We Have Internet

After months of to and fro and being told that we couldn't get internet it seems we can actually get it and we are now connected.  The conversation over the last few months went something like this

"Can we get our internet connected?"
         "No you are too far from the exchange"
"But all our neighbours get it"
         "We'll they must be closer to the exchange than you"
"No we all run off the same pit and we are the closest to it"
         "There might not be any ports we will have to check (and that will cost you)"
"Ok please check"
         "We checked and there is too much interference on the line"
"So there is ports available but too much interference?"
         "Yes"
"Too much interference on the same line others use and have no problem with?"
         "We can't help you"

Insert first official complaint

         "We still can't help you"

About this stage I get a call from a salesperson from Brisbane trying to sell me a mobile phone plan and find out how happy I am with their customer service.  At this point I explain our experiences so far including the conversations to date.  I am promptly told she thinks that is a load of rubbish and she will personally oversee getting us connected.  "That's good" I say, "I was about to call the telephone ombudsmen to complain but you sound sincere I'm willing to give you a shot"

Some weeks later
            "There are no available ports"
"Really"
            " I see here you now have a case manager and you are on the waiting list"
"So we can get internet"
            "Yes and you are at the top of the waiting list"

Then the modem arrived in the mail we started to get excited. Then the technician came and checked a few things.  At this point we discover that all new cabling was put in here when they subdivided the blocks here and we actually get faster broadband than all the surrounding suburbs.

Persistence pays off.  We now have better internet than we have ever had.

Another massive week and a bit has seen the hallways to the kids wing and the playroom plastered, sanded and painted and the orange wall in the open area painted (just in time for Lachy's birthday party)

The little orange Suzuki has been moved to it's new home inside the shed ready to start restoring once the house is completed.  The rain gauge has been installed just in time for today's rain (well over 50mm and counting).  Brett's birthday present from his Mum, 10 bags of sheep poo, arrived on site and are going to be put to good use planting fruit trees.  Thanks Mum!

The Orange Wall

 Kids play room finished

Hallway Sanding

Super Plasterer

 Prepping the play room

 Suzi's new home

 Rain gauge

Progress 7-July-2015

It's been nearly a month since our last post and plenty of progress has been made.

1. Painting/plastering -main hallway from front door through to open area has been completed, the Music room is done and the toilets have been painted.  All in all a mammoth plastering sanding and painting effort
2. Hired a Skip Bin.  The area outside the shed became a large rubbish heap in the last couple of weeks of the build where a huge amount of rubbish was generated from off cuts and general packaging.  It was good to hire a skip bin and get rid of all this junk.  The place no longer looks like a rubbish tip
3. Shed.  The inside of the shed is slowly being cleared of furniture and our life's possessions as we finish rooms and start to move furniture into them.  The shed is slowly becoming functional as space opens up.
4. Firewood harvesting.  As the cold weather is on us the wood heater needs feeding.  Thankfully we have no shortage of dead timber around the block to see us through this winter.  Cutting it serves 2 purposes, 1 to keep us warm and 2 to reduce fuel loads in the undergrowth and make the place more fire safe in summer
5. Rainwater.  We are getting plenty of runoff into the tank at the moment which is good to see.  We now have the money needed to order the second tank and have started marking out it's location ready to get the excavator into action
6. Continue to battle Telstra in our attempts to get broadband internet (this has been ongoing for 2 months already).  Honestly they tell you a different excuse every time you call them.  Telling me you can't get adsl where we are when all our neighbors have it then feeding us rubbish excuses that they can't even explain doesn't cut it (really what is interference on the line and why does it only effect me and no one else here?).  Lodging official complaints with them and threatening to go to the telephone ombudsmen seems to be doing the trick as we seem to be heading towards a resolution.  Now it seems it has nothing to do with interference and everything to do with a lack of ports.  We even have a case manager now and getting us a port has become a priority.

 Hallway freshly painted

Rubbish Pile Gone