Wow, it’s been ages since I’ve had a chance to post anything lately! A lot has been going on, I am STILL in Karratha working away and have been so busy – you would think you would get some free time working 12 hour days (including weekends!) but alas, I don’t. I’m only just starting to catch up on everything so finally have a chance to get my thoughts down in writing.
So! There’s been a lot going on.
First of all, I have been feeling a bit crook lately. Feeling bloated in the mornings and getting stomach cramps during the night a lot, and I think its just because I have been eating so badly while I have been up here. So I have decided to try and significantly reduce the amount of carbs I’ve been eating (seems like that was ALL I was eating – bread, rice, pasta, potatoes, noodles…) and I am now on my third day of my healthy eating mission. I haven’t even had any coke (for those of you who know me you will know what a big thing that is)!!! I am actually feeling better already, I haven’t been waking up feeling bloated and I haven’t been getting up through the night with stomach cramps, so I’m happy!
Second of all, yesterday I had some bad news about the house. For some reason the plans haven’t been followed, meaning the meter box is too close to the house and a wall needs to be rebuilt… this means more delays. It’s super disappointing because we had hoped that Aaron would be here when we get to move in (he is home next Friday – yay!) but now it looks like that probably wont happen. I was so mad yesterday – not just because of the delays, but because the stupid building company didn’t even have the decency to call me – I found out because my mother-in-law visited the house and bumped into the electrician, who told her about it – and also because when I rang to find out what was going on the woman (I’m restraining myself here) was completely and utterly rude to me.
The third major thing going on at the moment is the Aaron has found out some information regarding international tax that could significantly impact our situation.
He was under the impression that as he was working away and mostly residing in another country that he wouldn’t have to pay Australian tax. However, some legislation has changed and now it looks as though he may be still classed as a resident for tax purposes – meaning he may now need to pay Australian Tax of 40-50% as well as the 17% he already pays as International tax. If this is the case – there’s no point him working away anymore, so there is a chance he might come home (although, he has already said if he does have to come home, he will still try and get FIFO work, so he wont be at home all the time). Isn’t this good news? Well, there are pros and cons. The pro is, obviously, that I get my husband home, out of the dangerous area he is working in, and will see him a lot more often. The cons are that a) his income will be reduced and he will be paying more tax, meaning it will be harder for us to pay off our mortgage, b) he probably will have to start his graduate programme with another company all over again and c) we will probably get hit with a huge tax bill for the last 18 months that he has been away but not paying any Australian tax.
So, as you can see, it’s been a stressful week for me.
BUT, you just have to keep on smiling, breathe deeply and don’t let it weigh you down… otherwise I would find it even harder to get out of bed in the mornings!
OH! And I have something delightful to look forward to, to keep my chin up – we are going to NEW YORK
