h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I am joining your exclusive club too; i have finally decided it's ridiculous living in this house. I can't use the upstairs in winter 'cos i can't afford to heat it, plus the stairs are becoming more impossible, i am under no illusions that even if the Bloody Knee gets fixed i will still have mobility probs.

So am going to start looking for ground floor place, it will mean giving up on cheesebox making, which is a shame, but no way can i afford a two bed place with one being used as an atelier. The big advantage of this place is it's incredibly cheap for Centre Ville, i only pay an extra 50$ on top of the housing allowance.Plus i can play music when & as loud as i wish.And i love having my own front door to MY house.

Viking suggests i buy a mobile home. Jolly practical solution that. A) How do i magically come across the cash to buy such a beast? B) Does he have any suggestions as to where i plonk it down & still be able to hobble to the shops? Not all of us have cars; he seems to forget this fact!

The housing allowance for a single person gets you a studio flat, bedsit by any other name; i think this process is known as downshifting or something; otherwise known as giving up & accepting the inevitable.

Ah well.

Ivan, get out there nagging again

zdt

Terri, I think the time has come for you to have a ground-floor-only place... You never know, there might be something that will still allow for an artspace. Good luck.

Here's my latest thought on my own situation: http://allhomes.com.au/c/ah?a=spr&p=61649 I have a couple of concerns about this one. First, wouldn't it be too big for one person? Second, why has it been on the market since 25 November? The way this town is, there must be some reason it hasn't been snapped up. But we'll see tomorrow.

Hurrah for pubs. Nice, kind, altruistic people run these places and allow terribly distracted and shattered people to go there and get rather drunk at a reasonable price.

*hic*

Well, dang! Thought I'd get up this morning and hear the wonderful news about the new place. Anyhow, it still sounds promising, and only five others have applied.

The latest place looks quite okay too. How come they never show the bedrooms? Is there a limit to the number of photos they can put on that website?



az

There are places with up to 30 photos on that site, but they're usually the appallingly expensive ones billed as 'suitable for diplomatic use'. In this case, I'm assuming the bedrooms are just unremarkable enclosed spaces. And come to think of it, one doesn't spend much time looking at bedrooms in detail, 'cos it's usually dark by then.

Speaking of 'diplomatic use', a friend of mine and some friends of hers (people I dislike, but that's neither here nor there) once took over the lease of the Bosnian embassy. Before they left, the Bosnians removed all the lightbulbs, some of the light switches, all the heating oil that was in the tank, and the float thingummy that is supposed to be in the toilet cistern. For the next few weeks, Cyrillic graffiti kept being sprayed on the front wall - until the household set up a sign with the new address of the Bosnians...

Well. I've had a look at the last place I posted here, and I think I know why it's sitting vacant. The garden is mostly dead, the carport would collapse under the pressure of a sneeze, and it looks like the carport gates have been kicked in. At the other side of the house there's no gate or fence, so the back of the house is open to the street. The carpets are a nasty orangey-pink throughout, and there's a square metre patch in the lounge that has been laid against the nap of the rest of the carpet for some reason. I can't say that I could live there happily.

There will be more listed on Monday, Ivan And anyway, the one you applied for isn't gone is it? You have a good chance of getting it I'd have thought - no kids, no pets, steady job

The one I applied for is still listed, so that's something. There's also a new one listed this afternoon, but there's no photos yet so I'm not sure what sort of place it is, but it's in a nice area.

Keep us posted.

Will do. I don't expect I'll have anything to add until tomorrow.

Incidentally, I have a job interview on Tuesday; I'd more or less forgotten. If there's one thing I really don't want to know about right now, it's my blood pressure... But I've decided what to wear to the interview, and that's half the struggle.

Good luck on job interview!

<<>>

Depends on the job really. I would suggest:

If applying for job as glamour model: nice, tight fitting trunks & tummy well sucked in; it's possible to keep this up for about 20 minutes with determination. Smile a lot.

Civil Service: Boring grey suit (i am safe) plus silly tie (but ho ho ho; have a creative streak) Thin lipped smile.

Arty stuff: Jeans, outlandish T shirt with vulgar pics & slogans. Grin & giggle.

Teaching: Don't. Just don't. If you really must, wear a frock & adopt a nervous tic when asked awkward questions.

Social w**ker: definitely polo neck jumper, whatever the weather. corduroy trousers. Sympathetic, world weary, sardonic smirk.

Right, so that's sorted. Now the house.... about that other one.

zdt

The interview garments: black trousers (I have no other sort at the moment), white shirt, unbleached linen jacket (which looks odd with black trousers but it's too bloody hot for one of the others) and a black tie with yellow-bordered jobbies on it that just happen to be the colour of unbleached linen. I'll still be wearing the usual Doc Martens as my 'formal' shoes are too uncomfortable for anything other than a penance.

Propery-related nagging will resume tomorrow...

Sounds good. I would give you the job simply on the basis of the Docs alone. Linen is as is black. Exude nonchalance.

zdt

I'm more likely to exude sweat. But at least it's eary in the morning; I'll be able to get into something less tidy before going to w*rk.

I'm hoping they ask the usual questions about how I function under pressure. I feel well-equipped to answer that sort of thing at the moment.

What? You're going to walk in carrying a bottle of ?



az

A bottle of - why not? At least it looks better than walking in with a 4-litre cardboard cask...

Don't do it Ivan

Don't worry, I won't. For a start, I won't have time to get to the bottleshop before the interview.