Let us make your space ace

Let us make your space ace is the tagline for MJ Cleaning & Home maintenance

I have a rental inspection this week and I’ve let things go a little (well, I’ve let the balcony and patio go quite a bit).

I know Jane from MJ Cleaning & Home maintenance from my workplace. Jane and Matt did a terrific job.

This is the review I wrote for them on their Facebook page.

Review of MJ Cleaning & Home Maintenance | Jane and Matt are supreme beings of the universe who are superbly zen

Declaration: I know Jane through my workplace.

As a long term renter with biannual inspections, I occasionally feel the need to get assistance with some tasks. I get lazy when it comes to maintaining the tiles, screens, windows, and doors along with the leaf litter and staining which sometimes occurs.

Jane and Matt came to my place armed with their cleaning accoutrements and in two hours made a large balcony and small patio look like new. The tiles are pristine, the screens are free of dust and lint, and the windows are crystal clear.

A couple of weeks ago, Jane was able to perform a quote for the work after viewing photographs and a couple of short videos. The quoted price was well under the price I had paid some years ago when I needed help.

The great thing about Jane and Matt is that they’re both super friendly and super positive people. They arrived on time and they went about the task with a smile and I could hear their friendly chatter with one another focused on getting the job done properly. They work well as a team and the time seemed to fly by and all I was doing was watching them. In chatting with Jane, she was explaining how they also do home maintenance including small painting jobs and even some gardening work.

I have no hesitation in recommending MJ cleaning & home maintenance for jobs around your place. If you check out their Facebook page you’ll find their contact details and if you frequent the Canberra Notice Board Group Jane posts about once a week to let members know about their service. Their tagline is “Let us make your space ace”.

Cultural appreciation program

This week I attended a daylong training session as part of a cultural appreciation program.

The program is run by Clinton Scott-Knight who owns and runs National Indigenous Training Employment Solutions (NITES).

One of the things Clinton mentioned was the influence of rugby league football in his life and that of his father’s life.

The program really helped me with some self-reflection on racism in the past, as a child, as a young adult, and now. After the program, I called my mother and had a long conversation about racism when I was growing up.

I think if anyone assumes that racism doesn’t occur in Australia in 2019 I think they’re sadly deluded.

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Rental inspection this week

People who rent are familiar with the regular inspections that are undertaken by real estate agents. I’m not the neatest or tidiest person. I’m also intrinsically lazy (I prefer to call myself efficient). While I don’t leave clothes on the floor and towels on the floor, I am known to allow things (politely known as stuff and rudely described by friends at work as shit) to accumulate on my work station at work and my dining table cum workspace at home.

When I buy things, especially electrical appliances, I keep the boxes the item came in. This is because I’ve always had the view that residential life is temporary. I could be told to move or leave at any time. I could be terminated from my job and would have to find other employment somewhere else, so as a bit of a prepper, I keep the boxes “just in case”.

To some extent this also applies to food items. I have my shelf of shame which contained tinned meats, among the favourite things in the shelf I have Spam, corned beef, coconut cream, salmon, tuna, baked beans, and spaghetti. There’s also instant noodles and tins of anchovies.

I also don’t like using the balcony or patio in the place I exist. I do have a fold up chair and fold up table, but the Canberra summers aren’t balmy enough for me to want to sit in a chair outside, and Canberra winters are inhospitable.

Hence the need for help from Jane and Matt.

Democracy sausage

I need some ideas. Australian readers will know that a federal election has been set for Saturday 18 May 2019. Australian readers will also be familiar with the concept of democracy sausage.

For the last few elections I’ve not been in Canberra for the election day and I’ve availed myself to voting in a community centre the week before. The only downside is that in this scenario, there is no sausage sizzle.

I’ve been thinking, I should make my own democracy sausage. Should I do a Kransky like I have done before and shared on Yummy Lummy?

I have been thinking I might use a Chinese sausage, viz., lup chong. If I felt inclined to bake, I’d make some bad bread, but I’m not a baker and I don’t want to make bread from scratch. We’ll see how I go.

What have I watched this week?

Star Trek: Discovery

Such Sweet Sorrow (Spoilers)

OMG, this is an amazing episode. This is part one of a two-part season finale. We get some great character development, we get to see the bridge of the USS Enterprise NCC-1701, we get some comedy, and we get some really tear-jerking acting.

I had tears in my eyes when the bridge of the USS Enterprise 1701 appeared on screen. My only concern was the lens flare was Jar Jar-like.

Captain Pike’s speech as he returns to the Enterprise is eye watering.

Is it wrong that Number One (Rebecca Romijn) engenders the same feelings I get when I watch “The Cage” and see Majel Barrett-Roddenberry play the same character?

National Rugby League

What a thrilling end to the game between the Brisbane Broncos and Wests Tigers. I have only three words #BringBackBennett

LAW & ORDER

I’m still watching episodes in season 7.

What have I listened to this week?

The Medical Republic Podcast

This week Felicity discusses some really interesting concepts in vaccination. She looks at some of the differences in outcomes associated with live and dead vaccines, especially all-cause mortality and the benefits that live attenuated viral vaccines can have on overall health. These benefits can outweigh the negative effects associated with some dead vaccines.

What have I eaten and photographed this week?

This is a gallery of photographs. Click on one image and scroll through the rest of them.

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Yummy Lummy this week

Real reef and beef in the truest sense.

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Final thoughts

• How do you feel about rental inspections?
• Have you experienced racism recently?
• How do you feel when your sporting team can’t seem to win?