Living in a Townhouse...

A few years ago we decided to rent a townhouse instead of the standard issue apartment, the first place we rented didn't allow pets, the second did but the poor muppet fell out the window and there was a heavy smoker beneath us. So we found a townhouse that we had thought looked decent, allowed pets and were told it was a nonsmoking complex. Guess what?  After we signed the lease and got the keys, we went to do the official inspection and what do we find out, that we are bookended by smokers. After doing the inspection we went back to the agency and asked what the deal was with the smokers. They tell us that it's a nonsmoking complex inside, but all residents have the right to smoke in the courtyard which is where all the master bedrooms face. One night we were trying to eat dinner and it was as if the people were sitting in our kitchen, smoking, so my husband said something along the lines of effin ferals and slammed the sliding door. Next thing we know someone's knocking on our front door, guess who, the neighbour that was smoking. Turns out the same real estate agency told them that they could smoke inside and outside, while lying to us. Eventually they moved, thank goodness and almost every weekend there was a party going on and really who needs or wants that noise when you're trying to fall asleep. Our "lovely" neighbour to our left owns her unit and every morning around 5:30am she's out there tapping her lighter on the patio table, I don't always hear that one or smell it as I'm usually still passed out that early. The other clockwork thingy she does is smoke at midnight, here we are in bed enjoying the lovely breeze coming in through the window and what do we hear but the tapping on the table and the flicking of the lighter, then all of a sudden we are hit with a wall of smoke in bed. Mind you they have the air conditioner on all day practically every day and she runs out to have a ciggy with no consideration to the neighbours that don't smoke. Personally I don't care if they smoke, just smoke inside, stink up your own house, not mine. We even complained to the realtor saying that all the clothes in the master closet stink like smoke. It will be interesting to see how long the unit stays unrented after we leave.

There are a few good things about this place, it has 3 toilets and 2 bathrooms. In Australia, the toilet is often set up in its own separate room. The ensuite has a shower stall, a sink and a toilet, the main bathroom has a shower over tub and a sink, the toilet is at the top of the staircase and in our situation has been set up for the cat's litter box. The third toilet is just off the garage, but the corresponding sink is the laundry "tub" in the garage. I love the fact this unit has a dishwasher, before living here I've never had or used one, and I am hooked. The bedrooms are decently sized, the master fits our king size bed, the walk in closet fits almost all my clothes. The second bedroom fits a full size bed and has decent closet space too. This place has a courtyard, which could be lovely, except for the problem of a big spider that loves sitting over the wash line and the stink wafting over from the neighbour to the left, plus we're set lower than the units next door, so we are in a hole that stinks of cigaretttes. The only nature we see is that horrible spider, the occasional turtle dove and sometimes a possum, oh and let's not forget the lizards and occasional geckos.  There's no real view to speak of, comparing to the units we've rented before, this is just garages, a driveway and roof lines of the other units. The kitchen counterspace is dismal, it's so small, you're better off preparing your meal on the table. It does have a gas cooktop and fan forced electric oven, which works decently. The other thing that is majorly lacking is cupboard space, no pantry, no real place to put your pots and pans, the space under the sink is full of pipes because of the dishwasher, so there's not much you can put in there. The two corner cabinets are deep and the openings are narrow, so that when I take out a roasting pan I have to play tetris to take it out of there. There is no peep hole on the front door, so if someone comes knocking at night, you can't tell who's there before you open the door. A few weeks ago it seems someone tried breaking into our place by putting a hole through the security screen to see if they could pop open the lock. We always lock the screen door with the key as you can't rely on the simple latch.  I seriously cannot wait to leave this dump, I won't miss the neighbours, their cigarette smoke, the 6:30am motorcycle dude going off to work. the guy in the adjoining complex that leaves his fluoros on all night, thereby making our bedroom light as day. And last but not least, people talking so loudly I can hear their whole conversation.

The things I will miss is our local coffee shop, she knows our order by seeing our faces (how great is that?)  and the bike/footpath of Kedron Brook, which to this date has helped me lose 7 pounds, 26 more to go! I will miss the short distance into the city.

Air Is Free, No Wait I Forgot It's Not....

Back in September 2014 my husband and I flew to New York to see my family and friends whom I hadn't seen since I left to move to Brisbane. We were there for three weeks and during the last week, we decided to rent a car instead of using my dad's old Accord. On the second day my husband wanted to check the tire pressure as this is something you should do before a long trip. We went over to a gas station and went to pump up the tires, but wait, you have to add coin to the machine to get air. Since I've lived in NY I knew the drill, but at this point air was 75 cents and unless you bring your own gauge, there's no way for you to know what your tire pressure is. If you're dawdling it'll cost you more twice as much, the damn thing is on a timer. The proper procedure in NY to check and pump your tires is, remove the caps, then check the tires, remembering how much pressure is in each one, then going to the machine, add your quarters and fill until you think you've reached the proper pressure. You could also carry your gauge and check it every so often until you've reached the desired psi.

Typical US air pressure pump

Typical Aussie air pressure pump 

In Australia, the air is FREE! Not only is it free, you set the machine to the desired psi and it stops pumping when it reaches the pressure you specifically need. When you place the nozzle on your tire, it tells you what the psi of  the tire is at that point, so really there is no need to carry a gauge with you wherever you go. 

Just a little comparison of the two countries that popped into my head the other day while checking my tyre pressures.