Never a dull moment around here and this week has been pretty par for the course. On Wednesday my friend Christophe very generously offered to assist me in retrieving a bed that I'd purchased second hand from some people out in Maroubra Beach (a quaint beach suburb about 40 minutes away by car, 1.5 hours by bus which I, unfortunately, found out the hard way.) Anywho, Christophe in his zippy new (to him) Hyundi hatchback whisked me off to the beach whereupon we picked up the used Ikea mattress and bed frame. Just as I was about to breath a huge sigh of relief that the whole thing fit in the back of the car we heard a tow-curling, cringe inducing, "CRRAACCKK"... almost too afraid to look, I surveyed the damage. BOTH legs of the headboard had just snapped off! So much for my $250 "investment" (I had thought I would be able to sell it when I leave and at least get my money back.) AHHHHH! Nevertheless we brought it back to my new house and luckily, the girl who is moving out offered to help me with trying to fix the bed. Her dad is quite good with tools and fixing things etc. so they've taken the headboard to try to repair it, which I really really appreciate. For what it's worth I've learned my lesson about buying second hand Ikea furniture.
I guess things could be worse. I could be in Victoria where bushfires have been raging for a week. Whole towns there are living in tent cities, trying to come to terms with not only the loss of their houses and possessions, but even their family and friends. The devastation has affected not just the people of the area, but hundreds of animals too. The news coverage has been very thorough, mixing horrific footage of incinerated towns with heartwarming stories of bravery and selflessness.
This is a now famous picture of Sam the koala, being given water after a firefighter discovered him, injured, and thirsty. There have been so many stories of heroism amidst the devastation and I think it's really important that people everywhere know about this story. I know Australia doesn't get much press coverage in Canada but maybe if you are reading this and can spare a few dollars to the relief fund, you will donate some money.
I know I will be.
The fundraising effort here has grown to over $50 million and it's really nice to see a whole country pulling together to help these people who have lost everything.
The fundraising effort here has grown to over $50 million and it's really nice to see a whole country pulling together to help these people who have lost everything.
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