I had another lady contact me, we sending msgs back and forth sharing basic info. Then on the 3rd msg she spun some story about her having to move out, and needing somewhere to store her extra belongings, and asking me if I have spare space at my place. I told her that I myself am moving out so I couldn't help her. Needless to say this was the last I heard from her. Of course I didn't give her any details on where I live nor my living arrangements. You just can't trust anyone these days. People DO find true friends and partners from dating sites, we do on occasion hear about it in the news or on the media. But now I am entirely spooked!!! When I move out I will have my number unlisted, and surely then no one could track me. I have all my mail sent to my PO box. And I have transferred my most valuable items, such as my wife's ashes, to safe storage at my workplace (of course I didn't tell anyone at work!!). And I have encrypted my hard disk on my computer, so even if anyone steals my computer, they won't be able to access my data, which is protected by a 22-character password which would take even the fastest computer longer than the age of the universe to try all combinations to crack the password. Furthermore, I keep my data backed up on my thumb drives which I always take with me when I am out of the house. And I have taken other security measures. I also have a 22-character password for my wireless router, it stops hackers from using my router and bandwidth. A 22 character password yields about 10^21 combinations, that is a number "1" followed by 21 zeros. In contrast, assuming the universe is 15 billions years old, that is "only" 5x10^17 seconds, that is a number "5" followed by just 17 zeros being the number of seconds since the birth of the universe. Therefore if the number of combinations of a 22 character password is converted to seconds, it would yield a value of 10000 times the age of the universe!! So even the fastest computer on earth, if it attempted to crack a 22 character password by trying every possible combination, it would take a length of time greater than the age of the universe - so for all intensive purposes, it is impossible to crack such a password!! In contrast a normal 8-character password that most of us uses for various things yields only about 40000 combinations, that if translated to seconds it would be only 11 hours, so would take less than 1/2 day for a reasonable computer to crack it!!
Something else that freaks me out, I recently noticed some suspicious activity near my place, namely a car parked two doors along from my place with a man inside whom I never seen before. I do keep tabs on my neighbors, I know the usual people who comes and goes. So this one was never seen before. And he was watching me the whole time as I went to and from my place, I could see he had his eyes on me. This happened on two occasions over two weeks, a different car the 2nd time but the same person parked in the same place. I am keeping a dossier on him, recording details of these two instances, including car rego details (even if the car is likely to be stolen or ghosted), such information kept on my thumb drive that I carry with me, so that should there be a break in or attempted break in, this information will be given to the coppers. But the sooner I move out the better, given that I am no longer on a lease, and I am in the process of renting secure storage space, and keeping my most valuable belongings there, mostly sentimental value, nothing that is worth $$$$ but a lot of sentimental value. I do have contents insurance, but no insurance in the world can replace items of sentimental value. Somewhat fortunately I do have an active neighborhood, the older couple next door are friends with the landlord and they are always home and often tending to their garden, and one of their windows looks straight onto the back porch so they'd call the cops if they notice anyone there that shouldn't be there. Also the neighbor across the road, my former landlord, has a mobile car repair business, so he is often home, and also the other next door neighbor is also often at home. So I do have neighbors who knows me, and who would pick up on any unusual activity around my place.
But yeah we heard on the news recently that a nurse in Melbourne (I think) who was bashed senseless by a man whom she met on an online dating site!!! Well if you ask me, the online dating game can be just as dangerous for guys too!!! You really have to have your wits about you. And I think you need to have an unlisted number, have a PO box and have all mail going there, and to be aware of your neighborhood and keep a dossier on any suspicious activity, recording car rego plates, and etc. Of course making your number unlisted while still at the same residence is utterly pointless, even if the electronic records are altered it will still be in the phone books!!! So you have to move house to another locality and make sure the new number is unlisted!! And dump any potential "dates" if she asks for your full name, address, living arrangements, or other personal identifying details before you even meet her!! A genuine dating prospect will not ask for such information at such an early stage. A genuine date will not mind if we cultivate a relationship through online msgs, taking our time over several months, then perhaps start to meet in person, always at a public place such as a cafe, pub, or cinema.... and trust your intuition... our gut will know when it is time to take the relationship to the next level, involving visiting each other's homes, etc but I'd give it a year before we go to that level - a genuine date will not mind at all to really take our time.
So no more dating until I move out!!
Meanwhile life goes on...... I am doing my walks around Lake Monger during the week after work, about 3.5 kms, aiming for at least twice per week. On weekends I these days am walking between 10 and 15 kms. I think Mother would be proud of me. That is the main reason why I do my walking, cos Mother loved walking. Not that it did her any good, being the family "curse" of the short lifetimes, falling off the perch in our 60s or 70s, with only one that I know of that is in his 80s and still alive even if only just!!! There was no healthier person in regards to fitness than Mother, she walked several kms every day, ate all the right foods, and by all indexes she should have lived into her 90s if not longer..... if not for this dreadful disease that no health regime could defend against, she fell of the perch at only 68!!!!! Nevertheless I do my walks to stay connected to Mother and to keep my sanity intact!!
As for my job, our State Govt is introducing laws this week to end the permanency of State Govt workers, meaning, we can be sacked at will just like in private enterprise, only that we don't get paid as much as private enterprise - our lower wages was seen as a tradeoff for our job security. But with that gone, the Govt is also introducing laws limiting our pay rises to the CPI which means no more than 3% if that, so we will still be paid less than private enterprise yet after this week we can be sacked at will at the whim of our employer just as it is in private enterprise. Nevertheless, my particular job is safe for the time being. But should I get the sack in the next ten years, assuming the relative housing situation remains more or less the same around Australia, a move to Brisbane will follow such a sacking - Brisbane and Hobart housing are among the cheapest in Australia while Perth is the most expensive, moreso than even Sydney, and well Brisbane has better weather than Hobart (the storms and floods notwithstanding!!), so no brainer for my choice of future abode!!!!
I think that is about it for now...... my mundane little life.......
Another song for my dark moods......
Welcome to my nightmare!
I think you're gonna like it!
I think you're gonna feel its where you belong!
Welcome to my breakdown!
I hope I didn't scare you!
But that's the way we are when we come down!
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