Archive for December, 2011

Back on the road

I’m back on the road in two ways, actually. With thanks to my mate, Andrew, the TX5 was able to pass it’s blue-slip inspection, and is once again registered.

How I’ve missed driving this thing.

 

The other kind is that I’m travelling again. I’m currently sitting in Morayfield, Queensland, having recently been to the Coffs Harbour, the Gold Coast, Bundaberg and Maroochydore.

 

I’m kicking myself for not installing cruise control in the TX5, though. I bought the setup from Scott, and it’s sitting in my garage. The TX5 is considerably smaller than my XR6, and as such, cramps are much more common. Cruise control would meant hat I could move my foot and leg around a bit without worrying about pissing off other drivers.

 

When I get back to Sydney I’m going to install both the cruise control, and the better suspension package (shocks/springs/swaybar). That will make the TX5 handle a lot better, and be much nicer to drive for long periods of time.

 

It’s starting to cool down outside, which I’m glad of. It’s been 33 degrees outside most of the day. Hopefully we’ll get a little rain, too.

I don’t miss Sydney in the slightest, but I do miss the 20 degree rainy weather down there.

2011 in review

The beginning of December is probably a little early to be writing a review of a year, but a lot of things have come to a close in my life, and being that I’m about to leave for a holiday I don’t really see anything of consequence happening for the rest of the year.

 

Auslan:

My Certificate 2 studies have finished, and I really think I’ve come a long way in learning the language. While I can’t keep up with a full speed conversation, I have a half-decent grasp of grammar, classifiers, and basic vocabulary. Enough to get by, anyway.

I’ve really enjoyed my studies, and I’ve made a lot of awesome new friends.

The plan is to enrol in Certificate 3 next year, and again, hope I pass. A few people have already told me that I sign at a Cert 3 level, but personally, like all the things I do in life, I’m not really sure of my own abilities.

My opinion doesn’t really matter, though. I’m sure the people around me will let me know how I’m doing, and a certificate in hand means the world to me.

Auslan is the first studies that I’ve undertaken since I left High School, so I’m somewhat proud of myself for completing the course.

 

 

Violent Crumble:

Broke the gearbox drag-racing, A new gearbox is going to cost a fortune. It’ll take a while.

 

 

TX5:

The TX5 goes for yet another blueslip attempt tomorrow morning. If it fails again, I’m going to be pretty pissed off.

If it passes, I’ll be off to Queensland on Wednesday.

 

Self improvement:

The main thing I’ve been concerned about this year is my crooked teeth, and on Tuesday I will be taking the first major step to having a beautiful smile.

Braces don’t interest me. Too much pain over too long a period, so I’m having things done surgically. Sure, it means a lot of pain for two weeks, and eating through a straw for two weeks, as well as having a semi-permenant retainer for god-knows how long, but at least when I smile, my teeth will be nice and straight.

I’m also having two extractions done. The two back teeth at the bottom of my mouth need to go. The dentist said it’s not important to replace them, because they’re fairly useless anyway. Not used much with chewing, and apparently I’m not going to miss them at all.

 

 

Mum:

A massive chapter has come to a close, and after two years of shit-fights with too many people, I’ve finally managed to buy mum’s house from the estate.

I have a few people to thank for helping me out with this. They know who they are, because I thank them repeatedly.

Finally I am comfortable in my own house. I own it. I have a mortgage. I can do what I want now, and I never have to move house again if I don’t want to.

 

Now I need to sort out work life and personal life. Life is not too bad at the moment, but if those two got sorted, I’d have everything I ever wanted.

 

Happy Holidays, everyone!