moved.

its so slow here…. so follow me to my new spot.

www.hildycentric.net

it’s all hildy… all the time. and still using wordpress!

That has to be my “three” of things that break.

First it was the ADSL modem, then it was the stove. And to complete the trio of pricey and/or downright frustrating mishaps was my car.  Actually when it comes to my car… this is the unexpected repair bill too (this year).

I was running some errands, and my car was making a horrible noise that steadily got worse.  So I drove it to Midas while praying that it wouldn’t break down on the way.   Where I was greeted by Brian trying to crack a joke about me coming to see him again.  And the eventual bad news that I was going to yet have another repair bill.

My car is getting old. I’ve had it for five years and probably would have thought about replacing it by now if I didn’t have a financial noose around my neck mortgage.  It’s not entirely off the agenda but I will have to save some money and pay extra off my principal now to get it.

•  Maybe I should just tithe 10% of my salary direct to his bank account to cover repairs.

• Or I should try harder to win either a new car which of course is the lazy way of getting one.

Either way, I think I have to add Brian to my christmas card list.

Spotted at the supermarket today…

I was at the supermarket today… and I saw a guy wandering around in just his underwear.

• I don’t think he was certifiably insane because there were no white coat men chasing him around with some clothes a straitjacket.
• It wasn’t in the middle of the night when they tend to throw people out of places for stupid behaviour.
• It wasn’t a dare because I didn’t see anyone pointing and laughing evilly.
• It wasn’t a dream either because it wasn’t me wandering around in my underwear.

I’m just hoping that it’s due to the nasty weather that we had today and he just got drenched…

Can you say w00t?

The New Zealand iTunes Store is finally open!!

As an iPod user and Rhino movie music fan I’ve been waiting for this for nearly 2 years. Apple have been very cagey about it’s launch and I remember an article about a year ago where it seemed unlikely to happen for a very long time.

It’s exciting for several reasons.  Obviously one is the fact that this is totally legal and any track will go on my iPod.. with other NZ download services they will not convert to the form.  It’s also cheaper than I thought it was going to be at $1.79 per track.

So today I’ve whipped my VISA card out of my wallet and signed up to download a few tracks. I’ve downloaded four tracks – all of them Rhino records ones.  I’m going to have to behave and just download a few a day / week / month.

Fiji is in chaos… was I really there only 3 short months ago?

Well the (unlawful and not unexpected) coup has finally happened in Fiji.  The fourth in twenty years and quite possibly not the last.

I was there for a few days in September, and it’s a beautiful country.  I want to return for longer next time in the not too distant future.  It’s a country very heavily dependent on tourists and foreign aid from countries like New Zealand & Australia.   I was very aware that the resort I was staying at was not the reality for the majority of the population.  I would have liked to visit Suva where all the events are unfolding but we we several hours away.  I seriously doubt the tourists there at the moment are in much danger for the same reason.  And the airport is at Nadi so you don’t go to the capital to leave the country.

There isn’t a right answer on this one.  For once it’s not about the election of Indian-majority governments… probably as it’s unlikely there’ll be one of those again.  I agree that a government shouldn’t be overthrown when it is lawfully elected, but there is a lot of frustration over its actions – such as laws regarding land ownership & commodity price increases, as well as condoning the actions of those who took part in the 2000 coup.

I’ll definitely be glued to reading the news websites every hour or so over the next few days!

The stove was tripping the light fantastic.

The element in the oven once again got its revenge on non domestic-goddess me, but this time there were no fingers or oven mitts involved.  I heard this awful noise and looked in the window to find a small fire going on in the top.  The whole stove is staying switched off until the repairman I looked up in the Yellow Pages is coming to fix it tomorrow.I could have cooked something without it…. ummm probably not if I wanted to eat any vegetables. I had to ring my mother at work and leave a message on her voicemail asking if I could come for dinner.  I must have sounded completely insane.  And I knew the only way she’d turn me down is if my parents were going out for dinner.  I love my family.

I also hope the repairman doesn’t try to overcharge me.   I want to spend the money I (still)  have on more interesting things.  Like maybe a few music tracks from iTunes if the rumours are true.

Vaccuum cleaner shopping.

Yesterday I realised I’d better go vaccuum cleaner shopping. I have been borrowing my sisters and my parents ever since I moved in here, but I got sick of driving around to pick it up (and take it back) really quickly.

I’ve always had a love-hate relationship with them. As a kid, I wouldn’t go near one…. and who wouldn’t when all they had was the upright Hoover models? I saw them in one store yesterday and they still gave me the creeps. I remember it as being heavy, noisy and it reminded me for some reason of a snake.

Eventually I just gave up and went to The Warehouse. I got one of those bagless ones for a pretty good price. They had a 30% discount if you bought 2 or more appliances so I bought the cheapest appliance I could find (when I am reasonably confident I will never use), and got $30 dollars of. It would have been a great time to buy a new microwave, that’s for sure.

Now for my next mission. To plug it in… and turn it on…