Please, please write a letter ... !

** So. The Goverment is considering cutting the current Medicare safety net for IVF. If you go to that link, and look under "Daily Blog" (left hand side), you will find some email addresses of people to write to if you disagree with this proposed/possible change. I think most people know someone who has used IVF/is currently using IVF. My cousin, who is one of the most beautiful people I know, is currently undergoing IVF as her and her husband have been unable to conceive. They would really love to have a baby, and even though IVF is tough, time-consuming and expensive, they're willing to jump through all the hoops and take all the tests, to start a family. The cost without the safety net would make it almost impossible for them, so I'm totally against the change, only because I know how much they want a child, and also because I want a little person in the family to baby talk to :-) I've never done this before, but I'm asking you guys to please take action. If you want to protest against the change, please write to Kevin Rudd, Wayne Swan or Lindsay Tanner. Below is the letter I wrote, feel free to borrow it, or change it as you like. Thanks, guys! **


Dear ___________

I am writing to urge you to not change the current Medicare safety net for IVF.

IVF is crucial for many people out there, who are unable to conceive naturally. Nearly everyone knows someone that has used the IVF system, which is already incredibly expensive to conceive through, even with the safety net, in regards to time and money invested. To take away the safety net would be to take away children from people who are truly willing to endure all the highs and lows of IVF simply to get pregnant.

Once again, I urge you to not change the current safety net when considering what cuts to make in the next federal budget. IVF does so much good, for so many people. It is something that really does change lives, and something that wonderful should not come down to the money needed to make dreams come true.

Thank you for your time,

____________

Random Mutterings ...

** Christine and I just realised the dogs haven't been fed since this morning. It's 11 p.m. They were fed at 7 a.m. We are terrible humans to our dogs.

** I had my 4th immunotherapy injection today. It hurt like a fucker, and I had a reaction. Twelve hours later, my arm is still swollen and aching. Ter-freaking-rific!

** I got an alarm system and central locking installed in my car today. I've spent the night pressing the lock and unlock button on the remote, just to see where in the house it works from (pretty much anywhere, in case you were wondering). It's wildly entertaining, and soooo dorky.

** I have tonsillitis, a throat infection and an ear infection. Again.

** I brought 8 pairs of socks today. Man, I love me some new socks.

** Collingwood is in the AFL Pre-Season Grand Final tomorrow night ... Go Pies.

** I'm tired, and I'm going to bed. Goodnight!

The Jersey-dog and The Dozer-baby.

February ...

So. Let's review.

February 7th, the bushfires get scarily close to our house.

February 11th, I go outside to drive to work and discover that my car has been stolen.

February 12th, my car is found. It has been crashed and dumped.

February 20th, my mum ends up in hospital. She spent the following couple of weeks in and out of hospital.

Last Thursday, the 26th, I drove home to see her.

Today, a speeding fine arrived in the mail. I got caught doing 105 in a 100 zone.

$142 and 1 demerit point.

Thank god February is over.

Oh, George.

Dear George,

I am writing you this letter to tell you that it’s over between us.

I know that you will be shocked – after all, at the start, we were perfect together. A more perfect couple has never existed, of this I am sure. I rang you, the day my car was stolen. I was confused and stunned, and you were my calm white knight.

Oh, George, how I want to go back to that first day. You whispered sweet nothings in my ear, told me that the insurance claim would be “a piece of cake”, that you’d make it so easy for me. You told me that everything would be okay, George, and I believed you. It would take no time at all, according to you, and I wouldn't have to do anything.

It’s hard to tell when I began to doubt you, George. I’m not sure when exactly, but I soon realised that I was always calling you. You never sent me flowers, you never seemed interested in me. And that's not what a girl wants, George.

Now, I know you're a busy man, George. I respect that. You're busy, and I know that you're not just my claims man, you belong to many others as well. I respect that, and totally understand that. We were never going to be exclusive, you and I.

But to have one phonecall from you in three weeks, to slowly become disillusioned with you, while I dealt with most things on my own ... Well, it quickly became clear to me that you weren't the claims man for me.

So, George, it's over. I'll have my cheque thanks, and then we'll part ways, never to see each other again. Unless you start working for my new insurance company, that is, and I'm unlucky enough to have another car stolen. Thanks for the no help that you gave me, the updates I was promised but never received, and the utter lack of helpfullness you displayed on many occassions. While it was fun, it's an experience I never hope to repeat.

Best of luck George, may you find some new chick willing to believe the garbage you talk.

Signed,

Bitter and Was-carless-but-now-not,-no-thanks-to-you-George.

Well, usually I don't blog from work, but today it's really quiet and I need something to do :-) So here I am.

 

It's been a big few weeks, firstly with the fires, then with my car being stolen, and then my mum ended up in hospital (and out of hospital ... and in hospital ... and out again), which is why it's been a while since I updated properly.

 

Firstly, I don't know if I ever wrote about the damage that the bushfire did to my workplace. On Black Saturday night, as we hosed down our house, I had phonecalls from friends, each one telling me one of the following: That my work had been destroyed/that the land next to work was gone, but they hadn't heard what happened to work/that the nursery part of my work was gone/that the offices had been totally destroyed/that the yard was gone/that there was only minor damage ... The vacant block of land next to work, and the house next to the vacant block were both destroyed, but my workplace was very lucky. We lost part of our fence, and a small part of our yard, but otherwise we were incredibly lucky. It wasn't really luck though - my bosses worked their arses off all night, and were on front-end loaders (bulldozers) until 6 a.m. on the Sunday morning, knocking down people's fences and trees, as well as dozing bush/scrub land, to ensure that the fire didn't spread too far. The smoke and water damage to both work and home took a few days to clean up, but the house and workplace is still standing, so I won't complain. I realise lucky we are to still have our house, our workplace. Like my post before said, tomorrow is shaping up to be another horror day, and the conditions will rival those we had on Black Saturday in heat and wind speed. Let's hope that we can get through tomorrow safely.

 

Next ... My car. That's been one hell of a saga ... Well, the insurance company has declared it a "total loss", which isn't surprising. I know that my insurance company was the insurance company that about 75% of people who lost their houses in my area were insured by (did you follow that?!), so I get that they are busy. Really, I do. And, it's just a car. So easily replaced. But my insurance company has been unbelievably slack. For the first two and a half weeks, even though I was constantly chasing them up, they were still not doing anything. It wasn't until I complained (at the END of last week, a good three and a half weeks after the car was stolen), that it was explained to me how busy they were. Which, as I said, I totally get. But nobody told me that to begin with, which is why I got so pissed off. I'm really thankful that I didn't wait for the insurance money to come through to put towards my new car (which I considered doing for the first week, until it became apparent that it would take so. freaking. long.), as the claim still hasn't been settled, and probably won't be for another couple of weeks.

 

So, instead of waiting for the insurance money, I applied for a bank loan, which was approved ... Then I went out and got me a new set of wheels! I ended up going with a 1994 Ford Laser, mostly because I fell in love! It's very tidy, very well maintained and it has low kms. I had a full inspection done on it before I handed over the bank cheque, and they found nothing wrong with it. It's a 4 door, silver dude that I'm calling Leroy. (Get it? First Gibbsy, then Leroy? It was either Leroy or Jethro, and it's not country hick enough to be a Jethro!).  

 

So, the next thing I want to do (probably when I do actually get the insurance money through) is put an alarm system and central locking in the car, as well as a brand new cd player. I dont know whether I'll actually need the alarm system, as being a little newer than my old car (which was an '84, this new one is a '94), it won't be as easy for people to break into (and seriously, how unlucky do you have to be to have two cars stolen?!), but this is mostly for my piece of mind. To be honest, I'm still having trouble sleeping, because every time I hear a car door, or a car starts during the night, I have a little panic attack that it's my car, being stolen again. And the new cd player, is just for me. After a shitty month, I deserve something just for me. Ok ... Something else just for me ... I recently got me a tooouuuch, baby, an ipod touch. (OMG, can I just say, best thing ever. Our cd player at work died two weeks ago, so I have been putting the touch on speaker and listening to it all day at work. Plus I have it on while I'm getting ready for work, while I'm having lunch, and I listen to my fave podcasts every night. Best $300 I ever spent on myself!) You can hook an ipod touch up to the cd player I've picked out, and it not only plays your music, but it also charges the ipod at the same time. It's also got other whiz-bang gidgets and snappy little gadgets and wonderful fancy fuctions and whatnot that go with it/that it does.

 

Well, I do have more to say, but I just realised that I have a meeting after work (in about, oh, twenty minutes time), that I'm totally not ready for yet ... Shit. So I better get going, and do some of that work they're actually paying me to do ... Oops, my bad.

 

 

 

 

  

Tomorrow ...

Please keep all Victorians in your thoughts tomorrow. Conditions are predicted to be worse than those of Black Saturday. Let's hope that we can make it through the day with no new bushfires, no more deaths, and no more houses destroyed.