So Close

Well, I have good news and bad news.  The bad news is what I will start with.  I posted a status update on Facebook yesterday indicating that I was going to go get the new iPhone4.  Yesterday would have been the third attempt at making this happen and I thought it was a sure thing.  Apparently not.  The first appointment was a failure because my Aussie had an outstanding balance on his account (I'm linking my phone to his existing account) so they couldn't process a new line until the payment cleared.

The second appointment the office decided to close 2 hours earlier than their posted hours of operation.  The third appointment all of the entire company's computer system was down, every office in Sydney was unable to process any new orders or alter existing orders, etc.  The fourth appointment, today, revealed that the credit check they ran on my Aussie during the first appointment didn't go through for some reason and now is being processed again.  But this check takes all day so no phone again today.

I don't think in my 29 years of existence I've ever dealt with a more amateur and dissapointing operation... ever.  To put my frustration in words is going to be impossible, especially if I'm trying to keep the rating on this blog from shooting up to the "MA" category.  All I can do is channel my inner "Bad Boyz character", massage my ear lobes and chant "Woooossaaahhhh" over and over again so that I don't take a hostage and wind up on tonight's news broadcast.

The good news is that I got my first call back for an interview on a job I applied for last week.  The recruitment company called me to find out if I was still interested (um, yes, unless money grow on trees here) and to see if I was available in the next couple of days for an interview (um, heck, yes, although it will interfere with my beach time but so be it).  So this impending interview is for Corporate Reception & Event Coordinator.  I'm super excited to get a call for an interview so quickly after applying but I'm not getting ahead of myself.  It's only an interview. 

So wish me luck- I'll keep you posted!!

Love Is In The Air

I had a great start to my day today.  I attended a wedding this morning.  It was a nice, small, intimate affair but it was really lovely.  And I have to admit that I've never seen a couple more in love.  Of course, the bride cried, as most brides do.  And the groom looked so handsome in his suit.  They recited vows that they had chosen for their special occasion and had a reading from I Corinthians.  Their wedding celebrant was really sweet (that's what they call the officiant's over here) and she did an awesome job at keeping it light but meaningful.

After the ceremony there was a delicious champagne brunch of smoked salmon, scrambled eggs with creme fraiche, rocket salads, fresh sourdough breads, Turkish breads, bacon, sausage, juice, latte's, and of course, bottles of bubbly to celebrate.

The weather today was actually cool and there are light showers here and there.  That's supposed to be a sign of good luck, showering blessings on the newlyweds, etc.  So now my Aussie and I are just relaxing after the festivities.  We may take in a movie in the afternoon.  We'll see.  Right now we are just content to enjoy the day and wish the new couple a heartfelt "Congratulations"!

Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas everyone!!  I'm sorry for the lack of a blog post yesterday but the stinking internet here is ridiculous.  Maybe my Aussie's jokes about Australia just getting internet last year are accurate after all.  I kid, I kid.  Yesterday was our Christmas Eve here and I spent half the day with my Aussie's mum doing our grocery shopping.  We hiked over to the Sydney Fish Market to select our fresh salmon fillets and 2 kilos of tiger prawns and king prawns.  And then headed to the supermarket to get the rest of our grocery list done. 

We are going the non-traditional route this year, it seems.  Seafood on the grill, mango salads, grilled potato wedges, spinach salad, fruit cakes, chocolates, champagne and my Aussie's brother has some $70 dessert surprise we haven't seen yet.  Who knows what that could be?

And my Aussie and I are not exchanging gifts, just cards this year.  I actually think that's a practice more people should get in to.  There's just so much "stuff-exchanging" that isn't necessary.  I feel like most of my friends and I are at the age that if we need something, we can get it at that moment.  And there probably isn't much that we really need either.  Just my two cents though.

So this morning so far I made some breakfast sandwiches for my Aussie and his mum, we've shelled and de-veined the prawns, I made a delicious marinade for the salmon to soak in, and we are about to crack open our first bottle of bubbly.  My Aussie's brother and his girlfriend will be here in a few hours and then my Aussie's dad will be here shortly after.  It should be a nice day for sure.

I miss all my friends and family of course but I hope that wherever you are right now and whatever time/day it is, you are enjoying this Christmas season with your loved ones.

Happy Christmas!!

Spiders and Snakes, Oh My!

The internet here has been on the fritz off and on the last couple of day so sorry there was no blog yesterday.  At least it was a gorgeous day and I got to get out and go for a run and explore a bit.  I found a place to buy nail stuff (polish, nail file, acetone, etc) which may seem like an easy feat but I had to google it for about an hour before I could find it.  And it was $38 for clear nail polish, one nail file, one foot file and a 4 oz bottle of acetone.  Move over, NYC, there's a pricier broad in town now.

I found out that my sea freight shipment has arrived.  It's still in the container which will unload today so I can't pick it up until next week but I'm so excited to have some of my stuff back.  All 15 boxes and 800 lbs worth!!  And only 11 more days until I get my dog Bailey back from quarantine!  I'm most excited about that.  I miss him so much it's not even funny.  At least I have the pictures from the dog walkers.  He looks happy but he belongs with me, not in quarantine.  And I'm going to spoil him rotten when I get my hands on him.

I also finished revising my resume (or CV as they call it here).  It was a lengthy process as their template for CV's is totally different.  They like them to be 2-3 pages long with specific font styles and the content is much more detailed.  I've applied to a couple of places but with the holidays coming up, I'm not sure the timing is in my favor.  We'll see.

I have to say though, the highlight of my day yesterday was going to dinner with my Aussie, his Dad and his Dad's girlfriend.  I think my Aussie's Dad is a riot.  He's a bit eccentric and loves to talk, loves to tell stories about anything and everything, especially the history of Australia.  So we grab some dinner at Eat Thai (which is friggin' delicious, probably the best Thai I've had in ages) and we pair it with a couple of bottles of white wine that we brought in.  You gotta love BYOB establishments.

We've all had a couple of glasses of wine and his Dad is deep into explaining the history of Darwin and Broome and his girlfriend interjects here and there about how lovely their recent vacation was in those places.  So then his Dad starts talking about the wildlife there.  These are much more rural places than Sydney and Melbourne so you have lots of spiders, crocs and snakes.  He goes on to say that its better to be safe than sorry so proceed as if all spiders and snakes are venomous.  **NOTE: I'm petrified of spiders, my worst fear ever so I am listening super intently as this information may very well save my life one day.**  His girlfriend starts in about this one snake that is really dangerous.  She says to me "Of all the snakes you see, watch out for the trouser snakes!  The swelling from one of their bites takes 9 months to go down!".  I nearly snorted my vegetarian laksa out my nose.  I about fell off my bench dragging my Aussie down with me.  Here's this petite little blonde lady in her 60's with her proper Aussie/English accent and she delivers that line with such seriousness.  Our whole table was in stitches.

So if you plan on visiting here, you've been warned.  Watch out for the spiders, snakes and such.

Foreign Frustration

I know when I post this, there will be a collective and sarcastic "waa, waa, boo hoo, poor Hannah" but I have to vent.  First of all, I have to vent via this blog because there is no one else here at the moment to vent to.  My Aussie and his mates are all at work, doing work-related stuff, and probably wishing they were not at work and free to spend their day as they wish (like me).  That's Waa Waa #1.

Second, I've been without the internet (until now obviously) for the last 22 hours.  It keeps going out for some reason and I don't know what's wrong.  I know, I know, I'm in Australia!! It's 82 degrees outside!!  That's Waa Waa #2.

Last, I still have no cell phone.  The new iPhone 4G's are sold out until mid-January here.  What the heck.  So I've got this rinky-dink 10-year-old Motorola phone that powers itself off if I flip it shut with too much force.  And it doesn't have the internet on it.  So no wireless internet at home and not even a browser on my cell.  That's Waa Waa #3.

And I did actually waa-waa for about 2 minutes before I got over it all, and myself.  I realized that, heck, in the two "business days" I've been here I've opened a checking and saving account, filed for a Tax File Number, started to organize my shipment pick up through Port Botany and Customs, revised my resume, researched job opportunities, started the daunting and never-ending process of my Permanent Visa application, went on a couple of runs, watched a couple of movies, cleaned my room, did some laundry, organized my budget and bills for the rest of the month, and made a kick-ass Jonesy dinner for my Aussie and the boys last night.  Not to toot my own horn, but dang, I am getting things done!! 

I think I'm just getting overwhelmed by everything.  Not only did I move to a foreign country, but not having a job, or a genuine checklist of things to accomplish, or really anything specific or important to do at all is.... well, foreign.  It's okay that I don't have a job, or even any job prospects.  It's okay that I don't have any income at the moment. It's okay to not have a schedule.  And it's okay to be okay with that. 

For those of you that know me, it's easier said than done.  So please feel free to send a "waa, waa, boo hoo poor Hannah" my way...

Best Discovery Yet

Aside from learning that Australians call cilantro by a different name (coriander), and that they have said coriander in the marketplace, I made the best discovery yet yesterday.  My Aussie and I had a leisurely weekend of hosting a BBQ on Saturday and then attending one on Sunday.  We did a little shopping for Christmas gifts in the Paddington markets (similar to a large outdoor mid-to-upscale flea market).  He bought a new suit at Oxford, we did a little grocery shopping, and then decided to mark a few things off my crucial "new to Australia" checklist.

I really need a new phone with an Australian number, a new checking account (thankfully linked to my Aussie's as I have no job yet), and most importantly, a new hair dryer and curling iron.  So we did a little research online for hair dryers and curling irons and all the ones I found are professional grade and averaging around $140.00 each.  Ridiculous and unaccpetable.  So my Aussie suggests we check out a few stores at a nearby mall.

After a short 10 minute drive, we round the corner to the mall and LO AND BEHOLD, THE MOST AMAZING VISION GREETS MY TEAR-MISTED AMERICAN EYES!!!!! Not only do I see a K-MART, but also a TARGET!!!!  That's right, folks.  America ain't so far away after all...

You have no idea how glorious it was to see those signs.  It was like a little slice of home.  And a major slice of savings. I found the hair dryer, the curling iron, wash cloths, and 40 clothes hangers for around $90 total.  They carry all the American labels too so when my Aussie and I do finally get our own place, we will be able to afford stylish decor, dishes, linens, everything for our new pad.  This might not seem like a big deal, but I assure you it is.  Bigger than discovering cilantro does exist here, albeit under a different name.  I'll have to write about that discovery another time...

Home Sweet Home

Well, it's official.  I have moved to Sydney effective yesterday around 12:30 PM (Australia time).  It was a pretty easy flight.  13 hours to Brisbane with a 2 hour layover there and a domestic transfer to Sydney landing 2 hours later.  And it was a deliciously sweet reunion with my Aussie as well.  That first hug just felt like home sweet home at last.

I'm doing pretty well regarding jet-lag.  I took a two hour nap yesterday and then went out with my Aussie and his roommates to a nearby pub for a few schooners of Pure Blonde beer (schooner= slightly smaller than an American pint).  I was in bed by 2 AM, wide awake at 6 AM but forced myself to sleep until about 8 AM.  I feel pretty rested but we'll see.  My last experience with jet-lag here was a delayed effect and it didn't hit me hard until day 3.

Today was pretty productive so far.  I unpacked all the suitcases and put them up.  Cleaned my room, put everything away, organized my Aussies belongings to make room for mine and went for a run through Moore Park/Centennial Park.  And got lost... big time.  I was pretty sure I had the route down.  My Aussie and I went through it all twice this morning, but when you are out there running and distracted by your new surroundings (and your lack of air intake because it's been ages since you really ran a long way), it's easy to miss important signs and turns.

The route I was supposed to take would have landed me right at the field where my Aussie was playing cricket with his friends.  So I just kept running and running and running until I saw cricket players but it turns out a lot of people in this country play cricket, and they are everywhere!!  And they all wear friggin' white uniforms, all of them!!  So I never found my Aussie, or maybe he was right there but I couldn't distinguish him from the masses of other white-clad cricket players.  However I did find my way back home, 67 minutes and 700 calories later...

My last day on American soil... for now.

So here I am, sitting on a couch in Los Angeles.  I was in Dallas for a couple of hours two days ago.  And then I was in Jacksonville for about a month before then.  And then all the way up in Manhattan just before that.  And tonight, I leave American soil to move to Australia.  Sydney to be exact.

If you had asked me five years ago where I saw myself heading in to the year 2011, I would not have said to Australia.  In fact, if you had told me I would be moving there, I would have said you were crazy.  However, now that I'm hours away from that plane ride, I couldn't get there quick enough.

I'm moving for love.  Yes, love.  I found me an Aussie and after a year of dating long distance, I've had it.  So I'm uprooting my roots and starting over 'Down Under' as they say.  It's going to be a very interesting year, I promise you, and this blog is going to chronicle the crazy, hectic, wonderful, lovely and amazing experiences I'm bound to have.

I'm going to have a lot to learn.  New measurements in temperatures, distance, weight.  New lingo.  New  insects and animals.  New food.  New friends.  New jobs.  New apartment.  And even kind of a new relationship with my Aussie, considering we've been a part for so long.

So I hope you enjoy this blog and 'the ride'... I know I will.