Living the dream

Keen readers of this site will have noticed buried among my "interests" something that quite a number of people would consider as quite ambitious, and I refer to CRACKING THE SYDNEY PROPERTY MARKET. In Australia more generally, the concept of home ownership (or at least the one of having a massive debt to a bank and being able to live in a place in return) is popularly known as "the great Australian dream". Well, today seems like a good day to announce that, all going well, I am exactly one month from hopefully never paying rent again. For a while now I have looked towards a time when I’ll be paying off my own mortgage, not someone else’s. It is amazing to think that a few weeks ago, right in the thick of Easter celebrations, I found a top floor apartment in an area of similar distance to the city centre to where I am now (though in a bit of a different direction) with panoramic views of the city and of water and a lock-up garage, all at a price that I can afford. It seems nuts but yes, this is reality. You never know your luck if you go looking for something. There is a heap of packing to be done, although I have filled a substantial number of boxes with stuff already. There is also so much else to be done before I move in, including getting away from here for a week and a bit to see some family and friends.

 

In other news I have found a car to replace the one that was smashed up a week ago. Now you see why this is not a good time to be needing a new car. I’d rather be using the extra cash to offset interest on the considerable home loan that I’ve had approved, but so be it. After such a good experience with the Toyota Corolla I really couldn’t go past it again, though I did look at other models and did some comparisons. My next car was going to be the Prius but I had planned for it to be further into the future when I could afford it. So another Corolla it is, but this time considerably newer and a model closer to the top of the range with lots of nice extra features. After having someone bang into me I naturally gravitated to the presence of safety features like ABS brakes and dual and side air bags. The NRMA calls it "cheap life insurance" and it’s hard to argue with them. I had a test drive on Monday and apart from my unfamiliarity with where the clutch pedal kicks in, it was all good. I pick it up on Saturday.

Write-off confirmed.

It’s official – my car is dead, and will become a spare parts donor. It’s not just an inconvenience. The death analogy is appropriate since it was like an old friend, one who had been with me wherever I went every time I chose to drive rather than go some other way. The search for another car will start today. In some ways this will bring about benefits, looked at objectively. I’ll get a newer car, probably with more features, more comfortable seats, slightly better performance, and likely that is more relaxing to drive. On the other side I’ll be dipping into my savings to "upgrade" my car sooner than I would have liked. If things are equal either way, I like most other people prefer things to stay the same rather than change. That is why this is all a bit sad. But maybe there is a reason behind it that I’ll never know. I had already had a problem with dodgy steering, which had been rectified by a mechanic. Maybe I was saved from this problem returning with disasterous results? Whatever the reasons, I’m now looking for new wheels.

Smash, bang, new car time!

What was likely the last journey of my trusty reliable Toyota Corolla that I’ve had since 2001 was very short, maybe between 2 and 3 kilometres. Driving part of the way to work this morning as I often do before parking and walking the rest of the way, I had to stop due to banked up traffic behind someone turning left, but as soon as I did there was a mighty BANG from behind, and next thing I knew was I’d hit the car in front and my seat back was lying flat, all the way back. The guy who rear-ended me was very apologetic, said he hadn’t seen me slam on my brakes, didn’t know Sydney well and was from somewhere with an entirely different level of traffic to this mad city, so I had to have some sympathy for him. Never mind, I said to him and the guy in front of me, we’ll just all get each others’ details and the insurance companies will sort it out (luckily we were all insured). One of them suggested turning into the side street in front of us to get out of the traffic – good idea. Thankfully our engines all worked and our cars could be driven this short distance. Physically I am fine, I have no injuries, and the other guys are OK too.

 

After the formalities I caught the next bus, got to work slightly late and called my insurance company. They found my car and towed it to their motor morgue somewhere a long way away. Since it had damage to the front and back, their preliminary assessment is "total loss". As will be seen from a future blog post, this is not a very good time for this to happen. I can afford to replace my car but the money from the insurance probably won’t cover the cost of a satisfactory replacement, I’ll be out of pocket a bit. Now comes a time of getting reaquainted with the process and pitfalls of aquiring a motor vehicle.

 

On the way home from work I dropped off the keys at the insurance company’s branch near my home. My car was not there, it had been taken somewhere else. I was told that my things that were in it will at some time be taken out and returned to me. In reality it could be repaired and be useful again, but probably for more than it’s insured for. This is quite sad when I think of all the journeys I have shared with it. It was getting a bit old but was still going as well as ever. A sad loss. On the walk the rest of the way home I naturally gravitated to the many car yards near my home and had a cursory look. There will be a lot more looking to do in the next week or two.

Easter, a week and a bit on

Easter was a bit different for me this year, I actually had to work! Despite this it was a good time as Mum and Dad visited from Queensland and we were able to spend quite a bit of time together. Among the highlights fitted in around the shift roster were seeing a performance of the Turramurra Passion in the week before the big weekend, attendance at no less than 4 church services (Good Friday, Resurrection Sunday, and the 2 Wednesday nights either side) and a quick 2 day trip to Canberra to see some old friends and extended family. Perhaps I shouldn’t have made this trip in retrospect due to the cold virus I had, but it was a good time regardless.

 

No Easter entry on this blog would be complete without an enthusiastic defence of the reason for Easter, in the face of the ridicule it is commonly subjected to by ignorant commentators in many Western countries. It was great to actually see a good history lesson on national TV this Easter, as John Dickson told the story of what history and archaeology has to say without the controversy or fanfare of the publicity-seeking conspiracy theorists. He has a website here for anyone interested in seeing more. The influence of Jesus Christ continues unabated nearly 2000 years after his movement commenced, and this influence he continues to have in peoples lives is perhaps at least as compelling as the historical record. Just look what 3 perfectly sane and intelligent friends did in the week straight after Easter (you might have to ask permision to see this). And after much deliberation another friend did the same on Sunday, just a couple of days ago!

 

As you ponder what it might mean for you, chill out to the nice jazzy bluesy song playing on this site…

 

 

"Kindness" by Todd Agnew

 

"Open up the skies of mercy
Rain down your cleansing flood
Healing waters rise around us
Hear our cries, Lord Let ’em rise

It’s Your kindness Lord that leads us to repentance
Your favor, Lord, is our desire
It’s Your beauty, Lord, that makes us stand in silence
Your love, Your love… is better than life

We can feel Your mercy falling
You are turning our hearts back again
Hear our praises rise to heaven
Draw us near, Lord, meet us here

Your love is Better than life
Your grace and Your mercy Is better than life
Your kindness, Lord Is better than life"