As yesterday was my last day in Australia, naturally I’m reflecting on everything I’ve experienced while living here over the last (almost) two years. Of course, it wasn’t all good and it wasn’t all bad, but there were lots of surprises! Overall, I’m glad I came and experienced another culture, albeit not so different from my own at the core. So today I say goodbye (for now):
Goodbye to saying G’day
Goodbye to everyday use of the word ‘reckon’, both in casual and formal settings
Goodbye to driving on the other side of the road
Goodbye to trying to explain where the Midwest is and why I sound like I’m from Canada
Goodbye to inconvenient business hours
Goodbye to the weekly “late night shopping” night
Goodbye to ending everything in ‘y’ or ‘ie’ (Aussie, tradie, Brissy, sunnies, boardies, footy)
Goodbye to rugby on TV
Goodbye to horrible internet access
Goodbye to paying bills at the post office (so convenient!)
Goodbye to not having to show ID at the airport
Goodbye to not being asked for ID at the pub (guess I don’t look 18 anymore!)
Goodbye to a country with the majority in the upper middle class, at least those who want to be
Goodbye to high minimum wages
Goodbye to a very high cost of living
Goodbye to a universal safety net health care system
Goodbye to cheap health insurance, for those of us who aren’t permanent residents
Goodbye to laws that allow women the choice to care for their children in their first year of life
Goodbye to being invisible to the opposite sex
Goodbye to rarely (if ever) having to discuss religion
Goodbye to strangely inadequate plumbing
Goodbye to freezing at night in a tropical climate
Goodbye to beautiful gum trees
Goodbye to mean magpies
Goodbye to lovely animals like kangaroos and koalas
Goodbye to seeing wild lorakeets and cockatoos
Goodbye to ginormous bats and lizards
Goodbye to hearing the monkey noises of the kookaburra bird
Goodbye to plenty of local bakeries and butcheries, even in malls!
Goodbye to calling malls ‘fairs’
Goodbye to finding Indian food in every food court
Goodbye to seeing the British influence in almost everything
Goodbye to trying to remember to offer visitors tea and biscuits
Goodbye to meat pies, authentic fish and chips, and caramel slice
Goodbye to really good coffee
Goodbye to the exquisite abundance of lamb
Goodbye to that awful ubiquitous sweet chili sauce
Goodbye to swimming every day in the ocean, at least when we lived in the Gold Coast
Goodbye to BBQ’ing without food actually coming into contact with fire
Goodbye to hangis/lovos
Goodbye to good friends
Goodbye to the traditional owners of this country – I wish I would have learned more from You
Goodbye to this sunburnt country… someday we may meet again…
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Thursday, September 1, 2011
So the rumors are true, well depending on which rumor you heard… Theo and I are returning to the US! This is my last week at work and once we get Theo’s US visa, we’ll be on the next plane to the States… via Fiji! Turns out that most major airlines departing Australia to the US will only sell you a round trip ticket… no one-ways. Except… drum roll please… Air Pacific, which conveniently stops over in Fiji. So I’m pretty jazzed about that.
In the meantime it’s time for goodbyes. At my workplace, we have a weekly “morning tea” (what’s been called Bake Day) where we rotate bringing in (usually homemade) baked goods for everyone’s pleasure. When a special event takes place, like someone leaving, we have an even bigger Bake Day. Yesterday was a double special Bake Day, since it’s the last week in the office for myself and another person. I was given a super cute and sweet card, which everyone wrote farewells in:
And my supervisor even came in from paternity leave just to say some nice words about me. I was really touched. It will be sad to leave behind my colleagues, who have been really fun to work with and a workplace is this so flexible and laid back it actually has a Bake Day!
So when people hear that I’m leaving, of course the first thing everyone feels compelled to ask is ‘why’? It’s a hard question to answer actually, but it is a fair question. The answer varies depending on my mood since there are many factors that contributed to our decision… My first reaction is basically “why not?” but sometimes I’m more specific and talk about Theo’s coaching opportunities in the States, or if I’m feeling contemplative, I might ruminate on why I came here in the first place, as a bit of an experiment out of pure curiosity and now… well, now my curiosity has been satisfied.
Since we probably only have a couple weeks left here now, I keep thinking about the things I should enjoy, that I may not get to experience for a very long time… like the taste of meat pies and quality fish and chips… I’ll try to pack it all in and remember each flavor, and the sound of the Aussie accents or (my fave) the sound of the kookaburras… but I know it’s futile… memories always fade. But I’ll try anyway!
In the meantime it’s time for goodbyes. At my workplace, we have a weekly “morning tea” (what’s been called Bake Day) where we rotate bringing in (usually homemade) baked goods for everyone’s pleasure. When a special event takes place, like someone leaving, we have an even bigger Bake Day. Yesterday was a double special Bake Day, since it’s the last week in the office for myself and another person. I was given a super cute and sweet card, which everyone wrote farewells in:
And my supervisor even came in from paternity leave just to say some nice words about me. I was really touched. It will be sad to leave behind my colleagues, who have been really fun to work with and a workplace is this so flexible and laid back it actually has a Bake Day!
So when people hear that I’m leaving, of course the first thing everyone feels compelled to ask is ‘why’? It’s a hard question to answer actually, but it is a fair question. The answer varies depending on my mood since there are many factors that contributed to our decision… My first reaction is basically “why not?” but sometimes I’m more specific and talk about Theo’s coaching opportunities in the States, or if I’m feeling contemplative, I might ruminate on why I came here in the first place, as a bit of an experiment out of pure curiosity and now… well, now my curiosity has been satisfied.
Since we probably only have a couple weeks left here now, I keep thinking about the things I should enjoy, that I may not get to experience for a very long time… like the taste of meat pies and quality fish and chips… I’ll try to pack it all in and remember each flavor, and the sound of the Aussie accents or (my fave) the sound of the kookaburras… but I know it’s futile… memories always fade. But I’ll try anyway!
Monday, February 7, 2011
Dodging bullets...err natural disasters
Queensland "dodged a bullet" last week when a category 5 (the highest level) cyclone hit the northern part of the State. Theo and I only found out about it after he travelled up north to Mackay to set up for an art exhibition. (Before I accepted my transfer to Brisbane a few months ago, Theo had applied for a "concept development" arts grant to develop an awesome multi-media idea he's been working on. (See his website.) He's been developing this for months, and this week was to be his exhibition open to the public. He flew to Mackay on Monday to prepare for it, then I was supposed to fly in on Wednesday for the show that night.
By the time he arrived, though, pretty much everyone realized there was a cyclone heading for that part of the State. After speaking to the grant people, they decided to move up the date of the exhibition to Tuesday, since the cyclone was expected to arrive Wednesday night.
Then after further information developed and evacuations began to be announced, the exhibition was cancelled until further notice. Theo then had to scamper to cancel his hotel room and get a flight home before the airlines shut down. So within about 36 hours, he had been through a roller coaster of events, but we were both glad to have him home and safe at the end of it. It was kind of funny to see the evacuation maps, as we would have clearly been evacuated if we still lived there. Our rental house was located right below the words "North Mackay" in the map below.
The cyclone hit pretty much when and where it was predicted, although with much less damage than was expected. Fortunately no lives were lost and only a few small towns had major damage.
Forecasters expect a higher number of cyclones than normal this season. And more rainfall too... so possibly more flooding events. The "best" may be yet to come!
By the time he arrived, though, pretty much everyone realized there was a cyclone heading for that part of the State. After speaking to the grant people, they decided to move up the date of the exhibition to Tuesday, since the cyclone was expected to arrive Wednesday night.
Then after further information developed and evacuations began to be announced, the exhibition was cancelled until further notice. Theo then had to scamper to cancel his hotel room and get a flight home before the airlines shut down. So within about 36 hours, he had been through a roller coaster of events, but we were both glad to have him home and safe at the end of it. It was kind of funny to see the evacuation maps, as we would have clearly been evacuated if we still lived there. Our rental house was located right below the words "North Mackay" in the map below.
The cyclone hit pretty much when and where it was predicted, although with much less damage than was expected. Fortunately no lives were lost and only a few small towns had major damage.
Forecasters expect a higher number of cyclones than normal this season. And more rainfall too... so possibly more flooding events. The "best" may be yet to come!
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Why do I eat organic again?
I’ve always thought eating organic foods was a good idea… mainly for personal health, not ingesting poison seems like an inherently good idea. But back in the States I was turned off by the high prices. I’d only occasionally get the organic apples or eggs. I took a random tour of a local dairy and became addicted to the fresh, hormone-free, local milk – Shatto (oooh so yum, i miss you shatto!!!).
Then we moved to Oz. Almost everything is already more expensive than I’m used to, so it was all about financial survival at first. In the gold coast, Theo met a trainer, who is now our good friend. He’s a CHEK practitioner, if you’ve ever heard of that...totally awesome at what he does.
It has kinda changed Theo’s life, and mine since Rhett advises to eat organic. We find all the hippie organic food stores and markets around town and even found an organic food delivery service. Some things are more expensive this way, but some are cheaper. And the delivery charge is the same cost as us catching a bus or train somewhere and dragging it back home. So we’ve been mixing it up depending on what we need.
We love the deliveries, though. I’ve heard and read quite a few accounts of friends in the States joining local CSAs and talking about how fun it is to receive their box, not knowing what surprises they’ll find inside. It’s the same for us. We generally get small box with a mix of fruits and veggies… here’s a pic of our first one:
I know there have been studies recently comparing organic food and conventionally grown food and results have shown no difference in nutrition. So the jury is still out on that, but I have a feeling long-term studies should be done to really understand the long-term effects of the chemicals.
The second reason I always had for eating organic was the environment. It’s not rocket science to understand that the chemicals used on farms don’t always stay on their own fields or food. Anyone who works in the environmental field will tell you our waterways are becoming more and more polluted by fertilizers, insecticides, and other chemicals used in agriculture.
So those were really my only reasons until the other day I watched a documentary with Theo about globalization and some workers in Indonesia wanting to start a global workers union to provide better working conditions in 3rd world countries where huge corporations come in and take advantage of the cheap labor source, with no regard to worker safety (it’s called the Globalization Tapes, kinda long, but interesting).
The movie actually had nothing to do with organics. But there was a scene showing workers spraying DDT on palm oil trees (whole other environmental issue in itself) all day long without protection. They explained how they had to beg their employers for protective gear because they were getting sick from the poison. It was pretty horrible.
And the light bulb went on. Eating organic isn’t all about my health or just “the environment.” The first exposures to the poison are the workers! Not just another reason to eat organic, but another reason to eat local organic and understand exactly where your food comes from. Now I don’t feel bad paying double sometimes for food, we figure we save so much money by not having a car, it works itself out.
And I actually should have come to this realization earlier, since my own husband was a victim of DDT poisoning as a child….Jeeeeez… Sometimes I have a thick skull.
“Farmer, farmer, put away your DDT
I don’t care about spots on my apples
Leave me the birds and bees…”
-Joni Mitchell
Then we moved to Oz. Almost everything is already more expensive than I’m used to, so it was all about financial survival at first. In the gold coast, Theo met a trainer, who is now our good friend. He’s a CHEK practitioner, if you’ve ever heard of that...totally awesome at what he does.
It has kinda changed Theo’s life, and mine since Rhett advises to eat organic. We find all the hippie organic food stores and markets around town and even found an organic food delivery service. Some things are more expensive this way, but some are cheaper. And the delivery charge is the same cost as us catching a bus or train somewhere and dragging it back home. So we’ve been mixing it up depending on what we need.
We love the deliveries, though. I’ve heard and read quite a few accounts of friends in the States joining local CSAs and talking about how fun it is to receive their box, not knowing what surprises they’ll find inside. It’s the same for us. We generally get small box with a mix of fruits and veggies… here’s a pic of our first one:
I know there have been studies recently comparing organic food and conventionally grown food and results have shown no difference in nutrition. So the jury is still out on that, but I have a feeling long-term studies should be done to really understand the long-term effects of the chemicals.
The second reason I always had for eating organic was the environment. It’s not rocket science to understand that the chemicals used on farms don’t always stay on their own fields or food. Anyone who works in the environmental field will tell you our waterways are becoming more and more polluted by fertilizers, insecticides, and other chemicals used in agriculture.
So those were really my only reasons until the other day I watched a documentary with Theo about globalization and some workers in Indonesia wanting to start a global workers union to provide better working conditions in 3rd world countries where huge corporations come in and take advantage of the cheap labor source, with no regard to worker safety (it’s called the Globalization Tapes, kinda long, but interesting).
The movie actually had nothing to do with organics. But there was a scene showing workers spraying DDT on palm oil trees (whole other environmental issue in itself) all day long without protection. They explained how they had to beg their employers for protective gear because they were getting sick from the poison. It was pretty horrible.
And the light bulb went on. Eating organic isn’t all about my health or just “the environment.” The first exposures to the poison are the workers! Not just another reason to eat organic, but another reason to eat local organic and understand exactly where your food comes from. Now I don’t feel bad paying double sometimes for food, we figure we save so much money by not having a car, it works itself out.
And I actually should have come to this realization earlier, since my own husband was a victim of DDT poisoning as a child….Jeeeeez… Sometimes I have a thick skull.
“Farmer, farmer, put away your DDT
I don’t care about spots on my apples
Leave me the birds and bees…”
-Joni Mitchell
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Happy Australia Day, my dingoes!
Just remember, dingoes are capable of eating babies. Read the sign!
(it says "Please close the gate. Always stay with your children. Be dingo safe.")
For real though, there have been some serious dingo issues on Fraser Island. A woman was prosecuted for feeding dingoes, which should not be fed, as they are wild animals. Now the population of dingoes are becoming more aggressive towards people. Recently a tourist was bitten.
So have a safe Australia Day holiday, my dingoes.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Back to Work and Silver Linings
Well, the worst of the flooding is over and the water has receded and there are no more stay-at-home flood days. Here are some cool before and after aerials to give you an idea of how many areas were affected. After everything downloads, you should be able to move your cursor over the photo to see the change.
Luckily no one I know was greatly affected by the floods, but definitely people all around me know at least a couple of people who were. I know I won't look at the rain the same for awhile. Up until yesterday, it was all heat and sunshine, but yesterday and today, the daily thunderstorms kinda give you an eerie feeling.
But there have been some silver linings through it all... this weekend, we finally went to the organic markets we heard about. Although not all the vendors could be there, there were quite a few. The ones who did had some pretty good stories about even managing to get themselves and their products there. The organic meat vendors even had a 1/2 off sale. We ended up getting two large bags of lamb, chicken, beef, and pork to stock the freezer with, we were so excited!
There's also been free public transportation this week, to help volunteers and everyone else get around during this difficult time. So that has been nice, although the routes and schedules have been cut back.
I read a cute story about a guy finding a Mexican coin from the 1800s!
You just have to find a silver lining whenever you can, especially since they say the floods are moving South (note the photo of the blow up doll... this photo would never publish in the US!!). Anyway, hopefully, no more lives are lost...
Luckily no one I know was greatly affected by the floods, but definitely people all around me know at least a couple of people who were. I know I won't look at the rain the same for awhile. Up until yesterday, it was all heat and sunshine, but yesterday and today, the daily thunderstorms kinda give you an eerie feeling.
But there have been some silver linings through it all... this weekend, we finally went to the organic markets we heard about. Although not all the vendors could be there, there were quite a few. The ones who did had some pretty good stories about even managing to get themselves and their products there. The organic meat vendors even had a 1/2 off sale. We ended up getting two large bags of lamb, chicken, beef, and pork to stock the freezer with, we were so excited!
There's also been free public transportation this week, to help volunteers and everyone else get around during this difficult time. So that has been nice, although the routes and schedules have been cut back.
I read a cute story about a guy finding a Mexican coin from the 1800s!
You just have to find a silver lining whenever you can, especially since they say the floods are moving South (note the photo of the blow up doll... this photo would never publish in the US!!). Anyway, hopefully, no more lives are lost...
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Sunshine over the Floods
A break in the weather is saving things from getting too much worse, I think. Although flood levels are still steadily rising, it only sprinkled a tiny bit last night. It was sunny, hot, and humid.
We were awoken yesterday by the apartment building PA system (which is handy to have, by the way), which announced that the electricity would be turned off at 8:15am. So I got out of bed and hurriedly cooked some breakfast, but we were spared the trouble, because an hour or so later, it was confirmed that it wasn’t happening. I’m thinking it’s because we are located not far from a couple different hospitals as well as a police station. Or maybe the lack of rain helped as well.
A couple of times yesterday, Theo and I explored the neighborhood. The Brisbane River seems to be continuing to rise, reaching the iconic Brisbane ferris wheel and filling up the Queensland Performing Arts Complex underground parking garage on the South Bank.
This photo was taken from South Bank, looking past what used to be walking and bike trails. On the other side of the river, you can see my office building:
And quite a few low lying areas of downtown are now in water. Most businesses have sandbagged their doors and storefronts, the work of which was made easier by the lack of rain.
So still no movies. And now no grocery stores. But we’re stocked to last at least a few more days, and still having electricity really helps. And we did pick up a couple movies from the Oovie Box… just like the Red Box in the US. Thank goodness for that, our entertainment saving grace, since we don’t have a TV!
As we went to bed last night, it looked like clouds were moving in as the sun went down and news reports said the river would peak tomorrow flooding thousands more homes and businesses. But we awoke this morning to bright sunshine and news report that the river didn't peak as high as expect, which is great news!
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
La Niña Strikes
Well, the Christmas rain appears to be here to stay. I can only count on one hand the number of days it hasn’t rained since then. Apparently, we have switched from El Niño to La Niña conditions, after about 10 years of drought and dryness in Australia. Now, as is typical here, it’s either feast or famine. (I still have trouble saying El Niño with a straight face and without conjuring up images of 1990s SNL skits, but I read about it so much now, the silliness is finally starting to fade.) No silliness here, for sure, because we are in flood mode in Queensland. Apparently areas the size of France and Germany together are now inundated with flood water. At least 10 people have died and many more are missing.
I thought being in the city would exclude me from the flood experience, but yesterday, it devastated a town only an hour’s drive from Brisbane City. Today, the Brisbane River, only a few blocks from my office building began to rise, now covering the walking/biking trails and parks along adjacent South Bank. Parts of the train and bus network began shutting down, due to new areas of the greater Brisbane area becoming flooded. People working downtown began leaving the city to get home before routes became impassable and by lunch time, we were told to go home and don’t come back until Monday!
Luckily our apartment building is on a hill, and we’re on the 12th floor, so I don’t think we have anything to worry about. As for ourselves, we’re mainly worried about all the businesses near us downtown shutting down and having enough food/water/electricity, etc. to get us through. This evening we scoped out the situation and the grocery stores (and a few pubs) were still open, but pretty much everything else had closed its doors in preparation for the worst. Fortunately, the grocery shelves hadn’t been raided too bad… only a few items were sold out.
So far, this is said to be the worst flood in over 100 years, when floods actually did affect downtown, so we’ll see what happens. Tomorrow, the Brisbane River is expected to peak. And there’s no dryness in the forecast in the foreseeable future, so Theo and I are just hanging tight and watching it all unfold. Unfortunately it’s going to be boring with even the movie theater shut down, so we’ll see!
(watching debris float down the Brisbane River:)
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Summer Holidays
I still haven't gotten used to the idea of Christmas being during the summer. But at least it wasn't as hot as last year. It's actually rained for almost a week straight and has been a nice temperature for most of the holiday season. Sometimes I would squint my eyes and pretend the rain was snow (worked for me)! When the rain breaks for a day or two though, it's back to sweltering heat!
Last year, I was still new to Oz and wasn't working yet, so this is my first holiday experience as a working person. It annoyed me last year when businesses and restaurants seemed to shut down for a week or two around Christmas/New Years. This year, I'm actually part of the shut-down, so I'm ever so grateful for the break and calm. Since Christmas and Boxing Day and even New Years fell on weekends this year, the public observation of those were celebrated on Monday and Tuesday last week and this coming Monday, respectively. That left 3 days between those public holidays, so my employer gave us Wednesday off and because the office is shut anyway, we can use accumulated time off or vacation or whatever to fill the gap. So in essence, I had 6 paid days off work for the holidays. And this is pretty common here unless you work for the mines or a grocery store, or hospital I guess. With most businesses closing during those times and most people off work, it certainly creates a wonderfully relaxed vibe... a true holiday.
If there were one cultural thing I could export to the US, it would be this. I think Americans just work so hard (as people do here and elsewhere in the world), and they deserve true holidays to relax. Many Americans don't know what a real holiday or break is like, especially when they're working multiple minimum wage jobs just to feed their kids. I feel guilty sometimes living here, getting so much vacation time and holiday time. People here think nothing of taking month-long vacations. When I told people my mom only had 2 weeks vacation to come visit me in NZ, they just normally looked at me with a blank stare...like ....what? Everyone in the world can't take 4-6 weeks vacation every year???
A vacation revolution is in order.
We've had nice quiet holidays so far. We had guests come up from the Gold Coast to share a Christmas meal with. Theo and I made lamb and roast veggies and they brought yummy shish kabobs and to-die-for potato salad, among other things. It was certainly a feast (and mostly organic, too)!
(melt-in-your-mouth lamb and melt-in-your-mouth potato salad)
(the kumara looks burnt, but it was actually perfect!)
(ian, rhett and theo)
Last year, I was still new to Oz and wasn't working yet, so this is my first holiday experience as a working person. It annoyed me last year when businesses and restaurants seemed to shut down for a week or two around Christmas/New Years. This year, I'm actually part of the shut-down, so I'm ever so grateful for the break and calm. Since Christmas and Boxing Day and even New Years fell on weekends this year, the public observation of those were celebrated on Monday and Tuesday last week and this coming Monday, respectively. That left 3 days between those public holidays, so my employer gave us Wednesday off and because the office is shut anyway, we can use accumulated time off or vacation or whatever to fill the gap. So in essence, I had 6 paid days off work for the holidays. And this is pretty common here unless you work for the mines or a grocery store, or hospital I guess. With most businesses closing during those times and most people off work, it certainly creates a wonderfully relaxed vibe... a true holiday.
If there were one cultural thing I could export to the US, it would be this. I think Americans just work so hard (as people do here and elsewhere in the world), and they deserve true holidays to relax. Many Americans don't know what a real holiday or break is like, especially when they're working multiple minimum wage jobs just to feed their kids. I feel guilty sometimes living here, getting so much vacation time and holiday time. People here think nothing of taking month-long vacations. When I told people my mom only had 2 weeks vacation to come visit me in NZ, they just normally looked at me with a blank stare...like ....what? Everyone in the world can't take 4-6 weeks vacation every year???
A vacation revolution is in order.
We've had nice quiet holidays so far. We had guests come up from the Gold Coast to share a Christmas meal with. Theo and I made lamb and roast veggies and they brought yummy shish kabobs and to-die-for potato salad, among other things. It was certainly a feast (and mostly organic, too)!
(melt-in-your-mouth lamb and melt-in-your-mouth potato salad)
(the kumara looks burnt, but it was actually perfect!)
(ian, rhett and theo)
Thursday, December 30, 2010
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.
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.
Friday, December 17, 2010
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!
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!
Monday, November 22, 2010
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.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
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!
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!
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
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…
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…
Monday, October 25, 2010
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.
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.
Friday, October 22, 2010
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.
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.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
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.
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.
Monday, September 20, 2010
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.
Saturday, September 4, 2010
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...
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...
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