Bye Bundle

Hayden's gone to Bell Bay. Sent him off at the airport this morning after we had coffee and breakfast together, pouting at each other the entire time. He'll be back in eleven days. I know that's really not a long time (considering that someone else is trying to get him for four months), but I am used to seeing a lot of my husband and I like it that way! It's especially hard having him gone at the moment because I'm going through bouts of self-doubt and he's the only one who knows why and how to fix it.

We all went to our local to watch the All Blacks beat the Wallabies last night. I actually spent some time watching Hayden instead, since we chose not to sit together. (Yes, despite seeing a lot of each other, we aren't glued at the hip.) He pulled out all sorts of cute expressions, though! I miss him. :(

On the bright side, I've convinced Markie to cook dinner for half the week. We will be eating all the great things that Hayden doesn't like, e.g. prawns, salmon, cooked veges. Tonight Markie is roasting a ham for us. And Jess has just come over, baked us some excellent blueberry muffins and cleaned up.

I'm determined to spend the next eleven days catching up on French podcasts. That's something I do better when Hayden's not here to distract me.

Still have to fix the roof, too. Markie and I were unable to find the hole in it today. We can see it from the inside, but not from the outside (which is where we have to patch it). Rah.

Homeowner Dramas

To all of my friends who are thinking of buying property - for investment or otherwise, be warned. It is not easy being a homeowner. I have never heard of anybody who's bought a house with zero problems afterwards. This is because even though we get building inspectors, LIM reports and the like, in the history of most houses lie a series of developments that inevitably get missed. This could include things like dodgy home renovations, rodent infestations, earthquake damage, wear and tear, vandalism and the list goes on.

Shortly after we bought our house, we discovered water in one of the cupboards next to the fireplace. We dried it out, de-mouldified the inside of the cupboard and put towels in there to soak it up. Every so often, I would check the towels. In general they remained dry. We tried to find the source of the water, but never could.

Then, at some stage we noticed that the horizontal panelling in the wall recess above the cupboard was showing signs of water damage and mould. Again I kept cleaning off the mould and every so often we'd go on a hunt to try and find the leak in the roof, but to no avail. We didn't think it was a huge deal as the area surrounding the leak seemed to be in good, dry condition, so it wasn't as if we'd have to change out a whole wall. (My colleagues tell me that it's not uncommon for people to have to replace entire walls.)

Anyway, of late the stupid panel has been mouldier than ever. Today, it's rained for at least the last 12 hours. While lounging around in the house in silence, I heard a dripping sound. Initially I thought it was the dehumidifier, but then thought I'd check the panel anyway... and there it was. Looking at the surface of the panel, I saw that there was one spot where it was mouldier than everywhere else and where the surface wasn't even flat.

I decided to remove the panel, which was screwed in place. Then Hayden decided to come along to see what I was doing. I was having trouble getting the whole panel out due to structural supports. But then I pointed at the wet spot a little too vigorously and ended up poking a hole in the panel! Turns out that it was just 5 mm plasterboard, which is really easy to damage if wet (which it obviously was). I chucked on some safety glasses, respirator, gloves, etc. in case I had to rip out Pink Batts. Then I set about ripping this plasterboard up.

With great satisfaction, I saw the drops of water coming from somewhere. Unfortunately, we still don't know where. But at least we're one step closer than before. I saw some light coming through a small hole in the roof. Not sure if the small hole is causing it, but it would make sense if it was... because if it were any bigger we'd have had far greater leak dramas than this by now.

Looks like I'll have to go climbing up there tomorrow when Hayden goes to Tasmania. Don't ask me how he gets out of these jobs - timing is everything! Maybe I'll try to send Markie... appeal to his male sense of fix-it-ness. Also give him some practice, since he and Jess are planning to buy a house together.

Sigh.

Noteworthy

Today was pretty noteworthy.

Firstly, for reasons I can't blog about. This has been happening a lot more lately, which kind of sucks because I do want to record these exciting things and tell people about them, but can't. This must be a sign that my life is getting far more complicated. And before anyone asks, I'm not pregnant. (Though my dear friend Anneke is and I'm gonna be Auntie Heidi! :D)

Secondly, today I got to meet the Prime Minister. I thought to myself, what exactly does one call the Prime Minister to his face? Prime Minister? Sir? Mr Key? John? I don't recall what I settled on in the end. He caught me offguard, greeting me by name (which was conveniently printed on my hardhat and jersey). LOL. I was expecting to possibly catch a glimpse of him on his visit to site, but I didn't think that I would meet him, shake his hand or have a chat. It was funny because there was this photographer in the background taking photos every time we changed facial expressions or body positions. What do I know about the Prime Minister? Enough to make me vote for him and his party in the last election. :) It was a bit strange meeting him... because on one hand, he is obviously a VIP with whom I would normally never cross paths, but on the other hand, we've seen him on billboards and TV so much (news and Parliament TV) that there's some sense of familiarity there.

Thirdly, can't believe how huge yesterday's earthquake actually was, now that the stats are out. It really didn't feel too bad from where we were. Not bad enough to make me panic or think that I was gonna die or anything, anyway... just bad enough that we stood in the doorframes just in case.

Anyway. Now to make a noteworthy dinner for Markie and me. (Hayden is ditching us in favour of a work dinner.)

Why the Boys are Awesome

This is why the boys are awesome: they have solutions for everything.

Me: I'm hungry.
Boys: McDonald's, every time a good time.

They then proceeded to go out into the cold Invercargill night to McDonald's to get me a quarter pounder combo as I lazed on the couch at home.

Me: Why's the couch jiggling?
Boys: Earthquake!
Me: Oh noes. What's the safest place in our house so we don't get hit on the head?
Boys: Doorframe.
Me: Okay.
Boys: Did you not learn that at school?
Me: Nope!
Markie: Is it still going?
Me: Yes.
Markie: What about now?
Hayden: Yes.
Markie: Still?
Me: Yes.
Markie: Far out!
Hayden: Yes.
Me: Are you still in the doorway?
Markie: Yes.
Me: Good.
Markie: Are you?
Me: Yes.
Markie: Is it still going?
Me: Yes.

Hayden and I stood in one doorway as Markie stood in another as we watched a documentary on J.K. Rowling. Turns out that there was a 6.6 magnitude earthquake (edit: apparently measured at anywhere from 6.6 - 8.2, the radio seems to have settled on 7.8) in Fiordland. It seemed to go on forever. It's only the second earthquake that I've noticed, though the first was at work last year and only lasted for a few seconds. This one must have lasted minutes because we had a whole conversation while watching the chandeliers sway in the lounge and dining room. I was actually starting to get motion sickness from all the swaying. Then it stopped.

It is nice to be looked after. We later rang Jess who had apparently run out of her house because nobody was there to tell her to stand under a doorframe. See!

Truly Bizarre Search Keywords

Okay, so again I decided to run a list of keywords that lead people to this blog. The list has gotten far more entertaining since last time! (I've bolded my favourites. ;))

On one hand, I am concerned that some people search for such weird and wonderful things... on the other hand, I am concerned that there was enough on this blog to have them sent this way!

• (ppe)scriber
• 2002 mitsubishi airtrek test
• a letter for future 14 year old
• annabel langbein chicken laksa
• corny vows
• corny wedding vows
• engineer wedding vows
• engineering wedding readings
• father
• father of the bride marriage advice
• father of the bride speech jokes painter
• gingerbread recipe nz
• good friday april 10 thoughts of the day
• grillmaster modifications
• gush and mush
• "+hayden bundle"
  
• heidi edwards the southern scribe
• i think its kinda funny i think its kinda sad the deams in witch im dying are the best i ever had - song
• magnolia tree firewood
• marriage vows engineering
• mush and gush
• mush gush
• mushgush
• not corny wedding readings
• not corny wedding vows
• reoccuring dreams about stabbing someone
• schuezz
• schuezz.blogspot.com
• scribe 2009
• six hams
• southern gingerbread recipe
• southern scribe 2009
• southern scribes nz
• southern wedding vows
• southland times 500 cellphones
• spectacular wedding vows
• tiger paw safety boots
• times my mother stood up for me
• wedding ceremony vows which are not corny
• wedding vows chemical engineer
• wedding vows for an engineer
• wedding vows that aren't corny
• what is wrong with magnasleep?
• when you stop painting the town and start painting walls and ceilings

What a Day

Can't go into any detail for confidentiality reasons, but today at work, I pretty much had a taste of snippets of the following roles for a series of non-related events... I can't believe how quickly the day went and how many different hats I had on:

1. Negotiator
   
2. Support person
3. Defence lawyer
4. Prosecution
5. Clerk
   
6. Judge
7. Crew leader
   
8. First aider
9. Traffic controller
10. Caregiver

And I got a ride in the ambulance too. For the second time in my life (the first being when my class got attacked by bees in 1996). What an incredibly incredible day, after a ridiculously ridiculous week last week. Everyone is okay, though, don't worry.

Let's hope that tomorrow is boring.

Surround Sound

Not everyone will know this, but I was born with microtia in my left ear and I've been deaf in my left ear for my entire life.

When I was quite young, I was very self-conscious about this... so much so that when I had to do a hearing test in my first year at primary school, I copied the answers off my neighbouring classmate! Of course, the teachers got suspicious at my "perfect" hearing since my health booklet clearly detailed that I was deaf in my left ear, so I got busted, humiliatingly. (Maybe that's when I learnt that lying and cheating never does anyone any good.) Hahahah.

I was also self conscious because my parents forked out big time for me to get cosmetic surgery on my ear, but the final result (a silicone implant) was far from real looking. Every Chinese New Year when I visited the rellies on Dad's side, aunt so-and-so would always ask if they could see the ear, like I was some freakshow. Yes, in those words, like, "Wah, so tall ah! You look just like your Dad. Eh, show me your ear." Mom also gave me these goober haircuts to cover my ear so that nobody had to look at it. I always had short hair because long hair had to be tied up at school.

I kind of got over it by the time I was in secondary school, growing my hair out, tying it up and celebrating my freakishness a little bit. The funny thing is, nobody in school or outside school ever said or asked anything - they must have all been too polite and I stopped considering it an issue at all.

At the end of high school, the prosthetic ear that I had from my childhood surgery had left me with certain complications (from the skin graft), so I opted to have it removed and not replaced. I couldn't be bothered trying to fix this thing anymore. It was quite liberating - I still have the silicone thing in a jar in Auckland. LOL.

When I got even older, I decided that there were some clear pros and cons to this condition of mine:

Pros

• I have no trouble getting to sleep and preferentially sleep on my right ear so as to block out any noise (this has become even more important since marrying Hayden, who snores)
• I don't think I can get a left ear infection
• I can focus well in a room where everyone's talking at once because half of it is automatically filtered out
• If I walk through a noisy environment and want to block out noise, I only have to cover one ear
  

Cons

• It can be difficult hearing people who are sitting on my left if they speak softly (I get by through a combination of lip-reading, asking them to speak up, turning my right ear towards them and attempting to sit to the left of everyone in a room - Shane remembers and always walks on my right if we're walking and talking :D)
• I can't use bud-earphones in my left ear (and they are annoying to only have in one ear, so I have to use headphones)
• I have some difficulty in establishing the direction that sounds are coming from
• Surround sound is lost on me
• The most annoying one of the lot, which is nothing to do with being deaf but everything to do with the lack of an actual ear - 99.9% of the prescription glasses and sunnies in the world will NOT sit on my head evenly

Anyway, back to the topic of surround sound. I'm suddenly blogging about this because I was fiddling with the controls on my headphones today. It's not a new thing - I figured this out quite some years ago, but it's not something that I do very often. Today, I turned the L-R balance way to the left with only a teensy bit coming from the right, then turned the volume right up. What that does is makes enough vibration that I reckon that whatever bits of inner left ear exist actually pick up some sound, while my right ear picks up the finer bits that the left ear can't get. (The other thing that happens is that the left ear speaker is going so loud that my right ear picks that up too, which happens at work when I do my hearing tests and confuses me entirely about whether or not I should press the button to say I heard something.) Listening to music with this setup is as close as I've ever been to experiencing full hearing.

So there I was, listening to Hey There Delilah for the first time in this manner. (It's one of my super feelgood songs.) It's hard to describe the feeling. The feeling was incredibly cool... it was like unlocking a sixth sense, almost. It was a feeling of wholeness, albeit temporary. It made me incredibly torn between wishing I had full hearing, yet being contented and very grateful for what I do have. Not many people seem to appreciate their hearing - I certainly do. I'm usually one of the first people to put on earmuffs at work if it gets noisy, I don't play my music too loud (except experimentally, like today, and even so, only in my left ear which wasn't going to get any more deaf) and I avoid concerts and other noisy environments. I am constantly grateful for having all of my five senses and for being healthy.

Take care of your five senses... don't wait until it's too late. And if you're listening to music today, do me a favour. Shut your eyes for a few moments and really take it all in. :)

Trust

I'd like to think that my parents raised me well. And that the Christian values that I have are good values to have, even in a secular world. And I choose to associate with people whom I respect, all of whom are people of integrity.

I told lies as a kid, to get out of trouble. I often got out of trouble, too. Lies paid off. But somewhere along the way, I learnt that lying was wrong and that I shouldn't do it. Lying hurt other people and I didn't want to do that. I went through the rest of my life telling the truth, or if I couldn't tell the truth for some reason (maintaining someone's confidence), being elusive but still not lying. I can't bring myself to lie - I'll admit that I have contemplated it on occasion... but the guilt totally gets to me before the words are allowed to come out of my mouth.

Up until recently, I hadn't met that many people in my life who have had reason to lie to me, bar a few shady ex-boyfriends (who are ex-boyfriends for that reason, among others). Anyway, in the last few months, some people have suddenly got a reason to lie to me, i.e. to get out of trouble at work. Initially, I took everything that everyone said at face value. If I ask a straight question, I expect a straight answer! It may seem naive, but I've trusted people by default - that's just the way I've been ever since I emerged intact from my stupid cynical teenage years, because after banishing the shady ex-boyfriends to my past, I have had no reason not to trust people. Now that I've had my trust trampled on and thrown back at me, I'm beginning to see that not everyone in the world deserves it. People have looked me in the eye and lied to my face. That bothers me... I would feel slightly better if they at least felt guilty while attempting to lie. After that, I actually spent quite some time being disappointed in humankind.

I've kind of got over it now. As in, I'm not dwelling on it anymore and am instead taking the lessons that I've learnt and using them to be more effective at work. It still disappoints me, deep down, though. People should really be accountable for their actions. And the more they don't want to be accountable, the more I have to hold them accountable. Working with people is far trickier than working with stuff, I think. If only they didn't have to complicate things further by lying to cover their butts!