mini-vacation

We're back from Sydney, having thoroughly enjoyed the company of friends for a few days.  We took a walk over to the water in the evening of one day - what a luxury to be so near the beach!  We also enjoyed playing the new Wii games we'd each received; our Mario Party and their Mario Kart.  It was nice to simply have other people around, whether we were playing a game together, or reading while some played, or playing with their baby.  A good time.

Cricket is on again, the second test match between Australia and South Africa.  Jesse's napping on the couch.  When I visited Senegal, my dear hostess made me nap/rest during this, the hottest part of the day.  I think she was on to something; there's not much to be done but rest through the heat.

Not much to report on the job front; the recruiter is on holiday.  I'm having trouble discerning what exactly I want, which isn't necessarily helping matters either.  There are a few opportunities/plans we've made or would like to make that could be hindered by my getting a job.  It's hard for me to make the call.  I think I need to trust that we will find the right job for me, as I keep looking.

Having received my wedding photos last month, I'm finally getting the prints ordered.  That's exciting.  I had to wait for our internet to re-cycle so that I wouldn't use it all up.  Speaking of internet, we're looking into getting another gig per month.  That would be cool.

In culinary news, we found an organic grocery store near our friends' in Sydney that carries spelt flour for $3 less per kg.  Our natural foods store up here charges $9/kg, and they haven't had any spelt flour for weeks.  Now that our breadmaker has arrived, I can finally make myself some guilt-free bread, without a good portion of the hard work!

Guess those are all the snippets of news I have for now.  Hope everyone enjoyed Christmas with family and friends.

And to all a g'day

Christmas has been great.  We had a Christmas Eve service last night, with may families back to celebrate together, so that was cool.  We were 'serenaded' beginning at 10:45pm by the neighbor across the street, who apparently received Guitar Hero and/or Rock Band for Christmas, and thought it would be a good idea to turn the volume all the way up and leave the windows open.  We had our fan right next to our bed, earplugs in, and could still hear it.  Sigh.

We eventually got to sleep, though, and awoke to the same sounds yet again this morning.  They stopped after a little while, which told us it was time to open presents while we enjoyed the peace and quiet.  We'd gotten books for each other, as well as Wii Fit for me (yay!!) and 2 Lego Star Wars sets for Jesse.  He finished his droid gunship in no time, and is still in process on the other, more complicated one (which came with 2 instruction manuals because of all the steps.  I'm pleased that it will take awhile to complete :).  I set up the Wii Fit and took the initial fitness test, but was too hungry to do any real exercises yet.  I'd made Christmas Breakfast last night (eggs, bread, cheese, veggies), and initially didn't turn the oven up quite enough, but eventually corrected the problem and we had a tasty breakfast.  We called all our parents (and talked to all but one of them).  It's been a nice, leisurely day so far.

Now I'm finishing off the peanut butter pie I made a few days ago.  We're leaving for Sydney in a bit to hang out with friends tonight and tomorrow, so that should be nice.  One of the things Jesse said in his sermon yesterday has stuck with me; that God invaded the ordinary on the first Christmas.  He invites us to allow him to invade the ordinary in our lives.  Whether I'm celebrating with my whole family, my new family (Jesse + me), my old friends, or my new friends, Christmas is a time to remember that.

And apparently, to be bombed by Jesse's droid gunship.

Happy Christmas to all, and to all a g'day ;)

looking up...

My great computer crisis is slowly resolving.  I received a CD I needed, and we are now the proud owners of an external hard drive, which houses my documents and photos.  Soon, I will be re-imaging the computer myself, with a little help from one of Jesse's friends.  I'm looking forward to using it again.

The postman just arrived with all of our Wedding List presents, which is quite exciting as well.  I was realizing that we'd just finally stuffed the last of the cardboard from our bedroom set into the recycling bin, only to have all of this arrive, but I'm excited because it means (a) we have our presents, and (b) all our stuff is finally in one place.  We're getting there.  Yay.

We also bought a curtain rod to try to shut off the back half of the house, as that's where the sun is in the afternoon, and it makes the living room hot.  However, it was too long for the space (we bought an extendable one, and even fully collapsed it's 4 inches or so too long), which is a bummer.

I'm making progress in the front rooms of the house in terms of organization.  I've been able to fit a bunch of suitcases under the twin bed in the guest room.  Tonight, we're hoping to put up some of our wall decorations, most of which were obtained from other travels.  We were going to have an "Africa room" but I think so much of our stuff came from various places in Africa that we may need to spread it out a little more.  We shall see.

Now, I'm off to open up the presents!

Christmas is coming...

...but you wouldn't know it by the weather!  Or at least, I wouldn't.  Yesterday, Jesse and I went in to Newcastle to run some passport-related errands (I need a new one before we play the visa game again this coming winter/summer depending on your hemispherical location, and he needs more pages before he can travel anywhere), then spent a few hours at the beach.  It was fun to get out for a bit, play in the waves, and enjoy the milder coastal weather.  Once we got past the errand-running, a good day overall.

My computer is still mostly down for the count, which is frustrating, and I wish I could say I'm dealing well with it.  But - I'm not, really :)

I've been doing some baking, being thankful for the thunderstorms that make the weather bearable enough to bake in.  I made some sugar cookies and frosted them for us to give a few neighbors, and I'm working on some gingerbread cookies.  I left them in the fridge overnight, as opposed to only a few hours, and our overzealous fridge (which sometimes freezes things) seems to have overdone its job.  So I'm waiting for the dough to soften a bit before finishing the rolling, cutting, and baking.

As Christmas rolls around this year, I'm realizing that I'm tired of stuff.  Tired of books that can't come with us when we move.  Tired of little trinkets that looked cute in the store.  I'm loving the Christmas cards coming in - really appreciating the connection with people they represent.  Thanks for those.  We've got some good plans for Christmas, including going to see friends in Sydney, so that's something to look forward to.  And the chance of a snowstorm thwarting our plans is slim to none ;)

quick update...

No, I haven't forgotten the blog, but I have been dealing with annoying computer problems.  It's been sporadically shutting down, with varying error codes at fault.  I called the hp support people, and the guy basically told me that I'd have to take all my files off and reinstall all the software.  Annoying, particularly when I have limited download-ability.  At any rate, I'm still exploring other options to pinpoint the problem without having to effectively do a re-image.  I've done a bit of online research, but most of the potential solutions seem to be a bit above my technical expertise.  The ones that aren't - I can't look at the page long enough before the computer crashes and restarts.  We've contacted one of Jesse's friends who seems to know things about computers for help; if anyone else fancies yourself gifted in this arena, by all means, let me know!

We set up our Christmas tree on Friday, and it's now happily lighted.  I even wrapped a few presents this afternoon, so our living room is looking festive.  Since it's summer break here for many of the schools (or will be later this week), we had our first free Friday night last week.  That was nice; we were actually able to take Friday off, and only made one brief trip out of the house.  We're going to try to be better about taking a full day off in our week, to get the rest we need.

I'm still loving being at home, and having that flexibility.  We went to an award show at one of the local high schools (where several of the youth group kids attend), and it was remarkably like the award shows I remember from jr. high and high school.  They were efficient about the academic awards, waxed eloquent about the athletics, and there was the one star athlete who was also smart that won a lot of awards, prompting a "guess who" from one of the student leaders when announcing that she'd won yet another award.

For now, it's off to bed; I'm still alive, I'm just in crazy computer drama at the moment.

Hit the Road

Yet again, I can report a few eventful days. Monday morning, after enjoying a night's sleep in a real bed, we set off for the Sydney area to visit friends. We arrived a little after 11am and had the chance to chat and play with their daughter (who, for the record, reached out because she wanted me to hold her. That definitely made my day) before eating a tasty lunch.

After lunch and a cuppa (cup of tea), Jesse and I headed to Parramatta to make a stop at an immigration office there. The officer we were assigned for the visit seemed very nervous; she spoke quietly, and covered her mouth when she talked, so it was difficult at times to understand her, but we were able to confirm what our next steps should be in the visa process, and that we don't need to take them for several months yet.

Having received that news, we stopped at the Koorong bookstore, a Christian bookstore in the area. We had a great time browsing there, and picked up a few Christmas presents for each other :) A couple of hours later, we were finished with our browsing, and headed for the Hope Wesleyan Church and a pastors' barbeque with the NSW district. I met some of the other pastors and their wives, and it was a good time of fellowship with a meaningful prayer time as well. Jesse and I ducked out just after 9 and made the 2 hour trip back home, making a stop at McDonald's halfway to procure caffeine for the driver :)

Yesterday (Tuesday) morning presented an opportunity for me to tidy up around the house a bit. Jesse started a couple loads of laundry, which I finished after he left for work, and I was able to collect some of our camping things, and just generally organize the house. My jewelry had been spread all over the dining room table (as it was in a ziploc bag with some exploded makeup, and had a shiny mauve tint to it as a result), so I wiped that off and put it into a jewelry box. I'd been wanting to put that away for some time, so that was good.

We went out for lunch, as we hadn't been grocery shopping (and still haven't; I made pancakes with our final egg for breakfast this morning), then Jesse napped and I got ready for my interview. I realized during this process that the only full suit I'd brought with me was my black suit, which was going to be (a) really uncomfortable given the temperatures, and (b) impossible to match shoes with, as I'd only brought close-toed brown shoes with me, and didn't think black flip flops (thongs to the Aussie) appropriate. I settled on brown pants with a colorful dress shirt, so that I could wear the right shoes. Sheesh.

We drove to Newcastle to meet with the recruiter. Since my current visa allows work, but not for more than 6 months with any one employer, I'm essentially applying for temporary work. The interview went well (we'd already discussed many things over the phone), and now it's just left to wait and see what they can find for me. It likely won't be until the new year, which is fine with me, as there's still plenty to do around the house. A few people have asked me if I'm bored yet just being at home; I'm not. There's plenty to do, and I like being able to tackle it with a relaxed pace.

After the interview, we swung by the hospital in Newcastle to visit a friend from Jesse's soccer team's wife and baby. The baby was born at 28-29 weeks gestation, and he's a little over 2 pounds. We got to see him in the NICU; he's so tiny, but has all the features he should. His mom thinks his toes look plastic :) He's doing very well, particularly for his size, so that's encouraging.

We headed back home in time to change before Jesse's soccer games, and then drove to Rutherford for those. I worked on thank-you notes to try to bring the pile down somewhat.

So, there you have it; two full days, but good ones. It's nice to be home for a few days now, to recouperate!

Aussie Mozzies

We have returned from our weekend of camping with the youth group, quite tired, and relatively unscathed, save the mosquito (mozzy) bites all over my body. I still seem to react quite strongly to them over here. It was suggested to me that taking some extra Vitamin B might help the reactions in the future; I'll have to check that out.

I think we ended up with 10 kids on the trip, plus 6 leaders who were there off and on (Jesse and I had to leave early this morning for him to preach; another leader had to work yesterday and arrived in the evening). The theme for the Bible lessons was the parable of the Good Samaritan, and I was excited by the level of participation in each study from the youth. One such session ended abruptly when the local possum in the tree decided to relieve himself on half the teens. "That's not rain!" will never have the same meaning.

There were certainly trying factors; namely, the kids would not settle down until well after midnight Friday night, and we had not brought earplugs, nor a soundproof tent, so we didn't get to sleep for awhile. I awoke with a start, at 5am Saturday, to one girl screaming to another, "BE QUIET!" Despite the lack of sleep, though, the kids still managed to have fun ;) Jesse got a rousing game of beach cricket going in the morning, as the tide began coming in and slowly overtaking the wicket.

It was quite humid. After lunch, I decided to nap in the tent, and awoke pretty much covered in sweat. All the kids and Jesse were swimming, so I headed for the beach and rowed around in the canoe with Jesse (or let him row ;) . The rest of the evening was enjoyable; the kids were taking turns in the one shower, then working on a skit modernizing the parable for the youth service this evening. We built a fire and cooked potatoes, onions, and sausages on it for dinner. The fire was a great help in prevention of mosquitoes. As the evening wore on, we played a little cricket with the glow-in-the-dark ball Jesse had found (more of a home run derby type idea, with one person batting until s/he was bowled or caught out), a few roasted marshmallows, and we had some good conversations.

Given the previous night's antics, we got them into their tents a bit earlier, and set a lights-out time. We all must have been tired, because not much enforcement was necessary (one boy had to be escorted from his dangerously-close-to-the-fire chair to his tent to ensure he, in his sleep-induced state, did not fall out of the chair/into the fire) at lights-out time, and all was quiet until Jesse and I awoke at 7am. We brought 2 girls back early with us, who needed to be around for dance rehearsals (something every girl in the youth group seems to be involved with) and set them up with the Wii while Jesse and I got ready for church. They were picked up, we finished getting ready, and off to church we went. After church, I had lunch and a nap.

All that to say; this weekend brought to you courtesy of mozzies, teens and naps. We'll head back to the church in a little bit for the youth service, where the teens will hopefully be putting on the skit they wrote for the rest of the church.

Running Around

Yesterday was a day for errands and visiting. We had to take the car to nearby Cessnock for its 20k tuneup, and wandered around the town while the work was being done. We found a little cafe where we ate a tasty breakfast, and then shopped at Target. Although it sells similar things to the Target in the US, it had far less selection. At any rate, we proceeded to the Reject Shop afterward, and between the two stores, found several things we'd been looking for.

After picking up the car, we stopped by and visited a couple of people from the church who live out that way. We didn't stay long, and then it was off for more shopping; Jesse needed new running shoes, and the sports store was having a sale. They also happened to sell a glow-in-the-dark cricket ball. So we didn't get all necessities :)

I was in desperate need of a nap, so we headed back to the house. I slept, while Jesse went on another visit. When I got up and got ready for volleyball, Jesse and I returned to church. He participated in the worship practice while I printed out the bulletins for this week. We headed to the indoor sports center for our volleyball game.

I neglected to post on that; it went reasonably well last week. Another guy stepped in to help out our team, so we didn't have to play with 3, and that was a big help. This week, we met our actual teammates, a very nice couple. It was a lot of fun to play with them, and while we were losing at the end of the first half by 7, we came back and only lost the game by 2! (They're timed games of 2 15-minute halves). We don't see the score throughout the game (something that used to infuriate me at volleyball camp), but I think it's just as well at this point. Jesse and I are both getting the hang of the rules and strategy, and it was good to get a bit of exercise. All in all, a good choice.

We stopped at Mustafa's for some kebabs for dinner (mmm!) and watched a little BSG before Jesse went to bed. Thanks to my nap, I found myself up reading for awhile after. The neighborhood dogs decided it was a great night to go nuts, so the sleep was fitful at best. Today is Friday, though, and a day off for us, at least until tonight. And thus (hopefully) ends our running around.

Good Onion, Mate

When I would tell people I was planning to move to Australia, once they'd wiped the shock off of their faces, one of the first ways they would respond was something to the tune of "at least there's not a language barrier" or "how are you ever going to learn the language?" We'd enjoy a good laugh. The fact of the matter is, though, that down here, Jesse and I are the ones with an "accent." Some of the kids in the youth group claim that Jesse has "lost" his accent, but I still have mine. I'm pretty sure they've just gotten used to the way he talks.

Throughout our engagement, Jesse complied a bit of an "Australian to American" dictionary for me, with everything from phrases that will be useful to phrases to steer clear of. We enjoyed a laugh the other night over how much the Aussie phrase "good on ya, mate" ("good for you" is the closest I can think of, but it seems to connote "way to go" as well) sounds, to an American, like "good onion, mate." Of course, most readers will be familiar with the use of "mate" which can be used in any sort of situation - don't remember someone's name? "G'day, mate." Have friends from your cricket team? They're your "cricket mates." "Accidentally" foul someone on the other soccer team? "Sorry, mate."

After being thanked, most people will say, "it's ok" or "no worries." When greeting someone, it's "how ya going?" as opposed to "how ya doing."

I was shopping yesterday, searching rather unsuccessfully for additional thank-you cards at the shops downtown. As a result, I decided to go back to the craft store where I'd bought yarn and buy some blank cards there. When I walked in, the clerk who'd checked me out just a few minutes beforehand was at the register.

"Hey again," I said.
"Pretty well thanks," she said.

I smiled to myself and headed to the card rack; my saying "hey again" sounded a lot to her ear like "how ya goin'", with perhaps slightly less vowel movement at the end. So funny.

Having been here for a year already, Jesse has most of the phrases down. I'm working on finding ways to train myself to use them. In the interim, I try to say things like "hello" and "how are you," which appear to be universally understood. I still clearly sound like I'm from somewhere else regardless of what phrases I'm using, so at least I'm trying.

Full

This describes our weekend, and it also describes my stomach, as I just had a delicious piece of apple pie (left over from Thanksgiving) with Jesse. We had the usual youth group on Friday night, and our 3rd and final wedding reception at the church on Saturday. A few friends came up from as far away as Sydney, and many from the church and area were able to come. It was fun to celebrate again with all of them. Yesterday, I was able to spend some time reading and writing in my journal, which was good.

We're still being invaded by ants. We did a little Wikipedia research this morning, and it sounds like we're doing some of the right things - we're washing the counter and windowsill (their point of entry) with vinegar-water. We may need to get some corn meal or something for them to eat and take back to their nests. One of the suggestions was to capture a bunch of them, dump them on another ant hill, and let them fight it out. I think you can guess which suggestion Jesse related most heartily to.

It was another humid day, and I spent most of it IMming with friends. The weekend, though nice, had made me a bit homesick, and it was nice to get out of my own head for a little while and catch up with friends. Once I finally became productive, though, I attacked our office room with a vengeance. I put all my summer clothes (and almost all of Jesse's) into our dresser. Winter clothes are still in a suitcase, awaiting a better home, but the floor of the office is generally picked up now. I also pulled aside the Christmas decorations so they're ready for when we get a tree. By far, the best news of the day was finding some skin medicine I thought we'd lost in the transition over here. I was so happy, as I'd been convinced we HAD to still have it, but had combed every place I could think of and hadn't found it. It was tucked away, with a few other forgotten toiletries, in a Target-style plastic bag. That was a good find.

When Jesse got home from work, it was roasting inside the house, and we decided to go out to dinner. Not only could we enjoy air-conditioned solace, but that meant I could have a break from cooking, and he could have a break from the dishes. Also, we would have a break from vinegar-ing the entire counter after using it for food preparation. We returned home, watched a little tv and ate pie, and now I'm watching Jesse play the Raving Rabbids game he bought for the Wii. He's convinced there must be something seriously wrong with the people who invented the game. But he's enjoying it, nonetheless :)