School's Out For My Little Princess (Finally!), Clearing My Desk, & This Week's Wristwatches.

- Friday 11:45pm ADST - 

The weekend was a blur. I wore the re-dialled Seiko 7002 for most of it;

I was happy to read this week that the Palace Cinema chain might be interested in keeping The Astor Theatre running as a cinema after the current operator's lease expires next May. You might have read in previous posts recently that the future of this cinema is under threat. It's all still up in the air at the moment, but it'll be great if the Palace option goes ahead. Wait and see.

We've been busy packing up various items into boxes in an attempt to de-clutter and get this place ready to put on the market early next year. I can't wait for the day when it all gets unpacked again and I can lay it all out on the floor so that I can get rid of half of it. My wife has told me that I have too much stuff and I've responded that I'll be happy to clear a lot of it out once I can see it all to remind myself of what I actually have. 

I began clearing my desk, now that my school year has ended. I bought one of those small Helmer drawer units from IKEA and spent a couple of hours on Saturday putting it together with my son. 

The desk will wind up in the garage and everything that was in the drawer has been placed in this little unit. I'll use the dining table for any and all future homework throughout early 2015. And if I need a pencil, fountain pen ink or screwdriver, it'll be in this thing. 

That's one more item ticked off the list. And speaking of office/stationery-related matters, I am sick to death of staring at this tape dispenser;

I was surprised a couple of years ago when the base of this thing split open and a whole heap of grey dust spilled out of it. Looking through the crack, I saw a solid block of concrete inside this thing. Well, that explains the weight, I thought to myself. I grabbed a cardboard bag and made a cover for the base to prevent any further spillage. This thing is an eyesore, so when I saw an old-school metal tape dispenser, made from actual STEEL, I jumped at it;

A classic Bear brand dispenser. There's a little rust here and there, but I'm gonna give it a light rub with steel wool. Then I'll give it a layer of KillRust before applying and undercoat. And then, I'm thinking maybe a pleasant shade of yellow.

And, if my hand is steady enough, I may colour the bear-head logo in red. Maybe even the tape-holder roller as well. Just for contrast. 

And I snagged this little piece of nostalgia as well;

It's funny how we used to dread looking at these things back when we were at school because they seemed to tick a whole lot slower than real time. However, I've seen this style of industrial clock selling for ridiculous prices now that they're considered funky-retro-Hipster-chic. This one was sixty bucks and the minute hand is iffy, but my local clock repairer works pretty cheap, so I should be able to get this thing running properly without spending more than what it would cost to fill the tank of my car. I hope. There's a little dust in it, but I've already dismantled it and had a look around. Nothing that a sweep with a clean paint-brush won't fix.

My daughter had her last day in primary school today. Thank heavens. She has a few close friends that she's made over the years, but this was, of course, counterbalanced by a snarky group of girls in her class who are training to be bitches of the future. And that's my little rant about the cliques that exist in the schoolyard.

Anyway, t'is the last Friday before Christmas, and it's been an awful week with what occurred in Sydney and Peshawar Province in recent days, so I'll just say have a safe and happy holiday season, regardless of your faith, religion or belief.
I hope you all have some nice time with those close to you.
Oh yeah, I've had this on all week;

Thanks for reading and again, have a safe and happy festive season!