Franchising & Business Opportunities Expo

Got some free tickets to the Franchising & Business Opportunities Expo at Sydney Exhibition Centre. Attendance was pretty good. Must be the global economic crisis. In these uncertain times, people are on the lookout for plan B. Oven cleaning, lawn moving, blind/curtain cleaning, coffee shop, vending machines, bookkeeping, cookies and ice cream, fruit juices, muffins, etc.

Sydney Ute Hire

Moving day today. Instead of trying to cram the bed(s) and mattresses and cabinet into the Zafira and making multiple trips, we decided to just rent a ute. You can normally rent one from most petrol stations. The one across the villa is charging $40 for a minimum of two hours. We went with that because of proximity. You write down your personal details and put up a bond just in case something happens to the ute. The clerk brings you to the ute, shows you that the tank is full, and makes a round of inspection with you. And off you go.

I thought of asking the guy if he can reduce the time/fee. Good thing I didn't, as two hours is just right. Loading up the ute already took almost an hour, not to mention the unloading part. Then there's the travel time from the petrol station to home to unit and back to the station. I returned the key, and the guy asked if I had refilled the tank. I go, Huh? Do I have to? It's just a few kilometers. Anyway, I filled up the tank, and paid for a few dollars worth of petrol to make the guy happy.

House Wine

Discovered StripGenerator today. It's an online service and you use it to create comic strips. There are other comic-strip creators out there, like Bitstrips and stripcreator, but I like this one better. Simple and effective.

The Couch, the TV Stand, and the Not-So-TV Stand

Went to Parramatta to pick up the Freedom couch and the small TV stand. The couch was longer than I thought and the TV stand much heavier than I expected. Fortunately, we were able to cram the couch inside the Zafira. The frame was literally centimeters away from the headrest. No hard braking, please.

Had lunch at Se Joung (right outside Woolworths Campsie). Just the starters are enough to make me mildly full. The barbequed scotch fillet and chicken fillet are very good. Back at the unit, we set up the couch and TV stand we picked up earlier. Assembled the Besta TV stand, which is not going to be a TV stand.

Christening in Plumpton

Went to Plumpton for Lana's christening. WHQ is the official godmother, which makes me the unofficial godfather. The event is pretty low-key. Just the parents and Lana, the godparents (and their partners), and a couple of friends. And the officiating priest, of course.

Back at Ropes Crossing, the grandparents are still busy preparing the feast for the guests. I only sampled half of the foods on offer, and I got full already - fried spring rolls, crispy pata, fried chicken, fruit salad, puto, etc. Spend the rest of the afternoon talking with the hosts and watching Foxtel. People started leaving around 4pm, so we followed suit.

Dropped by Ikea to see what good stuff we could buy. Saw this nice walnut-effect Besta TV stand that WHQ liked. We won't be using it as a TV stand though. Since we're just a stone's throw from AS, we passed by Liberty Grove to give her a visit. Over fried spring rolls, we went through the musical program for the wedding and the married lives of some friends. It's true that marriage is not the answer. It's a question. And you'll probably find the rest of your life figuring out the answer. Some will think that they've learned their lesson, and that the second time around will be better. Maybe so, maybe not. Some might think that as long as the couple has a strong religious foundation, things will work themselves out in the long run. Maybe so, maybe not. As I always say, you never know a person until you've seen him/her angry.

Star City Trophies Lunch

Been a while since we went to Trophies Food Court for lunch. That's because it's been a while since GDG got a $50 voucher from Star City. He used to get a lot of vouchers from the establishment, but not anymore. Maybe he's not gambling as much.

We noticed that there's a promo ongoing called Cash Lab. Basically, you swipe your Total Rewards membership card at one of the promo kiosks to get a raffle ticket for the draw of the day. If you're lucky enough, you get an instant prize that you claim on stage. If you're feeling lucky, you can pull a lever for a chance to double your prize. My instant prize is a $10 free bet. A pull of the lever made it $20.

Today must be our lucky day. GDG forgot to bring his membership card, so the Trophies staff swiped her card when we placed our food order. Turns out the staff discount is 50%, so effectively we got all our food for half-price. We ordered BBQ pork, roast pork, fried pork chop noodle, Caesar's salad, Greek salad, spring rolls, and black forest cake for everyone. All for only $44 (at 50% off). We didn't even use up the voucher. Had to pack away the eight spring rolls because we're too full already.

Becoming One

Part two of the Becoming One marriage preparation course at St. Michael's Lane Cove. Unlike the Thursday night session which runs from 7pm to 10pm, this one's from 11am till 6pm. Lunch is not included. WHQ and I had to drive to the town centre to get our lunch.

Spent most of the day watching videos of real-life couples arguing, analyzing what they did wrong, and discussing how they can improve. Later in the afternoon, we had a lady talk to us about family planning, then a priest talk about the marriage sacrament.

Have to say I expected more from the course, considering the amount of money we paid, but it's not too bad. Learned a few important things on keeping a positive outlook, not jumping to conclusions, learning to empathize, focusing on the issue and not on the person, etc. Have to say I now know a lot more about birth control methods.