The me no one knows - SI warning

I forget that people often grow up around cousins @Flutterbug9 😅 because I did not live nearby my relatives (until moving to my current location as an adult).

I moved a little through my primary school years, so it was a little disjointed. I dont remember anything from before primary school. Early primary was all in one semi-rural location; really small number of students per year (combined classes between years because of this). My sisters friends were also my friends, but also sometimes my bullies too. I had one friend who became my main friend in mid-primary school; she was also bullied by the same students. Small schools aren't good when 90% of the children your age or older engage/permit in the bullying. No one else to play with. Of course, its also an excentuated percentage, becuase in reality that's only about 15 people. 😅

Our farm-neighbours didnt have children. We knew them a little but not in terms of visiting for a coffee. More in terms of "sure, we'd love your livestock to graze our overgrown paddock for a month! Thanks!".

I lived in Asia for 1 year also, which was sooo different! City apartments. Got to know a couple other students who went to our school that lived in our apartment (same bus) - but they were all younger. But our parents got to know each other as expats and "safety" if needing to have someone to be around if leaving us alone for an hour or two at home. Occasional bbqs at the poolside. Visiting my school friends required being driven.

High school... didnt have neighbourhood friends either, although in suburbia. School friends but lived far enough away to need to be driven by parents. Mostly saw friends at school and then very occasionally after school or weekends. Birthday parties, occasional cinemas - esp in school holidays. I would see a couple of friends at sport (the 2 years i did that), or at the church youth group (the 1-2 years i did that). But these were also my worse years for depression; most of my non-school time was spent hermitting myself alone in "my cave" (bedroom) 😅.

I had decent teachers for most of high school, especially in my last 2 years. I was always good at learning languages, science and maths, but i found the "interpretive texts" of the "English" subject curiculum hard to understand and accept. I still got scored in the middle of the year grouping, but that was my weakest subject. Oh and history i was attrocious at remembering dates and names 🤣, but i understood the concept of what happened - the "story" so to speak. I got "better" at the English classes as i got into my senior years when i learned to just regurgitate what the teachers wanted to hear, even if i didnt understand why we would try to interpret shakespear as if he was a feminist or such things that he was not. Or regurgitate what Kubla Kahn by Coleridge meant even though it was a pile of gooblygook nonesense to me (I'll stick to the Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner please, at least that one i could understand once the allegories were explained!)

@AlwaysMyself My dad, his brother and their cousins were born and raised in small country town about 4hrs drive one way from where I grew up

my paternal grandparents, due to his work, moved from the town, which was semi farming, and moved to town where I was born.

I remembering staying overnight at one of my dad’s uncles house once. Late primary school city kid being woken by cow who had put its head into open window above my head. My twin cousins, much older than me, sitting in their beds laughing.

main thing I remember was the wide verandah around the house, 2huge water tanks and their neighbour of either side was a long walk away.

info from a cousin who lives in the town is not much has changed since we were young. Few more houses apparently on outskirts of the town. All houses now having full postal address. Every census I’ve been able to access shows addresses years ago never included a house number. Trying to trace exact location of my grandparents house all records give me is the street name, no number. This of a house that was close to centre of the town.

hoping things are going smooth with your Auslan course and dealing with the course provider.

hoping your paint by number is progressing well

rained here yesterday afternoon and into the night. Overcast sky this morning and cool. I’m hoping prediction for Wednesday gets down graded. Currently 31 predicted prior to showers, 45% humidity, 60% chance of rain, high Uv and up to 45 km/h wind

Laughing at imagining waking to a cow sticking its head through the window @Flutterbug9 🤣. My paternal grandparents were on a farm, but livestock were all in fenced paddocks away from the house. But i do recall frogs in/on the toilet, and *always* checking under the toilet seat for spiders first.

I realise i forgot to answe about my uni studies. They are unrelated to my field of work.

I studied a Business degree. I wanted a degree that was broad-skills transferrable (hence a B.Business) with a specific major topic. And i needed to study online/remote, so that limited my options A LOT. Initially the only options were 2 private Colleges - both with... limited reviews. So i chose "the best of the 2", which then closed down 2 years later and i had to look again for a new provider of a suitable equivalent degree. This time 2 major uni's offered ones by distance education, and both were in states that had a high number of rural/distance students -- this was all pre-covid, so most unis did not have good distance education materials. I chose the uni that did 3-trimesters instead of 2-semesters, so that i could get through it a bit quicker (knowing i could only do 1-2 subjects at a time).

@AlwaysMyself Most of my relatives on my father’s side I’ve never met. Remember my parents mentioning names and have joined the dots through genealogy.

Only child on one branch of the tree was born and raised on working sheep farm, returning there after boarding school and eventually becoming manager of the farm.

outside toilet brings back memories. My maternal grandmothers home when sold in late 1970’s only had outside toilet. My childhood home wasn’t connected to sewerage until I was approx mid primary. Even in day time, always took some type of light with you.

is that the grandfather you mentioned wasn’t safe to be around?

Yeah, thats the one that was on a farm @Flutterbug9 . And it was an 8 hour drive to there when i was on the east-coast, and when we moved to elsewhere in Aus (most of primary school) it was maybe 16 hours or so drive? So we did not see them often. I dont know how often. Maybe once a year? Probably less when not living "only 8 hours" drive away? Cousins of mine lived closer - 2-4 hours away i think? They visited more there more often.

Ahh outdoor pit toilet lol. Times ive used them mostly is when camping 😊. The grandparents farm had one inside the house - flush plumbing and all! Lol. But this was the 90's; i think their older farmhouse may not have - no idea, i didnt know it.

When i lived in a semi-rural place in primary school we had 4 people in the household and "4 toilets". But the 4th toilet... we said that was my dad's because it was an outhouse next to his massive shed 😆. I have no idea if it was a pit toilet or flush toilet. I always assume a pit toilet. My dad didnt even remember it existed when i mentioned it in passing when i saw him at xmas! And about how we had 4 toilets there. It was *not* a used toilet lol.

We had a 2 story house with an attached granny flat -- hence the 3 toilets inside the house.

@Flutterbug9 - edited out what my major was in for uni. But let me know if you missed or forget or whatever and i can mention it again 😊.

(Or other friends too who are interested to know can also ask)

I don’t know how large families dealt with things years ago. Relative house next to my childhood home still only has outdoor toilet. Is connected to the house but no door access from inside. Parents plus 7 children, eldest being early teenager when youngest was born. 3 bedroom house. House is now 2 story, 5 bedroom house

being as tactful as possible. Pre teen meant outside toilet and the can man whose job involved regular collection and disposal. Standard set up for years before I was born

I have gone back a few pages to try and catch up on things.

I have learnt a lot about you both @Flutterbug9 @AlwaysMyself. I’m happy that you both feel safe being so open. You guys have done so well.

I kind of feel as though I have slipped into a private conversation though, so I’ll just see myself out.

Don't feel the need to leave on my account @Captain24 . You're welcome to learn about me and ask qu's also. Gives a bit of context to why i have learnt some of the things i have over the years perhaps.

I was being respectful to you both not saying with the feeling of unwanted. I just wanted to respect your space! @AlwaysMyself

But I did understand a few things .