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Welcome to my official website - my 'home' on the Internet.
20 days of Winter have gone and in
Sydney we have had good rain with lovely days when it's not raining. For a
few mornings early in June my car was covered in ice of a morning and the hose
in the front yard was frozen solid. This meant getting a watering can of
warm water to wash down the windows so I could leave safely for work. One
particular morning I remember driving along and noticing the back windscreen
covering over with ice. Once the heater in the glass was turned on the ice
slid down the glass in long pieces and accumulated at the bottom until it
melted.
How did we ever get by before we had
heated glass and heating inside the car and air conditioning? We got by
because it was all we knew and we didn't expect anything more. Summer
meant driving with the windows down and feeling that hot wind come into the
vehicle where the occupants were dripping with perspiration. We accepted
it and why bother complaining? The good old days were good in a lot of
ways, or so our memories tell us, but this time that we live in is remarkable if
you bother to see the positives and forget the negatives.
My work week is now 4 days instead of 5
as I slow down toward retirement. 5 days was getting the better of me and
I was sure that I could achieve in 4 days what I did in 5, just by working a
little bit harder and smarter knowing that I would be rewarded with a 3 day
weekend. So far it's working out fantastic as I have never been a Monday
person. Monday now is my day to do with what I choose and I feel
positively inspired. My 4 days at work are full days that fly and as I
have decided to start at 7.30 am I can finish at 3.00 pm which means that I have
a little bit longer at home of an afternoon in Winter before it's dark. I
actually feel like I have almost a whole day at home awake, instead of dragging
home for dinner, some TV or computer time, and then bed. They say a change
is as good as a holiday and I have to agree although a holiday somewhere idyllic
would be wonderful.
A friend did me a huge favour a few
weeks ago when she told me about the Commonwealth Government Pension Bonus
Scheme. I had heard that if you worked 5 years past your retirement age
without applying for the pension you would then receive $30,000 tax free as a
bonus. I didn't realise though that you had to register with Centrelink to
become part of the scheme. Thanks to my friend I am now registered and
have been accepted and all I need do is work for 12 months and if I choose to
retire then and go onto the pension, I will receive about $1500 as a
bonus. The bonus grows year by year and jumps quite appreciably each year
to a total of $33,000 at the end of 5 years.
It was announced a couple of weeks ago
that the scheme will be ending on 30 September this year 2009. Therefore
all people who are still working and could be getting a pension and haven't
applied for the scheme will miss out. I say shame on the Government for
not issuing media releases and advice to every Australian that this scheme
exists. I am doing my bit by writing about the scheme online in the hope
that some people will read about it and pass on the information to their friends
and loved ones. After all, we have worked for many years, paid taxes all
those years plus medicare levies that provide health services for those that
don't/can't work plus private health insurance. We deserve a bonus at the
end of our working life for doing the best we could to support ourselves and our
families and for working extra time when we could go on welfare.
Water restrictions in Sydney have been
eased as of midnight tonight, Sunday 21 June 2009. We are now permitted to
water our gardens with hand held hoses or with sprinklers or watering systems
every day of the week before 10.00 am and after 4.00 pm. Previously, for
the past 5 years or so, we have only been allowed water twice a week and only
with hand held hoses. Some months ago the restrictions on washing cars
were lifted so we no longer had to do this tedious job with buckets of
water. Other restrictions remain in place such as washing down hard
surfaces such as driveways etc. Sprinklers can be used at any time to keep
children cool.
Perhaps the Government is becoming
alarmed at the rainfall and the water being retained behind those huge dam walls
and the pressure that must be building up. I can remember in the 1990's
when they had to release water from Warragamba Dam down the Nepean River because
the level was at the maximum safety and still building up. The dam wall
isn't all that young and was showing signs that it could perhaps break down and
cause a huge disaster. My family and I went out for a visit to the Dam and the
water going over that spillway was tremendous to see, and hear.
Unfortunately there is damage then to life in the river downstream and some
flooding of some areas. Even minor, this can be detrimental to everyone so
I'm assuming that they believe there is enough water in the dams now to ease off
on restrictions. Of course with all the rain we have been having over the
past year or so, there really isn't a lot of necessity to water the gardens very
often at all so water usage with restrictions must have dropped
dramatically. At the end of the day it's a huge relief to see a lot of the
dams around our huge dry hunk of island filling up with water. After all
without water there is no life, including human.
The economic situation seems to have
quietened down although I suppose we have all just become acclimatized and dug
in for the hard yard. I did my bit for the car market and bought myself a
new vehicle - a Hyundai Tucson wagon. My car was 8 years old (also a
Hyundai) and I began to fret that it might have a major breakdown and I decided
it was better to put that money for repairs into a new car with 5 years
warranty. I didn't buy Australian I know, but I bought what I considered a
good reliable vehicle from a company that I respect.
It has been disappointing to hear
recently that the people so badly affected by bushfires in Victoria are living
on their burnt out properties and at other locations in caravans and
tents. With it now being winter this is totally unacceptable and so
sad. So many lost loved ones without even considering the loss of
property. To think that they now are housed in less than adequate
lodgings is unacceptable. What happened to all the money Australians
raised for these people? What happened to all the money others raised and
donated, people like Lisa Williams? Those in power should hang their heads
in shame. How can they live in their nice warm homes, eat and drink
whatever they feel like, when fellow Australians with nothing are left to battle
out the elements? Every day of my life I thank whoever/whatever that I
have a warm home to sleep in and food on the table and the amenities to cook
that food. How grateful I am that my family is safe and my beloved
pets. Placing myself with those that are suffering is beyond
comprehension.
Points of Interest
My website has been created mostly to
draw attention to 'stranger danger' on the Internet and that's why I have links
on my home page that parents and young people can access for information on how
to stay safe online. Of course it's also a place where I can post some of
my short stories and articles and photos.
If you have children that use the Internet, and you care
about what they do and with whom, then take a few minutes to browse around this
website. Then go a step further and access the links above my
picture. These links will take you to websites that have been specially
set up for children and parents. If you don't believe what I say, you will believe what you read on those websites. I chose them very
carefully because of their authenticity and the way they bring the message home
to kids and parents about the dangers and the need for safety when using the
Internet.
On the lighter side of life below is a picture of beauty of Killary
Harbour in Ireland. I actually went there late 2006 and
I was so excited when I realised I had stumbled into the picture for real!
I had no idea that Killary was along the road I was travelling because even
though I had a number of maps of Ireland, they are all different and many of the
places you will find on one map are not on the others. Such is the
enchantment of Ireland and part of the adventure of finding places you weren't
expecting to find. I have no idea where the actual picture was taken from
but I was there, in the vicinity, and I smiled. There is a website noted
on the lower right hand side of the picture. Drop by for a visit and see
many more beautiful pictures of Ireland on display and for sale.
I hope you have time to read some of my articles and short stories. If you are interested in reading more of my work, or you would like to
experience a thriving reader/writer website, please visit www.authorsden.com.
There you will find a smorgasbord of writers from all over the globe and visits
are free. You can read all the poetry and stories and articles that you
could ever want to find in the one location, and I am proud to be a member of
that community with my own website within AuthorsDen.
Thank you for visiting, I hope you enjoy the stay :)
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