It's on the market!

It's official. The house is for sale. The sign was put up this morning so, less than 1 year after we bought it, we're trying to sell it again. Someone was going to drive past today and we've been told that someone "out of town" is coming to look at it next weekend. I'll not get my hopes up too high yet though (estate agents are slippery creatures!) but i do hope it all goes smoothly.

Obviously, we can't just sell and go. We still need to save a little more. Having half the amount to pay for rent ( instead of a mortgage) should make that easier though. Wish us luck!

Good Luck Dunk

He has his operation today and I know he's a bit nervous. I also know he's in a room with a balcony, a fridge and cable tv!!! (wouldn't get that on the NHS ;) )
I'm sending him positive thoughts. He has no need to worry at all and I know how much he'll love pretending he was attacked by a shark Post-op ;)

Comments at 1am

I spotted these comments this morning. At first, I thought the first comment had been made by a mate being silly; until they started making sarcastic comments about my husband. This is not something that my friends would do. Not even tongue in cheek.

The second comment about my blog being "dreadful, egotistical, self-serving dirge" made a clear statement about the true tone of the first. Just to ensure that they were clear R/regarm then made their final comment which affirmed the nature of the original post.

The first question I had was who had written such a thing? Perhaps, I thought it was someone who had just stumbled upon the blog and had had too much to drink? Being the nerd i am I always track all users on my websites, this helps me to evaluate who reads what; particularly on my business sites. I developed this skill through playing with the code on this blog. As such I am able to see who was online at 12:46, 12:51 and 12:53, where they were in the world (down to a few miles) and how they stumbled upon the site in the first place.

This made things more interesting...

You see someone who stumbled upon the blog wouldn't have gotten to it by typing in it's actual address. You have to have either clicked a link I or someone else have created elsewhere (a site referral would be logged in this case) or know/be told the address by someone (who would know me). At times, you see, people might do a Google search for something I have blogged on (usually a place I have travelled to) and google will direct them here; this would be a person who did not know me or this blog. The person commenting on the post below though obviously knows me or at least the site as they came to it by typing in the address.

I say person because, although there are two names in the comments, both of them came from the same IP Address so we're looking at a couple of people sat in front of the same PC at 1am writing.

Most would have advised me to delete the comments, to ignore them. One actual friend reminded me that they must be strange and bitter people who are unhappy with their own lives to have written something like that; particularly if they do know me. However, by writing a public blog I do open myself for such criticism and, apparently, even for attack.

I am reminded however of the assembly I witnessed last week on cyber bullying. This was aimed at children... It made the obvious point of how much easier it is to be nasty when hiding under a pseudonym. That it takes real guts, and perhaps acceptance of consequence, to say things to people's faces. That perhaps if you can't say things to someone's face (and face the consequences) you're cowardly; the traditional bully.

So regarm and trusp, thank you for your "comments". I don't think much of them however. You are misinformed and your apparent cowardice strikes me as childish. In truth, I hope the evidence pointing to the location is wrong, that you aren't on Virgin Media Broadband, on the Harborne server (to be precise) and that you don't know me at all.

My "pathetic blog" began as a means for me to vent my thoughts and frustrations. So yes, it can at times be self-serving - that's exactly what it was intended for. Now it has morphed into a place where i post about things that happen to me to my friends who live all over the world. I have NEVER "bragged about how much {my} house is worth" In fact I was merely recording my shock at losing over £20,000 grand in 10 months. Indeed, I can sympathise with others in such a predicament. As for my spelling? This 'egotistical' writer has never ever pretended to be perfect; not in any way. I am just a normal person, who has skills, interests, passions and flaws.

I hope you find this response satisfactory, being that you have checked back five times today to see the fruits of your labour.

Update on the house

So we've now had three estate agents around to the house. Now we have to do all the maths. We're definitely going to walk away having lost our entire deposit and it is possible that we will lose extra money paying up to £10,000 to move! GULP.

I think we'll be putting the house on the market for £225,000 - £227,000 which means that we will have lost 20 odd grand in 10 months.LMAO. Ah well. It'll all be worth it in the end.

It's really stressful though, trying to work out what's the best. It's apparent that selling right now really is the best option. That way we can pay less then the mortgage each month renting somewhere and, if the house sells when I hope it does, we should still be able to leave in September. It'll be rough losing all our deposit though as it will mean some serious hard slog in Aus to earn a new one for the Oz household we'll want to purchase. It'll be like starting again.

At this point, having not done the maths, I don't know how long we need to stay here to have enough money to make it feasible. I'm hoping it's September but it might be Jan 10 or it might be Sept10! lol (and eik) When I suggested we stayed here until we had enough for a deposit on a house in oz LOF had a near panic attack; his priority is to just get out! It's strange though because i'm usually the one drive by my heart and he's the practical one! Ah well.

On another note, I've been to BETT this week and have spoken to a few of my contacts from OZ which, apart from dangling a big Adelaide shaped carrot in front of me, has reminded me that I really need to start focusing on my book and my research again. One of my friends here reminded me that I probably need to stop banging my head against the wall of misunderstanding and no-vision at school and start concentrating on Teachertechnologies again. I think it might be time for a re-vamp of the site. I want to include a weblog on which I can record all of my educational research. I have created a Moodle class with some of it on but that's not benefitting the members of the teachertech and, as those in the school aren't actually bothering to even read it, that seems unfair.

Strangely, and this may seem obvious to some readers, I have only just realised how i got it all wrong. I was so used to being the one advising and consulting on these things that when I was invited to the ICT working party I fell into that role. In fact that isn't how they saw me at all so whilst I've been busting a gut to advise, the decisions are being made without me, without even letting me know what's really going on half the time. If they want to make decisions without taking advantage of my expertise then that's their choice and so I have to stop worrying about the future of a school that i may not even be a part of and start being a little bit more selfish. Of course, my research will include my teaching and so the students I am working with can benefit but I don't have the time, energy and to be honest my inclination is dwindling to keep trying to open their eyes. Sad and I hate it; I hate seeing things being done half done. LOL, I just hope I can actually sit back! I find that soooo hard!

I'm supposed to be in bed because I have to wake up at 5:30 and get to school before 7 to get to BETT on time. Decided to write here instead.

We have three estate agents coming round this week. Two of them tomorrow and one on Saturday. Fingers crossed that we will walk away from this with something still in our pockets and bank accounts. We're going to need a 4-5% deposit for our next home if we want a mortgage in Aus. The rates seem a little more realistic than they were when we were thinking about this 2 years ago. There the same as we're paying now 5.69% variable so at least that's something we don't need to worry about. We'll also get an grant of between $7,000 and $11,000 from the ferderal government to help us with the deposit which is cool. And.. we need to save £10,000 before we can leave. We have managed £3.500 in 4 months though so we're on track to leave around Septemeber, probably after Jac's wedding.

It's all getting real now. Not too real yet as I still own my house and still have my job to go to every day. This time it's no where near as scary though and although I know that there are plenty of people who don't want me to go, the thought of leaving makes me breathe easy. I have a way out.

I know that it won't be easy. Far from it infact! I'll be cursing as the date gets closer... mark my words but I do know where I belong and the way i deserve to live both professionally and personally and I can't get that here. I really can't. It's too risky what with the recession to quit my job and even try and match my lifestyle and the no-risk, box ticking system we have hear would probably continue to ignore me anyway. lol Sad but i don't think the UK are quite ready yet lol.

I'll let you know how much my house is worth tomorrow when i'm back ;)

Bett coming up!

I'm off to Bett this week and I'm going to love it and come back with an entire trolley of stuff. Of course I will also be full of enthusiasm and excitment at all the new things I will discover and full of sadness that I can't hop on the plane and share it with people who get it!! lol

On the up side have been asked to present at network day again; so at least I'll get to do another training course (1 a year *sigh*) Ah well at least at Bett I am assured lots of free pens, mugs and gonks!