Riddled with indecision

A long time ago there was a red headed magazine maven who was decisive.

Whether I was bidding hundreds of thousands of dollars on property or exclusive photographs of celebrities, I knew what I wanted and I wasn’t afraid to go for it.

Those days are over.

I am riddled with indecision over the apartments that I like. I can’t even answer the phone when the real estate agents ring because I literally don’t know what to say.

I have never had this problem before. I bullishly bought my first house when I was 26 – a two-bedroom house in Petersham. It was followed by decades of buying and selling … an apartment in East Sydney, an apartment in Bondi, a block of apartments in Merewether, an apartment in Hunters Hill, a house on Sydney’s lower North Shore and my current abode.

I loved the cut and thrust of it all, it was what I did for kicks.

Now I fret and lose sleep over what to do.

My concerns about the fancy two-storey place I saw over the weekend are: it will have a huge construction site across the road from it for the next few years; it has a front fence that I’m worried burglars will leap over if I’m at home with the sliding door open; the fence will mean the dogs have nothing to look at when they’re lazing in the courtyard; the courtyard has no cover over it; the body corporate fees are high; and the youngest hates the place.

Oh, and maybe I will be lonely there, as I won’t have any friends close by and the kids are rarely home.

I’ve pretty much discounted the one up three flights of stairs from the garage and on a busy road, although the price tag is VERY enticing, which keeps me circling back to it.

And then interest rates went up 0.5% yesterday, which doesn’t seem like much but is apparently going to throw a grenade into the property market and destroy a lot of people who borrowed too much.

So much to worry about … but at least I’m not worried about that, although I do feel sad for anyone in mortgage distress.

I soothed my frayed nerves by heading to a Brown-Forman Distillery Door event at Hinchcliff House yesterday, where I ran into my lovely mate Oliver (above) from The Whisky List.

We hung out together doing a “silent disco” version of a whisky tasting where we all wore flashing headphones while we listened to the whisky ambassador run us through tastings of lots of fabulous drams, including one that retails for more than $600 a bottle – GlenDronach 1993 – well, that’s if you can get your hands on one.

Brown-Forman did this fascinating thing where they gave us the most delicious sweet treats to eat while we sipped the whiskies, which worked remarkably well.

It was also a revelation to elevate the whisky tasting experience by alternating sips of GlenDronach with Pedro Ximenez Sherry, which was served in edible chocolate cups.

The whisky is aged in Pedro Ximenez barrels and also matches extremely well with chocolate.