Dale, Grant and Jacqui at the MBS Ball, don't we two look a right couple of dorks.

No doubt Anneloes will be happy to hear that Jacqui was much more restrained this year (he he he) - this photo, for example, was taken at about 11:30 pm.

Workwise, Dale has finally got the keys to the new house after a torrid time with some builders et al that seemed to have their minds and energies elsewhere. The house is a few months behind schedule but within a week or so 5 people from Rattraywood House will be moving into their new home. Hip-hip-Hooray.

Workwise, Grant is looking to avoid it for awhile longer and is scouting around for a month or two of intensive Indonesian. He has also been building computers ("What?!?"). Dale has had a previously dismal one upgraded for use in Ormond House, one is for McKinnon House (if they want it), one is staying here for Grant to experiment on and one should end up with the girls because they have started a Komputer-Klass at the Kindergarten.

Building 4 perfectly adequate PCs is quite cheap actually - all you do is go around to shops that do upgrades and ask them for the old 486 motherboards etc that would often just get thrown into the bin. A few more bits of junk and maybe a few dollars on some memory and stuff and there you have it - a PC that would have cost over $2000 in 1995 and been at the cutting edge of technology! Quite OK for wordprocessing or spreadsheets or playing anything but the most recent graphics intense games. We doubt if either Rebecca or Shannon will be pushing them to the limit at the moment (I think they just like the idea that the lumpy clicky thing on the end of the string is called a Mouse).

We have taken the opportunity to got out a few times - a fabulous dinner at Jennifer and David's new place being one and the previous Thursday caught up with Ingmar, Laura, Majula, Somna, Joe, Robyn, Andrew and Som's sister who was down from Sydney. A good dinner on Commercial Road then onto the Exchange to catch Tabatha Turlington's amateur drag show - they are tragic - during which the 3 subcontinental girls were dragged up on stage and suitably harrassed. Then down the 3 Faces for more beer and a dance. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves, and were 'amazed' that they could go somewhere full of the drunkest people they had seen in a while and not also see any fights or aggro.

Hope eveyone's fine, and look forward to hearing from you soon.

X

Grant and Dale.

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