Not sure how long it will last for, but here's the link for the new house.
16 August 2009
We got one
We got one! A 3 bedroom, fully renovated, 2 story townhouse with backyard and front yard, heaps of storage and east west facing in Hampton East.
Deepti and I had talked about my previous misadventure at an auction and felt that Andrew's guidance on the big day (or even bidding) would be a huge boost for my confidence. Andrew's an expert on this topic - he's won a couple of auctions but more than that, is well read and industry savvy enough to read the agents and seemingly outsmart them.
So Andrew turned up in a suit, very smartly dressed. I think it had the agents on the back foot from the start. They kept avoiding eye contact with him and coming to me, even though they knew Andrew would be bidding on my behalf. After the auction they asked me if Andrew was a buyer's agent - sure enough a compliment that he had them on the run.
No one bid, at first, so the agent passed it in and then went into a gathering bid mode. The agent came to me and then some others. Each time, Andrew was clearly the smarter at the game than the agent. A comment from the agent - which I would have never have known to be rubbish - resulted in a firm retort from Andrew that basically shut them up. It was actually funny. To be honest, that firmness that Andrew has resulted in me saving a few thousand at least and not losing my nerve as well.
When the agent came back and shook my hand, Deepti says I was crying on the inside. More than true. A sense of relief and exhaustion swept over me.
So we settle in mid-October and will be moving in thereafter.
Here's the obligatory celebratory photos (we're all exhausted).
No more househunting - let's party!
Deepti and I had talked about my previous misadventure at an auction and felt that Andrew's guidance on the big day (or even bidding) would be a huge boost for my confidence. Andrew's an expert on this topic - he's won a couple of auctions but more than that, is well read and industry savvy enough to read the agents and seemingly outsmart them.
So Andrew turned up in a suit, very smartly dressed. I think it had the agents on the back foot from the start. They kept avoiding eye contact with him and coming to me, even though they knew Andrew would be bidding on my behalf. After the auction they asked me if Andrew was a buyer's agent - sure enough a compliment that he had them on the run.
No one bid, at first, so the agent passed it in and then went into a gathering bid mode. The agent came to me and then some others. Each time, Andrew was clearly the smarter at the game than the agent. A comment from the agent - which I would have never have known to be rubbish - resulted in a firm retort from Andrew that basically shut them up. It was actually funny. To be honest, that firmness that Andrew has resulted in me saving a few thousand at least and not losing my nerve as well.
When the agent came back and shook my hand, Deepti says I was crying on the inside. More than true. A sense of relief and exhaustion swept over me.
So we settle in mid-October and will be moving in thereafter.
Here's the obligatory celebratory photos (we're all exhausted).
No more househunting - let's party!
11 August 2009
Oh and Naina
Naina has been a bit neglected with househunting, there is a lack of meaningful photos or videos. But she's well. More and more words, everyday. Today we got "Pey-no" which means "wear it". She knew what she was saying because she was trying to put her sweater back on.
I think her vocab stretches to maybe 20 words now. Words come in ebbs and flows. She's stopped saying de-do, but is more interested in kol-do (open) and kya-huwa (what happened) and clearly understands the context (such as me doing the dishes and making noises). We think she keeps saying O God! but it might be Ogooooh!
N's an addict of In The Night Garden I recommend this show to all who have missed it. However, I have no idea what it's about. All I know is that its meant to be a "calm baby down before bed" TV show. For N, it works anytime of the day.
Gotta love Makka Pakka. And yes, that is a potty chair. No she does not know what it is for.
I don't know what N makes of all the English vocab she hears because none of it is repeated. She's very talkative, but little makes sense, but what does, is all hindi. This may prove problematic later on; her father may be unable to communicate with her.
I think her vocab stretches to maybe 20 words now. Words come in ebbs and flows. She's stopped saying de-do, but is more interested in kol-do (open) and kya-huwa (what happened) and clearly understands the context (such as me doing the dishes and making noises). We think she keeps saying O God! but it might be Ogooooh!
N's an addict of In The Night Garden I recommend this show to all who have missed it. However, I have no idea what it's about. All I know is that its meant to be a "calm baby down before bed" TV show. For N, it works anytime of the day.
Gotta love Makka Pakka. And yes, that is a potty chair. No she does not know what it is for.
I don't know what N makes of all the English vocab she hears because none of it is repeated. She's very talkative, but little makes sense, but what does, is all hindi. This may prove problematic later on; her father may be unable to communicate with her.
Bihari Samaj
We went to Bihari Samaj last weekend as a break from househunting. It was a funny day.
The idea of Bihari Samaj (BJSM) is that India being a diverse country, there are few things that unite people - caste and state being two of them. So, in each big city around the world with an Indian Diaspora, there are regular gatherings of Bihari and Jharkandis. For Deepti it's a chance to socialize with other new migrants from Bihar and Jharkhand and to eat Bihari food. It's impossible not to run into someone from Deepti or my grandfathers' home towns. It's just that kind of place.
The other noble goal (apart from socializing) is introducing foreign born kids to Indian culture, on a more meaningful level than TV and movies.
So this weekend just gone past, we turned up at Ashwood Hall, for an Independence Day celebration at BJSM. Independence Day is on the 15th of August. The idea was to have the kids do an Indian dress up and put on a show and the ladies to have a fashion show with prizes awarded for the best dresses and costumes. Great, culturally significant.
My friend Anu despises BJSM. He is half bihari, on his mother's side, so he occasionally gets dragged along. We've discussed this at length; he cannot see the point of people getting together without a purpose of activity; mixing, eating and socializing is not sufficient. So he has gone to BJSM with several ideas for instilling Indian culture and knowledge into the gatherings - cultural nights, quiz nights, singing competitions, meditation sessions. All have fallen flat.
So seeing him turn up at this weekend's festivals was a surprise.
I think the highlight was the kids costumes. There were genuinely great dress-ups. One kid came dressed as Shiva, complete with blue skin and serpents. I was really impressed. Then there were a few kids dressed in traditional Indian dress great. However, the crowd wasn't that impressed and continued to talk and shout and drink as is usual at most Indian weddings and parties.
It then got a little bizarre.
Three kids came dressed as Batman. They individually proceeded to jump off the high tables to rapturous applause of the audience.
Normality was returned when a young girl did a seven minute dance recital to Om Shanti Om, though it dragged a bit. The crowd were unimpressed. Another young lady did a proper choreographed dance to Indian songs, there was a child reciting the national anthem of INdia, all good.
Bizarre returned. Young Jaswant wanted to do a dedication to Michael Jackson. He was complete with white glove and long frizzy black hair wig. To "Beat It".
At this stage, Anu was near melt down. The crowd loved it - judging by the relative lack of talking and shouting.
A Spiderman then appeared and I think another Batman.
Finally a young boy appeared in a familiar black white striped outfit, with AFL ball in hand. Anu cried "It only gets better..." as the young boy announced his name was Nathan Buckley.
The idea of Bihari Samaj (BJSM) is that India being a diverse country, there are few things that unite people - caste and state being two of them. So, in each big city around the world with an Indian Diaspora, there are regular gatherings of Bihari and Jharkandis. For Deepti it's a chance to socialize with other new migrants from Bihar and Jharkhand and to eat Bihari food. It's impossible not to run into someone from Deepti or my grandfathers' home towns. It's just that kind of place.
The other noble goal (apart from socializing) is introducing foreign born kids to Indian culture, on a more meaningful level than TV and movies.
So this weekend just gone past, we turned up at Ashwood Hall, for an Independence Day celebration at BJSM. Independence Day is on the 15th of August. The idea was to have the kids do an Indian dress up and put on a show and the ladies to have a fashion show with prizes awarded for the best dresses and costumes. Great, culturally significant.
My friend Anu despises BJSM. He is half bihari, on his mother's side, so he occasionally gets dragged along. We've discussed this at length; he cannot see the point of people getting together without a purpose of activity; mixing, eating and socializing is not sufficient. So he has gone to BJSM with several ideas for instilling Indian culture and knowledge into the gatherings - cultural nights, quiz nights, singing competitions, meditation sessions. All have fallen flat.
So seeing him turn up at this weekend's festivals was a surprise.
I think the highlight was the kids costumes. There were genuinely great dress-ups. One kid came dressed as Shiva, complete with blue skin and serpents. I was really impressed. Then there were a few kids dressed in traditional Indian dress great. However, the crowd wasn't that impressed and continued to talk and shout and drink as is usual at most Indian weddings and parties.
It then got a little bizarre.
Three kids came dressed as Batman. They individually proceeded to jump off the high tables to rapturous applause of the audience.
Normality was returned when a young girl did a seven minute dance recital to Om Shanti Om, though it dragged a bit. The crowd were unimpressed. Another young lady did a proper choreographed dance to Indian songs, there was a child reciting the national anthem of INdia, all good.
Bizarre returned. Young Jaswant wanted to do a dedication to Michael Jackson. He was complete with white glove and long frizzy black hair wig. To "Beat It".
At this stage, Anu was near melt down. The crowd loved it - judging by the relative lack of talking and shouting.
A Spiderman then appeared and I think another Batman.
Finally a young boy appeared in a familiar black white striped outfit, with AFL ball in hand. Anu cried "It only gets better..." as the young boy announced his name was Nathan Buckley.
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