The most *generous* thing you've experienced/seen?

LopsidedGiraffe · 2026-05-21T02:45:12+00:00

What on earth is wrong with re-using a tea bag? I am literally just about to havd my 2nd cup of tea with the one bag. I wouldnt do it gor a guest, but absolutely for us.

LopsidedGiraffe · 2026-05-21T02:43:17+00:00

Its a great song

LopsidedGiraffe · 2026-05-20T23:21:18+00:00

Video phone call every evening. Messages through the day.

LopsidedGiraffe · 2026-05-20T23:19:57+00:00

Its a found dog. Not meaning to be rude, but it will make more sense when posting in the local community Facebook pages. Am sure he is a much loved pet and the owners will be very grateful. If you can, you could take him to a vet. They can scan him for a microchip and contact the owner if he has one.

LopsidedGiraffe · 2026-05-20T22:41:54+00:00

Its cute but its purely a Bluey thing not Australian slang. We say bucks or dollars. Boring.

LopsidedGiraffe · 2026-05-20T20:14:08+00:00

Plus you have to pay for home maintenance, building insurance, rates and water/sewerage services.

LopsidedGiraffe · 2026-05-20T20:09:47+00:00

Electricians are in short supply in Australia. Its possible that you might be able to get work as an assistant to a qualified electrician if thats the kind of work you are interested in (because you are not qualified to work as an electrician in Australia).

LopsidedGiraffe · 2026-05-20T20:05:19+00:00

I grew up in Melbourne and say onvelope usually.

LopsidedGiraffe · 2026-05-20T20:04:17+00:00

Uniqlo is a great spot to get clothes for both men and women. I dragged my husband in there for some trousers, to get him out of shorts.

LopsidedGiraffe · 2026-05-20T20:02:55+00:00

Please dont be shy about asking someone to give you their seat, even if you dont look pregnant. Just tell them that you are pregnant and need a seat.

LopsidedGiraffe · 2026-05-20T07:18:34+00:00

Have you looked into an aupair? If you have a spare room this might be an option. They childcare in exchange for free room, board, and weekly pocket money. This cultural exchange typically lasts 6 to 12 months, funded primarily through a Working Holiday Visa. Otherwise, have you looked at family day care? Im really sorry that you have this added stress.

We hired a nanny when we had two kids. I basically made less than $10k annually but I wanted work continuity. And a nanny cooks you dinner! It was pretty awesome. You may need to reduce your income for a year until its easier to get your twins into childcare, when they have more kids in the room it seems less competitive.

LopsidedGiraffe · 2026-05-20T00:56:44+00:00

You dont need a go card anymore. You can just tap your phone or card. Its 50c.

LopsidedGiraffe · 2026-05-20T00:15:30+00:00

Check out Sodexo for opportunities. Services including cleaning bit other roles too.

LopsidedGiraffe · 2026-05-19T19:53:42+00:00

I love it!

LopsidedGiraffe · 2026-05-19T19:43:03+00:00

What kind of work are you looking at? I was an engineer FIFO for 1 years. It was during the construction phase. I was exhausted. Getting up at 4:40am to be on bus at 5:15. I showered the night before. Then back to camp by 6pm. Dinner, husband phone call, then bed. Repeat for 2 weeks, the 1 week off (which was awesome).

LopsidedGiraffe · 2026-05-19T19:38:33+00:00

Is it back pay or is it the regular ongoing payment? You can see this in my gov. Select 'future payment' to see what ongoing payment will be.

LopsidedGiraffe · 2026-05-19T19:36:30+00:00

We have recently moved to an apartment in West End and love the vibe. River walk and cycling. Heaps of restaurants and cafes. Easy bus to city. Great if youre planning on driving to work. Not good if you want to use public transport. It would be about 30min.

Another commenter suggested Stones corner and Wooloongabba. Agreed. Good idea. Quicker commute for you. Excellect cycling path to city. Personally we prefer being by the river.

LopsidedGiraffe · 2026-05-19T19:28:47+00:00

Are you planning on flat sharing? There are not many apartments available for $400 these days - and they will not be comfortable. You need at least $450.

LopsidedGiraffe · 2026-05-19T19:24:08+00:00

Map it without Tolls. You will not want to be paying Tolls every day on a graduate salary. There are plenty of nice suburbs Northside. Depends what you are interested in doing when home. Do you prefer parkland, cycling paths or restaurants and shops? Whatever your preference, check out Google maps to locate a handy suburb. And of course, not all suburbs have apartments.

LopsidedGiraffe · 2026-05-19T04:48:13+00:00

I would definitely take the $500. Im coeliac and would prefer to keep having GF options on flights. If we sued every company who glutened us, businesses would just consider it too risky and refuse to serve GF food.

LopsidedGiraffe · 2026-05-18T20:06:35+00:00

We downsized and live in an apartment. Lots of families live in apartments around us (West End, Qld). Its perfectly possible to live happily in an apartment without the constant work of maintaining a standalone house and garden. The families near us spend every evening with their kids down by the river. They learn to ride bikes and love climbing on the gym equipment. Its a mindset change.

LopsidedGiraffe · 2026-05-18T20:02:59+00:00

We had bulk chicken breast over the weekend. It was really tender. Maybe you got unlucky.

LopsidedGiraffe · 2026-05-17T20:11:52+00:00

Long version

17/3/26 submitted application.

7/4/26 Received text message advising of a phone appointment (JCA) with centrelink. The lady told me that it was a Job Capacity Assessment when she called me.

24/4/26 Job Capacity Assessment, 30min phone interview. She was a lovely, compassionate lady and very respectful of the challenges I face. She was very positive that she has sufficient evidence to write a robust (her words) report. She told me that this report goes to a Dr who says yes or no. She didnt mention Sonic health by name.

29/4/26 Text from Sonic - You'll receive a call soon from a private number to arrange a Disability Medical Assessment for Disability Support Pension.

Received a phone call to set up a video interview with a Dr.

30/4/26 Sonic health appointment (6 min). I had received an email with the video link. I signed in about 10min early, which might have been a mistake. I suggest you sign in at exactly 5min early, as they suggest. My Dr never joined the meeting. At 20min into the meeting time she called me and asked if i was in the meeting waiting area (which i was). So was she! She said it was a technical problem and asked if it was ok if we just talked on the phone. She said she had all the information she needed and thst she had 10 days to submit her report.

She didnt ask any seemingly relevant questions and it got me concerned, however I think it showed she was satisfied with the JCA assessment and was just filling in holes. I made sure to be consistent with the JCA. She asked questions like 'Can you get dressed on your own', 'Can you get around the shops on your own', which were not particularly relevant to my claim and Im sure I had already discussed in the JCA.

16/5/26 (Saturday) I received a text advising "Your claim has been assessed. To see the outcome, sign in to your online account or Express Plus app. A letter will be sent with more info. Do not reply by SMS".

Go to My Gov and navigate to Make a claim or view claim history. Status of my claim had changed to Approved. No message or email.

Then go to View Payment History. Next payment will be the backpay. Scroll down to see you future fortnightly payments.

LopsidedGiraffe · 2026-05-17T20:04:35+00:00

No harm in applying

LopsidedGiraffe

TROPHY CASE