I have been ripped off big time! Whoever says that Sydney is just sunshine and lollipops is downright kidding. Sydney is definitely not just all beaches, sunny clear blue skies and happy endings.
The rental crisis has hit home hard. It does not matter where you want to live, you still have to contest with 20 other potential tenants for one single property. You are no longer able to get a decent apartment in Parramatta for under $300 a week! This is ridiculous. How the hell am I able to save anything for a deposit for an apartment when rent is rising faster than my income is.
In the last 12 months, I have moved from Strathfield because of a rent increase. Then the rent had increased from $340 to $360 per week. This we are talking about a penthouse apartment. Not bad you would say. But for those who have been there, they know that we are right next to the train tracks. That is right. If you need train updates, don't bother with 131500. Just call Jess and she will be able to tell you whether the train to the city is running on time or whether the country train is about the leave the station.
The rent increase in Strathfield ended my shared accommodation days and we (aka Will and I) decided to move to Parramatta. We figured that if we move to Parramatta, we would be within walking distance to the office and would save in petrol. The savings in petrol translated into shouldering more rent. In Oct 2006, we started paying $310 a week for a one bedroom apartment in Parramatta. This apartment has been great. You get the view of the Parramatta river and the skyline of Sydney. However, our new found happiness was short-lived. The Meriton decided since interest rates had risen, they would need to follow suit and slapped us with a 10% increase in rent. We started paying $340.00 per week in Parramatta. Outrageous you would say when a one bedder in Coogee cost only $330.00 per week!!! An average 2 bedroom apartment in Parramatta cost only $320.00 per week!
Anyhow, since we loved the place and hate the idea of having to MOVE AGAIN, we copped that increase. That was 6 months ago and one would think that everything is all good. Ka-bam! In August 2007, the Meriton apartments decided that they would be very entrepreneurial. Why bother with a meagre $340.00 a week when you can pocket $200 a day for a one bedroom service apartment. The tenants on that level were served our notice to get the piss out of our apartments and they have kindly given us the 60 days as stipulated in the tenancy agreement.
GREAT! FANTASTIC! YIPPEE!!! I am so THRILLED!!!??? (big ass eye-rolls)
Hunting for an apartment in this hellhole called Sydney is a nightmare. There are 20 tenants in line. No real estate agent thinks you are worth their time if you want to view the apartment during the week. All inspections are on Saturday and that is our problem ain't it (for Saturday is the day that I get to operate the whole day and earn some money). Gosh. Talk about a courteous society. Talk about a first world society with 3rd class behaviour! Quoting an acquaintance, "Sydney changes people" and I believe every single word said.
Now what?
1. Hunt for a place
2. Put my life on hold and just pack
3. whine a bit and get on with life
4. Own a property (Pft.... with comparison interest rates at 8.25% and having to pay an average of $600 a week?)
Ok. Enough of my whinge about this disparity between owners of capital and land versus. I need to start looking for a new place to furnish and decorate. Thanks for listening people.
Showing posts with label Random. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Random. Show all posts
Friday, 31 August 2007
Wednesday, 29 August 2007
One by one...
There are several reasons behind my long hiatus:
For those you who are not on Facebook, here are some treasured pictures of what has happened over the weeks.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=12824&l=97726&id=646901687
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=12823&l=41b37&id=646901687
- My old secondary school friend visited me for a week and I was busy showing her around.
- Spent a nice relaxing weekend at the Blue Mountains with Will to celebrate our anniversary (5 years!). I have no idea it has been that long.
- Had a few goodbyes to say to best mates of mine in Sydney.
- Had to help out a mate who is kinda in the dumps right now.
- The lack of writing juices.
For those you who are not on Facebook, here are some treasured pictures of what has happened over the weeks.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=12824&l=97726&id=646901687
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=12823&l=41b37&id=646901687
Thursday, 12 July 2007
The most Aussie thing that has happened to me
Granville RSL has been a norm on Tuesdays and Wednesdays during the school holidays for our Texas Hold'em fix. However, after losing the 6pm and 7pm game, I decided that I would hit the Pokies (what the heck right? they are both gambling games and it's entertaining listening to the music on the machine). I just needed to kill some time before the 8pm game of poker.
What happened at the pokies was amazing. I started winning some money ($5) and the club was giving out raffle tickets to those who had either 3 Kings or 3 Queens or 3 Jacks in a row. It can be on row 1, 2 or 3 but the Ks, Qs or Js have to be side by side. After several attempts, I finally hit 3 Ks in a row and received some raffle tickets. The raffle draw was at 8pm and guess
what?! I WON!!! 
Here are the prizes....
The meat tray above with the winning raffle ticket is the most AUSSIE thing that has happened to me in the last 6 years of living here. To top off the night, The $100.00 Caltex voucher will sure come in handy. Really really happy!!!!
What happened at the pokies was amazing. I started winning some money ($5) and the club was giving out raffle tickets to those who had either 3 Kings or 3 Queens or 3 Jacks in a row. It can be on row 1, 2 or 3 but the Ks, Qs or Js have to be side by side. After several attempts, I finally hit 3 Ks in a row and received some raffle tickets. The raffle draw was at 8pm and guess
what?! I WON!!! 
Here are the prizes....The meat tray above with the winning raffle ticket is the most AUSSIE thing that has happened to me in the last 6 years of living here. To top off the night, The $100.00 Caltex voucher will sure come in handy. Really really happy!!!!
Wednesday, 11 July 2007
My past life
For those of you who know me now, you probably would not have known that I was an avid and competitive sailor in my past life. What do I mean by "avid" and "sailor"? What has all these got to do with business?
Avid sailor:
I was training on the water 3 times a week (that's a minimum). Wed, Sat and Sun. When I was not out at sea, there was land training and the days of the four packs on my abs (this is very difficult to believe now since I am not hitting the gym as hard). Essentially this is how I have gotten used to the fact that weekends are no big deal since I am always doing something. As a teenager, when most of my mates were out at the movies and blowing their money on clothing, I was busy training and blowing my money on parts and ropes. Yes! I was a maniac (and still am in some ways).
Do not get me wrong. In my past life, I had a goal. I was not training blindly and "just-for-fun". The goal was to train and get into the Singapore sailing team. Did I realise this goal? Yes I did. Within a year and a half, I made it into the Singapore sailing team, the Schools sailing team and I was on a roll and kicking asses. No words can truly express the exhilaration and high I felt. Nothing was impossible after you conquer and tame the natural elements.
I represented Singapore in several international regattas in Dubai and Cape Town on the Laser Radial. My first ever regatta was in Dubai. I was not used to the big scene of sailing and did not quite enjoy the regatta as much. To top that off, I lost $400USD when I was there...someone nicked my wallet (that's another story).
The next event was the Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Sailing Championships held in December 1998 in Cape Town, South Africa. I spent that week sailing next to seals and hoping that they would steer clear of me for fear of capsizing during the race. The experience of being able to be by yourself with only your boat in 20-30knots of wind blowing in your face (and trying to recover from a throat infection at the same time), was amazing and truly empowering. I came out feeling triumphant and fearless. Unfortunately, my performances at both international regattas were disappointing. Nonetheless, I learnt that I needed to train with more strategy and expose myself to more high seas. At the end of the day, the seas in Singapore is comparable to Canada Bay in Sydney. No chops.
Forgive me for being self indulgent and narcissistic here. I was enroute to be a part of the Asian Games and the Olympics. I received grants from the Singapore Sporting Association. I was the ranked in the top 5 amongst the boys and I was the number one girl in Singapore. The sailing fraternity was telling my dad that I would be the one to bring home a quarter of a million bucks (when you win the gold medal at the Asian Games, the generous Singapore government rewards you with $$$....not bad I say).
However, things did not turn out the way it was supposed to. Towards the end of my sailing career, I had severe tears in my ligaments on my left wrist. That impeded my movement and the ability to play the piano. To make matters worse, while I was crewing for my sister, I slipped and fell on my back. This is the biggest injury that I have ever suffered and still do suffer from it today (along with my wrist injury). These injuries made me rethink sailing in Sydney altogether. By that time, I was also severely burnt out and sailing became a chore rather than an enjoyment. Hence June 2000 officially ended my sailing career. I did try to get involve with the varsity teams. That did not quite work out as their version of training was to get pissed and only train 2 weeks prior to a major regatta. That was a major culture shock for me and it was ridiculous. How can you win if you only train 2 weeks prior to the event???? I have not sailed since then.
The lessons learnt in my past life are invaluable and words cannot express how grateful I am towards my parents for giving me the plentiful opportunities to experience what I did especially when sailing is not a sport that anyone can get into easily. Without my past, I would not have today.
The 'today' where I am able to work at my own pace and create the cashflow that I am aiming for. To date, I have implemented discipline, sacrifices, goal setting (yearly planning instrument a.k.a YPI), visualisation techniques and etc in my business. My control freak nature was developed in my past life when I was always in control of myself and my boat. I relied only on myself to decide which path I had to take in order to win the race and in turn the regatta. I had to visualise my success and cross the finish line in reality. I love that feeling, passion and the sea! In this life, I am very fortunate to be in business and not dependent on others to provide me with things I need out of my life. It is a wild feeling that I have achieved and succeeded in my small little way. I like the taste and feel of success, achievement and being on the podium-- these are the things that has made my life interesting. The sea will always be a reminder to me that nothing is impossible.
Avid sailor:
I was training on the water 3 times a week (that's a minimum). Wed, Sat and Sun. When I was not out at sea, there was land training and the days of the four packs on my abs (this is very difficult to believe now since I am not hitting the gym as hard). Essentially this is how I have gotten used to the fact that weekends are no big deal since I am always doing something. As a teenager, when most of my mates were out at the movies and blowing their money on clothing, I was busy training and blowing my money on parts and ropes. Yes! I was a maniac (and still am in some ways).
Do not get me wrong. In my past life, I had a goal. I was not training blindly and "just-for-fun". The goal was to train and get into the Singapore sailing team. Did I realise this goal? Yes I did. Within a year and a half, I made it into the Singapore sailing team, the Schools sailing team and I was on a roll and kicking asses. No words can truly express the exhilaration and high I felt. Nothing was impossible after you conquer and tame the natural elements.
I represented Singapore in several international regattas in Dubai and Cape Town on the Laser Radial. My first ever regatta was in Dubai. I was not used to the big scene of sailing and did not quite enjoy the regatta as much. To top that off, I lost $400USD when I was there...someone nicked my wallet (that's another story).
The next event was the Volvo Youth Sailing ISAF World Sailing Championships held in December 1998 in Cape Town, South Africa. I spent that week sailing next to seals and hoping that they would steer clear of me for fear of capsizing during the race. The experience of being able to be by yourself with only your boat in 20-30knots of wind blowing in your face (and trying to recover from a throat infection at the same time), was amazing and truly empowering. I came out feeling triumphant and fearless. Unfortunately, my performances at both international regattas were disappointing. Nonetheless, I learnt that I needed to train with more strategy and expose myself to more high seas. At the end of the day, the seas in Singapore is comparable to Canada Bay in Sydney. No chops.
Forgive me for being self indulgent and narcissistic here. I was enroute to be a part of the Asian Games and the Olympics. I received grants from the Singapore Sporting Association. I was the ranked in the top 5 amongst the boys and I was the number one girl in Singapore. The sailing fraternity was telling my dad that I would be the one to bring home a quarter of a million bucks (when you win the gold medal at the Asian Games, the generous Singapore government rewards you with $$$....not bad I say).
However, things did not turn out the way it was supposed to. Towards the end of my sailing career, I had severe tears in my ligaments on my left wrist. That impeded my movement and the ability to play the piano. To make matters worse, while I was crewing for my sister, I slipped and fell on my back. This is the biggest injury that I have ever suffered and still do suffer from it today (along with my wrist injury). These injuries made me rethink sailing in Sydney altogether. By that time, I was also severely burnt out and sailing became a chore rather than an enjoyment. Hence June 2000 officially ended my sailing career. I did try to get involve with the varsity teams. That did not quite work out as their version of training was to get pissed and only train 2 weeks prior to a major regatta. That was a major culture shock for me and it was ridiculous. How can you win if you only train 2 weeks prior to the event???? I have not sailed since then.
The lessons learnt in my past life are invaluable and words cannot express how grateful I am towards my parents for giving me the plentiful opportunities to experience what I did especially when sailing is not a sport that anyone can get into easily. Without my past, I would not have today.
The 'today' where I am able to work at my own pace and create the cashflow that I am aiming for. To date, I have implemented discipline, sacrifices, goal setting (yearly planning instrument a.k.a YPI), visualisation techniques and etc in my business. My control freak nature was developed in my past life when I was always in control of myself and my boat. I relied only on myself to decide which path I had to take in order to win the race and in turn the regatta. I had to visualise my success and cross the finish line in reality. I love that feeling, passion and the sea! In this life, I am very fortunate to be in business and not dependent on others to provide me with things I need out of my life. It is a wild feeling that I have achieved and succeeded in my small little way. I like the taste and feel of success, achievement and being on the podium-- these are the things that has made my life interesting. The sea will always be a reminder to me that nothing is impossible.
Monday, 2 July 2007
Reason for my disappearance
Yes! I am a Face book convert. On several occasions, I have resisted the temptation of creating another "online" "IT" thing. First it was Friendster, then it was LinkedIn (and several others that I have rejected offers to join) then there is Blogspot and now I am on Facebook (also known endearingly as Stalker book by a friend of mine). So what has prompted me to start getting in onto the cyber stuff more often than before?
Firstly, the website of Shine Music School has prompted me to promote it more. The truth is, in order to get noticed by the search engines, we need links, links and more links. As a desperate attempt, I have decided to set up a YouTube account, MySpace account, Blogspot, SecondLife (I was contemplating starting a music school on SecondLife) and Facebook. All these in the name of increasing our ranking on Google. How that works is, I make sure everytime when I have to write something in my profile, I mention Shine Music School somewhere and link it to the website. Permission marketing can also be made much easier through the likes of Facebook and MySpace. Sad but true and all in the name of Internet Marketing!
Secondly, one of my New Year's resolution for this year is to keep in touch with my mates more often. So gone are the long emails. Cyberspace chatting is more fun. Pictures can be added and you even have cool applications informing your friends of your new hobbies, new friends, wishlist and all sorts of nonsense. So no more "I don't know what to get for you for your birthday" talk from my mates. My needs and wants are un-shamelessly published on Facebook. *wink* and *BIG HINT*
Lastly, I have to say that my beloved boyfriend did the trick. He was yapping all day and night about the glories of Facebook and how so and so is doing this and so and so is doing that. This did not stop for a couple of days. He even got excited when he started finding long lost friends and adding them to his "friends' list". That made me extremely curious. Then one day, when he was not looking, I stealthily carried my laptop into the bedroom and from then on there was no turning back.
I figured that if I am a true marketeer, I will have to embrace the cyber culture and why not especially when it is all FREE.
Firstly, the website of Shine Music School has prompted me to promote it more. The truth is, in order to get noticed by the search engines, we need links, links and more links. As a desperate attempt, I have decided to set up a YouTube account, MySpace account, Blogspot, SecondLife (I was contemplating starting a music school on SecondLife) and Facebook. All these in the name of increasing our ranking on Google. How that works is, I make sure everytime when I have to write something in my profile, I mention Shine Music School somewhere and link it to the website. Permission marketing can also be made much easier through the likes of Facebook and MySpace. Sad but true and all in the name of Internet Marketing!
Secondly, one of my New Year's resolution for this year is to keep in touch with my mates more often. So gone are the long emails. Cyberspace chatting is more fun. Pictures can be added and you even have cool applications informing your friends of your new hobbies, new friends, wishlist and all sorts of nonsense. So no more "I don't know what to get for you for your birthday" talk from my mates. My needs and wants are un-shamelessly published on Facebook. *wink* and *BIG HINT*
Lastly, I have to say that my beloved boyfriend did the trick. He was yapping all day and night about the glories of Facebook and how so and so is doing this and so and so is doing that. This did not stop for a couple of days. He even got excited when he started finding long lost friends and adding them to his "friends' list". That made me extremely curious. Then one day, when he was not looking, I stealthily carried my laptop into the bedroom and from then on there was no turning back.
I figured that if I am a true marketeer, I will have to embrace the cyber culture and why not especially when it is all FREE.
Friday, 1 June 2007
Random Photos
Will made me take this picture (above) in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong. He says "It is a great photo and I love it!"
This was taken at my birthday this year. The gals (L to R: Sarah, Shing, Anna, Me and Pegs) spent it at this Japanese restaurant on O'Connell Street in Sydney. We had cocktails later and then me and Sarah decided to camp out at Star City... =)
Ok, this photo was taken in Singapore at the lastest venue-- St. James Power Station (Hence the smoke..hahah). Anyway, it is a heritage power station that was refurbished and holds 10 individual venues within the building. Once you enter the building, you get access to all 10 of the venues!Great place to go to if you cannot decide which genre of music you would like to dance to. They have a jazz bar, Canto pop dance floor (which my beloved boyfriend so desperately wanted to go into but I had to pull him back!!! *roll eyes!), Latino dance floor, R&B dance floor, outdoor wine bar and my favourite house/techno/trance music dance venue. Absolutely LOVE the place. It is a must go for all and it's just located at Harbourside.
From left to right, my best mates in Singapore: Cheng, Lek Chu, Me, Carl and Ming. Miss them all!
The All Star Alumni Team
The All Star Alumni Team!!! We won at State Conference this year. Brendan is missing from the picture.
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