Well, I finally got to drive my new car home yesterday. After harassing the hell out of Toyota, and the salary packaging woman, I guess I annoyed them enough they were willing to let me have the car. The final paperwork had still not returned from the NT government to the salary packaging person, but they let the car go anyways. I told them it might not have taken as long if they didn't make a serious error in the first place with all the paperwork, and if the salary packaging woman spent more time sending me the correct documents and not someone else's private documentation - which included THEIR bank account information, employment details, addresses and phone numbers...she managed to do this THREE separate times. What an incompetent goof. Her excuse was that she was sending them out to a co-worker who shared my first name. Yeah...sorry. You're still an idiot if you did it THREE times. Finally she deleted my email address from her autocorrect. Dumbass. I also let her know I would be very upset if my information was shared so haphazardly as these folks' info.
So there I was, at the dealership getting the rundown of my new Toyota Rav 4, and they presented me with a gift basket full of wine, cheese, other treats and a new chamois. I'm not sure if it was standard or because I'd been jerked around all week. Either way, I was happy with it. Off I drove to test it out only to discover they had cheaped out and sold me a car with no gas in it. It was about 20kms from empty...great. I have never been given a car from brand new with no gas in it. Ever. How rude! So I had to fill up at the gas pumps before I came home. It cost about $77 bucks to fill it up (yes, gas is outrageously expensive here compared to Canada, often $1.80/litre or so). I then stopped off for groceries and beer before heading home. My friend F. came over and we drank all the beer while waiting for some pizza to be delivered. It was a 2 hour wait and highly overpriced and in the end I don't think they put pepperoni on it, but salami. I miss Pizza Hut!
Today my friend F. and I took off at 7am for some yard sales and I managed to get a few great deals. I bought a washing machine for $70 and a set of hardwood coffee/end tables for $40. I also bought an iron and frying pan for $7, an original dot painting (2.5ft x 3.5ft) for $5 (probably sold originally for $250 or more) and a 36 piece set of good flatware for $10. I then headed out to the furniture store to pick out a bed and mattress, and a fridge. Rentals rarely come with a fridge, so I had to buy my own. Luckily they had a great sale on today and I bought a brand new 210litre fridge for $469. I don't know what the conversion is, but it is a small two door fridge, big enough for me, that's for sure. Apartment size. The bed is a wood and black wrought iron head and footboard, and the mattress is fairly comfy too. I'll get that stuff delivered next weekend.
From there we went to Cheap Auto or something like that and scored some seat covers, a steering wheel cover, and a sun shade for the windscreen (windshield). Everything was also on sale there, so I did very well. We then went to Target and I managed to get a set of stoneware dishes for $8 and two sets of latte cups (I'll use them as glasses) for $2 each (4 cups). I bought a set of towels as the towels I've been using belong to the government housing, and mine won't be here from Canada for another few weeks at least. There was a great sale on towels too, so I also did well there!
F. and I then decided we were pleased with ourselves (she didn't buy anything at that point) and went out for lunch and a couple pots/schooners aka glasses of beer. I had the Todd burger, which was the name of the bar and the river it runs along (dry river at that). They put beetroot on it. I asked what the hell was beetroot, as I was imagining something other than beets. Nope. Pickled beets. Gross. I pulled it off. They also wanted to put egg on it...gross again. I managed to get them to leave that off. Aussies are strange! I've never heard of putting eggs or sliced beets on a hamburger!
A quick trip to the beer store before dropping F. off at home, and I was pouring over my wares. I washed up the towels and dishes and proceeded to pimp my ride. I'm such a messy traveler from eating and drinking in the car, so I wanted to get them on right away before I messed up the seats. There isn't a Tim Horton's here, so I probably won't be spilling any cappuccinos but who knows what else I might spill. I left the rest of the stuff in the car, as I will arrange to drop the washer and tables off at the new place rather than wrestle it out and back into the car when I pick up the keys next week.
It's all coming together, which makes me happy. I had to bum rides all week to and from work, so now I'm independent once again. I'm going out hiking with an Aussie man I met several weeks ago and haven't seen since though we've been text messaging and sending Facebook messages. We're meeting at 8am tomorrow morning for a hike at Simpson Gap, followed by a picnic. Life is good.
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