The Saga continuethetheth...

So this morning, Happy Dave gets an e-mail from Qantas to say 'credit card declined' -- and this after 3 prior calls, insuring that everything was in order. That sufficient funds were available, and that would not require further clearance. Spectacular fail, First National Bank. I'm glad I wasn't on the other end of Barbs's call. Mind you. They could have been worse off. It could have been me. Isn't funny (not ha ha funny) how the problems, the hassle and expense fixing of their cock-ups are always yours, and the profits are theirs? I'd love to find a bank that actually met me half way and let me take responsibility for my mess-ups and the cost thereof, and did the same for theirs, but unless they're very different in Australia, not going to happen. Anyway... this time it all ended happily bar some raised blood pressure. Qantas tried again, and the bank called and cleared the transaction. So now we all have tickets. Just need to book a few more things owing to my stupidity about the time of year (hire car, somewhere to stay etc.) We're hoping that the Hobart part of the saga won't take too long. Of course we have absolutely no idea about realities, or even a complete list of to-do (At the moment it's get a bank account, get new Tas drivers licences (and not sure how much of an epic this will be), Register with govt. depts, Tax, I think the medicare and Centrelink. Grin. I imagine happy-I-love-beaurocracy-Dave will emerge and have to be hastily stood on. The paperwork so far has deforested Borneo twice. At least - so far - it's all made more sense than SA paperwork. (you want the ultimate in silly hugely expensive, totally purposeless beaurocracy? Ask me about FICA someday. Peter Mayle wrote about the daftness of it in the French beaurocratic system and we all laughed like hades... and then they introduced it here.)

And then comes the part I really dread - buying a vehicle. It will live and die on Flinders (at $500+ one way you don't take it shopping in Bridport). But it has to get there. And I have heard that you aren't supposed to put people in the bin of a Ute in Oz? Right?