Early days in Canberra

I had a motel room paid for by my employer, and the accommodation was fine. I had breakfast in a nearby shopping centre; Westfield Belconnen. These complexes seem to be the same everywhere you go. Inside the mall it was easy to forget that I was now in another state. It’s a pity the architects don’t have a bit more imagination, and vary the design from one to the next.

I bought myself a street directory and studied the real estate section of the local newspapers over breakfast. My first priority was to find a place to live; some rental accommodation. I couldn’t stay in the motel for long, as I was only funded for a short time. There were quite a few ads, but it’s difficult when you don’t know your way around. I got in touch with a few real estate agents, and soon discovered that Real Estate agents don’t help out much for renters, at least not in Canberra. This is probably related to the ratio of rentals properties and punters looking for them. Still, it’s early days yet. One thing I did forget to bring, not having rented for years, was that the real estate agents want references. I used to rent in Melbourne, and I could have got a reference from the agent who managed the property I rented. I didn’t give it a thought, which was a bit of an oversight.

Feeling lonely I rang home. There were a few bits and pieces I had advertised on ebay when I was in Melbourne. We used to have a ute that gradually fell apart. I got $50 for it on ebay. This car had so much rust in it that you could actually see through it in spots, and the engine had blown a gasket. So, the $50 was okay. We sold a dog kennel for $26. I suppose we could have left the kennel for the new owners of our house as it wouldn’t have been in the way, but having an old car in the driveway was definitely a problem. So getting some cash for it was okay.

Ebay is a funny thing to deal with. I also had an old cement mixer for sale. I bought it second hand for about $80 or so, about 10 or more years ago. It was a rough old machine when I bought it, but it worked. It needed new bearings when I bought it, but somehow it survived without any attention, and I made it do a lot of work. Anyway I put it up on ebay for $30 because I thought that was a fair price, and if that’s all I got for it I would be happy. So, I was surprised to see the bidding getting up to $50. Mixers must be hot items on ebay, but I was feeling embarrassed because it had seen better days, and the neighbour borrowed it at one point leaving it uncleaned; there was a fair amount of lumpy bits on the inside. (There’s a lesson - don't lend your stuff.) I put a note on my ebay ad advising the bidders to slow down, that the mixer wasn’t in pristine condition. I asked them to study the photograph, and I reemphasized the problems, but they kept bidding, and I sold it for $120.