I've Joined the Dark Side

 Legal tender

 Their $2 is smaller than their $1

 The darkside, the Alcatel Pixi 4.5

Saturday January, 30^th.

I have decided that I need to get a cellphone and a car. I spent today trying to do that. I have no landline in the house and I need a way to phone people locally. I went on the internet to research used cars and the first thing I found was in order to contact the dealers I needed to give them a mobile number on the e-mail inquires or I needed a phone to contact them directly. They also wanted my postal code, and luckily there was some mail in Cassie's box that had it on it.

So off I went to Woolies. I was served by a very nice young helpful woman who explained the options to me and after I paid for the Alcatel smart phone ($49) she set it up for me. I paid $40 for air time and went home and did a lot more car research. I would like to get a hatchback so I can take my bicycle with me out into the country.

I tried using the phone by phoning myself from Skype and couldn't figure out how to answer it! What a nerd I am. Then I tried to make a call and was told I didn't have enough credit to call out. What?

Mid afternoon Cassie came over to cut the grass and bring me the modem for my internet connection. Up to now I have been using the neighbour's. We spent a bit of time setting that up and then she left.

So I headed back to Woolies and and asked a different woman why I had no credit when I had paid $40. She couldn't find any record on the cash register of me having paid and thought that maybe it hadn't gone through. So I paid again with my credit card and went home. There I entered the voucher number and was told my credit was now $10. What?

I tried calling the Alcatel help line and heard a recording “our hours are 9–5 Monday to Friday.” What?

So I went back again and explained all of it to the manager and he told me that I do have unlimited phone time and the $10 credit is for long distance overseas. What? So I will take his word for it and see what happens on my credit card bill, will I get billed twice? What a waste of a day. I thought with a phone I could get a car today, but maybe tomorrow.


I decided to go for a bicycle ride and go by the tennis court. Again no one there on an evening that was perfect for playing. So I continued riding on a bike and walking path called Long Beach Trail, that I thought went inland but as it turned out actually went parallel to the beach. It brought me out onto the Beach Road at Mordialloc by the Pompeii Bridge about five train stations closer to the city. I ride by the bridge on my way to the school. I found an outdoor theatre there where they had several bars and food trucks set up. Looked like a great place to spend an evening, however I had not brought my wallet, so I headed home. 

On the way back I saw a flock of white birds on a field that I assumed were seagulls. I startled them and they flew away. They were white cockatoos, there were dozens of them. Unfortunately I didn't bring my camera either! I will come back here another night. At home I watched Kerber beat Serena in the finals. Another crazy thunderstorm now!