On we go

Hey, maybe I'm not a website klutz. Managed to access Gabby's photo album and what a great spread it is. Some really great candid snaps and a few that could end up in a law court down the track. Thanks Gabby! (But where are yours, Cat?)

Meanwhile, an update on my quest for the pension. Got a letter from Centrelink listing, among other things (I'll round down the figures) my annual income as $2000, and a fortnightly paycheck of $3000. Even you can see something is fishy here. The fortnightly figure came from my final payslip for 2007 from Sydney Uni. Not only had they assumed that I get this generous amount every fortnight, (if so, why would I want a pension?) but they didn't realise that this might be for work done over a whole semester (which it was). So back to Centrelink with my documents, a fifty minute wait (took a book - got Nureyev from birth to seventeen) and then the Chinese lady with the accent. I'm not a racist, but... how many times do you hear "cashew" before you suspect she might mean "casual"? And where that ludicrous annual figure came from, I still don't know. So, I duly filled in a statement which I hope will prove that my annual income is around $8000, not $75000+ as the fortnightly figure would suggest.

I'm not holding my breath, but I think Christmas might arrive first.

Hugh