Pete has been gone for a week now. He is glad to be in Hobart with his Mum who seems to be doing a lot better.
I'm discovering what its like to live alone again. Actually I don't think I've ever really lived alone before! I have been rebellious this week - like cooking meat and buying heat and eat dinners. This weekend was a lot quieter than normal though and unfortuanately the rubbish doesn't take itself out anymore.
Steve and Tracey have been looking after me and taking me out which is really lovely and keeping me occupied. Otherwise I have been busy buying things for the new flat. I'm really excited about moving. Next weekend I'll be packing and cleaning and the weekend after that there is a carbon sequestration forum on.
I'm thinking about volunteering at the YWCA down the road to keep me busy and meeting people. They have an after-school tutoring program.
The batteries in the camera keep dying so I haven't been able to take any photos. Pete will send some replacements soon - I can't find them in the US.
Bye,
Jaci xx
Sunday, March 26, 2006
Monday, March 20, 2006
Pete off to Australia
Pete left this morning for Hobart, the trip will take 40 hours and he is currently sitting at LA airport. We had a return ticket for LA to Melbourne so we only had to change the date. That was a feat in itself. Flight Centre said we had to change the ticket through the carrier - United Airlines. United Airlines said they couldn't change it cos it was a Lufthansa package deal. Lufthansa said they couldn't change it cos they had no record of it because it was a United Flight. Numerous phone calls later back and forth between the two (of course they couldn't simply ring each other) we had reached a stalemate. Eventually we found a 24hr helpline for Flight Centre and it turns out they could change it after all. Moral to the story though is if you are flying international before you go get the Amadeus number of the flight and ticket numbers and everything else you can. If we hadn't had cell phones and the internet we would never have been able to change the flight!
We are not sure how long Pete will be in Hobart. It depends on how well his Mum is going. We move into our new place in a couple of weeks so he has conveniently got out of packing and moving! It is probably a good thing though. It means that I will have plenty to keep me busy while he is away. It also means I get artistic control of the furnishings. Yesterday we did a mega shop at Ikea and it should all be delivered on the day I move in (fingers crossed) We were there 5 hours and managed to spend over $1000 and still don't have everything. We went first to the seconds room where we got some good deals on furniture that was still in boxes but the boxes were damaged. There are also lots of garage sales (called tag sales here) at the moment. The University year is almost over so there are plenty of bargains. So far today I have bought an iron, ironing board, bedside drawers, side table, photo frame and floor protectors for the bottom of the furniture, oh and I just bought a 21'' TV that will delivered tomorrow. - A total of about $100. I am an expert bargain shopper!
I am planning all the things that I'm going to do while Pete is away. I decided I should cook instead of eating take out and frozen dinners the whole time. I googled recipes and guess what I found - baked bean casserole! I'm not the only person that makes it. Did I tell you we found real baked beans - in the international section at the supermarket.
I no longer have Pete to carry my shopping so I'm going to have to get a shopping cart for when I go to the supermarket (grocery store here). You know the sort that only old ladies have? Well lots of people use them here - all ages. Though Pete says when he comes back he isn't using it.
I had another wacky American experience a couple of days ago. I was sitting out the front of our Apartment building waiting for someone, sitting on the concrete steps. I reached back to get my cell phone out of my back pocket just as a big black lady walked past. She said, in a rather loud voice - "Honey I know AHHLLLLL about hemorrhoids" and she went on to tell me all about her hemorrhoids. I didn't have the heart to tell her I had just been getting my cell phone out of my pocket. The scariest thing was that it didn't even occur to me that this was odd till much later.
We are not sure how long Pete will be in Hobart. It depends on how well his Mum is going. We move into our new place in a couple of weeks so he has conveniently got out of packing and moving! It is probably a good thing though. It means that I will have plenty to keep me busy while he is away. It also means I get artistic control of the furnishings. Yesterday we did a mega shop at Ikea and it should all be delivered on the day I move in (fingers crossed) We were there 5 hours and managed to spend over $1000 and still don't have everything. We went first to the seconds room where we got some good deals on furniture that was still in boxes but the boxes were damaged. There are also lots of garage sales (called tag sales here) at the moment. The University year is almost over so there are plenty of bargains. So far today I have bought an iron, ironing board, bedside drawers, side table, photo frame and floor protectors for the bottom of the furniture, oh and I just bought a 21'' TV that will delivered tomorrow. - A total of about $100. I am an expert bargain shopper!
I am planning all the things that I'm going to do while Pete is away. I decided I should cook instead of eating take out and frozen dinners the whole time. I googled recipes and guess what I found - baked bean casserole! I'm not the only person that makes it. Did I tell you we found real baked beans - in the international section at the supermarket.
I no longer have Pete to carry my shopping so I'm going to have to get a shopping cart for when I go to the supermarket (grocery store here). You know the sort that only old ladies have? Well lots of people use them here - all ages. Though Pete says when he comes back he isn't using it.
I had another wacky American experience a couple of days ago. I was sitting out the front of our Apartment building waiting for someone, sitting on the concrete steps. I reached back to get my cell phone out of my back pocket just as a big black lady walked past. She said, in a rather loud voice - "Honey I know AHHLLLLL about hemorrhoids" and she went on to tell me all about her hemorrhoids. I didn't have the heart to tell her I had just been getting my cell phone out of my pocket. The scariest thing was that it didn't even occur to me that this was odd till much later.
Friday, March 17, 2006
2 months in
Its been a difficult week.
Pete's mum, Pam, has become quite ill. Pete has decided to go back home for awhile. We are not sure for how long. It will be hard without him here. Especially as we are moving apartment in a couple of weeks! Hopefully I will be able to use the time to get lots of work done. I'm not sure if I will fly out. We will wait and see how Pam goes over the next few weeks.
We are off to Ikea again tomorrow to do a mega-shop for furniture.
Pete finally looked into why his work visa hadn't arrived and rang immigration. Apparently they sent it on the 7th Feb but we didn't ever receive it. You would think this means that they would send a replacement card, but no, he has to reapply, pay another $180 and wait up to 90 days.
I will post more blogs and photos over the next few weeks when Pete is away.
Jaci xx
Pete's mum, Pam, has become quite ill. Pete has decided to go back home for awhile. We are not sure for how long. It will be hard without him here. Especially as we are moving apartment in a couple of weeks! Hopefully I will be able to use the time to get lots of work done. I'm not sure if I will fly out. We will wait and see how Pam goes over the next few weeks.
We are off to Ikea again tomorrow to do a mega-shop for furniture.
Pete finally looked into why his work visa hadn't arrived and rang immigration. Apparently they sent it on the 7th Feb but we didn't ever receive it. You would think this means that they would send a replacement card, but no, he has to reapply, pay another $180 and wait up to 90 days.
I will post more blogs and photos over the next few weeks when Pete is away.
Jaci xx
Sunday, March 12, 2006
St. Patrick's Day Parade
I had to tell you about the parade we went to today. It was supposed to be for St. Patrick's Day but seemed to have little to do with Ireland. One of the rules for being in the parade was carrying an American flag. There weren't floats like we would expect in a parade (maybe I've been to the gay and lesbian mardi gras too often). It was two hours long and consisted mostly of marching bands and the armed forces. I didn't know somewhere could have so many marching bands. The strangest thing were some of the marching girls who, instead of twirling batons, were twirling wooden guns or knives. There were lots of army people, fire people and police. Some army people were carrying muskets and some even shot them every 20 meters. It freaked me out to hear gun shots in the middle of a crowded street in the US.
They were also selling toy guns to the crowd. This is also weird. I suppose
Australia has fazed out toy guns for kids so you don't expect to see kids running around shooting people.
There was one float - helmets to hard hats. This is a program to retrain ex-army people and find them jobs I think. Dad - you would've been really impressed - the men were sitting up high on scaffolding with no harnesses.
They were also selling toy guns to the crowd. This is also weird. I suppose
Australia has fazed out toy guns for kids so you don't expect to see kids running around shooting people.
There was one float - helmets to hard hats. This is a program to retrain ex-army people and find them jobs I think. Dad - you would've been really impressed - the men were sitting up high on scaffolding with no harnesses.
Friday, March 10, 2006
Another week
Not a very exciting week. Pete is still sick which is very unusual for him. He is slowly getting better but is quite tired. It has finally got warm; 17 degrees today. With the warm weather though has come bad hayfever which has slowed me down.
This week we've been searching for apartments. We've finally decided on one - one of the first we saw. I wrote about it last week. We still had to look around and make sure though. We're not sure when we are moving in. The present tenent wants to break her lease, so as soon as she can get out, we can get in. Here is a picture of the outside. Don't worry, the inside isn't that colour!
I think this weekend will be a trip to IKEA to start buying/sourcing a few essentials - like a bed to start with. We still don't have much of anything.
Sunday, March 05, 2006
Week 7/8
I'm late posting this week's blog. We are busy looking at flats to rent. Ours is a very small one bedroom that is furnished. It was only ever meant as a temporary stop gap until we figure out where we want to live. Our lease finishes on the first of May but we are hoping to organise something now. We were hoping to get a two bedroom flat but it seems that we can only afford a crap one. So we may go with a flash one bedroom - with a very good sofa bed for visitors of course! We have found one we really like that is quite large and it has a decent kitchen - it even has a dishwasher. It is with the same real estate company as we are with now, so we may be able to break our lease early and move soon. There are pictures on the web of it, but I don't want to publish our address on the web like this - Mum has the URL if you are interested.
I am quite fussy about flats too. I refuse to live somewhere without a washing machine - I'm not sitting in laundromats all weekend. Heating is a consideration as well. It is quite expensive in some places. One flat quoted $500 a month in winter! We hardly heat our flat at the moment - being in a large block of flats and on the third floor it stays quite warm - infact sometimes we have to open the windows to cool it down.
It is Sunday morning and Pete is in bed sick. I am thinking about going to go to the gym. The gym is quite incredible. It is nine storeys high and I've heard that it is the biggest in the world, but I'm not sure if that's true. (Correction: the gym was the world's biggest when it was built in 1932 - though the architecture is a faked 1700s look - so from the outside you think it's a church - click here for a picture). It has to be big because it is too cold to exercise outside. In true American style I catch the lift up 4 floors to get to the fitness center and avoid the stairs. I got an Ipod nano for my birthday so I listen to that at the gym. I quite like talking books to listen to - otherwise it gets a bit boring. We live only two blocks from the gym which makes it very easy to go often. Pete goes most days. I would like to go every morning but I never wake up early enough. I used to be a morning person in Australia, but have turned into a night person lately - very bizarre. Maybe it is due to my new American lifestyle of drinking lots of diet coke!
It has snowed again, which is unusual for March. It still a bit weird to us. The other day I took my lunch to work, which started to freeze on the way - I put it in the fridge to warm up. When buying a bottle of red wine the shop owner told me to make sure I warm it up before I drink it.
Hair styles are also a bit of a puzzle. There are very few women my age with short hair. It seems the uniform is hair, at least shoulder length, tied up in a pony tail. I think this is a 'New England' thing. (New England is the name of the region we live in, being the northeast of the US). I think short hair is more common in other parts of the US. New England is a bit old school - think country clubs. Older women have short hair. I think the idea is that you have long hair until you get older and then it is respectable to cut your hair short?!? Still trying to figure it out.
We feel like we are getting the hang of this place though. There are lots of PhD students at work so plenty of people to hang out with. The biggest annoyance is having to live on a PhD student type budget again. My pay is less than what I got at CSIRO, and Pete is still waiting on his work permit. He has received the first document, but the second is taking ages - we thought it would only be a matter of days. We are back to learning where the free dinners are on campus and the cheap/free beer. Our yuppie lifestyle of Hobart is very far away - certainly no Saturday morning breakfasts at Sugo. I'm not sure how anyone copes as a postdoc with kids. Once Pete starts full time work we will be rich again - teachers of course get paid more than postdocs!
OK, time to get dressed for the gym before we look at more flats this afternoon.
Jaci xx
I am quite fussy about flats too. I refuse to live somewhere without a washing machine - I'm not sitting in laundromats all weekend. Heating is a consideration as well. It is quite expensive in some places. One flat quoted $500 a month in winter! We hardly heat our flat at the moment - being in a large block of flats and on the third floor it stays quite warm - infact sometimes we have to open the windows to cool it down.
It is Sunday morning and Pete is in bed sick. I am thinking about going to go to the gym. The gym is quite incredible. It is nine storeys high and I've heard that it is the biggest in the world, but I'm not sure if that's true. (Correction: the gym was the world's biggest when it was built in 1932 - though the architecture is a faked 1700s look - so from the outside you think it's a church - click here for a picture). It has to be big because it is too cold to exercise outside. In true American style I catch the lift up 4 floors to get to the fitness center and avoid the stairs. I got an Ipod nano for my birthday so I listen to that at the gym. I quite like talking books to listen to - otherwise it gets a bit boring. We live only two blocks from the gym which makes it very easy to go often. Pete goes most days. I would like to go every morning but I never wake up early enough. I used to be a morning person in Australia, but have turned into a night person lately - very bizarre. Maybe it is due to my new American lifestyle of drinking lots of diet coke!
It has snowed again, which is unusual for March. It still a bit weird to us. The other day I took my lunch to work, which started to freeze on the way - I put it in the fridge to warm up. When buying a bottle of red wine the shop owner told me to make sure I warm it up before I drink it.
Hair styles are also a bit of a puzzle. There are very few women my age with short hair. It seems the uniform is hair, at least shoulder length, tied up in a pony tail. I think this is a 'New England' thing. (New England is the name of the region we live in, being the northeast of the US). I think short hair is more common in other parts of the US. New England is a bit old school - think country clubs. Older women have short hair. I think the idea is that you have long hair until you get older and then it is respectable to cut your hair short?!? Still trying to figure it out.
We feel like we are getting the hang of this place though. There are lots of PhD students at work so plenty of people to hang out with. The biggest annoyance is having to live on a PhD student type budget again. My pay is less than what I got at CSIRO, and Pete is still waiting on his work permit. He has received the first document, but the second is taking ages - we thought it would only be a matter of days. We are back to learning where the free dinners are on campus and the cheap/free beer. Our yuppie lifestyle of Hobart is very far away - certainly no Saturday morning breakfasts at Sugo. I'm not sure how anyone copes as a postdoc with kids. Once Pete starts full time work we will be rich again - teachers of course get paid more than postdocs!
OK, time to get dressed for the gym before we look at more flats this afternoon.
Jaci xx
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