I'm actually alive.

I have had THREE PEOPLE this week tell me to "update your blog already!" To be honest, this is actually quite flattering to me. I didn't think that many people cared about my ramblings and pictures and what not!

I have been mega busy with work and such, and we've only recently got the new internet at our place (hurrah) so I promise to up the posting from now on.

Last week Tom and I were lucky enough to have a visit from Mum and Dad, and our sister Meg. It was brilliant seeing them, although brief - Dad was here for work stuff and Mum and Meg tagged along. Mum and Dad are coming back for my graduation ceremony in October so it won't be too long till I see them anyway.

For now I'm going to bed, (this post was basically to let people know I'm still here..) but I'll post again in the next 24 hours - I am getting a special delivery tomorrow morning and must share the details!

And no post is complete without a photo, so here's me and Josh in our latest dress-up, which was part of our Amazing Race audition. The boy is very talented at face painting! 

the substitute home.

So I've been quiet lately, this is due to the fact I have no internet (yet) at the new house. As a self-confessed net addict, AND as someone who works online, this fact pretty much physically hurts me.

However, due to the move to Preston, I am a 15 minute walk away from many dear friends of mine. I have been pretty much living at Dean St, the home of Shona, Potter, Maire and Nath, since we officially moved - so I can hawk their internet. I have had to stay over multiple times due to my erratic roster. They are all brilliant for letting me hang at their abode - and it's been good seeing them every day.

Josh and I are busy planning our audition tape for The Amazing Race Australia - Season 2. We'd be brilliant, and we know it. We just need to pack this brilliance into 3 minutes of video somehow. We don't want to do anything too extreme or fancy, just something to show off our highly awesome team chemistry and personality (and epic weirdness).

In other news, Melbourne seems to think it's already summer. The last couple of days have seen temps up to 23C! The plants are following suit and flowers are in bloom already. The only thing I'll complain about is the friggen hayfever it gives me. Here's a couple of pics around my "substitute home" of the early spring :D

Happy news.

So some pretty brilliant things went down today. First of all, I smashed out my final assignment last night, and I am officially DONE with university forever! It's exciting, but somewhat sad in a way. Another era of my life is over. I was definitely ready to leave though, after doing a semester extra than I should have, I was well and truly over attending classes and listening to douchey hipsters point out their pretentious opinions, or listening to mature aged students arguing with the tutor because they're old, and clearly know more about the world than anyone else in the room. However I will miss student life and the perks that come with it - youth allowance, going out on weekdays, cheaper everything... (wait, my student card doesn't have an expiry date! Muahaha, thanks La Trobe!)

The last thing I'll ever submit. Peace out LTU!

Anyway Kayla and I then went to get lunch at one of the uni cafe's, and the boy there made my day by bringing the price down on my meal. Bless his heart.

Nothing was more delicious than a big-ass burger to celebrate my finishing uni... The proper thing to do would have been to go and smash some beers in true graduate style.. but we had more important things to deal with and that brings me to my last BRILLIANT thing.

Earlier in the day we'd gone to a house inspection and fell in love. We were shown through an apartment above a shop on a busy street filled with cafes, grocers and random little shops. The apartment was perfect for us - newly renovated, it looked basically new. The three bedrooms were very decent sized, still had restored art-deco period features on the ceilings (which were HIGH and awesome) and the two front ones had little terrace balconies going out onto the street.

Kayla and I had a good old yarn to the agent and he was a very decent bloke - he made us feel as though we had the place secured already. The other group being shown through were three asian guys who seemed disinterested. We took some applications, went home, smashed them out, and took them straight back to the estate agent to apply.

Less than an hour later I got the call: THE APARTMENT IS OURS!!

This is our new kitchen! It's so newly reno'd that the exhaust fan still hasn't been installed, haha!

So THAT is my brilliant day! Been a while coming! I feel as though two great weights have been lifted right off my shoulders. 

Tom arrives in the country tomorrow and our household will be complete. We're going to sign the lease as soon as we get him from the airport, and then all the fun stuff like packing can begin! Hooray!

Home Shoppin'.

So the hunt for the house is well underway - well sorta. We are on the lookout constantly. There are so many factors we have to take in, and we have to keep a budget in mind as well. Just cos I have a job doesn't mean it pays well!

Here are a few types we are looking at, plus pros and cons.

This is a very cute house. It's just in our budget range. But the con? It's a fair way away from where any of our friends are living. We've felt a bit detached being further out from the city from our friends this year, and we want to be closer when we move. (This is closer to the city, but on the other side to the friends.)

This one is in the location of my dreams. It's near the corner of Smith and Gertrude in Collingwood, VERY close to the city. Taxis would be unnecessary, and the rent is shockingly cheap..

And therein lies the problem. WHY? Is there a roach infestation in this house? Will we die of hypothermia? Is the toilet in the main bedroom? 

Admittedly it's not the best looking house I've seen but there must be other reasons to its cheapness. We'll check it out.. warily.

Now, this one could be perfect. It's much cheaper than we're expecting to pay, and it's 4 bedroom, not 3 like we're planning for, so we'd have the option of a fourth housemate and EVEN CHEAPER rent!

Cons? This is not much further in to the city than we already are. Cheap rent would be a plus, but I would never wish the commute to the city that I endured for over a year to anyone. Let alone my own flesh and blood. (Oh yeah did I mention Tom is living with Kayla and I? That's our new household. Exciting!)

And then maybe you might find a house that seems absolutely perfect. Close to Thornbury train station, affordable rent, close to our friends. Easy right!?... No. No it friggin' isn't. Because there is a huge competition when it comes to applying for houses. Especially perfect ones like these. And they tend to prefer people who have steady incomes rather than students, recent Kiwi imports, and poor beasts! 

Fingers crossed though, we're praying that we can call this (or something just as good as this) our home very soon!

Lawrence Court vintage.

So the hassle and cost of hunting for a new house has begun. There's so much to do, and so little money, and we are constantly chasing up things that need fixing, replacing or cleaning. Maire, Kayla and I have never had much luck with our fourth housemate. The three of us have lived in this humble abode without hassle for over 18 months, but we rotate fourth housemates like they're going out of fashion. At the moment we're struggling massively because one of the girls refuses to pay us for a set of keys she lost (meaning we have to replace the locks) and the landlord's lawnmower, which she ruined by putting in straight petrol instead of 2 stroke.

This photo is the "Lawrence Court Originals". It was one of the first nights we were all together in the house. Laura, the blonde, was the "fourth housemate", she left after breaking up with her boyfriend (one of our best friends), demanding a whippet dog and cracking the shits when we said no, and generally not getting along with us. Hopefully she's happier in her new house... (Not that we'd know as she deleted us all from facebook)

But despite such ridiculousness, we are pretty happy that the three of us have managed to stick together through the trials and tribulations of Lawrence Court. It is going to be too weird not living together anymore :(