get a second option form marquee hire Melbourne, who confirmed what i had already been told. That the clearspan marquee hire with clear roofs and walls was the marquee for me. After much deliberation and thought i decided to go with this option. Once the team from marquee hire Melbourne turned up in there truck i could see that the equipment they used was very heavy duty and of the highest quality. The marquees themselves came in many separate parts which all had to be brought in one by one and then assembled.

marquee inside - purple lights

The team seemed to construct the marquee in just a matter of hours and soon were decorating the clear roof with fairy lights. Once i saw the finished job i was amazed and knew the right decision had been made. The following evening on the night of my 21st birthday party my friend Alex arrived early who worked for marquee hire Brighton he was also very impressed and loved the finishing touches. The night could not of gone better, and was a great success filled with unforgettable memories.

Categories
Conveyancing

Attempting a DIY Conveyancing

Conveyancing MelbourneAlright, I give up. I’m completely lost, and if I’m honest, I’ve been completely lost for days. The last few days have been an epic journey where I have discovered the immensity of my own shortcomings. I’ve been wading through mountains of paperwork for days and it’s time for me to finally admit that I have no freaking idea what I’m doing.

So far, I’ve managed to be able to get through this whole house selling process on my own. I realise now that that probably wasn’t the wisest idea, but it definitely was a heck of alot cheaper than going through an agency and getting squeezed for every penny. But even though I was, and still am, staunchly against employing a real estate agent when I managed to find a buyer on my own, I think I need someone to handle all the paperwork.

There really isn’t any shame in using someone’s conveying services in Melbourne. There are just so many laws, rules, and regulations. Unless you’ve been trained specifically in the field, it’s basically impossible to make heads or tails of it. Of course, all the various government agencies and council branches make it as difficult for you as they possibly can, so that you have to pay your conveyancer in Brighton or wherever you are instead of just being able to do it yourself. It’s just one of the ways the government has of trying to create more jobs for more people, even if they’re not really necessary. It’s all about wringing all the money they possibly can out of you before you’ve even bought your next place. Say what you will about an advanced economy being one in which everyone is a specialist, I’m much more of an advocate for the Jack-of-all-trades lifestyle. If only that were a possibility.