Last Tuesday, I finally earned my deep diving SCUBA certification in a pond just outside Amsterdam. It has been in the making since March. It's great to get that under my belt before Australia because I will need it for diving on the Great Barrier Reef. The most complicated bit is learning how to release a balloon while you are diving that will buoy on the surface as a sign to other boats that you are below and a sign to your diving boat where to come get you. The first try wasn't great since I seem to be mechanically inept, but the second try was near perfect. It was nice to also hang out with our dive club who tried their hardest to explain inflating the balloon in the least sexual way possible, but still managed to laugh like school girls and make dirty comments in Dutch. They are all really great guys from literally all walks of life and it is little wonder why my husbands loves diving with them as much as twice a week.
We bought a new entertainment center for the living room. It was on sale for 50% off and we found out when putting in the dvd player that it was just shallow enough to not allow us to close the cupboard doors so we now need to buy a new, smaller dvd player. The drawers are also about half a centimeter too shallow so that we cannot put our dvds in the drawers so the binding (and title) side is up so they all have to be stacked, taking up much more room in the drawers. So much for 50% off. I've posted a picture. We are going to add floating shelves at the end farthest from the tv so we have a place for framed photos that keeps our already dark and narrow house from looking even darker and narrower.
We also bought a deck umbrella with an adjustable neck. The umbrella part cranks open and the neck part is adjustable to adjust the shade given depending on where the sun is at in the sky. This was one of my husband's entries on our buying wish list. We bought it and then realized that we forget the second box with the base so he is back at the DIY store as I write this trying to find one. Apparently, the store also didn't know it was a two box set and no other customer has come back to complain. I doubt that, but am not surprised by the inventive customer service tactic. It's a national phenomenon.
We are pretty much ready for our trip to Australia starting next Friday. My husband just needs to get an international driver's license today so he can drive the car we've rented for our Perth/Margaret River part of the trip. We've also started taking vitamin B because a colleague of his said it wards of insects and mosquitoes. Since hearing Bill Bryson's account of the shear number of insects, particularly in the Outback, I'll try anything to help keep them away from me. The insects are known to crawl into people's ears, nose and mouth. I've also bought insect nets for my bed as well as for my head to use on the excursions to the national parks. Our travel agent assures us they aren't needed, but the travel accounts I've heard and seen on tv say differently. My husband opted out for the nets. I bet he will be sorry.
I also have not been that impressed with our travel agent in the end. If someone can explain to me the way they make money, I would really appreciate it because what seemed like a great deal for us has ended up feeling like we are getting totally shafted and over charged. It's difficult for me to prove because they will not show us how much they have actually paid hotels and tour operators. I can only see what we are being charged and what information I can find on-line. We've also continually had to chase them up to get different details adjusted to our itinerary like a change in hotel or telling a dive operator that we will bring our own dive equipment for the most part so we don't need to pay for the dive operator to provide it. I am a self-proclaimed control freak and travel planning lover, but it has been nice for someone else to plan our Australia trip especially since I am juggling getting back to work full-time after being off for a sick leave. I can look past the mistakes. I just wish the agent was more up front and, thus, more ethical, about the price structure. My husband gets mad when I even mention it now and insists is a learning point. I am sure Australia will be great despite the seed of doubt this has planted in back of my mind.
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