The Lady Hooligan’s Page

I woke up this morning unable to breathe. My mom rushed me to the hospital emergency room, where they gave me oxygen and adrenaline. The local ENT-person and I aren’t really on good terms so no, I did not let them admit me. I don’t like ICU’s anyway.

The rest of the day was spent quietly at home, sorting out paperwork.

I’ll go back to work tomorrow, doing only light work, and then at the Weekend Seminar this weekend!

What I figured out happened, is that I had too much of a good thing recently - dairy products! Yogurt, cheese, milk… The result is that a whole lot of slimy yuck built up in my airway and got stuck there! For the next two weeks I am going to lay off dairy completely and see how that remedies the (lack of) breathing situation. O yes, AND sugar, now that I’m on it! If nothing else, I’ll lose a few kg’s and that alone would help me breathe easier…

Naughty thought - if I can stick to this decision through the medium to long(er) term, I’ll save a heck of a lot of money on groceries! And for the sweet moments, there’s always Lindt 70%…

I’ll let you all know how this turns out. Today was day one!

Having made more sums, and coming to the conclusion that I might have to pay in some on the kitchen that I want, I realised that whatever big furniture and appliance purchases I have envisioned for the near future would have to wait! Instead, I’ll have to go modular - bit by bit and piece by piece! That’s not a bad idea, either! It means that my interior would grow and evolve organically, instead of all at once in the same boring style! After all, I might see something that I like better somewhere else sometime in the future… (Something more “me”, whatever that may mean!)

What I did find on my scouting trips,though, were these blocks from Lotter’s Pine. They’re pretty inexpensive and solid wood, and can be stacked any-which-how I want them to be! PLUS if I buy the raw wood, I can stain them into the colours I want as well! So, what I plan to do in the next few months is to buy one or two blocks a month, until I have the shelving that I need!

Methinks this would be an excellent way to keep out of trouble… Physically as well as financially!

Since yesterday, there are 6 more weeks left until the Road Accident Fund should pay up! To say that I’m counting sleeps would be a gross understatement! While I’m waiting, my dreams for my new apartment are all on paper. That’s good, though, because I have had to rethink some sums… (Don’t tell my baby brother I said so - I’ll deny it! - but sometimes he gives very good advice and from time to time I even follow it!)

So, instead of paying up my personal loan, I am going to pay up my credit card, and also reduce the limit on it to a mere R1000,00. The payments on that would be manageable and I’ll still have that as emergency money. (Credit cards are way too expensive to be used as crutches!) What I’ll do from then on is to pay whatever I would have paid into the credit card, into my personal loan, on top of the personal loan payment. That way, I can reduce the balance on the personal loan quickly and shorten my repayment period considerably! Frankly, I’d be in hog heaven if I can be free of short-term and retail debt by Christmas 2010.

I spoke to the developer this morning. He said that the walls of my apartment should be up by end March. After that, we can talk about such matters as tiles, paint, wall plugs, light fittings, bathroom fittings and kitchen layouts. What he said between the lines, methinks, is that I should stop stressing about details now and enjoy the break, because when the planning stops and the action starts, it’ll start with a bang!

Scaffolding in place…

The scaffolding went up yesterday.  Hopefully by next week the concrete slabs will be in place as well… and then the floor has to be poured, or whatever process happens next! (If there’s a civil engineer in the house, please enlighten me!)

Anyway, the issue with the bank has been sorted.  We’ll reapply for the loan once the R.A.F. money has been paid into my account and the neccessary debts have been cleared.

According to IOL, there are 4 criteria for a home loan to be granted:

• A clean credit record
• At least a 10% cash deposit
• With all household income and expenses taken into account, the repayment amount has to be affordable (National Credit Act)
• The property has to have a decent market value, in case of a default in payment

Because I have big debts that need to be serviced, I failed my application on affordability grounds.  As soon as I clear those debts, though, my application can be granted.  So it’s not a train smash - just a hurdle to jump!

Financing for my apartment was declined today. The official story was that I wouldn’t be able to afford the repayments. That’s bollocks! Frankly, how can they say I won’t be able to afford repayments 5 or 6 months from now? I was angry, this morning, but then I decided that it can’t hurt for me to submit my cash-flow budget. At least then the bank/lending institution would understand that I have given this a lot of thought and would be willing and able to make a plan if needs be.  The fat lady hasn’t sung,  yet!  When she does, I’ll rethink this whole venture!

Grrrr…!

Good news is that the building is progressing, slowly but surely. With some luck, the 6 months would be over sooner, rather than later!

At the time of writing, I am waiting to hear whether or not my home loan application has been approved. Thanks to some irresponsible lending by banks in the USA, and the resulting world-wide economic slump, getting financing is a nightmare, even with a big deposit such as mine on the table!

That doesn’t stop me from dreaming, though… I can actually imagine myself living in that apartment already and “they” say that what one dreams about, one can achieve! In fact, I have already thought about a lot of the decorating touches already! I know what I would need to buy, and what I can borrow, and which hand-me-downs I would be able to put to good use! Fortunately, I’m no slouch with a paint brush and hammer-and-nails and I know what to do with fabric in a home setting. (Can’t make clothes, but that’s not the point!) And I know I’ll treat something that’s MINE (And the bank’s, for a while anyway!) differently than I would treat something I merely have the use of!

But in the meantime, I wait…

This is what the Road Accident Fund bought me…  Well, they’re paying for part of it, anyway!

Yes, it was a snap decision, albeit I don’t think an impulsive one.  After all, I did ask lots and lots of technical questions ahead of going househunting, and I did use the agents that my brother recommended.  I knew exactly what I could afford and in which area of town I wanted to look.

One of the advantages of buying off plan is that one saves on transfer fees and one can specify one’s own finishes, within the budget, of course!  And if there’s some tweaking to be done to the plan, that’s also possible!  O yes, and paint colours are up to me!  PLUS I don’t have to live with other people’s stained bath tubs and ugly cupboards.  (I can have my own ugly cupboards installed!)

The funnest part - methinks - would be to think through the interior.  It’s really tiny.  Fortunately, I don’t have a lot of furniture.  Actually, I don’t have ANYTHING!  So between the hand-me-downs and the ones I’ll need to purchase, I can pretty much start fresh!

I hate meetings. I’m on record for hating meetings, especially if they happen to be a waste of Yours Charmingly’s time and energy. And I especially hate meetings that drag on indefinitely, as African meetings tend to do.

On my way to work this morning, I got a text message from the boss asking me whether I have received notice for a meeting at 9. As it happened, I hadn’t, so I sent a text message back: what meeting? Something about a holiday programme and job descriptions. And then I phoned her and excused myself. Fortunately, I had made arrangements with people who would come to assemble some furniture today (they did) and had stacks and stacks of busywork to complete (which I finally did, as well!)

The other boss came around at about 11, to check up on the truant employee, and then found that not only was I busy with useful things, but that the arrangements I had made had been met!

This is what I actually DO in my little library: (Keep in mind that I’m the only employee there!)

• Stamp out books
• Shelve books and control shelves while I’m at it!
• Sort membership cards and issuing cards.
• Cover books
• Dust shelves
• Sweep floor
• Mop floor (once a week)
• Make coffee
• Wash cups
• Clean the toilet
• Clean the basin
• AND be nice to ornery old ladies!!!

I don’t think they’ll have all this on their list, so I can relax and simply sign what they have finally decided on.

No meeting necessary.