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skyringThanks to everyone for the congratulations and well wishes and so on. I know I've been feeling the frustration a lot, checking the mailbox two or three times a minute and so on...
Kerri said the other day that in the big scheme of things, a couple of weeks wasn't really here or there, but still, I've been keen to get stuck in for weeks and weeks now and I can feel all the information from my course leaking away.
I got on the phone to Canberra Cabs, and Brian the instructor reminded me of the things I needed to bring in before he could book a practical driving test for me. One of them was an ABN (Australian Business Number), which I've got, but I also need to be registered for Goods and Services Tax, which I'm not, or at least I wasn't yesterday. I've been holding off on that because there are certain legislative requirements, and I need to fill in a form every three months listing business activity.
So I flounced through various government websites yesterday looking for an easy way to register for GST, and there was no quick way to do it short of ringing up a number and going through a set of phone menus. So I did that and a young lady voice appeared after a while and asked me a bunch of questions to confirm my identity, like how much was my last tax refund, and once my response tallied with her records, she registered me for GST. Trouble is that this hasn't shown up on the Australian Business Register yet. She said it might take half an hour. Humph.
Anyway, I'll give it another hour and if it doesn't show I'll go off and book my practical driving test for next Thursday. I'm not worried about the outcome of this - basically all it is is a test to see that I can find my way via reasonably short routes between prominent locations in the central Canberra area. Train Station, Parliament House, City Central Rank etc., all the while driving legally, efficiently and comfortably.
Next steps are to buy a basic set of uniform clothes, and let my sponsor know about my progress, which probably means more jockeying. I've also got to revise material from my course, get a taxi endorsement on my driver's licence (once I've past the test), and finally present myself at the cab company's office with all my paperwork in order, in uniform, and with a money pouch and something else I've forgotten. They will then give me a PIN allowing me to logon to the despatch system and I'll be able to organise my first shifts.
Hopefully I can get all this done next Thursday. Do the test, get the licence, get the PIN. Then climb aboard Qantas for three days in Adelaide at the BookCrossing convention and start work Monday week.
Anyway, I was over the moon yesterday, and when Kerri got home, she suggested that instead of the hamburgers I'd planned for dinner (with baby spiniach and slices of yummy trellis tomatoes and pineapple, we go out to Australian Pizza Kitchen. One of my favorites - they brew their own beer and make fabulous wood-fired pizza. The Oysters Kilpatrick one is my favorite.
It didn't take much twisting of my arm to comply, and we went off and had a fun dinner. pizza and alcoholic ginger beer and a great park just over the street. I got Kerri thinking about our holiday in April next year. She's thinking about shopping in Hong Kong and/or Saigon, followed by a river cruise from Paris to Prague or vice versa. This should be OK - the more flights I can get on a RTW ticket the happier I'll be.
And this is the core reason why I want to be a taxi driver. I don't have to work - the government pays Kerri enough money for both of us - but I do want to keep on travelling and this way we'll be able to take weeks off and have long ad interesting holidays.
And I'll have something to blog about.
In other news, I've put our other car in for a service. It was overheating something chronic, spitting out clouds of steam and making burbling noises, so I guest that there was something wrong under the bonnet, and the service place has confirmed this. Couple of cracked hoses and a bit of chiding that maybe I should have put it in for a service about 20 000 km ago. Mmmmm.
Kerri said the other day that in the big scheme of things, a couple of weeks wasn't really here or there, but still, I've been keen to get stuck in for weeks and weeks now and I can feel all the information from my course leaking away.
I got on the phone to Canberra Cabs, and Brian the instructor reminded me of the things I needed to bring in before he could book a practical driving test for me. One of them was an ABN (Australian Business Number), which I've got, but I also need to be registered for Goods and Services Tax, which I'm not, or at least I wasn't yesterday. I've been holding off on that because there are certain legislative requirements, and I need to fill in a form every three months listing business activity.
So I flounced through various government websites yesterday looking for an easy way to register for GST, and there was no quick way to do it short of ringing up a number and going through a set of phone menus. So I did that and a young lady voice appeared after a while and asked me a bunch of questions to confirm my identity, like how much was my last tax refund, and once my response tallied with her records, she registered me for GST. Trouble is that this hasn't shown up on the Australian Business Register yet. She said it might take half an hour. Humph.
Anyway, I'll give it another hour and if it doesn't show I'll go off and book my practical driving test for next Thursday. I'm not worried about the outcome of this - basically all it is is a test to see that I can find my way via reasonably short routes between prominent locations in the central Canberra area. Train Station, Parliament House, City Central Rank etc., all the while driving legally, efficiently and comfortably.
Next steps are to buy a basic set of uniform clothes, and let my sponsor know about my progress, which probably means more jockeying. I've also got to revise material from my course, get a taxi endorsement on my driver's licence (once I've past the test), and finally present myself at the cab company's office with all my paperwork in order, in uniform, and with a money pouch and something else I've forgotten. They will then give me a PIN allowing me to logon to the despatch system and I'll be able to organise my first shifts.
Hopefully I can get all this done next Thursday. Do the test, get the licence, get the PIN. Then climb aboard Qantas for three days in Adelaide at the BookCrossing convention and start work Monday week.
Anyway, I was over the moon yesterday, and when Kerri got home, she suggested that instead of the hamburgers I'd planned for dinner (with baby spiniach and slices of yummy trellis tomatoes and pineapple, we go out to Australian Pizza Kitchen. One of my favorites - they brew their own beer and make fabulous wood-fired pizza. The Oysters Kilpatrick one is my favorite.
It didn't take much twisting of my arm to comply, and we went off and had a fun dinner. pizza and alcoholic ginger beer and a great park just over the street. I got Kerri thinking about our holiday in April next year. She's thinking about shopping in Hong Kong and/or Saigon, followed by a river cruise from Paris to Prague or vice versa. This should be OK - the more flights I can get on a RTW ticket the happier I'll be.
And this is the core reason why I want to be a taxi driver. I don't have to work - the government pays Kerri enough money for both of us - but I do want to keep on travelling and this way we'll be able to take weeks off and have long ad interesting holidays.
And I'll have something to blog about.
In other news, I've put our other car in for a service. It was overheating something chronic, spitting out clouds of steam and making burbling noises, so I guest that there was something wrong under the bonnet, and the service place has confirmed this. Couple of cracked hoses and a bit of chiding that maybe I should have put it in for a service about 20 000 km ago. Mmmmm.
