So the Origin gas saga continues… gas was scheduled to be turned on yesterday. No time was given, not even a range. Just have to wait all day for them to show to read the meter. This is because the gates are locked to access the property so I need to be able to let the meter reader in. Ugh

At 10AM I asked Jim to call to pinpoint a time frame at least and so glad he called. They were never even coming out but just did not bother to let us know! So exasperating…  It’s a really convoluted system here. I just learned that the electric and gas are never actually turned off as it is controlled by one utility distributor. So you must set up a new account with a retailer, not the actual distributor. The previous tenant had Energy Australia but moved out and never paid the final bill so if we wanted to go with them, we were going to be on the hook for their balance owed!

On and off the phone all day with several different retailers has been dizzying to say the least. Jemena (gas retailer) told me that the gas was on and I only had to turn the knob under the sink to get it going. (It’s these little things that can make you mad when moving to a new country. =:- O )
Yay, finally have cooking gas at least and could smell it a bit but did not think much of it as it quickly dissipated.

Toward the end of the day, Jim & I met up at the library, our sanctuary, to use the computers and borrow a few movies. From there we stopped by “Billy Barry’s Hotel” for dinner – fun place! For those who are wondering, all the bars here are called hotels.

http://www.billybarrys.com.au/

“The word “Pub” is used in Australia to indicate a bar, also known as “the local”. They are often called “Hotel”, the reason for this dates back to the days that licenses only allowed pubs to provide alcohol to traveling public, the presence of a few rooms ( who might never be used) then gave some impression that the rules were being followed.”

http://www.amazingaustralia.com.au/pubs.htm

We then arrived back to our apartment around 8:15pm to discover the entire apartment smelled like rotten eggs – a catastrophic explosion waiting to happen!! We immediately turned off the gas line, opened all the windows and sat across the street in the park for a good 30 min. We emailed the landlord to call us ASAP. We then headed back inside once the gas has cleared out and went to bed. Lakis (our landlord) called 7:30 the next morning and sent Ivan the plumber out to check the gas connection. Sure enough, there was a major leak coming through and could have blown up the entire building. Needless to say, we were livid over the lack of accountability on the part of our landlord and have considered taking legal action.

For now, it’s good to know we are safe and I can finally cook!

Words of the Day

baby = bub
trunk (car) = boot