Jelssievision Episode 5, Season Finale!

Unveiled! What to say, what to say... it's a special episode with extra length. A lot of introspection, some puzzlement, and a beautiful backdrop. Thanks for watching, and thanks Bec!



Jelssievision 5 from Bec Jee on Vimeo.

How to test drive.

A few of us at work are selling cars or car shopping, and I said, "What's a test drive anyway? I don't know what I'm supposed to do!" So Martyn wrote us this checklist. I include it with his permission, to benefit all car-buyers of little experience.

1. Is there an Owner's Handbook/Manual? If not, I suggest you proceed no further! If so, to whom was the car originally sold and where? (eg if it was originally sold to someone in Darwin, what is it now doing in Sydney?)
2. Is there a Service Record...if so have the services been done more or less in accordance with the manufacturer's recommended intervals? If not, I suggest you don't proceed...a "lost" service history may mean the seller has something to hide OR they or a previous owner were pretty slap-dash about getting it serviced.
3. Do they have the registration paper?

4. If the above points are OK, walk around and look for the following:
a) Signs of body repair eg panels that don't quite fit, non- matching sections of paint
b) Do all the tyres have plenty of tread?
c) Have someone with you to get in and turn on the headlights, blinkers, windscreen washers and wipers and horn
d) Open the bonnet and check that the Compliance Plate is affixed. Compare the details thereon with the registration paper ie the engine number and  "VIN"

5. Take the car for a drive and check for the following:
a) When you turn the key, does the engine start quickly? If it struggles to fire, the battery may be nearing the end of its useful life, or there could be other problems. Does the tachometer settle into a constant RPM reading (normally around 750) within about 10 seconds or does it fluctuate up and down above and below say, 1,000 rpm?
b) If manual, when you let the clutch out, does it 'take up' smoothly and progressively as you start easing the clutch or does it suddenly 'catch' and you lurch forward?
c) Are there any unusual sounds from the engine, exhaust or gear box when changing gears (manual or auto)? Leave the radio off and drive with the window down so you can hear the car. (Check the radio later)
d) Assume it has A/C, turn this on as you drive to make sure it works OK.
e) On a straight section of road, accelerate hard for a few seconds to check the response. Find somewhere without too much traffic and 'just' take your hands off the wheel - does the car continue to 'track' straight or does it pull to one side or the other?
f) Find a quiet street and check the brakes: accelerate to about 50 km/h then hit the brakes quite firmly. Does the car come to a quick stop? Does the steering wheel want to pull to one side or the other?

If there are one or two things on the above checklist which you are not happy about but otherwise the car seems OK, get an NRMA or other expert to check it out. If three or more problem areas you should probably keep looking!

Fried Chicken.

I just want to point out that there is a story on the front of smh.com today about KFC (Korean Fried Chicken). I'm proud to say that jelssie eat street was eating that fried chicken back in 2012. Good times.

Last word on Jelssie

Given Jess has already blogged The Last Days, I thought it appropriate to give my voice on the ending of Jelssie the blog.

The title of this post itself feels very...weighty. Final. This is it!

I have really enjoyed my time on Jelssie. It's been a joy to share our ramblings with you, and I especially thank Jess for keeping Jelssie going while I've been so quiet. I'm not sure what happened with me being all quiet on Jelssie. I still had Jelssie things to say, but I started to just say them to Jess and not get around to posting them here.

And what about me and Jess' friendship itself? It will change. We don't know what it will look like. We know how we feel about friendships: we will invest in those who are physically closer, and have the time for us (I can't find the relevant blog post!). What I do know is that I will look back in this season of life with many fond memories, and if I'm bored or looking to procrastinate, I will work my way through this blog.

It's been fun - thanks for reading, for telling us how much you loved it, and thanks for my partner-in-crime, Jess! God has provided so well for you, I look forward to seeing how he will continue to bless you in your next stage of life xoxo

Woe is TV.

It seems kind of sad to me that the best night of TV at the moment is Tuesday night. TUESDAY NIGHT. With New Girl and Big Bang Theory. And the return of Snog Marry Avoid. SMASH season 2 was also on last Tuesday but it started so late it was actually Wednesday morning viewing, so I don't count that. Now, I do enjoy these shows, but the fact that these are the viewing cream of my week BY A LONG WAY is a  sad SAD indictment of the state of programming. I know it's First World Problems, but TV did not used to cause this much angst! Shows used to start promptly on the hour or half hour, in line with the printed TV guide. There used to be something fun on Sunday nights like Doctor Who or The Mentalist or both. If the viewing audience is spending more time watching TV on the internet or DVD boxed sets (I'm enjoying Dark Angel most nights), who can blame them!!!!!

The Last Days.

Life has chapters, and jelssie has marked one of those chapters. Nothing lasts forever. You finish the block of chocolate too soon. Braces come off, eventually. And half of jelssie, me the Jess part, is leaving Sydney at the end of this week. So it seems like the right time to finish blogging here, round things up and appreciate what has been. It's either that or take a new photo for the banner. I love that this blog is an archive of so much fun, it's been a GREAT chapter.

There will hopefully be another jelssievision soon, yesterday we did a 5th and final episode for Season 1 :) so stay tuned for that.

If you miss me (Jess), I plan to keep blogging on my other blog, but that's not much like jelssie, it's mainly craft and my new favourite songs and so on. I have a smartphone now so if I start twittering I'll let yous know. Elsie said she might start a blog if she ever wants to blog again. But officially, jelssie is saying goodbye this week.

Minimalism.

It's like scales falling from my eyes. Finding something like this during a packing/decluttering binge and thinking "What the?".

I must have scavenged it from my parents or grandparents. Still in original 70s packaging. 4 soup bowls with lids. Now, they would make cute little tureens, so somebody might want them, but why have I been carrying them from house to house and dutifully putting them right at the back of some cupboard every time I unpack? It's insanity, when you think about it. Utter lunacy.

I've come to the point where decluttering and frugalism has merged, and I want to think of myself as a minimalist, even though I probably won't look like one from the outside. I'd like to be able to fit all my possessions into one car, but that isn't going to happen. Once you've got stuff and you're used to using it, it's hard to justify getting rid of it just so you can meet a romantic criteria of nomadic minimalism. But I'm seriously tightening up my definition of "useful" and resisting the lure of shopping to improve my life.

Nacking.

So snacking and feeling hungry aren't really a thing for me anymore, unless my meals are too small. The body can adapt to ANYTHING.