New York, New York

Never a dull moment around here. Two weekends have passed since I last blogged, always busy doing something.

The Sunday before last we went to New York for the day. I had a meeting at Princeton (New Jersey, south of NY) on the Monday so we decided to spend the day in NY on the way down. We spent the day with my flatmate from my Sydney days, Elisabeth. Elisabeth lives in Manhattan on the route that the 'Sex and the City' tour bus takes. She has a cute apartment with a great view of Manhattan. NY city is a crazy place though. Elisabeth's apartment has a guy who has the job of spinning the revolving door when you walk through! And you have to give each of them a big tip at the end of the year. There are people walking round the street with their dogs - in prams! There was a gay pride parade on the day we were there but it was pretty disappointing compared to the Sydney Mardi Gras.

That afternoon we went to the Guggenheim. Elisabeth could get us in for free cos she a free pass from her work. I'm glad we didn't pay cos the main exhibition was crap. I'm also glad Elisabeth was there to keep me company while Pete looked at things! The exhibition was by an architect - though we only found one of her designs that had actually been built. Most were pretty weird.

After that we went to a Mexican restaurant and Pete had cactus for tea. The best bit was catching up with Elisabeth though.

I headed on to Princeton and Pete went home. Princeton is pretty much just a University town, not much else there. It is lovely though with lots of trees but a bit dull. I met with George Philander and his group and talked work. That evening we went to George's for a drink. It was a great example of the multicultural nature of oceanography. There were no Americans there, instead George is from South Africa, his wife Argentina, there was guys from Italy and Uraguay and Alexey (Russian) and me.

On the way back to New Haven I had MacDonalds for the first time in the US. Pretty much the same as in Australia - though I haven't eaten at MacDonalds for a long time!

The last weekend was totally hectic. Friday night we had dinner at Alison and Jon's. Jon is Australian and we were invited with the hope we would bring an Australian dessert, so I made a trifle. Jon has been in the US for years so I think he was a bit homesick. Alison told me he was eating left over trifle for breakfast the next couple of days.

Saturday morning we went to the gym. Pete has become a bit of a gym junkie - he goes to the gym which is about every second day. I'm worried about the effect this will have on the grocery budget. After that we went shopping. Pete has put us on a monthly budget which is very painful. I hate not having the money we used to have in Hobart! Saturday night we had dinner with a work friend Steve Sherwood and his family. His wife is from New Zealand.

Sunday morning we went hiking with Steve and Tracy and Tracy's Mum. There is a place called Sleeping Giant, along the lines of Sleeping Beauty in Hobart without the breasts. In fact we climed to the highest point which was called his 'knob' and was positioned somewhere near his knees. We are standing on his knob in the photo. The whole hike was about 4 hours long so we were pretty buggered after that.

Tuesday was Independence Day - the fourth of July. Fireworks all weekend. We spent last night on top of the geology building watching the local fireworks. Next year I think we will try to go to Boston or New York where the fireworks are much more spectacular.

Happy Fathers's Day

It is getting hot here. Today is supposed to be 31. We are trying to see if we can survive without an air conditioner - tough Australians!

Happy American Fathers' Day to all the Dads.

Pete's latest adventure was getting a haircut. Trying to get the full American experience he decided to go to the barber around the corner. Let me just say that normally Pete goes to Tease or Nishler in Hobart. It turns out that this particular barber is African American and doesn't seem to have ever cut a white person's hair. In fact he doesn't have any scissors - just clippers. The barber got out his clippers, put them on number 4 and somewhat randomly trimmed Pete's hair. It looks ...ahhh.. different. Next time he should probably ask for braiding, that seems to be more the thing around here for men.

At the moment Pete is studying for a teaching exam. There are three parts. One is maths multiple choice which he should be fine at. The only difficulty is that they word the questions differently to in Australia. There is an essay question that seems quite simple and the sample answers that do well are very basic - so he should be fine. The comprehension and grammar section seem to be the trickiest as they are multiple choice and ambiguous. I think they are 'stupid' which is why I did a science degree. We are trying to do the practice questions but I think having a science background is a disadvantage as we keep approaching them analytically. Have a go yourself ....

Work is still going well. I'm starting to get some interesting results on one of my projects.

This afternoon - after Pete watches the Australia vs. Brazil soccer game - we are going for another walk through the black neighbourhood. This time to visit a bar called 'Tas-maniacs'. We don't know what it is about. People seem to know about Tasmanian Devils though - I suppose that is thanks to Walt Disney and maybe also the zoos.

baseball and a busy culture week

Its been a busy week. Pete is still settling in and trying to figure out how to get a job in the US.

Last Tuesday we went to the baseball in the Bronx. We watched the Boston Red Sox vs the Yankees. New York is only about 90mins away by car so we could just go down for the evening with my work friends Bryan and Florian. Bryan is a huge Red Soxs fan but kept suitably quiet as we were surrounded by Yankee fans. Before the game we went to a diner which looked just like in the movies. We had hamburgers. Pete of course had a vegie burger and they even asked him how he wanted it done. The burgers were pretty gross and we were still full at lunch the next day. When we tried to get into the stadium I got stopped cos I had 2 bags - by handbag and my groovy red cloth bag that I take everywhere to avoid plastic bags. The bag had chips and drinks in it. The security person said I could only take in one bag. So I called Florian back and put my handbag around his neck (Florian is German and looks like someone that could feasibly have a man bag) THat wasn't allowed cos Florian was a man and couldn't bring in a bag - only women were allowed to have bags. So then I put my handbag into my red bag but that wasn't allowed either. The guard was getting shitty at this point and directed us out of the line. A different securty guard explained that my red bag could be used as a weapon. So we got a plastic bag and put the chips and drinks in (plastic bags are allowed and were supplied) I didn't even try to explain about global warming and America being addicted to oil, I just politely took the bag. A guard suggested we could just hide my red bag in my handbag and try to get back in. I was too scared though - NY security guards aren't friendly. So we went back to the car, dumped the red bag and went back in with my handbag and the plastic bag of chips. A true American experience.

The baseball was better than expected. It goes a lot faster than cricket. Half way through we got to stand up and sing God Bless America - only one verse though - I don't think the attention span is long enough for much more. A guy ran onto the field which is a $1000 fine - just like in Australia you are thinking - but no. He was fully clothed. (And the Americans thought I was strange cos I was disappointed that he was clothed.) The other difference was that at least 15 cops ran onto the field and tackled him. They could've just formed a circle around him, but no they had to try and dislocate his neck. Baseball was fun to watch though.

On Thursday we went to happy hour which was cheap beer and 20c chicken wings in 32 different flavours. Yum!

On Sunday we went to the US equivalent of a neighbourhood watch BBQ. We learnt that we are just around the corner from a place that helps down and out people. They have an international night once a month so we might go and talk about Australia sometime.

After that we went for a walk down Dixwell Ave which is through the black neighbourhood (yes segregation is alive and well). I felt conspicuous but Pete didn't. I felt like I was intruding. It was pretty interesting though and I hope Pete gets a job near there somewhere so we can learn more. There were kids everywhere outside playing and riding bikes. Is this because they can't afford an x-box or is it a cultural thing? There were lots of beauty parlours. African American women often have really elaborate braiding. We also walked past a lot of churches. Some that sounded like night clubs! And the men outside were wearing suits that were purple or gold etc, not boring black. Lots of people were also sitting on their front porch. It actually reminded me of life when I was a kid.

Big news - my first paper has now been accepted with minor corrections. Trevor tells me one down 99 to go before I retire. Seeing as it has taken 6 and a half years for one I'm not too hopeful of early retirement. I shall tell myself it is quality and not quantity.

By the way, we managed to find some summer clothes for Pete.

Pete is home!

Pete finally made it home. He was on time when he got to NY but then the plane crashed into a fence while it was trying to park so he got stuck on there for what seemed like forever. I went to meet him in NY.

I am leaving work early today to go to the mall now. Pete needs some summer clothes -its pretty hot here. We also need to buy an air conditioner. It is only about 26 degrees but humidity is up around 80-90%.

Gotta run to get the bus.

Jaci xx

One more sleep

One more sleep till Pete gets home! Apparently Americans don't count 'sleeps', maybe it is an Australian thing. They think I am 'cute' when I do. Actually I'm continuously being told that being Australian and my accent is 'cute'. I've never really considered the Australian accent cute, or our behaviour!

Pete tells me that heaps of Hobartians are reading this blog. But none of you are posting comments! Please click on add comment and tell me if you are reading this. I'm curious to know who I am talking to.

I'm off to the mall (shopping centre) now. Trying to keep myself busy cos I'm too excited to sit still!

I'm legally allowed to drive!

This morning I became an official member of the American driving public. No I didn't buy I car, I passed my driving test. I was a bit nervous on account of having failed my Australian Ps the first time round. First I had a 14 question computer exam. I got two questions wrong the first was "What percentage of fatal accidents involve alcohol? a) 60%, b) 50% or c) 40%. I'd thought it was 40, but didn't think they'd make the correct answer the lowest, so guessed 60. It was actually 40. Not sure how knowing this makes me a better driver. Is the difference between 40 and 50% statistically significant anyway?

I was most nervous about the actual driving part of the test. Which began with me going to the passenger door instead of the driver's. You don't fail for that though. I made a big show of then adjusting every mirror, even though I'd already done it before I got there. The drive was easy, just did a big block. Had to stop on a quiet street and do a three point turn. When we got back the tester asked me if I was good at parking. I said 'sure, I just don't LIKE doing it.' He didn't have a sense of humour. He asked me to parallel park in a spot that had no cars either side. It is actually tricky cos you don't know where the lines are and if it was real life you would drive in forwards anyway. I asked him if he would like to get out and pretend to be a car but he didn't find that humourous either. So the park went fine. I had been worried that I would have to reverse into a 90 degree park which is what they usually get you to do. I'd been practicing heaps but then didn't even need to do it. So passed with flying colours except once he reckoned I didn't use a blinker.

Dad had advised me to wink at the instructor (such faith in my driving skills) but it wasn't necessary. I had about 4 blokes in the office wanting me to teach them to say 'No worries mate' and how to pronounce 'sheila'. Apparently Australians do a lot of infomercials here.

So now I have 6 days before Pete gets back to get the car I want before he can stop me!

It has been a busy week prior to all this car business. My PhD supervisor Stuart and his wife Trish came to stay last week. It was great fun. I didn't realise how much I missed having someone else living in my house. Stuart and I worked on some papers from my PhD which seem to be shaping up well. We are hopeful the first two will make it through round 2 with the reviewers and we are working on the third. The third may be chopped into two papers, depending on what else we come up with. Stuart and I also discussed my new project on permanent El Nino and have come up with some ideas about how to approach it. Poor Trish had to sit through our non-stop work chatter. I wish it had been Pete so I could get revenge for all the teacher-talk I've sat through! Trish made us pizza from real pizza dough, not the ready made bases from the supermarket. I will have to try doing it myself. We also went to a great Japanese restaurant which I have probably mentioned before. It is called Miyas and has crazy sushi rolls with fillings like cranberry, goats cheese, banana and so on. It is my favourite place to eat but not usually in my budget (Yale shouted that one). It was also refreshing to hear some good old Australian cynicism about politics. People don't really bag George Bush here, not like we do.

Saturday night I went to a night club for Cathy's birthday. Cathy is one of my workmates. I haven't been out dancing for a long time. I'm getting old. Had a ball. There were a bunch of hens nights on so I took it upon myself to try and hook up some of my single male friends with them. I did succeed in getting one guy to do a shot out of a bride-to-be's belly button (how is that for alliteration). At one point I was chatting to a girl about my two mates. She said to me "You have such a cute accent, its awesome. I'd wouldn't mind %^&$ing you!" (Not my objective for the evening, but it sucks being married sometimes!)

Speaking of being married, Pete is back on Monday and so my married singledom ends. I think it has been very good for me learning to live alone - I haven't done it much. I can't wait till he gets back though!!! At least when he is around a packet of saltines (dry biscuits) and a bowl of ice cream is not considered dinner. I haven't resorted to eating the icecream straight from the tub which would be true Bridget Jones singledom.

This weekend Billy Kessler is visiting - he is an excellent oceanographer from Seattle. I also have to scrub the apartment so Pete thinks that it's always that clean when he isn't around.

More later - post Pete arrival. At least when he is back I'll be able to add photos to this blog.
See ya

Angry

This makes me very angry.
http://streams.cei.org/

17 days to go.

Only 17 day still Pete gets back! He has been gone nearly eight weeks and I'm a bit sick of it now.

Steve's wife Tracy has left for Mississippi for two months so we are bach-ing together. Last Tuesday I cooked dinner for him and tomorrow he is cooking ribs (not something I normally get at home.)

Happy hour at work has become a weekly Wednesday event here which saves cooking one night a week. Last week we went to a great sushi place that does weird stuff. You can get sushi rolls with fillings like banana, cream cheese, brocolli, cranberry, all sorts of unexpected things. The week before was free burittos and half price margaritas and next week we are going to a museum opening related to the geology department with free food and wine. Its just like being a student all over again.

My PhD supervisor Stuart and his wife Trish are coming in a couple of days. I'm really looking forward to it, and hopefully we will clear up a few issues on some of my papers so I can get them published - Finally - I'm so sick of them.

Next weekend Steve is going to give me driving lessons in preparation for my driving test. I'm pretty nervous about it. What if I fail???

Then the next weekend Billy Kessler is coming to visit. And then the next day Pete will be back!

Hmmm, what else is news? I'm slowly getting the hang of the US so not as many dramas to report.

I'm proud to report that my electricity is coming from hydro, wind or nuclear. Well actually I think I may be getting duped, but I pay more on my electricity bill which I think subsidises the cost of alternative energy sources.

Did I tell you that the president of China was here a few weeks ago? It was pretty exciting. Protests etc. I learnt all about the Falun gong and went to a really good discussion panel on the problems facing China.

There are so many talks on. I went to one last week from Sir some-or-other about how scientific discoveries are made. Unfortanately I missed one at the same time from the Chief of BP's science division. There was even one by the guy who invented the Dyson vaccuum cleaner.

Talking to Liss on MSN now, bye!

House warming party

Hmm, the novelty of blogging is wearing off. Or maybe I just have more to do now.

A couple of weekends ago I had my housewarming party. Quite proud of myself really - first party I've ever held all by myself. Australian food went down a treat. I finally got the Anzac bikkies to work along with the Lamingtons. Had some Cadburys chocolate, vegemite sandwiches, date scones and fairy bread. It seems fairy bread is Australian, no one else there seemed to know it. One small disaster.....went to buy the alcohol Sunday morning before the party. Only problem - can't buy booze on Sundays in New Haven. Luckily Steve and Tracy had some at home that they brought along. They also brought a friend that had just arrived from Australia and she'd brought Tim Tams and Jatz bikkies with her. Yum!!

Last weekend, my old flatmate in Sydney, who now lives in Boston, came to stay with her partner Brian. We mostly ate and drank. Got drunk on Sake and ate lots of ice cream (not at the same time).

I have just arrived home from happy hour (on a Wednesday) - having trouble typing. Half price margaritas and free burritos. After drinking we went back to friends' apartment for more drinks. It so happens that they live in the apartment that the Bush's (snr) lived in when they went to Yale. Yes I was in the room that George was conceived in!

Can't figure out how to get photos off my camera and on to the laptop. So hopefully when Pete gets back he can do this (26 days to go). Maybe I have just had too much to drink.

Bye!

Trying to cook..

My new apartment looks great. Everything works now and the toilet finally flushes properly.

The latest drama is trying to bake. I'm having a housewarming party next weekend and promised to provide some Australian food. Lamingtons are the obvious first choice. I can't find anywhere to buy slab sponge though so decided I should cook my own. I finally found the ingredients, note that corn flour is called corn starch here (I hope) and I can't find custard powder. I think custard powder is an English thing and you have to order it on special websites. Haven't cooked the sponge yet, will let you know how it goes.

I also decided Anzac biscuits would be a good idea especially as it is nearly Anzac day. I even got some golden syrup shipped in especially! There was no desiccated coconut so I thought I just get the sweetened type they have here which is in larger shreds like grated cheese. It tastes like its been soaking in condensed milk. So I set about making the Anzacs only to discover I didn't have any mixing bowls. Went to the Family Dollar store which is a bit like chicken feed and stocked up on cooking utensils. To cut a long story short, the biscuits didn't work. They just sort of melted and boiled and taste a lot like toffee. I think that the desiccated coconut normally soaks up a lot of the liquid, which didn't happen in this case. So I now have a batch of sticky not-quite-Anzac biscuits. Not sure what I'll do with them. Have ordered some desiccated coconut on ebay, not sure if it will get here on time.

Tablespoons here are smaller than in Australia. They are only 15ml instead of 20 - a trap for the unaware!

Am having trouble adjusting to only having one person in the house. I have too much food in the house and no one to eat it. Especially as I've been out nearly every night.

On Wednesday a friend from work, Bryan had me and another guy from the lab, Florian, over for dinner. He cooked us a big steak and acorn squash. The acorn squash looked like a pumpkin to me, but Bryan says its different and anyway Americans don't eat pumpkin straight, they only put it in pies and stuff. So he cut the squash in half, scooped out the seeds, and in their place put about 1 Tbs butter, 1 Tbs maple syrup and 1 Tbs brown sugar, and then you bake it for an hour. Despite sounding atrocious to the Australian palette it was actually quite yummy!

Last night we went to happy hour which comes with complimentary 'buffalo wings'. Which are chicken wings marinated in a foul bright orange sauce. Not my thing really.

Tonight I am going to dinner with Steve and Tracy at a Japanese restaurant. Looking forward to it but at the moment I am still full of burnt Anzac biscuits. Hopefully I will get hungry again soon.

Today is Good Friday - which you would assume is a public holiday. Not so. I am supposed to be at work today. The postman doesn't have the day off either it seems. They even have to work on Saturdays!

Am off to 'Edge of the Woods' now. Its a small shop that has organic fruit and vegies - a bit like Eumurrah in Hobart. I'm hoping it may have desiccated coconut.

bye,
Jaci xx

Disillusioned

I'm in my new apartment! Yay! It is so big compared to the last one. As soon as I find some batteries for my camera I will post some photos. I have the usual hiccups of moving into a new place - the biggest is that I can't get my internet connection to work. The technicians are coming again on Sunday but they are pretty useless.

I am at work on a Saturday today at a forum on carbon sequestration (that means pumping carbon dioxide underground to reduce global warming). I was invited to the forum dinner by the guy in charge cos I am one of those 'environmental people'. He thinks I am odd because I insist on bringing my own plate to the Friday free lunches instead of using the disposable plastic ones. The next talk is from a guy who works in Europe on helping countries implement Kyoto. It is very interesting to think about why Europe so willingly takes on Kyoto but the US doesn't. Americans feel they have 'rights' such as the right to drive an SUV. Whereas I get the impression that elsewhere people have a stronger social conscience. The individual's right for an SUV is not as valid as the rights of everyone in the world to live on an earth that is not destroyed by global warming. So in Australia it seems we've been trying to educate the public to change behaviours while here they think this can't be done and the only way to combat global warming is by economic pressure and technology. It is also interesting that when the scientists here talk about political change, they don't even bother with the Bush Administration. They are targeting the people who are likely to be in power next.

In summary, I am too idealistic to live in this country!

My first lecture went well last week. I spent a good part of it explaining the southern hemisphere. A mistake I did make was assuming too much knowledge about El Nino. The students told me they knew what El Nino was - it turns out they didn't know much at all! I'm giving another next week so will start a lot simpler. This time it is on the Indian Ocean.

Where are the Easter eggs?

It is finally warm here and the sun is shining. When I say warm I think it is about 14 degrees C but after having 3 or 4 it feels like the tropics.

I've been packing up the apartment ready to move in a couple of days. I hardly fit in here with all the extra furniture. I can't wait to get into the new place and set it up. I feel like a Uni student again buying second hand cheap furniture and salvaging things from next to dumpsters. Steve and Tracy are going to stop by Tuesday night and help with some of the heavy things.

Today is Sunday. I really notice Pete not here on the weekends. At other times I usually pretty busy. I'm not sure what I'd be doing differently if he was here anyway.

I've been preparing a lecture today. I'm filling in for my boss for two of his lectures. I actually sit in on the class so it is a bit strange jumping up and giving the lecture. It is a course for PhD students which is also strange because I'm about the same age as them. The first one is an intro to El Nino. My biggest problem is how to keep the lecture to an hour. There is definitely a southern hemisphere perspective in my slides though. It seems the ocean only exists from the north pole to the equator over here, so I have an hour to remedy it!

Off to lunch now with Steve and Tracy. We are going down to Wooster Square which is New Haven's Little Italy.

4pm.
Back from lunch. We ordered a meal at the restaurant which was supposed to be for one person. We shared it between three and it fed us just nicely! Have learnt here never to expect to be able to eat as much as they recommend. Not sure what everyone else does. I think people don't expect to finish their meals or to take home left overs. We then went to a lovely bakery for cake - the best I've seen so far.

It's not long till Easter and there are no Easter Eggs to be seen! In Australia I'm sure the chocolates have been out for months. There is nothing like it here, and no hot cross buns. It is surprising that the US doesn't cash in on this commercialism. Can't figure it out. Don't they have the Easter Bunny here? Don't worry, I will still buy chocolate for myself!

Jaci xx

First week on my own

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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

Week 6 - Jaci

Another crazy week. Pete is in New York at the moment meeting up with his PhD supervisor - so you get an unedited blog from me this time! Actually Pete can edit this from New York so he may take out the good bits.

Big news that I forgot to tell you! Pete got permission to work in the US! We're still waiting on one document to arrive, but otherwise it is all go. Naturally he was devastated as he loved having an excuse not to work for a few months. I really like him not working too. He was often stressed in his last job and now he has much more time to spend with me! He is thinking that he will do some relief work part time till the school year starts in September.

OK, this is what we've been up to. Friday night began at a south east Asian night (which had free Thai food) with Tracy and Steve. We then went on to find a bar. I had an arguement with a bouncer who wouldn't let em in cos I didn't have ID - you have to look 28 otherwise they card you, which was actually quite flattering since I turned 28 the weekend before.

We ended up at a groovy bar/cafe called Cafe Bottega. It had an excellent jazz band (though they didn't know any Australian songs and were insulted that we asked). There was a gorgeous black woman there who took a bit of a shine to Pete and got him up dancing (something I've never been able to do). She then tried to teach Tracy and I to dance. Apparently 'Yo gotta dance like yo makin love to yor man.' I don't think Tracy and I were very good at it and I'm really going to have to rethink 'how I make love to ma man' cos I've never done it quite like that before!

Saturday we had lunch at George Veronis' house with another of the scientists here, Steve Sherwood and his family. George has delivered beer to our house a couple of times because we don't have a car. He has certainly won Pete! It seems the Australian beer drinking culture has preceeded us.

Saturday night I went out to a martini bar with the girls from the lab. It really is a novelty to have 'girls from the lab'. I suppose being joined with meteorology and geology helps that, instead of maths and computing.

So as you can see it was very much an alcohol weekend. Then on Sunday morning we went to the gym to try and burn some of it off.

Monday night - another night out I've just got back from dinner at Morys with some work people. This restaurant has to be seen to be believed! You have to be a member to get in. The walls are lined with photos of yale sporting heros and other groups that seem a bit random but they all look important. The bookshelves that line the walls are filled with year books. Then to top it off there is a special Yale boys choir that comes around to sing for you - songs about how good Yale is, and how Harvard isn't. Surprise surprise - they have a serious little sister complex here.

I've been discussing with a few people how the work culture is so different here and not what I expected. I'd been warned that US scientists work long hours under lots of pressure. This is totally NOT the case. They are so cruisy. Sure they work, but they're not stressed about it. CSIRO people were always running to management meetings and writing proposals. Here they come to tea and cookies every day and there are seminars on all the time that people attend even though they are often not in their field. You always feel like people have time to talk to you. Why is this? Are we so strapped for funding in Australia? Hmmm, there are aspects of the US I'm really starting to like...scary.

My job is good fun. At the moment I just get to read and talk and think...no programming or writing. Heaven!

Week 5

Is this really only the fifth week we've been here? So much has happened. We are still on a bit of a rollercoaster of enjoying it and wishing we were home. I (Jaci) set up her new laptop to cycle through photos from home (farewell BBQ, wedding, Simon's party, Cairns etc.) but it is making me too homesick so it will soon get turned off.

Last Friday we went to the movies with our Australian friends Tracy and Steve. The medical school (just down the road) puts on movies and it only costs $10 for the whole semester, so that may become a habit for Friday nights.

Saturday morning we went to Boston to spend the weekend with my old flatmate from Sydney, Mel and her partner Brian. It was both Mel and Jaci's birthday on Sunday so we celebrated together. Saturday we went out to dinner at an Afgan restaurant followed by cocktails. Sunday we mostly stayed in as there was a huge snowfall overnight and during the day. (see photos - Jaci is almost knee deep in snow!) We hope to catch up with my other ex-flatmate Elisabeth in New York sometime soon.
Grandma - the scarf you knitted me is coming in very handy.
Mum - the bag you made may have to be put away till it gets warmer - it would get covered in snow then the snow would melt so it would get quite wet.

We now have cable, our own internet access and a landline phone. After one night we decided that we should probably get the cable service switched off - it is all crap. We will give it a few months till we move to the next place though. We have found an old movie channel and are watching James Bond movies at the moment which are OK. Otherwise it is just repeats of sitcoms like Seinfeld. Watching ads is fun at the moment - will we ever think the ads are normal?

The phone is also proving to be a burden. Apart from Pete's Mum Pam, the only people that have rung us are telemarketers - and they ring constantly - so we think we should get that disconnected too and just use our mobiles which financially is a better idea anyway.

Pete had an interesting run in with one telemarketer trying to get donations for the police force. Pete was quite confused about this as the police are paid by the state. With your donation you get a car wallet holder advertising your donation- which we infer is for when the police pull you over - they know that you have donated money to the police force to fund their retirements. Pete suggestted this was corruption and tried to engage the telemarketer in a long debate. The telemarketer asked Pete how long he'd been in the country and then promised not to ring for a few months till he'd got the hang of American culture. If only it was that easy to get rid of all of them. We have signed up to some website to stop them ringing but we figure there is a delay before that kicks in.

Can anyone explain shoes to us in this country? Jaci has been shoe shopping but can't find any shoes that fit. They are too long but not wide enough. The last pair she bought here she had to resort to buying mens' shoes. She has wide feet but it was never a problem in Australia! This place is full of Cinderellas.

The other dilemma is codeine. Jaci stocked up on migraine tablets before we left but didn't think about buying extra panadeine. Turns out codeine is a low level addictive drug here and you have to have a script for it. They also monitor how much is prescribed. Americans with migraines are just told to take Nurofen and go home to bed! No way would Jaci cope with that. The doctor here has agreed to prescribe Jaci some though. Not sure why you would take codeine if you weren't in pain - it gives you terrible constipation.

One of the Australian guys at work has just been back home and returned with a can of baked beans which we are saving for a special occasion.

Today we got our first internet delivery of groceries. While it was wonderful to not have to leave home to get groceries, the number of plastic bags they arrived in is a serious problem for our greenie conscienciouses. They typically had two items in each bag but double bagged - so effectively one bag per item. Without this though we have to go to the supermarket every few days as we can't carry much home at a time. It will be easier when we get a car. Don't even start me on how big the cars are...

Miss you all and thank you for the birthday wishes.
Jaci and Pete xx