Sunday, May 31, 2009

decent, affordable housing - it's a right, not a privilege...

but you'd never know it by the exorbitant rents that desperate people are burdened with... I've seen some incredibly disgusting places in the last couple of weeks... i've been traipsing around everywhere and being totally disheartened and depressed by what i've seen... and horrified at the prices being extorted from people...

i didn't get the pet-friendly house i applied for... saw another pet-friendly 'apartment' - apparently that's the new terminology for tiny living space - I wouldn't have gotten much of my furniture in that... so have had to make a heart-wrenching decision for my Loudle boy to 'board' in the country with his poodle cousins and Irene... I know he'll love it though - and at least I'll see him regularly and I'll know he's being loved and pampered... and he'll have space to run around, and 3 friends - Lucky, Harry and the wee (but growing fast) Gigi (aka Bamboura)... i shed quite a few tears coming to terms with that...

I've seen some real grot-holes... I can't believe the contempt agents have for prospective tenants... the crap they let people view... the last place I saw had me dry-retching all the way home - it was putrid - the bathroom was disgustingly dirty - you would never have had a bath in it - all the enamel was peeling off so it just looked like a rust bucket... kitchen was even worse - filthy to say the least - unhygienic no doubt - everything stank... and the so-called 'compact courtyard' was the size of a postage stamp cut on the diagonal - even the fence surrounding that was falling down... how do people live like that - I'm by no means a clean freak, but their hygiene standards were obviously non-existent!!!! and they dare to say no animals allowed - they're far cleaner than what i experienced!!!!

I finally found something though - quite a spacious one bedroom flat with large lounge (and hopefully my dining table will fit), separate kitchen, clean bathroom and good sized courtyard for my old girl... have had to go down the track of lying about having pets - otherwise i would never have gotten anything... but the old girl no longer barks - no-one will ever know she's there - and it will be a good space for her with the courtyard off the loungeroom...

I sign all the paperwork on monday, but it's not 'mine' until the 5th June... and of course then I will get to see what problems may have been hiding under the current tenants furniture... it's horrible looking at places while people are still there - you can't see everything... and the applications these days have a clause saying you agree to take the property as viewed!!!! it's sooooo very competitive - lots of people at most of the inspections - very disheartening...

i don't have to go through that any more... but i can't sleep thinking about the move and wanting to get in and see what i'm going to fit in it... and there's so much else to do before... have decided to move next weekend - this place is open for inspection on the 8th so don't want to be here after that - my whole space will have been invaded and not feel like home anymore... I just won't feel comfortable staying here, but I'll be able to come back during the day to do all the other stuff - cleaning, rubbish removal, doing something with furniture i can't take, etc. etc. - best I organise time off work for the next couple of weeks at least... need to help my old girl get used to the new home - it's going to be the hardest on her, being deaf and blind... she'll need me to help her get to know the layout of the place - it'll actually be a better space for her because it's smaller so there's less places for her to get disoriented in - and she'll love the door to the courtyard being in the lounge - that'll be easier for both of us - it's a long, long trek here for her up to the yard...

anyway, i'm going to finish here and start listing what i need to do, who i need to contact etc. to make it all happen...

it is actually an exciting prospect though - it really is time to move on... i'm looking forward to having my own space (with Allie and Shadow of course!!!) - but nobody else to have to compromise my politics, my beliefs, my ethics for... yes, I'll enjoy that...

as you can see, no 70s post being worked on at the moment... but once i'm in my new home - just maybe...


Sunday, May 17, 2009

the search begins....


house-hunting - searching for that perfect but elusive new abode - huh, the reality is most of us just want to find something decent we can actually afford!!!! just the thought of having to move can cause despondency in those of us unfortunate enough to be dependent on the vagaries of the rental market... constantly checking the advertisements, then all that trudging around to view the properties that sound halfway decent - and discovering they're not always what they're 'cracked up' to be!!!!




and if you have companion animals it can be even more disheartening and stressful - hearing the "NO PETS ALLOWED" mantra over and over becomes extremely depressing and frustrating - and I share my life with 2 dogs and a cat - so that's 4 'heads to put a roof over'...




but on the 'up' side... i've got a lovely looking house to see on Tuesday where dogs are actually welcome - so that one's gotta be Allie's & Shadow's & Louie's and mine!!!! but what's going on - another property close by is also being advertised as "Pet friendly" - unheard of, 2 available at the the same time.... a positive sign from 'the universe' perhaps!!!


so many mixed emotions at the moment - up and down like a yo-yo - didn't think I'd be moving from here for a long time, nor did i think i'd be 'going solo'... the thought of leaving the familiar behind and moving on to the unknown can be a tad daunting... things certainly can change 'in the blink of an eye', hey...


but contemplation and sadness are for later... time enough to be maudlin once the house is 'got'!!!!



I came across this painting called "Moving house" by Persian artist Morteza Katouzian - I know exactly how the young girl's feeling - thought it was apt to end my post with.


Back to the 70s sometime soon I hope...


Saturday, May 9, 2009

when love has gone...

why is letting go so hard? why does it hurt so much? in knowing it's what has to be, when will the tears stop flowing? memories of the past haunt us - we try to make some sense of it... but there is no sense to make, there is no blame to lay - it took both of us to reach this place... we thought we were forever, but nothing stays the same... we tried so many times and failed, caused such heartache and pain, but in trying to keep what we had known, our love died along the way... but we have our lifetime of memories, intimacies we shared... we wove an incredible story, unforgettable chapters in our tale of life.... we once felt deep love and passion, and that we can't deny... but we've grown too far apart these days, our politics so different, beliefs no longer shared... we need to live apart now, and move on with our lives... but what becomes of friendship, when such a love has died? are the memories too painful, the differences too great? we'll see where our paths take us, and learn if friendship can survive...


rose Pictures, Images and Photos


We have shared so much together
Love... laughter... fun times... tears;
Yet sometimes we can't turn back time
We must walk away, allow ourselves to heal

(excerpt from "Letting go" by Judy Burnette - it's a lovely poem until the last paragraph when it mentions god!!)

Saturday, May 2, 2009

may day... pagan and political

Couldn't let May Day go without acknowledgement (even if I am a day late!!!)



its pagan origins
...


"The earliest May Day celebrations appeared in pre-christian times, with the festival of Flora, the roman goddess of flowers, the Walpurgis Night celebrations of the Germanic countries." ... Wikipedia.


from "The Origins and Traditions of Mayday... "It was the festive holy day celebrating the first spring planting. The ancient Celts and Saxons celebrated May 1st as Bealtaine, or the day of fire."



its political origins here in Australia...

"From 1887 to 1889 the 1st May was remembered and celebrated in Australia only by anarchists associated with the Melbourne Anarchist Club." Read more from Radical Tradition.





From Workers Online: "The first May Day march was held in Barcaldine in 1891 by striking shearers. The Sydney Morning Herald reported that 1340 took part.

Henry Lawson's well known poem Freedom on the Wallaby ... was composed in Brisbane at the time the striking shearers were facing the troopers guns at Barcaldine."

"... So we must fly a rebel flag
As others did before us,
And we must sing a rebel song
And join in rebel chorus.
We'll make the tyrants feel the sting
O'those that they would throttle;
They needn't say the fault is ours
If blood should stain the wattle"


the pagan is political...

i came across this article by the Midnight Notes collective, and found it very interesting reading... The Incomplete, True, Authentic and Wonderful History of MAY DAY - go on, check it out!



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and, on that note, I'm going to do some 'domestic stuff' and then think about my next 70s post...