1993

I was a bit worried about this, and it’s happened.

At 5.30pm last night there was a loud rap at the front door. It wasn’t just a polite knock, it was a loud, hard, rat-a-tat-tat. I was immediately suspicious and said, “Who is it?”. No answer, so I looked through the bedroom window and there was no-one there.

This house is right on the footpath and people are always walking past, including lots of kids and “young people”. Presumably it was some person out to stir me up. I’ve been a bit worried this might happen and here it is. It’s only once, so I won’t get too alarmed yet, but I hope it’s the last time.

I may have to fix a video camera above the door and start recording. It’s easy enough to do these days. I should add that the front door is solid, heavy. No-one could break it down. I doubt anyone could do the TV trick of putting their shoulder to it either. The deadlatch is solid.

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Speaking of which, this house has a full alarm system but the battery light is flashing all the time. I assume it’s a backup battery for mains failure/disconnection, so I got up the ladder to look into the control box the other day. Only then did I discover a phone connection plug and socket. The sellers didn’t say anything about it being monitored. There are stickers on the windows with a number to call, so I’ll have to check and find out. I’m sure they would have told me because there would be fees to pay.

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I had my eyes tested on Friday as my eyesight has deteriorated in the past year (always myopic, I now have presbyopia as well).

The result was, no wonder I’m having trouble reading. One eye is markedly different to the other and both need new prescriptions. NB: as my HbA1c has fallen, so my eyesight has actually improved as my blood sugar has slowly fallen. My distance vision is good even with my single vision computer glasses. I just can’t focus up close any more.

I also have no signs of retinopathy damage. But it showed my intraocular pressure is borderline between normal and high, the first signs of glaucoma. Dad had it so I’ve been expecting it. I just need annual checks from now on, that’s all. Gettin’ older.

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I finally got to IKEA on Friday to see what I’m thinking of ordering. It made me change my mind about a lounge fabric colour, and I saw a desirable tub chair I wasn’t aware of, so it was good. I went on to the rugby klub afterwards, but there was a game on and it was packed out. I don’t like crowds like that so I gave it a miss – a pity because that’s the first time I’ve made it there since about January.

I set off to negotiate Marmion Avenue to home on a Friday at 5.30pm expecting traffic jams, but it was a breeze all the way. The full 80Km/h and no congestion to speak of. No problem.