3-Feb

Today was Natasha's Birthday, she is 24 years old and I love her with all my heart, we are hoping that the baby will be born soon and make us a Trinity, if it is born on the 8^th (3+5=8) that would be a trinity or if she is born on Feb 7^th it will work as 3_5_7 and will also be a Trinity. 

5-Feb

Today is my birthday but not much worth celebrating. I was to give John a copy of a marketing plan outlining a proposal of how we can promote gamesnet and get things moving but when I went to talk to him about it he stopped me short and said he was about to go home and he gave me a letter which he asked me to read with an open mind and not to worry as things are negotiable (letter1see file copy) the letter states that he wishes for Amac Enterprises to end. The letter included a proposal in which John offered to take over the business, John requested I read the letter and we would have a meeting regarding it with Himself and Fernanda on Monday. I showed Natasha and will

6-Feb

 I went to see Dave Massey regarding Johns letter to see what he knows about what John is doing. Dave is upset with John about saying he was not qualified to work on customers computers and believes John is not a good asset to the business. He said that John had rang him and told him that "we" are taking over the business and things were going to change, but that Dave thought we meant Andrew and John not Fernanda and John. He also said he wasn’t interested in any work from gamesnet at the moment as he wasn’t happy with the way some things had been handled lately. Natasha and I have a lot of time for Dave and hope that these things do not affect our friendship.

8-Feb

I responded to Johns letter with (letter 2 see file copy) stating how I felt about Johns offer and sent it to him by email in the morning, our meeting was due that night.

John said that after he had read the letter he was impressed and that he didn't realize that I still felt so passionately about the business he said that there where many truths in the letter and it had opened his eyes a bit, he said it was probably the best letter I had ever written and he shook my hand and said that he was willing to give it another go with some real effort

Fernanda seemed not keen on the Idea and asked John to express what he didn't like about me. John said there was no need for that and she seemed agreeable at the time but stated at one point that she wanted hard proof that I would not run up credit with suppliers again and I explained that the lessons had been well learnt by us all and we where all responsible for our position and were all suffering as a consequence and that I wouldn't allow further financial mistakes to repeat themselves, that the learning process was over and that because we had a strategy now and more defined business practices and services that there was no need to use any future credit as we had all the stock and equipment we needed for some time and that all customer purchase orders are on a cash basis as we pick items ordered up on the day so we did not need credit with suppliers.

I stated that all the hard work had been done in coming up with concepts etc and now we just needed to hang in there and see things through. She got upset at one point and said that she wanted me to get it in writing from each creditor that they would not allow us to go over $500 on accounts and was clearly not happy when I said that was extreme and was not necessary as there was no reason to run up accounts as we had all the stock that we needed and all orders have now been set up so that we could get everything we needed on a the cash basis I had just mentioned. I felt she treated me like a child and was not about to accept that. After this point she sat quietly looking rather tired and said little more.

The meeting ended with John and I agreeing that we would be in the next day early to make contact with all of the creditors and bills and to negotiate payment arrangements with them over the next few weeks.

9-Feb

John never showed up and when I rang him he told me that he had to go and pick up Fernanda from work and would contact me later, he sounded like something was wrong so I left it at that.

I felt kinda sick not knowing what to do and after waiting around for him all day, John finally rang me a few hours later and said that Fernanda had given him an ultimatum of either His family or the business and that he had to let the business go.

He assured me that he would do the right thing and asked for me to meet him at the pub to discuss it as he did not want to come into the shop.

At the pub we talked about the past mistakes and hurdles and agreed that we both had gained much experience. John stated that he felt that he couldn't run the business on his own and that he felt that I didn't need him to continue as he didn’t do much anyway. He asked how I felt about running the business without him and I told him that I felt he had contributed to the business but yes I could do it without him however the only problem is the current debts. He said not to worry too much about them as he would pay half of them and continue to help out over the next few weeks or months until I got on my feet with it all.

I told him I understood his position and that Natasha and I where there for him if he needed us and suggested that he still run the Internet accounts so that he still has an income coming in and that he can build on it which would eventually make up for his losses. I told him he could continue to provide the Internet services from the shop and help out with the newsletter if he wanted. He agreed that would be a good Idea. He expressed wishes for us to continue to work together but not in a binding partnership.The meeting ended on a positive note.

16-Feb

We called a meeting with the accountants to discuss matters in their office.

Attending where- John, myself, Simon Drummond and Dan

Simon informed us that he was going on holidays soon and that Dan was going to be helping him by taking over his share on this as it was too involved and difficult for him to handle alone at that time. Additional invoices and files where handed over to them for analysis and it was discussed about the partnership dissolving. John and I where asked to provide further information by the end of the week and we would have another meeting then. They presented us with a bill for$450 (see file Copy)

18-Feb

Another meeting was held with Simon not present and another Accountant by the name of Nikki attended. Dan seemed to attack me over several issues and told me that it was his duty to inform me of the "Gravity of the situation" he said he had spoken to John at length and claimed we had been trading while insolvent and that it was illegal and Jail terms are handed out for people who do that. He threw questions and allegations at me which got me flustered and confused asking how I thought I could get away with running a business in this manner and where I thought I was going to get. He claimed that I was broke and unable to pay the debts of the business and had no other options other than to take his advice which was to hand everything over to John and let him pay all creditors and take over the business. John stated that I had rejected his proposal and that he was retracting his first offer and it was no longer an option. I stated that I had not accepted or rejected anything and that I would really like to continue the business however I needed some sort of financial report and actual figures so that I could go to my family or the bank and raise needed funds if it looked like we could manage it. I expressed my need for these figures ASAP as if the business was to survive this period no matter who took it over those figures where crucial to any decision making. I stated that they where there to sort out our tax and help us come up with exact figures regarding the Edge accounts and that the rest was between me and John. Dan told me he had rang and had a bit of a run in with the manager at Edge and I told him I was not surprised if he spoke to him the same way as he was speaking to me. They accused me of withholding information about my savings account which received my social security money and asked if I was trying to hide anything. They asked John if he knew of this account and he shook his head and said no I looked at John and said "what are you talking about it is the first account we started off with and you where there in the bank when we opened the cheque account and got an overdraft to build Kurt's computer" (Kurt was one of our first customers) They asked me if I had transferred funds to this account at all and said that it was called embezzlement if I had done this. I said that funds had at times been transferred to and from both accounts and I told them to stop making accusations and assumptions and wait until they see all of the bank statements in which case they will be able to see what went on with the accounts. I said that I thought they where supposed to help me and John sort out our taxes and not to make accusations and assumptions. I said that I no longer wanted them to work on the matter as they had destroyed my faith in their ability to act in our best interest, I would pay the bill as of now and wanted them to stop all work, give back my files and that I would straighten the figures and information out by entering everything into the computer which was all set up and bring them all the information they required neat and tidy with footnotes etc added to invoices and bank statements and that I would get copies of missing statements from the bank even though they cost $7 per page. They then presented us with a new bill for $1030.00 (see File Copy) with that I said "well that's it stop all your work this is ridiculous I will work on the information a lot cheaper than you can". Dan asked John what he thought and he stated that these where trained professional accountants and could do the Job a lot better than me and that he wished for them to handle it. They then said that they would not give back any invoices or paperwork and that I had to cooperate with them or would be getting myself into a lot more trouble. I picked up the box of invoices and said no, I no longer require their services or assistance and that if John wanted their services it was up to him but I felt they where not acting in the best interest of the business or myself personally and that I would find another accountant to act on my behalf. They blocked me from exiting the doorway and said that I was breaking the law and they would involve the police if they had to. Dan asked me to wait in his office for a moment and said he would see what he could do. He came back with Nikki who said that no way was I leaving with the files and that they wanted the rest of the files tomorrow. I said that I needed to take them in order to come up with all of the figures etc which they had been drilling me for and that I needed the weekend to better prepare as it was obvious that they did not have enough correlated information at this point in time to be of assistance to us. Dan offered to come to my house and to pick up the additional information. I said that I was not prepared to accept any further ridiculous bills from them and that I wanted to sort it out up to a point where I needed an accountant to finish the job. Dan told me that both John and I didn't have the luxury of time to mess about. I stated that I would allow Dan to come to my house as long as I am Given the chance to show him what I had set up on the computer as far as figuring out the figures and how the filing fit's together with the computer records to give the full picture.

 

19-Feb

Dan came to my house and looked over the figures with me, he appeared to be sympathetic and understanding and assured us that he wanted the best for both John and myself. We spoke about the ramifications of bankruptcy and insolvency and he said he was not going to allow anybody to go bankrupt. He stayed for over an hour and I felt when he left with the documents that he had become more reasonable. He asked me would I be prepared to walk away debt free and let John have the business. I stated that I would consider it once I had all of the information and if there was something in writing and I really was walking away Debt and obligation free!! Dan said he would like us to meet with John early in the week and get the matter over with straight away as it was a very "high gravity situation" with very serious implications if it was not dealt with straight away. He also said that he had enough information to give us a full and thorough financial report on our position and would have all the information we required at our next meeting.

19-Feb

Dan rang at the shop and spoke to Natasha, I was busy with a customer, he told her that John wanted the matter resolved and would go to any lengths to have that come about, he warned her that John was ready to involve lawyers he urged her to force me to accept the proposal John had in mind and that it would be much better for us to agree to a meeting that he would conduct and take it upon himself to convince John that Lawyers were not necessary at this point in time. He continued to press her for a time and stated that it must be today or tomorrow, Natasha told Dan that she would inform Andrew of all that had been said. Dan insisted that she make him get it over with quickly, he told her "your smarter than he is " you have to convince him of the "gravity of the situation" and pushed her to make an appointment time now, Natasha said that she could not make and appointment without consulting me and would have me ring him back when I was free.

Dan rang back again and I was still busy with the same client. He told Natasha to stop avoiding this, that we had to stop procrastinating and get the matter resolved so that everyone could get on with their lives. Again Natasha told him that I was busy with a customer who had just purchased a computer and was having problems and that as soon as I was free I would ring him. Dan again stated that we could not afford to avoid the issue. Natasha told him we where not avoiding anything, if anyone was, it was John as we were trying to sort out existing customers not get new ones, and that we cannot ignore them or things would get even worse for everyone.

I rang Dan back and he told me that he felt John could be persuaded to put his original offer back on the table. I stated that I would like to talk with John before anything further was discussed. I also stated that I had an open mind and would listen to anything John offered. Dan said that he would talk to John and arrange a meeting. I agreed.

22-Feb

Dan rang me in the morning and said that he had arranged a meeting with John and that it was important for both myself and Natasha to be there. I stated that I really thought I should talk to John before we had further meetings but Dan insisted that we have to meet with John and expressed that he would like to see the matter wrapped up today, as it needed to end.

I agreed to attend that afternoon.

Natasha, John and I attended the meeting with Dan and Nikki in which Dan opened by stating that I had called this meeting to put a proposal to John. I looked at Dan and said, "That's not true Dan"

Dan said that I was accusing him of being a liar and was playing games with him and wasting his time. John said that he was now acting on advice from the Lawyer that Dan had put him onto and was not willing to make any new proposals. He said his lawyer charged $5 per minute and he hoped it was worth it. Dan told John that I was willing to accept the original proposal that John had offered. To this I said that this was not true that I wanted to see the results of the accountants findings after going through our paperwork, I asked Dan where was the analysis that he had promised I would have and said that If I had been given back my files as requested when I wanted them previously I would have finished analyzing them by now and we would have real figures to base our moves on instead of presumptions and that until I had something from them I could not make a decision on accepting or rejecting any proposals. I stated that they had tied my hands at the moment. Dan got upset and said to John that he should go ahead and make arrangements to protect himself with his Lawyer, John agreed with him. John stated that he was no longer willing to negotiate or talk about it. Dan stood up and said that he didn’t have to take this that he was trying to help us and we call him a liar. Natasha tried to make some statements and Dan shot her down reducing her to tears. At which point Dan got up and walked out of the room, John then followed him. Natasha and I were left talking to Nikki who said that she agreed Dan was out of line and that she would talk to him. She asked me what I wanted and I said that I would be willing to let John have the business however I want the Gamesnet name, Internet site and members to remain with me as I can do everything I was doing from the shop from an online cyber shop and build it back up on my own. I said it still had great potential as a franchise in the future. I stated that I had put every ounce of strength and time into getting it to become a reality while John floated along for the ride and I did not believe that he could take it any further than it currently was anyway. It was my life’s work and my dream and there was too much to loose to just hand it someone else who didn’t really care about it. Nikki said she would talk to Dan and then John and see what she could do.

  

23-Feb

John came into the shop and handed me his keys and said that for now on he would have nothing to do with it and that whatever happens there is up to me so to be careful as he didn't want to do anything illegal. I said that I felt the same way but that customers waiting for orders or who had goods in for repair needed to be sorted out before that happened and that the electricity bill needed paying because if it wasn't then the alarm wouldn't even be protecting the place and that between us we should keep the shop open until we sort things out. John left saying he would keep in touch and asked me to fill out a form regarding removing his name from the business registration certificate, I reluctantly signed it but refused to sign the letter he wrote up handing over the Internet customers to him because we had made no agreements yet and that the proposal of me taking over the shop and him looking after the Internet accounts had now changed.

  

24-Feb

I received a fax (SEE FILE COPY) from the accountants, which had conditions on accepting my proposal from John

The fax stated that I must come up with half of the money needed to pay all debts and that all stock must be divided into half and the value of Johns half must be paid to him. The fax clearly came from the point of view that I wanted to take over the whole business entirely on my own. I rang the accountants and told them that this was not the case and that they had their wires crossed again. I still did not have the required information about each of our capital contributions, stock values and my portion of the debts. I said that I had said in our meeting that I would consider letting John have the shop but only if the Gamesnet name remained mine. I told them I would go and see John.

  

25-Feb

I went to Johns house and gave him my conditions on accepting his proposal (see file copy) told him about the accountant misleading him and I stated that I did not want to take over the shop on my own like this, that if he really wanted to get completely out and let me have it then it would take time and need to be done correctly. I said that I felt that he was acting irrationally and that the only people getting anywhere where the accountants and Johns Lawyer and that while they where making money we where loosing everything. I said that this could become a very long and painful process if we sit and let them dictate what we are to do. I suggested that John could have the business but that I wished for the name gamesnet to be removed from the shop and setup as my own with the Internet site as I could continue many of my plans from a Website by going back to the beginning and starting with the original ideas of mail order. He said no "It’s everything lock stock and barrel or nothing at all". I said in that case if we cannot agree to split everything up fairly it would be better if we sold the business or auctioned off the stock and equipment and had a lawyer acting on both of our behalf's to negotiate with leaseholders and creditors regarding the projector and photocopier etc which could be sold and/or repossessed and that there where legal ways of getting out of a lease for people in a situation such as ours.

John said he disagreed and was not interested in any more proposals or discussions and he was just handing everything over to his lawyers and the accountants from now on and would be acting on their advice only. I told John that I felt like there was nothing further I could do without his cooperation and that I had put a notice in the shop that it was closing until further notice. I told him that I could not take on the responsibility of keeping the shop open without his help and that I had my hands tied and did not know what I should do. I said that I wanted him to come around and collect the keys to the shop, as I could not look after it while Natasha was in hospital as she was scheduled to be induced and I needed to be there with her. I reminded John of our duty to members and customers with whom I was currently trying to keep happy by following through on promised services and orders. I told him I had collected all rentals that where out and that I trusted he would do the right thing by our Internet Customers in the current short term. I asked him what he thought the members who had paid good money for their memberships where going to think about us and who was going to refund their membership fees if that is where he lets things go to. John said it was not a concern of his and the matter was now out of his hands and that he would be around to collect the keys and any other information I have later.

26 -Feb

John came around as we discussed to re-collect his keys I told him about the signs I had put in the windows and the electricity and again tried to discuss alternative possible arrangements that we could make with creditors, edge and leases but he wasn’t interested in this. I told him that because the shop was closed until we sort it out and Natasha was overdue for birth that he might as well hold onto all keys because I wont be able to go to the shop while we have the baby and do not want anybody saying that I withheld access to the shop and stock from John at any time or have it look like I was taking over the business on my own. I also gave him some more paperwork including copies of legal contracts with suppliers, insurance, etc. for him to look over or show his wife or the accountant. After telling him that there are other ways of dealing with the situation he got up and left telling me that he disagreed with everything I have been saying and didn’t want to discuss it any further. 

 

1^st of March

7-Mar

Sunday afternoon,  Natasha and I went to the Joondalup Health Campus for Natasha to be induced, it's exciting and a little scary but we are both looking forward to finnally meeting our baby.  

 

8-Mar

 Today at 7.31am Little Trinity Jade McMullen was born, she weighed in at 6 pounds 8 ounces or 2960 grams she was 48cm long with blondie red hair and blue eyes.

After checking in Natasha got checked out and had the fetal monitor applied we had to wait for decent readings so that they could confirm that she was ready for the gel that starts things going to be applied, it was 9.30 before they applied the gel, by 3.45 there was a show of blood and Natasha was very uncomfortable, by 4.30 she had only dilated to 1cm and at 5am they put a drip in. at 6 there was still no signs and Natasha was in a lot of pain and discomfort so she requested the epidural which was lucky because 40 minutes later the Doctor announced that she was going to have to perform a Caesarean imiadiatlly because the cord seemed to be wrapped around the baby and every contraction was cutting off blood flow to the baby and causing distress. I went and rang Natasha's mum and she got on her way then they rushed me downstairs and dressed me in a blue set of overalls, booties and a surgical hat,

Natasha was terrified and I was shaking like a leaf, doctors and orderlies where running around everywhere the anythatist was great he talked us right through it all and I witnessed them cut Natasha open and pull the baby out. It was an amazing thing to see and Trinity was complete and healthy. Natasha was sore but in good spirits and very happy about having a girl.

 9-Mar

 While Natasha and I where busy at the Hospital giving birth to our baby, John was busy taking over the business. He kindly provided us with a notice of his actions by poking a letter through our front door (LINK FILE COPY) stating that he has moved back into the shop and would be operating it under his new business name of Laudia Technologies and that he was taking over the leases. He also requested that I return a computer and any other assets that I had in my possession by 11 march 99 and requested that I return his video camera which is at home to him.

11-Mar

Thursday today and Natasha got the OK to come home so things are going to really change for us now. We are on our own and both a bit excited and scared about the future. Natasha is feeling very sore but her staples look good and there are no complications .

  Gambert came to see me with a message from John saying that I should return the computer and that John was talking about sending police around to get it. He informed me that John had changed the locks and security codes and asked Gambert to stay on as an employee there as he took over the shop in his new business name. John contacted all of our creditors, contacts and people whom we had dealt with in the past telling them that I no longer worked there and that he would be handling all business matters from now on under the name of Laudia Technologies. John has also been telling people who rang or called in looking for me that I have left and that he does not know where I live or how to contact me.

15-Mar

Today I wrote a letter to John (LINK TO FILE) stating that I had given the computer in question to Natasha as part payment on monies that she is legally owed by the business and that when she is more recovered and able to she would be seeking legal advice. I also stated that I had sought advice and that I felt he was acting illegally and had given me many reasons for concern and reasons which I should take legal action against him.

When I delivered the Video camera and letter to John he told me he had been holding the accountants back several times from sending the police around to recover the computer. John asked me to contact the accountant as they wanted to talk to me so that things could be wrapped up and that as far as he was concerned everything on his end was finalised and all that was needed was my signature so that we could both get on with our lives. He seemed to think that once the things were sorted out that bothered him were done everything would go on lardy da.

 16-Mar

I rang the accountant and spoke to Simon Drumond who informed me that the paperwork regarding our taxes was there waiting for me to sign and could I come and sign them today. I said that I would like to pick them up and look over them before I sign anything and that I wanted a lawyer to look them over as I felt like I was being dictated to and needed some legal advice. We agreed I would come and pick them up that afternoon. 10 minutes later - Simon Rang me back and said that I couldn't take the paperwork away unless I paid the account up and that the bill for my half was around $900. he also told me some info had been sent in the mail (LINK TO FILE) I again said I would not agree to commit to paying for anything until a lawyer had looked over things. He said the only way I could get the figures was to provide a bank cheque, cash or guarantee from a solicitor. of payment I asked about my files and was told they also would not be returned until the account was paid in full. Simon expressed concern that I would write a bouncing cheque and I told him that was not going to happen as I no longer had the cheque account and that I felt I was being singled out and victimized, that I had never been treated like this before by their firm after using them for years dating back to my first ever tax return. I told Simon that I thought they were being unreasonable and between them and John they where backing me into a corner and leaving me no options, I told him I felt Dan was abusive and unprofessional and that the fee was extremely high and that I was not paying for additional work done after the meeting where I said that I did not want them working on my affairs any more, I told the story regarding the previous couple of meetings while he was on holiday which took place at their office with John, Dan and Nikki and also said that I had made it very clear that I did not want Dan to work on my personal or business matters to which Simon said that was none of my business as it was an internal matter. Simon said that John had paid his share and received his copies, he said he would talk to Dan and find out about the billing and get back to me. 15 minutes later- Dan rang me back and stated that He felt I owed the amount I was being billed for that they had done the work and that I was obligated to pay for it. They weren't going to allow me to take anything away from their office without full payment or a guarantee of payment from a solicitor. I said that they where tying my hands as I could not make decisions based on "NO information" and that quite frankly I did not trust him. He said that was up to me and they would be forced to take some legal action if I refused to pay there fees. I then rang John and told him that I have no money, no assets and that I was receiving less money from Social Security now that the baby had arrived of only $290 per fortnight and that I was struggling to pay the bank fees in order to close the cheque account, The car we purchased from the bank loan desperately needed attention and we had mounting bills and could not possibly pay the accountant's fees but that we still needed figures on creditors and debts etc . John reassured me that the creditors where taken care of and not to worry about them as they wont bother me anymore. He said I should have my Lawyer contact the accountants and that he would have a word with them also as it was holding him back. He told me he was not up to anything underhanded in the shop and would rather not be there if he had a choice. he said to keep my chin up and told me not to loose hope as he was sure we would be ok. He said surely the accountants would cooperate if a Lawyer requested the figures. I do not have a solicitor working on my behalf and don't have that sort of money. I would need to make a payment arrangement with the accountants in order to pay the amount , but I am still not going to accept their work until I see it and analyze it.!!

17-Mar

After my phone conversation with John I have come to the conclusion that John may not be forcing things to go the way they are and may be trying to do the right thing by us all. It may be the lawyers and accountants frightening John into rash decisions. His wife was probably encouraging him to do as they tell him and he probably feels bad about the failure of the business. I just wish he would communicate and try to get through it legally and properly.

24-Mar

John sent out a Newsletter to members stating that Gamesnet no longer existed and that Laudia Technologies would be looking after memberships from now on. (LINK TO FILE) It has upset me as he does not let me know what he is doing and this looks more like he planned to take the thing over all the time now.

28-Mar

Today I received a Letter from Solicitors Murie & Edward (LINK TO FILE) stating that all future conversations are to go through them and that I was to pay the creditors before any other matters are to be dealt with. They included a copy of a letter they had sent regarding Village Roadshow stating that they John was paying half of the debt and that they believed I would send the other half soon.

29-Mar

After going to see Steve Guy (a shop conection and creditor of the business) to pay some money to him I was informed that a customer’s computer had needed the motherboard changed and that I was getting another bill for a new one. This I had to personally cover as going to see John at the shop may not see the customer sorted out and that the most important thing was that the customer went away happy. I agreed to this and have received further bills to add to the list of bills associated with the business. Steve is still consulting with John but I guess he is just looking out for himself and who can blame him.

 

1^st of April

6-Apr

I went to the Small Business Development Corporation for advice and they have told me that what the accountants have said is not correct and that they have been using a tactic of pressuring me into making a decision. They have given me a few places to go to for help.

I received an amended electrical bill for the period of time between the 9th of Feb after John walked away and the date that he got the keys back from me. I think that is very low as I paid $500 off the electricity bill so that they would not cut it off and leave the shop without security just before I gave him the keys. He seems to be getting petty and nasty now. The man is only interested in $$ and fuck honour and decency.

7-April

 I have called legal aid about getting assistance but they told me they couldn’t offer any help with business or partnership matters. They gave me the numbers of several lawyers who might and who will only charge $20-$50 for their initial consultation. 3 of the lawyers I spoke to said that they would not be interested in taking things on as it is not their specialised area.

9-Apr

 I have attended another meeting with the SBDC who have refereed me to the shop front lawyer at the law society I have an appointment for Tuesday

10-Apr

Today I have sunk into a depression and have considered suicide as a very real option for escaping the pain. It would seem that I am back to a similar position that I was in at the beginning of my working life with great debts that relate to something that I do not even own. I think I have the opposite of the Midas touch everything I touch turns to shit. The only thing that keeps me alive is the fact that I have Natasha and our little baby girl to consider. I wonder what the hell I was thinking when I persuaded Natasha to go ahead with the pregnancy. What kind of a life can I possibly give baby Trinity with all of this stress and anguish around her. Thanks John 

12-Apr

 I was served with a summons for the amount of $652.90 from the West Australian Newspaper regarding Advertising placed in November/December 1998. Apparently the server spoke to John a week previous and obtained my details from him. The server stated that he had obtained details of Gamesnet business registration to confirm my address. However I argued that the Gamesnet name was only registered in February and was nothing to do with the bill in question. I stated that the advertising was placed while we where Amac Enterprises and that John had taken over the shop and had told me that he had paid this particular bill. I was told to ring the West Australian and tell them the story and get them to sort it out with John.

13-Apr

The shop front lawyer, Ken Eastman was useless, he gave me another lawyers name Michael Sutherland who deals with this type of case. I rang him and he said he would be happy to look at the case providing I pay an up-front deposit of $250 and then he will look at it to see if he can do anything. Obviously, I don't have the money to employ him. 

16-Apr

 I have spoken to a woman from a financial aid service that offers to handle all meetings with creditors and such. After hearing the whole story she rang me back and told me that she would like to make a few phone calls and see if she can find someone who may be able to help us out. She said that the situation has made her very angry and she would like to see us get some help.

21-Apr

 Today I received a phone call from a Gamesnet member who received another Laudia newsletter in the mail (see file copy). The newsletter states that Ideas, which I had come up with much earlier, are in fact now available from Laudia Technologies. This confirms that John has taken all of my ideas and made them his own. The member said that he believed that John has set me up and that he has taken all my ideas and turned me out. The member said that he thinks John is nothing but a ‘Dirty Dog’ and he will give me the copy of the newsletter for my reference.

I argued that I didn't believe that John planned this entire situation. I think that he is just doing what the lawyers and accountants are telling him to and thinking about his family’s future. I don't know what to believe or what to do right now. The member said what about my future and my family? John has had a full life and his wife has a high paying job their house is paid for and yet they are stealing my life away from me.

I was served with another summons on behalf of silver lady holdings for the amount of $959.15. I believe this is from SLH and relates to goods received for customer’s computer purchase, which again John is sending them after me to pay.

Sometimes I wonder if my life lesson involves learning not to trust people and being in one giant debt to others.

John has taken away my business and is now destroying any chance of me getting back on my feet as well. My credit rating is full of black marks and I'll never be able to deal with any of the contacts I had set up because who knows what he has told them. Today I feel very bitter towards John. I just wish he would talk to me about things and not act so stubborn and childish.

22-Apr

Today Natasha told me she wants to get out of our relationship. I totally understand how she feels and I am helpless to do anything about it.

I now stand at a point in life where it's hard to see a future.

Nothing about tomorrow is certain. I stand in a world that’s falling about me in more ways than one; poverty, debt, wars, refugees and famines, massacres, storms, floods and earthquakes on TV threaten people everywhere.

Why did I bring another human into being? What has this world got to offer my child?

The last time I stood at what I thought was a major turning point in my life it turned out differently than I expected. What I hoped would be a prosperous adventure of goal setting and accomplishment turned into a nightmare of pain and suffering.

Now I see a nightmare of pain and suffering ahead of me that is more than likely only going to get worse and yet I still hold the hope that it could turn into an adventure of goal setting and accomplishment. Am I a fool to believe that there is still some good left in the world for me?

23-Apr

The lady from the financial assistance place has made an appointment with me for next Thursday. She spoke to a solicitor who has given some good advice on what to do. I have got a lot of letters to write and send out and I have also been advised to go to the supreme courts and lodge a complaint and ask them to wave the fee and also to get one of their lawyers to take the case on.

I don’t like my chances of getting any help from this approach but I have nothing to loose by trying so I will give it a go. In the mean time I am busying myself writing letters to get some help from other avenues. 

27-Apr

 I went on the appointment with Richard from the financial crisis people and the advice from this was to do a part nine of the bankruptcy act in order to clear up the debts. This is a debt agreement where we agree to pay an amount to a mediator who divides it between the creditors we no longer then will need to talk to the creditors. IT will probably cost us $300 per month for 3 years the other choice is bankruptcy. Obviously John and I could have come to these people or similar to sort this mess out back in February but he was unwilling to listen to my suggestions then. If he had I am sure we could still be in business together , (not that I would ever even consider continuing a business or any other type of relationship with john after how he has handled matters now )

It seems that the part nine is similar to bankruptcy but you still have to pay the money back. We also made a further appointment with an accountant who is a colleague of Richard's called Kim Holbrook who deals with business and partnership matters a lot and may be able to help us

1^st of May

4-May

 Kim Holbrook the accountant who Richard sent us to see couldn’t help us much but he did help us to clarify our position. We don’t seem to have any choice and should either declare bankruptcy or do the part nine. There appears to be several different issues that we must take care of split into 2 categories civil and legal.

7-May

 Today I received a notice of legal action for $218 for electricity between the 9^th of February and March so I rang them. John has told them that I was in the shop then and should pay I have explained the situation to them and they have said they will call john and see what he says.

They called back and said that John has stated that the debt is mine and now they will chase me through a debt collection agency

8-May

 Today I rang some of the creditors to explain my position. Unfortunately they just want their monies and I don’t have it. I don’t know how long I can hold them at bay .Our loans are getting further behind and we are struggling to pay the house bills and shopping.

10-May

 Natasha is majoraly depressed and I am having trouble getting her to get out of bed at all. She says she has nothing to get up for. The stress of all this is tearing us apart. I understand how she feels but what can we do about it? 

11-May

 We have decided to do the part nine. The pressure is just too great and I am making an appointment with Richard from the financial recovery Centre tomorrow. I have written letters today (see file copy) ready to send out to channel 10 news, today tonight, current affair, 7.30 report and several politicians and government departments. It’s a bit of a long shot but we will see if it turns up any help 

12-May

 We now see clearly that we must sort out the creditors now! Then we can pursue the matter with John in court or whatever. We are sending letters to the real estate agent who leased the premises to me and to CBFC who has the lease over the projector. We are also contacting all of the creditors to get actual amounts and details from them as of this date.

Once we have sorted out that I will lodge a formal complaint against the accountant with the Institute of charted accountants and send a letter to Jim Drummond (head of ATAS) formally lodging a complaint with him.

13-May

Natasha and I had a meeting with Centrelink today

They want me to repay $7000 as they claim that I never declared earning of $7000 I earned in 1996-97 which I believe that the accountants or John have alerted them to in relation to the business and earnings from my paper run. It doesn’t sound right to me and I have to get the files from ATAS somehow so that I can look into it. They also claim that Natasha and I have been in a Defacto marriage since August 97 I don’t think that we have been and will dispute this. Anyway they want us to repay all money that we received from then till now. I guess the next step is for them to look into other tax records for other years and try and see what else they can find to punish us for trying to survive. We have added all our business and personal debts including these up and it totals over $70,000

We are struggling just to pay the rent, we have put the computer that we had kept from the shop into cash converters to get money for bills and still both the electricity and the phone are due for disconnection, our fridge and cupboards are empty and we don’t get any social security for another week and a half and now it looks like they may end up taking that income away from us altogether anyway.

Natasha got so upset when we got home. She cried while we tried to discuss things she feared what was going to happen to us and panicking. I tried to tell her that she has to remain calm and be stronger and needs to focus on what good could happen out of all of this, I got frustrated and angry because she is being a defeatist and what we have to do is try and be positive for Trinity's sake and our own sanity. We are so depressed and stressed and not coping and the stress just keeps building more and more every day.

What I hate most is how these things all seem to revolve around the government systems I'm stuck in and "money". The fact is that Natasha and I are two struggling people trying just to survive on a day to day basis because of purely economical pressures. We are not bad people trying to rout the systems or get something for nothing and I have genuinely tried to make a go of life and build something for myself that will sustain me and my family into the future and allow me to work with and help others to lead a higher quality of life using computers. For some reason that escapes me I seem to be caught in a vacuum that keeps us perpetually turning to the same government departments and people for some sort of help or advice and these actions just make life harder for me and seem to backfire on us.

It was the first time I've ever seen Natasha get so worked up and loose control so bad that she throws or breaks something although I cracked much earlier and have done the same violent thing a couple times earlier. She threw a full unopened choc milk at me and the babies full bottle after that, choc milk went everywhere, all over the walls, ceiling and carpet, up the hall all over me and even managed to get as far as our bed room ceiling, I got angry then yelling great, let's just fucking smash everything we own and with that picked up a foot stool hurling it into my stereo smashing the front panel in ,I also tipped a lounge chair over before I realised what I had done.

It's scary and I freaked a bit that I had done this I couldn’t even offer Natasha any comfort when she was feeling so very low, confused and scared because I felt just as bad myself and it resulted it a violent outburst which is how we seem to do our communicating lately. I had to take time out so I got in the car and just took off around the block . We where supposed to be on our way to see Natasha's mum for her 50^th Birthday dinner when all this happened and I had some stuff she would need if she decided to ring her brother and get picked up so I returned to give her the baby bag and her moms birthday flowers. When I got back Natasha grabbed the keys out of the car and told me that I wasn’t going anywhere, We wrestled a little and ended up falling on the lounge laughing at each other because we could see how stupid we looked.

The point is that we cracked and we damaged our own property and could have hurt each other or Trinity. We are not dealing the stress and We fear that it may affect Trinity negatively, after all it's now that she is developing her personality built on watching how the people around her interact, she is being molded by our behavior and at the moment that spells disaster.

We are discussing going to see doctors or something but we both know that it will take time to sort ourselves out and meanwhile the pressure is surely killing us and our relationship . Natasha and I have both talked about suicide and how if it wasn’t for Trinity one of us would probably have gotten rotten drunk and depressed and just done it by now.

After another evening argument when we got home from her mums Natasha told me that she wants to move in with her friend Christa for a while. I think that we are facing the end of our relationship, not because we don’t love each other or because we don’t want to be together but because we cant cope with the way we are venting the stress and frustrations that we are feeling at each other and it's making our lives miserable.

She has also said that she wants nothing more to do with gamesnet or the business side of things anymore and doesn’t feel she can help me with things like creating the Cd's to market, mail order, website or business plan.

I understand how she feels but it also makes me feel abandoned. I feel confused because I have such a strong drive and fire to keep fighting for gamesnet but yet every incident and every day the world seems to work against me in making it a reality. Maybe the world doesn’t want what I offer but if that’s true I would think that my higher-self, deeper subconsience whatever , would know this and not lead me astray by feeding me with false feelings, hopes and dreams for something that is not destined to happen. 

16-May

 

 I rang Edge and CBFC today , John has not paid any payments on the data projector it is 4 payments behind which adds up to $800, it is $6950 to clear the debt completely. They are going to await my return call with further information.

17-May

Joanna from Today Tonight has contacted me and is going to investigate John. This could be our break but time is running out. I hope they may be able to help somehow. I received a letter from Centerlink asking me to bring all of the details regarding the matters at hand to their office on Friday, the letter does not sound to promising.

18-May

this morning a bailiff came to the house with a warrant of execution against our household goods in regards to SLH .He attempted to take goods like our fridge and washing machine from us but I refused to let him in. He has given us 5 days to pay the bill which is now $1111.58 or he will return with police to take our car, fridge, washer and lounge suite all essential for us to giver proper care to Trinity. Next welfare will probably take her from us. I rang all of the creditors and told them of my situation including Terry from SLH and explained the situation, he was sympathetic and said he was not sure if he could halt court proceedings that are underway but that he would await the call of Will Voight from the bailiffs office who I also contacted and explained the situation to and they would see what they could do. Jim Sloman from Edge is going to get back to me as they don't know what the position is with the account and need to contact the Perth branch. Some of the newspapers regarding advertising have said they would put the matter on hold for a while and Western Power said that I could pay the amount off or they would be putting the matter into the hands of a collection agency . Jerdon said that they received half of the money and no more and would begin persuing payments soon. I received a reply from consumer affairs stating that the matter is out of their jurisdiction . I also received acknowledgment of my letter to the Hon Graham Kierath, minister for Planning, Employment and training which stated that he would be in contact with me as soon as possible.

19-May

 I rang Edge back today as they had not got back to me , I was put onto a Michael Shaw who has been asked to find out what has happened with our accounts . It appears that they cant find anything on them and they guessed that we have a debt of about $8000. I am awaiting his return call.

I rang Joanna from today tonight and told her about the bailiff’s visit, I also told her that I have got all my information together in a folder and kept this diary of events. She has had the fraud squad investigate John but they have turned up nothing. His name does however seem to be known by people.

Michael’s return call informed me that Edge believe the debt is $33,465.29 to which I said that could not be correct ,that we had definitely made payments to them that would have significantly reduced the debt. We mad cash payments on a weekly basis from feb 98 as well a several cheque payments, we never received receipts and the statements from edge never reflected the payments. Also we renegotiated payments on a few occasions at which times we made payments of $1000 and for a time we were paying $500 per month to them. We also paid an extra 10% on all goods we ordered from them after a set date.

I do not have all records as the accountant (ATAS) have got all Amac invoices and records which leaves it all very unclear. I asked them to come up with receipts and records or negotiate with me a payout figure. I also explained that John has the ability to sell off all the goods and that would leave both Edge and myself in a worse position with no goods to sell in order to raise some money to reduce the debt. I explained that the goods have already depreciated to almost worthless and action had to be taken now if we hoped to resolve the matter.

I rang Joanna from today tonight to tell her about the bailiff and we discussed tracking down people who worked in the CES with John and me keeping records, she asked me to keep in regular touch and gave me her direct line.

I rang Will Voigt regarding the summons and bailiff and told him that I have talked to Terry From SLH, he said he had not yet rang Terry back but would do it today and get back to me. I expressed concern about the bailiff returning on Friday to take our goods and that they were basic essentials we need in order to look after our baby. He said that the car was not in my name and so they could not take it anyway but he would get back to me.

I rang Richard from the financial crises service and left a message for him to ring me regarding the part nine/bankruptcy act.

 

I went to the Joondalup police station to lodge a complaint as the financial advisor suggested and I talked to a Sgnt D Mews who told me after I explained the situation that it is a definite civil matter and none of their concern. He told me if I am expected to pay for any of the goods then they legally belong to me however it is a business matter gone wrong and no actual theft has taken place and therefore they cannot get involved. He suggested that I simply go and get the computers and goods but I don’t know what that would achieve and whether it would harm my position even more (if that’s at all possible)

I also went to Employment National and spoke to Steve Woods who used to be my case manager at the CES at the time I was being advised by them regarding my business plan, he remembers me and what I was doing and was aware of John going in with me as a partner. He told me that he never knew John personally and that there’s nothing they could do about the situation

He stated that he could not help me as he had no access to records. I discussed finding work for me and how difficult it was at this moment to find work as I was full time trying to sort out the mess as well as dealing with a new born baby and the depression that Natasha and I are dealing with every day. They have assured me that when I sort this mess out to come and see Cathy who is great and will help me get a job so I can get my life back on track

I wrote John a letter of demand today (see file copy ) and delivered it to him at the shop. He asked if he could read it later and I said yes and left . No more was said

While I was out the radiator hose on the magna blew which is a sign that the car desperately needs it’s service, the CV joints are groaning and crunching and the check engine light is permanently stuck on, the tires are badly worn and I fear it is not safe to drive it around but have no choice as we cannot possibly fix it.

20-May

 today I received a phone call from Brian Childs from the W.A Department of training in response to my letter to them. He told me that he was the person in charge of the NEIS during the time period I mentioned and that he remembers the chaos that occurred at the time as a result of the cutbacks etc. He expressed a great deal of concern for my position and suggested that I could be in a position that the commonwealth government should compensate me for. He says that I may have a case against the NEIS course providers , and has suggested that I go and see the citizens advice bureau and legal aid and promote my case directly to Canberra by writing a similar letter as I have done already in consultation with advisors from legal aid, citizens advice and others. He advised me to seek assistance from my local members also.

After this conversation I felt that I had actually reached someone with my story and felt positive so I told Natasha what Brian Childs and I had discussed. Natasha was not optimistic and said that she has had ups and downs since it started and it never gets us anywhere, we started talking about the bills and pressures we have and I cracked, I threw a nappy at her and grabbed a pot of boiling water used for sterilizing the baby bottles and slammed it on the counter sending scolding hot water all over my head and back, the pain was nothing compared to what I feel inside, in my heart. Natasha got extremely upset with me and called her brother to pick her up. I realized that I am definitely not coping with the pressure and called my father to arrange for me to stay with him for a while so that I could deal with the situation without venting anger around my baby and endangering Natasha myself. the baby or our relationship any further.

After an hour we calmed down and decided to go and see the counselor as planned.

We spoke with Mary Stewart from Granny Spiers Community house for quite some time, I don’t know if it helped but we have been advised to go back to the doctor, both of us and ask for help with our sleep and depression. She is confident that their financial councilor will be able to offer us some help and also advised us to seek out groups and other young parents to talk to. I feel that if the mess around us what not here we would be happy together and nothing is going to improve our relationship aside from dealing with the matters of the business partnership so that we can move on with our lives. We did feel better after talking to someone else though and will see what happens.

I also received replies from the Premiers office and Deputy premiers office acknowledging receipt of the letter and advising that they would contact me soon.

Well Will Voight has not returned our calls regarding the bailiff and SLH, now we know that he is not interested in helping us deal with the matter.

Tomorrow the bailiff is due to come back and we are living in fear that we will be stripped of all seizable goods tomorrow. Our property is all second hand and is not worth anything to sell. It has however taken us a long time to acquire and would take a long time to reacquire.

We also have the meeting with centerlink regarding our alleged breaches and overpayments and are fearing the worst there.

We don’t know what to do at all and are not looking forward to tomorrow. It feels like we are about to have what is left of our lives stripped away from us tomorrow and there is nothing that we can do about it.

21-May

Well the meeting with Centrelink was not as bad as expected ,they are not demanding the entire amount back as we where told but we are going to have to repay the difference. Unfortunately now they are also investigating whether or not I was entitled to get Newstart or any benefit during the entire time of the business, I believe that I was on what is called SED but the have no record. My argument is that I only did what people in these offices advised me to do and felt if I was doing wrong John would know and alert me as he was one of the officers in the CES and should know.

After this meeting we went to the bailiffs office and pleaded with them to listen to what we had to say, they listened and then told us it was out of their hands and they had to follow the orders that they get, they said they would give us 4 weeks to pay the debt and that it must be paid in minimum installments of $200 per week, I explained that I only get $280 a fortnight and that we struggle just to eat on that alone. They advised me to go and get a summons on John and sell the goods available or at least go and talk to the courts to see what they can suggest so we headed over to the courts. The alternative is to go banktrupt straight away. They also told us after we discussed it with them that the part nine is not the best way in their opinion for us to go, the said that Richard and that particular firm would charge us significantly and our creditors would see very little benefit of accepting the small amount that we would offer.

At the courts they advised us to be careful as we could get ourselves into more trouble if we do the wrong thing making it worse for ourselves. They said that they cannot give legal advice and that we should go and see the citizens advice bureau for legal advice.

We headed over to the citizen’s advice bureau and talked to a consultant for about an hour who made an appointment for us to see their retired solicitor on Monday.

We then headed over to Granny Spiers again where we had an appointment with their financial councilor , Pam Hartcher, She was great and helped us pay for our currently overdue electric and phone bills as well as gave us some vouchers for Coles to get some food shopping, she is also looking into some other aid and helping us to create a budget. As far as the business debts are concerned she had given me a name of a person from the City of Wanneroo who she feels is the person I should talk to. She said that she can help me to go bankrupt or do a part nine if that is what I want to do but that I really should seek legal advice.

She discussed the situation with us and was excellent because she gave us practical help and although I feel humble and low for having to seek charity to feed my family I do appreciated their help and will someday repay the kindness showed to us.

After this meeting we where able to go and get some shopping after having nothing in the house for a week which has cheered Natasha up a bit and made us feel like there is some good in the world if you look for it.

My Dad rang and has offred to help us by fixing the car he is a mechanic with his own workshop and says that he needs some work done on his computer at home and also needs work on his office computers ,he also has some painting which needs doing. He offered for Natasha and I to stay down there a day or so and we will get the car and his computers sorted out which will hopefully help us out and give us a break. Now we need to figure out when to do it.

Well at least we know we can relax a little over the weekend without the threat of a bailiff kicking the door in and then get back into it on Monday trying to force this chapter in our lives to move forward so that we can eventually close it. 

24-May

Busy day again today, first we got on the phone to return calls left for us on Friday afternoon but could not track them all down, We then attended a meeting at the office of Criss Baker who is the local member for Moore. He advised us that he does not feel that there is any case against the commonwealth as I did not go into partnership with the commonwealth. He believes there is definitely a case against John but that it is a legal matter and he as a politician who used to practice Law can not help us with other than to give some advice that he sees based on the surface of the situation only. He attempted to demonstrate that we should focus only on John and forget about the commonwealth. He stated that if we would like him to send a letter off to the commonwealth then he would be prepared to do so but he feels it may be a wasted effort. He said that if we have more trouble with social security then to come back and see him as he may be able to help with that and he would like us to keep him informed of how we get on and if we run into any more hurdles. He advised us that we may have a case against either John or the Craigie Landlord regarding the assignment or surrender of the lease and negotiating of a new lease if that is what has happened and that we should find out exactly what has happened there. He also arranged us a copy of the partnership act to read threw and some extracted paragraphs he felt where relevant to the situation. He has given me a number of names of places to contact in order to get some legal advice and assistance and feels we should be able to get someone to take the case on "spec"

Places to go now are

Back to the law society and ask for a representative on spec , Sussex community legal center in Sussex st Nth Perth, Northern Suburbs Community Legal Center in Mirrabooka. He also feels we have a case against the accountants who’s ethical obligation was to advise us while a partnership existed and should have ceased advising us when a dispute arose rather than taking sides.

 

After this meeting we went to the citizens advice bureau in Joondalup and saw their lawyer, He basically told us he is no longer a practicing lawyer and his training and information are not fresh in his mind and offered little practical advice other than to tell us we need to seek out our own solicitor which is a problem if you have no money. He also feels we have no ability to get a warrant of delivery and that bankruptcy seems to be the best option although he is not certain how that would effect our ability to sue John or recover goods in his possession. He stated that John and I should have come to an arrangement together to see the assets and liabilities split properly and divided equally as we attempted to propose to John in Feb-march. We now feel like we are going in circles again but shall continue to contact people until someone can offer practical help and we see the matter over.

25-May

 Johns lawyer has sent a letter in response to my letter of demand. (see file copy) it sounds like they are willing to talk to me now at least and they have asked me to have my solicitor contact them. It’s a pity I haven’t got one or we could probably resolve this matter soon. I will need to contact more people and try to get some representation ASAP otherwise I will have to talk to them myself and fear that I will say and do the wrong things again. Lets face it everything else I have done seems to be the wrong thing. I have the "sadim touch" that’s "midas" backwards everything I touch turns to shit.

Pam from Granny Spiers phoned and wants a copy of our phone bill so that she can arrange to have it paid she also wants me to contact the person from the Wanneroo shire as she suggested which I will do tomorrow.

I again spoke to Michael Shaw from Edge Technologies who says that we definitely owe the $33,000 figure of which I have asked for copies of what he has to be sent to me, He is seeing what he can arrange and will contact me tomorrow.

I have been extremely depressed today and don’t really know if its worth fighting on I still am unsure of whether to go bankrupt and it still feels like I am running out of time, I hope I can think clearer and feel better tomorrow.

I think Ill contact Joanna again from today tonight and fax her this Journal so that she can see things from my perspective I also need to get lists of names and creditors for her. I feel that I am ready to give up and if things don’t take a more positive turn this week I will throw in the towel, go bankrupt and leave Natasha and the baby to get on without me. I am not a good father or provider and feel like I don’t deserve them and that they would be much better of without me and these problems I have immersed them in. It tears me apart to think of the future we will have if things continue on the destructive path that they are on. They are my number 1 priority and I need to put them first. Without me around Natasha could find someone able to take care of her and give her the love and attention she desires and deserves. It is breaking my heart everyday to watch her go threw this, I want to be with her and Trinity but not like this, like this I’m no help to anyone. We know that we will never be able to afford a half decent wedding or a holiday/honeymoon and cant make plans for next week let alone next year we are supposed to get married in February 2000 but that looks impossible at the moment. If I had life insurance I could have a horrible accident and know that they would be Okay, maybe I should go and work in some mines up north or join the army and send them money but I am not confident I could get a job anywhere and people will think I ran away.

26-May

Natasha had an appointment with the Doctors today and we dropped some paperwork of with Pam as requested . I have made an appointment with Abdullah from the Wanneroo Shire for Monday 3pm. He is their financial counselor and may be able to offer some assistance but he could not see us any earlier.

I am spending the day preparing letters and linking this journal into my web site.

We received a notice from the bailiffs office that we have 24 hours to pay the money they seek or they are recovering the goods as earlier stated and that they will also be charging an additional $120 for collection fees. They told us they would give us 4 weeks and now this!

This is harassment for sure and only makes matters worse, Natasha is devastated!!! I am sitting up all night tonight writing letters and better preparing my case, I will need to do a lot of phone calling and running around tomorrow. I must protect my home and will do whatever it takes.

27-May

I rang the bailiffs office and they have given me till Monday to pay something, I can no longer delay the inevitable bankruptcy.

Today I went to see Pam and fill in the Intention to go bankrupt, I see no other choice as the bailiffs are not going to back down and there is no way we can raise the money they want. Natasha and I are working on some letters to send out to creditors, Canberra, Johns lawyers and more and I am trying to get the web site as finished as possible while I still have a computer to type on. I don’t know what good all this will come to but hopefully there is a grand scheme that is mapping out our future and it is not going to be like this much longer.

I have never been so low and it really hurts me to see how unhappy Natasha is. I went to the movies to see matrx with a couple of mates, Clint paid for me and it was good to go out. Natasha needs to go out as well. We need to wipe away the past and set up a new life together or we will be torn apart.

28-May

Friday, we made it through another week. And I am amazed, Trinity is doing really well, she is such a good baby, it's really amazing she seems to know that we are going through stuff and she doesn’t cry much. Natasha loves her to bits and I am very proud, she is a ray of light shining bright in the darkness and we really need her guidance right now. Neither of us could live if any thing ever happened to her. I hope we can stay together and be a happy family , God knows that’s what I want and what I will work at.

30-May

I Hate Sunday nights, It’s back to the real world tommorrow and the debts and bailiffs and shit>>>>>>sometimes I wish I could die!!!!!!

1^st of June

I have drafted some new letters to Johns Lawyer (see atached) and chesterton Natasha has also contacted Johns Lawyer . We desperately need help with this and I hope something comes soon.

3-Jun

Tonight Natasha and I are staying at Dads House so that we can get some of the problems with the car sorted out. Dad is also buying a computer of us so that should help take care of the costs. Tash isn't looking forward to it but I'm sure it will give her a better chance to get to know the m and them her.

4-Jun

The car has more problems than anticipated and I had to go back today, I reckon Ill have to come back a few times to see it all sorted out. Sheila and Dad love Trinity and Sheila said she would love to spend more time with Natasha and she even offered to baby sit anytime we need her . Dad has been great I really think he may understand that I am going through a lot of pain at the moment.

I sent out the letters to chesterton , and Johns Lawyer , I don’t know what they will do. Natasha has also sent her complaint to them. I guess we now wait. I will stall a few more days before I go into the insolvency office but I feel its all over and I am bankrupt.

5-Jun

Natasha and I cant seem to get through one day without a fight, everything was great at dads but when we get home it all fell to shit again. I blame myself for her position. I cant seem to say the right things to her . I keep telling her to be positive and I am doing it in the most negative way. I wish I could control my anger and frustration and vent it somewhere .

9-Jun

Today I finally done it I filed for bankruptcy, It is a very sad day for me as it is like admitting I have failed miserably. Natasha and I had another fight this morning and she is staying at her mums for a few days I have written her a letter explaining that I love her and how I am sorry she must go thru all of this. I don’t feel like writing any more so Ill cut this entry short now.

 

27-Jun

Well I nearly blew it yesterday, Natasha and I had another argument and I completely lost my cool first I grabbed a cup and smashed it on my forehead in uncontrolled rage I cant even remember what I was saying . I lost my mind completely and grabbed a picture hanging on the wall and smashed it over my head repeatedly until I saw the blood .

I managed to make a deep cut on my cheek and another across my eye. I severed a main artery in my forehead and it was pumping out the blood. I was in shock and filled with fear and rage still. Natasha was scared and didn’t know what to do it was horrific. Ablood wash gushing everywhere and Trinity was crying . Natasha was crying and panicking and I was bleeding all over the place. The Ambulance took 25 minutes to arrive. By the time the ambulance got there I was nearly unconscious , struggling to keep my eyes open I could feel how starved of oxygen my body had become .

1^st of July

6-Jul

 First day of working at omen. I was pretty nervous , I want this to work out so much . It went really well. I got on the phones after only a couple of hours and I can see that I can learn a lot here. I hope I can perform what is asked of me.

10-Jul

 Woohoo Friday , I made it through a week and got paid. I can't believe how things look like they are turning around for me. If I can keep this job I am going to learn heaps . Its like a dream come true really.

11-Jul

Wow it feels good to have a weekend when you’ve worked for a week. It makes you feel as if you have earned the time off for your own pursuits. I'm configuring Wingate tonight and tomorrow and making a home page for Trinity made up of the photos we have been taking using the web camera. Mum will be able to go to the page anytime and downland any pictures she wants.

12-Jul

 Monday tomorrow and I must say I feel very positive tonight about going to work. We went to Tasha's mums new place for dinner and Tash got to see that her mum is ok now so that is good and should take a weight of her mind. I talked to mum about the Internet today and Ill help her to get ICQ better set up so that we can communicate and she can have an active role in Trinity's growing up with the camera and stuff. I got Wingate setup on my computer and Tasha's (my other computer) so we have both got web access now and I'm configuring them so that all of our Internet surfing is pre-fetched and cached properly with a program called Quicklaunch which has taught me a lot about networks over the weekend. Working at Omen is opening some real gateways to me. I have been there a week and learned so much it 's like a dream come true.

17-Jul

 I'm going over to Leigh's house tonight to play games, Im taking my computer obviously and were going to play Alien Vs Predator. I hope that I can get along with these guys well as it really means a lot to me to be accepted and to secure this job. It would be good if we can occasionally socialise like this also.

18-Jul

 Stacey's birthday party tonight, My brother Nathan's Girlfriend, I am glad Nathan and Stacey are happy I really didn’t think that they would stay together this long but they have and I'm happy for them.

20-Jul

 First week of night shift starts today and again I think it's great. I am so thankful for this opportunity it is really a blessing.

23-Jul

 Tash has gone out tonight, she went to see a band called impaled nazerene. She has liked them for years and she got to talk to the lead singer on the radio last night She won 2 free tickets so she is very excited, shes taking her brother Manual with her. It's great to see her Happy I hope she enjoys herself. I love her so much I wish I could get my act together and help her more. She is a good mum and deserves to be happy.

24-Jul

In the last 4 months I have lost everything I ever thought mattered, I lost my business, I had bailiffs banging down the door to seize all of my possessions, I lost my dreams and goals concerning gamesnet I was made bankrupt, I nearly lost Natasha several times ,I have come very close to death in a blind fit of rage and Finally I lost my desire fight. I have felt so low that I never believed I would ever see the light of happiness again.

One thing that has kept me going through this trying period is Natasha and our beautiful baby Trinity. If I didn’t have them I wouldn't be alive today. Even though at times it felt to me that they where the very things that where killing me I know that they where always there, pulling me through the toughest period of my life. Sometimes the struggle was just too much and I wanted it to end so badly I wished that they weren't there. I felt that if they weren't a part of my life I could comfortably die, they gave me a reason to live when I just wanted to die. My soul was polarised and divided. Part of me just wanted to end it so badly and could only see the bad things going on in my life. That part of me just wanted to get away from everything any way possible. While the other half was fighting to see the good, looking within myself at memories of better times and mentally projecting positive visions of the future. I was so torn with despair and fearing that I had lost everything that I couldn’t see any possible way that something good could occur that would end it. But now it has happened.

These guys at Omen have achieved so much to be proud of. Digger the system administrator is the most dedicated person I have ever personally met. After dealing with basically lazy people most of my own life and only ever hearing about truly positive determined achievers in magazines TV and the web. I have finally found not only found one, but a whole hive of people who seem to work determinedly well at what they do for the good of themselves, the good of the team and the good of the clients. I've only been with them for 3 weeks now but I have to say that it has already been an honour that has changed my life.

25-Jul

 Tonight Tash and I stayed home and watched Cleopatra, we were pretty bored and both of us are tired so we just veged out and watched TV .

26-Jul

Sunday Night -Well I have a new week starting again and I feel very positive. My how things have changed. I am determined to sort out the financial side of things now so that Natasha and I can better see where we are going . This week I want to send the letters off to the commonwealth and see Pam about helping with Natasha and the banks.

We also now need to find a good lawyer to take on the matter against John.

I want to get some computer consulting under way and I'm going to make cards and fliers to send out. I also wish to get the whole Gamesnet concept neatly finished ready for presenting to the right people. I hope I can achieve these goals this week.   Tonight it is 1 month since I nearly killed myself with a picture, It is some scar I have to remember that by. How my life has turned around in this last month is nothing less than a miracle and I am going to write to Dave and tell him that I hold no grudge against him.

End of Journal entries (the story goes on but in a new light now)Ill consider adding the rest at a later date when it has some interesting events in it.

After this enty I never made any for quite some time ,Natasha and I saw lawyers and government organisations but with myself being bankrupt and Natasha being just one step behind me we didnt have anywhere to turn, the world really does revolve around money and John had the upper hand. As I write this I have the report next to me for the financial year which I have to turn into the bankruptcy people stating my years income etc so that they can take my tax return and clear it of the shops debts while John continues in business. Natasha has court action to deal with regarding the Loans we took for the business and bills for the lawyers which we saw to try and help us. I was never given back any of the shop or my own personal financial records and still have to sort out the Taxation side of things and as far as I know John has not paid any of the debts and is not being chased for the monies that were owed as My name on the accounts and my going bankrupt freed him from them. I have decided not to let this control our lifes any longer and we are not seeking help or assistance from lawyers any more. I beleive that we will achieve what we need to by creating the best web site our creativity will come up with and that this will demonstrate that we were always on the right path even if it was a rough and treacherous one.

This is the last entry I feel is necesary for this History lesson, It demonstrates the lowest points of my life, but includes some of the highest points, Since working at Omen internet the company was bought out by another ISP called iinet and I went on to work for them as a customer support officer. I have enjoyed doing what I set out to do while employed with these ISP's and that is to help people with computers and I have managed to recreate Gameznet online to a large degree, it really is only a hobby site but I see that it has much room to grow and at least I still have a dream to follow. The botom line is that throughout it all I have learned many lessons and gained a great deal of experience and knowledge and also never lost my vision which I am proud of. Together Natasha and I hope to rebuild our lives and become financially indepenant and put the bankruptcies and bad feelings behind us.

Many of the people whom I trusted were friends and their to help us with the shop in the begining (You know who you are) stayed on with John. This at the time seemed like a big conspiracy and betrayal to me but I now see they were just looking after themselves, I forgive them all and even John to some degree however will never forget or trust them again. Natasha and I had a very hard time and accept for Gambert they all completley turned their backs on us when we needed their support most, not only that but they assisted John to move from the Craigie shop into a better premises on Central Walk in Joondalup to start up his own "Cyber Cafe". I have learnt not to put faith in anyone but myself and to never trust anyone when it comes to money or business and am now pretty much over the whole thing. I am determined to make a go of Gameznet and build my Web Site into a resource for more than just West Australians and one day we will build a bigger and better Gameznet support Centre in the real world and get the Multiplayer Lan and training facility back off the ground.

This brings us to where we are now with the site being up and running and traffic building. I am still working a casual job in Customer Suport with iinet, I do some private consultancy and computer building on a small basis and Natasha is working on the Smallsteps sight. We are both positive that the affiliates and shopping we are providing from the site will generate us an adequate income and that Gameznet still has a great future. I have chosen to retain the name so that those that once were part of it may someday regret their decisions.

I have worked many many long hours since first starting the creation of the Gameznet site in September 99 and it is a completley new entity with nothing really in common to Amac Enterprises or the Gameznet shop aside from the name and the Dream. I regret that clients who paid for memberships to Gameznet had to suffer but feel that although it would make more sence to start with a compleltey new name the name should stay or the lessons would be lost.

My final words to John, well that would be this.

John, " You can take ideas, you can take stock and posesions, you can send me bankrupt and take all financial records, you can take workers , clients and contacts, turn your back on me and my familly and leave me hopeless and broken. but what you cannot take and what makes it all work John is the "Dream, the Drive and the Ambition" these are what gave Birth to Amac Enterprises and then Gameznet. These are what you first saw in my ideas and visions and why you watned to partner up and these are what was making the business grow and evolve, this is where the energy came from John and it remains with me still today. No Cyber Cafe will ever compare or live up to what Gameznet was meant to be. Karma will come full circle and those that have done wrong will know when it arrives. I know in my heart that I have done the best I could, my intentions were for the good of all and I trusted and was betrayed, I gave and was taken from but I thank you for the life lessons and I forgive you for your ignorance. I hope you find what ever you were looking for and I know that the laws of nature will see to it that you get whatever it is you have created for yourself and deserve in life. So long John and farewell Laudia you no longer influence Gameznet or the lives of me and familly. I hope its been worth it for you : )

 

Aditional news June 2000

Natasha has been forced to go bankrupt over the joint loans we took out together , John I hope your enjoying the items we purchase for the business from these funds. 3-7 years before Natasha can get over this we now have to bring up a daughter without being able to go and get anything on credit whatsoever, we cannot move house without all sorts of hoop jumping, refernce rounding and charactor proving. while you sit in your shop and pat yourself on the back for being such a good business man.

Some Good news July 2000

I have recentlly left the employ of iinet and started working for another Perth ISP called Eeon Technology, William Yeo the director contacted me after I sent him my resume so long long ago (over a year) Thety want me to help them basically build somthing like gameznet for them. This will include an internet Cafe and a multiplayer LAN in different locations (same building) and aranging some direct dial games servers. I have shown them most of my plans etc for gameznet and they are very keen on taking me on as a manager in their company. Natasha has been offered a position on the reception also . Things are looking up for us as far as work goes. Woohoo ,anyway I am joining forces with them and we are opening a store in Hay St East Perth, check out the info on that here There are a group of business men involved who are working together to build a store which supplies internet services, a computer retail shop and then there is the games side of things. I am very excited about it as I wont have the problems asociated with running the show or worrying about the finances or partner yet I get to follow through on everything I wanted to do with Gameznet. Watch out John , Joondalup is marked on the map for one of our stores!!

Even more News, August 2000

I have learned that Edge Computers recentlly went bankrupt and that John never paid them a cent, which means that he got all of the computer equipment for "FREE" over $30,000 which I am bankrupt over :( he got away with everything. Funny thing is I still have the invoices and receipts for what was paid and they are all written out to me personally not the business. With this new information in hand and my new Job now covering me financially I could resume the fight for justice here but I have decided my energy is needed elsewhere and that I will chalk this one up to experinece and let the laws of karma take effect on John. THe computers are now not worth the money involved and John is not worth the effort. Again he gets away with it all and he never even once had the backbone to contact myself or Natasha to see how we were (now at least we definately know that he and his wife never viewed us as friends at all). Even when the financial presure was gone from him. thanks again John , your a wonderful human being and you will get everything you deserve one day....

 

Next- A new begining- GamesDen (under construction)

Back to History of Gameznet and Amac Enterprises - INTRO
Chapter 1	In_the_beginning
Chapter 2	An_Awakening
Chapter 3	Amac_Enterprises
Chapter 4	Move_to_Craigie
Chapter 5	YOU ARE HERE
Chapter 6	A new begining- GamesDen (under construction)
Chapter 7	Gameznet rivival- (under construction)