Vroom!

So I got the keys. I took the relevant bit from the bike, found a number (just - it was very faint), and read it out to the guy over the phone. He said it looked right, so I brought the barrel to him on Saturday morning, hungover, but that's another story...

So, bike back together, key in, also worked in the petrol cap, so I'm ready to go... back to bed. You see, my next door neighbours dropped by on Friday night, kindly bringing a couple of bottles of wine and a potted plant. They got the tour, we chatted, then they invited me in to see their place. I left the door unlocked, thinking I'd be gone a few minutes.

Several drunken hours later, I wombled through my front door. It was nearly 3am, so I wanted to get to sleep so I could get up on time for the bike shop, and in a fit of organisation, decided to put the wine bottles somewhere sensible. But they were gone. Along with some DVDs. But nothing else, not even the laptop or electric guitar I'd left in the same room. Odd.

So now I lock everything.

And I've no internet. Phone company is silly, if nice on the phone. The place I'm working this week has no internet either, so I'm rather stuck, unfortunately. Doesn't help that my desktop computer died, and needs a serious repair/rescue job.

Oh, and the bike works :) I've ridden to work several times this week, only took me 50 minutes this morning, which is LESS than it took when I lived in Dublin. AND I didn't leave until 8:20am, so was in the height of rush hour traffic. I just need a chain, else it goes the way of the wine bottles. In a speedy fashion, no doubt.

posted by Jeremy Smyth 11:40  |  

Friday, July 23, 2004

Grar.

Finally caved in and bought a bike. Little 250cc bike, gorgeous (if ten years old). Picked it up about 120 miles from where I live, got my brother to drive it home, where we oohed and aahed over it. Before discovering we'd lost the keys somewhere en route.

Yes, I know. You'd expect the keys to, well, not fall out. Or the engine to cut out if the keys were turned enough to allow them to fall out. But no, they're not there. So I've an expensive paperweight in the garage.

Well, perhaps it's not quite that bad. Yamaha's main dealer in Ireland has told me I can get the key number from the barrel, so I've to take the bike apart tonight and record the number. He suggested I can bring that key number to a specialist key maker, along with ID and the bike's registration documentation to prove it's mine. He named a specialist, but I've since found one only a few miles from my house. If I'm home VERY early tonight, I'll do that, otherwise it'll be 9am tomorrow.

So wish me luck! I'm not that good with screwdrivers and mechanical things, geeky propensities aside...

Oh, and this weekend is SHOPPING TIME! I'm going housey shopping tomorrow, for things like can openers and cutlery, and then on sunday I'm going white-goods and furniture shopping :)

posted by Jeremy Smyth 14:32  |  

Wednesday, July 21, 2004

Yay. I think.

So it's taken eight months, or thereabouts. And what's changed? Not a lot really! Well, aside from the fact that I HAVE A HOUSE. Ahem.

OK - in a nutshell, the last fiasco fell through in early January. The vendor decided to pull out, because they didn't like what the surveyor had to say. I lost time and a few hundred quid (cost of the surveyor). And the chance at a nice house. When they put it back on the market, it was at a higher price that I couldn't then afford.

So I checked out lots of other houses, thought one was exceptional - on a hill, overlooking MILES of views in two or three counties, put in an offer with the estate agent, and was trumped 5 mins later by another guy who was there at the time. We had a bidding war, I knew they were serious and could outbid me because they'd already bid a much higher price on a different deal, so I quickly got to my maximum, and they just outbid that. Bah.

Saw another house, wasn't serious about it, put in an offer well below what they were asking (just biding my time really), which of course was refused. This went on for a couple of weeks while I tried to organise more viewings and days off to view, until out of the blue, I got a call from the estate agent for the house on the hill - the previous buyers had pulled out. I had first refusal! So I offered the same price they'd last offered, which I could just afford, and he accepted after a week or two.

Then began the long, boring, tedious, annoying, stressful process of getting the thing bought. Fortunately, my broker was rather good and did a lot of the drudge, but the solicitors were WAY slow.

So, I have it now. Couple of things outstanding, little bits need doing and fixing, I've to dig a well at some point, because the well is on the previous owner's property, and so on. House is fine, if a little musty. Nothing to do with dampness, just that the previous occupants were, well, smelly. Decor leaves a bit to be desired too, but nothing major. All in all I'm pretty happy :) at least for now.

And in other news, one of my computers has broken. Worked for a day or two after the move, and has given up the ghost. The hard disk, which contains all my photos for the last couple of years.... Have to see if it will boot from another disk. Ah, well. Time for another PC anyway, and this one will have fault tolerance :)

posted by Jeremy Smyth 08:36  |