New Life In Brisbane

So after my very exciting but only marginally relaxing vacation (by choice of course) in NZ, I returned directly to the frying pan of life in our new home city, Brisbane.

I arrived on a Saturday and Theo flew in from Mackay to help me set up living arrangements. Everything was closed on Sunday, so we couldn't really start looking until Monday, my first day in the new office.


(my new office building)

So basically, Theo was left to do all the hard work (once again!) and I only gave my opinion now and then on lunch breaks. After a few stressful days, though, we found "the one"... an apartment within walking distance of my workplace and right next to a train station for convenience of travel.

After that, Theo had to return to Mackay to finish packing, cleaning, and sending our things off with the movers. Unfortunately, it took over a week to get our stuff back on the other end and meant sleeping on the floor again, but on the bright side, theo did such a good job cleaning our house in Mackay, we got almost all our deposit back. The real estate agency was amazed... as they should be, because I'm about 99.9% sure that theo left it about 200% cleaner than when we moved in.

It's also right next to a popular and beautiful downtown park - Roma Park.




Our new apartment is a 1 bedroom unit in a tall apartment building overlooking the city (i can see my office building), the Roma Street train station as well as the park. So we get the relaxing waterfall sound from the park as well as the screeching train noises, but we're on the 12th floor, so it's not too bad.





One side of the apartment is full floor to ceiling windows/sliding doors, which means it's nice and bright. It has a gas stove top (YAY!) as well as a clothes dryer (which I haven't had since the US), although we haven't used it much. The building also has a lap pool and small gym, other amenities we haven't had in awhile, which is nice. We can pretty much walk or bus or train it to whatever we need, restaurants, grocery stores, even concert venues, which we've already visited, as I surprised theo with Gorillaz/De La Soul tickets for Christmas. It was really fun and we felt like we were finally back in civilization.

The (epic) NZ Road Trip

If I spent as much time on this blog as I do Facebook, this blog would be epic! Ha! As there is only so much time in the day, I didn't keep up on my blog during the road trip as much as I had hoped. So I'll just share the highlights (which is no small task either)...

After Christchurch, we drove through the mountains on our way to Nelson, in the top of the South Island. We stayed at perhaps the nicest hostel on Earth. Not having loads of hostel experience (I've stayed at maybe 1 or 2 my whole life), I still think my description is accurate. It was on the 2nd floor in a 1800s mansion perched on top of a hill, with awesome facilities, comfy beds, and a fully equipped kitchen.



Our main activity from Nelson was visiting the golden beaches of Kaiteriteri about an hour's drive.



Next was the 3.5 hour ferry ride from Picton to Wellington, crossing the Mildford sound from the South to the North Island. It was beautiful the whole way.



After relatively easy driving and not huge traffic in Christchurch, it was a shock to the system to be dumped from the ferry into the middle of Wellington rush hour traffic! Thankfully, we navigated our way right to our hotel and parked it for the rest of our time in Wellington.

I have to say, I LOVED Wellington. I've been told it has atrocious weather, but the weather gods shined down on us for pretty much the entire trip. Wellington is the capital of NZ and has probably the most vibrant arts and culture scene in NZ, and you can tell this just by walking around. There are art sculptures, fountains, funky shops and cafes everywhere. We took a walking tour and the guide told us Wellington has the most coffee shops per capita (in the world? Can't remember). I'd believe it though. Any little cubby hole big enough to fit a espresso machine, pretty much had one!! It's a very walkable city, and pretty livable I'd say. We took tours of the parliament buildings, visited the botanical gardens, and toured the Te Papa, an incredible New Zealand/Moari culture museum.





Next we were on the road to Napier/Hawke's Bay, which is on the very Northern end of the NZ wine region (which is huge). I unwittingly chose Napier for our wine tasting (on bikes) experience, not realizing it specializes in reds, which I prefer. If we had visited further south, it would have been mostly whites, so that was a lucky move. I did learn something about my wine palatte... I'm not a syrah fan. Now I know. But we tasted lots of yummy wines, even a white I liked!



We also visited the beach in Napier and discovered how different they are from the last golden beaches... these were black. I think they're the first black beaches I've ever seen!



The trip began to pick up the pace after Napier. The rest of the trip was mainly one day visits in each city.

We sped through Taupo and only got a glimpse of the huge Lake Taupo and stopped briefly to see the beautiful Huka Falls.



In Rotorua we met most of the family for a Maori cultural dinner, including Maori entertainment and a chance to make a fool of yourself on stage! This was mom's first meeting of the in-laws, so it was really nice.



The next day, mom also got to experience the odoriferous splendor of Rotorua. Because NZ has so much volcanic activities and Rotorua in particular contains so much geothermal activity and nearby sulfur deposits, all you can smell is the sulfur... all the time. I had been there before, but never spent the night. Waking up to sulfur smell was an interesting experience... ha! We visited a Maori thermal park (Te Puia), where there's both a weaving school and carving school to preserve the traditions of the Maori people.





After that, we drove to Tauranga and had dinner with my niece, which was nice. The next morning, I forced mom to climb Mount Maunganui, which is a must do activity. The view is completely worth it. Plus, this is the area of NZ where Theo used to live, work, and climb the Mount on a regular basis, so I was kinda part of the Theo tour :)



After the Mount we drove to Judith and Martin's farm, so mom got to see where Theo and I got married. Judith made us a lovely lunch and gave mom the full farm tour. An added bonus was getting to see the local swinging bridge. Very cool.



We spent the night with another sister-in-law nearby and visited her farm as well. We had a lovely dinner with them and relaxing evening sharing photos and stories.



We couldn't have had more opposite experiences than driving from the farm to Auckland, back to the city. Again, we miraculously made it to our hotel alive. We were in the heart of the city with a wonderful city view. The next day we got to have lunch with another niece, this one a student pastry chef. We got to eat at the fancy restaurant where she works :) It was yum, of course!



Our only driving mishap took place in Auckland. On the way to the airport, we got lost. But considering the miles and miles we had driven up to this point, it was bound to happen. But in the end, we made it to our flights safely and on time.

Of course there are many more stories to tell and many more photos. If you want to see more, check out my facebook page. And in the next blog, I promise to tell you more about my new home in Brisbane! yay!

NZ Road Trip Begins

On Friday, I departed Mackay, kind of on a nervous note. I had a dream about missing my plane to New Zealand recently and it hung like a cloud over my consciousness for some reason. First thing that morning, the taxi was late picking me up, making it a close checkin. Then when I got to the Brisbane airport, I had to re-check in my luggage, as I booked the domestic and international legs separately. To my horror and for the first time in my life, my checked luggage was lost. Waiting for the missing bag and then reporting it missing also made me cut it too close for comfort for my Air New Zealand flight. I was standing in the checkin line when I was paged over the PA. I was the last person left to be checked in so they bumped me to the front of the line, thank goodness.

So despite my bad dream, I arrived in Christchurch, albeit without the majority of my stuff. I shuttled it to the car rental office and they actually handed me keys to a car! They had no idea how unprepared I was for this challenge. I've only driven in Australia a handful of times, once of which I was involved in a car crash (not my fault), so I was a little skittish and it took some guts for me to attempt driving to a destination on the complete other side of a city unknown to me without a GPS or human navigator, on the side of the road foreign to my senses. My first turn was a left hand one, which was nice. I like those. I was promptly delayed by a man shooing a duck family across the road to safety. All road traffic was halted. I was definitely in NZ.

Somehow, I have no idea how, I made it to the B&B on the other side of town, without making a single wrong turn. I'm still trying to figure out how that happened.

My mom had already arrived earlier that day and was enjoying the beautiful scenery around the B&B, which was tucked into the side of a hill, among beautiful trees and flowers, with a view of the sea nearby. Our hosts were lovely and helpful, and the house was very homey.



We spend two full days sightseeing in Christchurch, even though I was slightly disappointed in the city. Maybe it's due to so many businesses being shut down due to earthquake damage, but it seemed slightly boring and hum drum. Despite that minor disappointment, we still had a great time on a wildlife cruise, where we got to see a breed of dolphin only found in NZ,



rode a gondola up to beautiful views of the city and harbor,



visited the Saturday markets, explored the local beaches,



and toured the CHC botanical gardens.

End of Mackay Days

My days in Mackay are now numbered and that number is ONE! It's my very last day, as I was chosen for the job transfer to Brisbane that I applied for about a month ago. I leave tomorrow for the NZ road trip I already had planned. So as soon as I get back, I will go straight to Brisbane and start my new position! I'm so excited about moving back to the city. It's going to be great for both Theo and me.

I have no idea where we'll be living yet, but I'm sure Theo will work that out while I'm having cocktails in New Zealand! haha! (don't tell him i said that) There are plenty of affordable (well my new idea of affordable) apartments in Brizzy right in or near downtown so I'll surely be able to walk to work when I get there, and we probably still won't need a car.

In the meantime, land of the long white cloud, here I come! I meet up with my mom in Christchurch tomorrow, then from there, here's the plan:

Nelson
Abel Tasman National Park
Wellington
Cross from South Island to North
Napier
Rotorua
Mount Maunganui/Tauranga
Putaruru and family time!
Auckland

I'm excited about finally getting to see a little of the South Island and that my Mom will finally get to experience the beauty of NZ and the Kiwi people. She'll get to meet the in-laws for the first time and see where Theo and I were married.

Plus, road trips are always a blast. Hopefully I will stay on the correct side of the road.

Updates and photos to come!

Hallowmericain

Halloween passed by without much fanfare, at least in my neck of the woods. The only minute signs I noticed of its presence were a few jack-o-lantern type pumpkins (as opposed to the Japanese or other pumpkins sold for eating) at the grocery store brought in especially for Halloween and a tiny little rack of costumes for tiny children at Target. People our age and younger (20s) seem to have Halloween parties with the full costumes and everything, but it’s mainly just another excuse to have a party, I think. We didn’t get any trick-or-treaters and I didn’t really expect to, but some co-workers in Gladstone got some, which was surprising! I guess it’s catching on a little. I don’t think it’ll ever reach the proportions of the States, though. Looking at all the photos of carved pumpkins and costumes of friends on Facebook probably triggered the most amount of homesickness I’ve had since I’ve been here, probably because Halloween is my favorite holiday.

But I did have a little something yesterday to keep my mind off of it. The 150th Melbourne Cup horse race took place. And it doesn't pass without a lot of fanfare. TV coverage is like watching a red carpet event with all the reporters commenting on the fashionistas and rich ladies’ fancy hats. It reeks of the British Empire, but with the slightly more casual bent of the Australians.

It’s apparently referred to as “the race that stops the nation’ because people stop everything (including working) to watch it. Which is exactly what happened at my workplace (well, my surrogate workplace, as I’m in Gladstone this week). Pizza and roast chicken was ordered in for lunch (why the combo, I have no idea, but it was Yum) and alcoholic beverages were served. Some of the ladies wore their versions of fancy hats, which were actually funny hats like viking horns and top hats. We gathered in the conference room where there’s a huge TV screen, ate food, and played silly games until the race started. There was a betting scheme where you throw in your dollar or two dollars, then you get a random horse assigned to you. I threw in and got ‘Americain,’ which was the one I had my eye on anyway because of the name. I found out later it’s an American bred horse, with a French jockey, owned by Australians. Very cool, and lucky for me, I thought. It truly was lucky for me, because Americain won! I won a whopping $25 but being the day before payday I had used my last $10 on lunch and bets, so I was pretty excited about the win… on my first Melbourne Cup, too. Not bad at all…

The Magpie Solution

Today was the day to try my new zip ties. I half-heartedly zipped up two of them on my bike helmet like dorky antennae. I was pretty ambivalent about the experiment until I mounted my trusty bike and started on my route. As I biked along, something came over me and I realized the excitement of what was about to happen. I was soon to be victorious against my daily attacker(s) like a mini 'woman versus wild' episode. I felt kind of like a soldier going in to a easily winnable war, and instead of antennae I was wearing feather-plumed battle regalia. (yes, i'm melodramatic)




I approached the corner where my normal attacker lives and easily glided through his territory, with not even a glimpse of him or his nasty shadow. I couldn't believe it! He must have seen me from his nest or close to it, saw my triumphant plumage, and refused to fight! I was absolutely ecstatic, to say the least. :) I am proud to say, my eyes will remain safely in their sockets.

Spring Has Sprung…right upside my head

You may have seen the photo I posted on Facebook showing a stalking magpie on my route to work.



I thought at the time that it was an anomaly, just one crazy bird. Since then I have learned it is quite common here. We are now in full blown Spring season, and magpies everywhere are defending their nests. It seems their favorite objects of scorn are bikers. They swoop down at your head and usually make this clicking noise seemingly right in your ear, making you think you’re being shot at or something! I’d really like to know how they make that sound, too. Sometimes they even make contact with your helmet, which makes me a little angry. I’ve never been the type to want to shoot a bird, but they are really starting to inspire something in me!

They actually do stalk you, too. The first time I saw it was when I took that photo of theo. The first time I experienced it myself was totally eerie. I was riding down a sidewalk on a street lined with telephone poles. I couldn’t see the bird, as I was looking ahead and down at the sidewalk. What I did notice was a shadow on the sidewalk of a bird on the wire, then as I continued, the bird would swoop to the next section of line, then the next. Finally it made its move at me and then I knew for sure it was stalking me. How creepy! I often wish I could resurrect Alfred Hitchcock (or Hitch as I like to call my other dead secret soul mate) and assist him in making a sequel of “The Birds” here in Australia, because I think the natural talent is abundant!

I’m confounded about why they choose bikers, since we are simply riding quickly through their territory and aren’t even around long enough to disturb their nests. Cars are too large and fast. People walking are too small and slow? I don’t know. But bikers apparently are just right.

Some bikers put zip ties on their helmets so they extend upwards like little alien antennae, which I think I’m going to try, although I know I’m going to look like an even bigger dufus with them on. I’m still weighing which is worse, but I’m leaning towards looking like a dufus.

Healthcare Update

This update is about two weeks late.

I’ve been preoccupied with being fully entrenched in the daily grind of working life. On the positive end, I’m learning a lot and on the other end, I got to endure my first workplace bullying psychodrama. With the negativity behind me (hopefully) I can continue learning through some upcoming travel opportunities to other regional offices and I’m looking forward to a much-needed vacation in November with my mom in New Zealand. Yay! (more about that in the future!)

So I had promised to update you on the insurance coverage from my $75 doctor visit/prescription fees. I ended up getting $35 back from my insurance company, which isn’t bad considering I only pay about $85 a month. I had signed up for almost the bare minimum of health coverage because I don’t feel like paying a bunch of money for something I probably don’t need much at this stage in my life. I just need something to cover emergencies and allow me to stay in the country legally.

Getting the insurance was unbelievably easy. I searched online, found something catered towards visa holders and reasonable prices with terms and conditions that were actually readable. This is something I’m not used to. I downloaded their application, mailed it in, and voila, I was basically instantly covered from the day they received it. It was a one-page application, maybe two if you count the automatic payment details page. No medical exam, even. There was a 2 month waiting period before I could claim anything, but can you blame them when they only charge $85 a month!?! I hear these horror stories of people back home being charged upwards of $900 a month for insurance, with awful exams after which they give you a laundry list of reasons why your premiums should be higher. I definitely feel lucky in this department.

75 dollar health care

I got the chance to attend some training for work last week in Brisbane, which I was pretty happy about. Brisbane is the largest city, and the capital, of the State of Queensland. It’s about an hour drive north of where we used to live in the Gold Coast, so while we were in town, we got to pop in and visit a bunch of friends we left behind, which was super fun. Plus we got to stay in a flash hotel in downtown Brisbane, with an awesome view of the city.

I’ve learned that I am definitely a city person, despite my constant need for solitary time. Mackay is a nice small quiet city, but lacks the cultural diversity and cultural activities of a real city, which I constantly crave.

The only setback was my health. I discovered at the beginning of the week that I had a bladder or urinary infection of some kind. I’ve had one before, but not this severe. I thought I could handle it, but suffered extreme abdominal pain Monday night that made me give in and see a doctor for the first time since I’ve lived in Australia. I wasn’t sure how it would go, but walking through the process with Theo a few months back eased my apprehension.

We were running an errand at a shopping center near our hotel and stumbled upon a doctors clinic, which is not that uncommon to see in random places here. We walked in - it was nearly empty – and enquired at the counter about the appointment openings and prices. We were told $65 for a short visit, and the doctor was available immediately! Nice. Waited about 10 minutes, saw a doctor, peed in a cup, and I was gone in 20 minutes with a prescription in hand. Walked to the pharmacy next door and paid $9.90 for the full course of antibiotics. All this without excessive paperwork – I only filled out a name/address sort of flyer not even a full page long. I didn’t present any medical insurance card, and they didn’t even really care if I had insurance or not.

I do happen to have insurance, so all I will do is mail my receipts off for reimbursement. I’m not sure yet what to expect in that department, but I’ll let you know. At this point I don’t even really care, because I’m so grateful I only spent $75 for super quick, awesome health care in a time of need. This is exactly how it should be – no hassles, no worries, and no paying an arm and a leg.

Ride with Me

As promised, I grabbed my photographer today and we headed out to take photos of my bike route to work. Here they are:

I pass this every morning and it makes me smile to see something with Louisiana on it! I don't think it ever moves... much like many of the cars actually in Louisiana! Ha!



This is also on our block. Seems pretty random on a residential block. We often wonder what kind of store it used to be back in the day...

There are many many dogs who live on our street. This is one of the typical Aussie breeds. This guy's one of the more mature ones on our block.

This is probably the biggest house on our block. There are all kinds of styles, from the traditional Queenlander really high up off the ground, to the "cottage" type that we have, up off the ground just a little, then there are some random brick ones too.
This is our neighborhood fish and chip shop. They sell local fish like barramundi and our favorite is the reef fish called red throat. They see us there at least weekly.

This is what a typical school looks like. It's also in the Queensland style, up off the ground. Very cute. This is the local Catholic primary school.
The big banana! When we give directions to our house, it's "take a left at the big banana!" I'm not sure why it's there... that's a fishing gear shop on the corner...


Then I cross the first little bridge over barnes creek.











There have been 2 hundred-year floods in our neighborhood pretty recently. So I hope I don't see the next one... I won't be able to get to work!



Then right after that is the bigger bridge, which they're currently upgrading, spanning the Pioneer River.



Right on the other side of the bridge is the downtown area where I work. They just installed a new art piece right on the Bluewater Quay, as it's called. Of course, they must have made one of the thingees red just for me!


































Quite a few of the older downtown buildings are very Mediterranean/Spanish looking architecture, which I find odd, but nice. Not so much this one, but this is an example of what some of them look like...

Zen of Bike Riding

Something clicked for me this week.

I've been riding my bike to work every day for 3 weeks now (except for the day it was raining). We purposely got a house within riding distance because we haven't purchased a car yet, so now my fear of driving will last just a little longer. But Mackay is a great place to learn, whether it be biking or driving, because it's a small city and drivers seem to be relatively more courteous here. And I have a really flat route. It only really inclines at all around the bridge over the creek and another bridge over the river, but even those are minimal.

I was probably afforded the opportunity of enlightenment this week because my rear end has finally stopped hurting when I sit on the seat, which is magically wonderful in itself.

The most important thing that clicked was 'slow and steady wins the race' when it comes to biking, especially after becoming so unfit the last 7 months without a gym membership. I'm also not a seasoned biker and up until I moved to Oz, I hadn't ridden much since I was a kid. So for some reason, I think when I get on the bike, I feel like I need to go really fast (something I also coincidentally feel like doing when driving), which isn't a good strategy because I just end up getting tired and have to stop peddling for a break. Then I slow way down, then the cycle continues.

But finally this week, I subconsciously (I guess) decided just to peddle slow and steady. Amazing! It's so much more fun now!!

I've learned some other things on my zen biking journey as well, like:

better understanding of how traffic here works... which will help me when I finally start driving;

what to do when your wheels are loose because the movers didn't put your bike back together properly... actually, this one requires a meltdown phone call to your husband so he can calmly give you instructions. But it all worked out;

it's not so bad wearing stretchy pants... at least while actually on the bike, anyway... off the bike, still not cool;

the bike helmet isn't that bad either... but I still don't see how it's going to protect anyone in a car collision, though. But everyone else has to wear them, too, so I don't feel like such a dork; and

riding my bike is a chance to smell the roses... or at times, the fish guts people leave on the sidewalk on the bridge. "Wow, the river smells fishy today... oh, it's just the fish guts on the ground..." But for real, some days the bike time may be the only time I spend outside all day, so why not enjoy it? You get to see all things you wouldn't normally see through the car window. (photos of which I'll post someday)

So along with getting my free daily exercise and free transportation, I'm starting to really enjoy bike riding.

It's been awhile since I've posted anything because it's been another round of whirlwind life change and adjustments. As soon as I was selected for a job with the State government, we immediately started making plans to move. We flew up to Mackay for a few days to suss out the housing situation, and luckily on the last day in town our application was approved for a rental house! We were really excited because first, it can be a bit of a nightmare finding any rental properties in Australia, because there's no central way to search and the market is huge. You have to visit every real estate agency in person practically every day to keep up with the new listings, inspections, applications, etc. Then they go off the market so fast, you really have to be on your toes. So we were relieved that we got that part done so quickly.

Then the next step was packing, moving, and tying up loose ends in Kirra. I pretty much moved up to a hotel room in Mackay and starting working right away, while Theo stayed behind in Kirra to pack, see our stuff off with the movers, and clean our apartment before we officially moved out.

The job has been great! It's exactly what I had wanted to do. I'm still getting to know the work processes and people, but there's always a learning curve. I have 2 other Americans in my office, which was surprising! Every day I'm impressed by the progressive policies and work environment. As far as employers, I couldn't have done any better!

Mackay as a city is not bad either. I didn't really know what to expect, since I didn't get to see much during my interview visit. It's still a coastal city, but not as big as the Gold Coast. Not as touristy either, which is really nice. It's further north, so it has a warmer climate than where we came from (a Fijian friend says it's on the same latitude as Fiji!), so they grow a lot of sugar cane and other tropical crops here. It's also not far from the mines, so a lot of people who live here actually work in the mines. Many have one week on/one week off type schedules. This can sometimes be a negative because miners get paid so well, it can create a kinda false economy, with businesses catering to and inflating prices for miners. But it's not too bad. If we lived any closer to the mines, it would be much worse!

We're still getting settled into the new house. We have practically no furniture, and it's a 3-bedroom house, so it's going to take awhile to make it feel cozy. But we have everything we need, really. The best parts about it are the wood floors, the awesome front deck, and the fruits growing in the back yard - passionfruit and mandarins! The backyard is fenced in case we find a cute puppy to take home, and the neighborhood seems really nice. There are definitely things about the house we would change if we could, though. It's pretty old, and they must have added the toilet later, because it's in the back, down a few stairs off the laundry room. So it's not that fun when you have to get up in the middle of the night. And on a related note, the water pipes are really old and unpredictable and the bathtub is an awful pink color. But the good things definitely outweigh the bad... Just glad to be employed and semi-settled at the moment...

Miss List #1

In keeping with the David Letterman Top 10 List style, the #1 answer is anti-climatic, but "drum roll please" anyway.....

#1: Real Mexican Food

I've already harped on this subject, but humor me and let's cover it one more time. I'm not talking about Tex-Mex... nachos or burritos... which aren't purely Mexican inventions... I'm talking about the real stuff, my favorites being:

Real Mexican-style tacos on homemade corn tortillas with nothing but cilantro, (onion if you like it), and the hottest salsa in the restaurant. As you know, if they bring it to you automatically, it's not the hottest salsa in the restaurant.

Carnitas are another favorite. Fortunately, I can make that one myself, since it's not that hard and doesn't require exotic ingredients. My other favorite dishes I used to cook at home were chicken tinga, made with chipotle peppers and onion, but without tostadas that wouldn't be much fun to eat... and green mole with shredded chicken. That one has multiple availability issues (green mole sauce and tomatillos).

And lastly, my own personal version of cochinita pibil (Once Upon a Time in Mexico reference)... the pork chile verde... Oh how I love chile verde. I haven't figured out the recipe for that one, but I have a similar one that will do when I want to have it at home. Of course it's another one of those dishes made with tomatillos, one of the things I can't get here. So watch out Mexican restaurants, when I return to the States for my next visit, have my chile verde ready!!!

I'm serious. :)

Miss List #2

#2: $5 Matinees

What I would give for a Sunday afternoon $5 matinee movie with my little sis! We used to go an average of twice a month, sometimes several times in a row. Those days are loooong gone. I got quite a sticker shock at the movie prices here. They can cost up to $16 to $18 for an adult ticket... no matinee prices. Up to $22 for an extra special 3D theater show. I felt a little guilty for spending that much to see Alice in Wonderland, but I figured I was worth it!


Most theaters might have one night a week, when you can watch movies for $7 - 9, which is in the realistic range, and if you get a loyalty card, they have a movie of the week that's only $9, but it's usually the worst movie on the market at the time. But that's about the only time we go now... which is why we've been taking advantage of the awesome DVD selection at the library for now. You can't beat free!

Miss List #3

#3: Chipotle

It is no secret that I'm addicted to Chipotle. I could not get enough of it from the moment I moved to Kansas City and discovered it through my co-workers in 2000. I still remember my "first time" and how it was impossible to eat the burrito without making a huge mess. I also remember when they finally moved across the KC border into Wyandotte County. My fellow Chipotle aficionados and I made a party of it, we were so happy!

One time, Theo and I even dragged our little sister to one on halloween and dressed up in foil, just to get our free halloween burrito! She definitely thought we were crazy at first, then I think she secretly enjoyed it. (These are the lengths we go to...)

It was always the fallback dinner decision when Theo and I couldn't decide what to have for dinner... One of us would say... Chipotle? and the other one always agreed. :)

My favorite is barbacoa with the hottest sauce and sour cream. Ahhhh, the flavors...

I even offered my services directly to Chipotle. Since I just happened to be conveniently moving to Australia, I suggested to them that I could help set up the first overseas branch. But they politely declined my gracious offer (I couldn't even believe they answered my email, to tell you the truth!!). I really did understand, though, since they source most of their meat from farms that don't use antibiotics, and try to use local ingredients, it would be quite a setup ordeal.
Last year, they did finally expand overseas, albeit to London. You can really blame them, Europe is a much bigger market. But I can still dream...

Miss List #4

#4: "American-style" Coffee Shops

I don't really know the history of coffee shops, so I'm not sure if this is an accurate description of a solely American version of a coffee shop, but from my experience, this is what I consider it to be:

A cozy, warm, inviting place devoted entirely to the distribution of fairly affordable coffee, tea and other drinks, as well as desserts and snacks, such as cake, cookies, etc, and maybe a light meal. The staff is often extremely friendly, the furniture usually very comfortable with at least one couch and comfy chair. Most of time time, wireless internet access is not only free and available, but also easy to access without much fuss.

This is what I'm used to, but is extremely hard to find here. Most of the time the cafés here have a full menu as well, so the place takes on the air of a restaurant, rather than a coffee shop. And since they're aiming for a restaurant/café feel, the furniture is not that comfortable, as they probably don't want you hanging around very long. If there is internet access, you usually have to ask for the password, at which point they either look at you sideways (as if to say, yeah, you can have it, but don't use it very long), or they might even complain to you about it, which is what happened to us one time when I met my first rude American ex-pat. She went on about how expensive internet access is here, even though we were buying food from her we really didn't even want, just to use her internet.

Don't get me wrong, the coffee here is yummy, and sometimes it is nice to just sit at the cafés near the beach and just stare off into the ocean while sipping your coffee, but sometimes I just want to nerd out on my computer for a while in a comfy place and maybe meet some new people.

I actually did find such a place here in Mackay, strangely enough! It has a seven deadly sins theme and everything in the shop is either red or black. It's really cute and has a very friendly staff. Of course, it was created by someone not from here, so that probably helps explain things. So I know where I'll be hanging out...

Miss List #5

#5: Anything Buffalo Flavored

I remember the first time Theo was introduced to buffalo flavor. We went to a pizza place and I was surprised when he ordered the buffalo pizza. I was thinking, YUMMY!! When it arrived to the table, the disappointment on his face was immediate.... I thought I ordered BUFFALO pizza, he said. Of course, after I realized he thought the pizza was going to come with buffalo meat on it, I burst into laughter, as I still do when I think of it today.

Sadly, there are no buffalo pizzas in Oz. I also had a sad incident the first time I had pizza here. I ordered a Meat Lover's pizza, which is what a always order (me being the most contradictory environmentalist I know). I took my first bite and it tasted sweet and awful! I said, Theo, I think there is something wrong with my pizza, try it. He tasted it and said, Oh yeah, that's BBQ sauce. They always put in on all-meat pizzas (instead of tomato sauce). I was sooo disappointed. I didn't even really want to eat anymore, but that's all we had for dinner, so I suffered through it. I definitely learned my lesson, though.

But I digress. I love buffalo flavored things: buffalo chicken wings, buffalo pizza, buffalo chicken wraps, buffalo chicken burgers... My fave burger is at Granite City restaurant/bar. They make the BEST buffalo chicken burger I've ever had, with this creamy bleu cheese sauce, OH YUM! It's definitely on my list of things I have to eat when I come to the States during our next visit!

Miss List #6

#6: Real BBQ

THIS is not real BBQing:




As you can see, fire does not at any point, touch meat. To me, this is more like...frying without oil? But this is a public BBQ grill, as the Gold Coast has them all up and down the beachfront parks. I do admit, some home BBQ grills actually grill meat with real fire.

I had a conversation about BBQ the other day and I realized the other thing that's missing from the "BBQ menu" here: smoked meat. They love the smoked salmon here - which is indeed yummy, but smoked BBQ meat is rare, perhaps non-existent. One of my favorite dishes to order in a BBQ restaurant is a (smoked) pulled pork sandwich, smothered in the hottest, spiciest BBQ available - yum! I'd pay a lot of money for one of those right now!

Intermission

That's pretty bad. I disappeared in the middle of a countdown. Sheeesh.

Well, my absence was for a good reason. I accepted the job in Mackay, and since both my new employer and I wanted to start as soon as possible, I've been spending the last 2 weeks frantically searching for a place to live in Mackay and getting paperwork done. It's about an hour north of the Gold Coast/Brisbane by plane, so Theo and I flew up last week to search for an apartment or house. I preferred to get a house, so I can finally get the dog I've been wanting for years, and by a miracle, we found something after two days of searching! I'll update you more on Mackay and the house in future posts. Since I now have a public sector/regulatory job, I won't say much on this blog about the job other than it's a great opportunity, exactly within my field, and exactly along the career goals I had set for myself. So... Yay! Today was my first day on the job, and it was smooth as silk.

The countdown shall resume tomorrow.

Miss List #7

#7: Crab Legs

You'd think in this land of coastal living, there would be crab legs galore! The only crabs I've seen for sale are whole mud crabs and soft shelled crabs. Maybe I'm looking in the wrong places.

There's definitely no shortage of fish and prawns, you can even get fresh calamari... Prawns, by the way, meaning shrimp. I've never been a big fan of shrimp, but the air was definitely let out of my tires when I discovered that no one, and I mean, no one, says "Let's throw some shrimp on the barby!" Barby is definitely universally used, but not shrimp. I have not heard a single person utter this word. It's all prawn, Mate. No shrimps... and no crab legs...

Miss List #8

#8: Idaho Potatoes

I'm a huge fan of carbohydrates in many forms. Potatoes are one of my absolute favorites and we tend to eat them at least once a day in some form. At first, I didn't notice the absence of Idaho potatoes specifically, until I realized that we never have the option of a baked potato when we go out to eat. The form of potato greatly preferred here is hot chips (i.e. french fries). Fish 'n' Chips might as well be melded into a single word. No complaints really about that, but every once in a while, I could really go for a baked potato, which is my side of choice pretty much 99% of the time. I realized this loss one day when we went to steakhouse in Brisbane and the menu boasted baked "Idaho Potato," so you know what I ordered. But that's the only time I've seen it and the other potatoes they grow here just don't stack up!!! You don't what you miss 'till it's gone...

Correction to Miss List #10... I mentioned a new candy bar I enjoy here and mistakenly called it Whitman's, when the correct name is Whittaker's. It's a New Zealand chocolate company and it's divine! Here's a photo for reinforcement... :)