2005 Recap

2005 really was good to us. Here's a recap:

January

Natalie started her first job in Australia: Fundraising Officer for Burnside Hospital Foundation Inc.

March

Darren accepted a full-time contract position as Student Service Adviser at the University of South Australia.

May

Jason and George were the first to visit us from the USA.

June

Natalie began working part-time for the Development and Alumni office at the University of Adelaide to supplement her half-time role at the hospital.

July

Adopted Phil the cat!

Started this blog to document and share our adventures and news.

Darren had surgery to correct the deviated septum in his nose.

October

Darren accepted a permanent position as Student Services Adviser at the University of South Australia.

December

Natalie accepted a permanent position as Database Administrator for the Development and Alumni office at the University of Adelaide.

Our most recent news is that we found a house to rent. We love our one bedroom flat, but unfortunately it's just not enough space for us anymore. We will be moving in early February and we can't wait!

All the best to you in 2006!

hot hot hot

We had our hottest day of 2005 today. It got up to 42.2C. That's 108F! Thank goodness for our eggnishna!

(egg-nish-na)

That's Aussie for air conditioner. So the owner of our flat said no to our request to install some A/C in the place, even when we offered to buy the thing for her. After much research and shopping around, we finally bought a portable Delonghi PAC60 that we can take with us when we decide to move.

We call him R2D2. We've been running it on fan only mode, which sucks air through a 3M filter without turning on the condensers (there are 2), and it helps my hayfever. Before the weather gets really hot, we just gotta figure out how to seal off the hose in our crank style windows so the heat R2 sends out doesn't come back in. That will be our project for the weekend.

when you're having a bad day...

If THIS doesn't make you feel better, I don't know what will.

full-time job

I now have a full-time job! The paperwork was signed off on Tuesday which was awesome news. We went out to dinner at the Pink Pig to celebrate.




I haven't signed the contract yet, but it looks like it's going to be a continuing position as long as long as I become a Permanent Resident in 2006. I sent my letter of resignation to the hospital last night, giving them four weeks notice. My contract was going to end in January anyway so it's ending just a month sooner now.

It has only been a year since I was granted a visa to work in Australia so I think I've done pretty well. So now both Darren and I are full-time continuing employees, both in the university sector. We work across the street from each other, so we ride the bus into work together and get to meet up for lunch too. How cool is that?

Phil plays fetch

Phil has started playing fetch with his favorite toy mouse (a gift from my mom). Darren throws the mouse, Phil gets it and brings it back. Last night, we must have thrown the mouse about 50 times. I think Phil's having an identity crisis.

Here's Phil playing fetch. Should we send it in to Australia's Funniest Home Videos or what?


It's a .mov Quicktime file. Some PC users might not be able to view it. Let me know if you'd like me to email you the .avi version instead.

Happy Halloween!

I never really realized that Halloween and trick-or-treating is an American thing. Here in Australia, it's just not a big deal. Kids don't dress up and go door to door for candy at all. They might have a Halloween themed dance at school but that's about it. Adults might go to a Halloween themed party or Halloween night at a club but it's just a novelty. It's not celebrated like it is in the US. Plus October is Spring time here in the Southern Hemisphere so there aren't any pumkins to carve. Maybe I'll carve one in 6 months instead.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!


The last pumkin I carved in 2002.

new phone woo!

I got a new mobile phone last night. It's a Samsung X460. It's actually an Optus phone but I'm using it with a Virgin SIM card. Big thanks to Darren for being assertive and finding out that this phone could be used with Virgin! My old phone with Vodafone got crappy reception and was the cheapest phone you could get about a year ago when I bought it. The other thing with Vodafone is that they charge you for calls to check your voicemail and Virgin doesn't. Anyway, this new phone rules! Check it out:



I think Darren is gonna get one too.

Pimp My Ride

My car is growing a weed. Where is Xzibit when you need him?

linen closet

The sun was shining this weekend so we spent most of Saturday staining our new linen closet. We put an old shower curtain and newspapers down on the floor in the kitchen and worked on it in there. It's stained now but the stupid all-in-one stain and varnish we used wasn't the best choice. The instructions said to use a paint brush which makes it really difficult to control the amount of stain you use. You may not be able to tell it from the picture, but the result isn't very even. We may eventually paint it or stain it again someday when we have more space to work on it.


the after picture

the before picture

swim swam swum

We finally got to get back in the pool yesterday. Hallelujah! (pronounced HAL-UH-LOO-JUH, as in Kath & Kim) The Channel Ten news crew was there when we arrived and by the time we finished our 500 meters (not bad for the first day back), Jane the weather lady was standing there and asked for our help pronouncing an Italian name. We proceded to have a short chat with her before heading out for dinner and grocery shopping. We're both sore today from the swim but feeling great. Looking forward to many more trips to the pool in the next 6 months.


The pool this time last year.

rain rain go away

After 6 long months since our last swim, the pool was supposed to finally open today. We were really excited about getting back into the pool... But NO!! It had to be cold and rain like crazy all day.

We bought a new piece of furniture last weekend, which is raw wood and needs to be stained. See?



We planned to stain it today but I guess we may have to wait until next weekend so it'll have time to dry while we're home during the day. But fingers crossed that we'll get to swim soon if the rain lets up and they're open!

the bright side

Found out today that I didn't get the job. A lady with excellent creative writing skills really impressed the panel so they gave it to her. My style is a lot more analytical and that didn't fit what they were looking for in that particular role. So I'm going to continue working in the office 2 days a week for now during the transition period and keep my job at the hospital for the time being. The good news is... they have another position in mind for me instead. The other position is full-time (instead of 3 days a week for the one I didn't get) doing systems administration on their fundraising database. The database administrator recently resigned and I have experience managing a fundraising database at the hospital. They would really like to keep me around so hopefully it'll be a win win situation...they get their creative writer and I get to work full-time. It's all just talk so far though so I'm not counting my chickens just yet. I'll keep you posted on what happens next.

the interview

I had my interview yesterday for the 12 month contract, 3 days a week at the University of Adelaide. I'm in that space now where I'm worried that I won't get it, hopeful that I will, and generally just anxious to know one way or the other! They said I won't find out until next week because they have to check references etc. It was a panel of 3 interviewing me. Of course right after I came out, I thought of a bunch of things I forgot to say or could have said better but that's to be expected I guess. Overall, I did my best so we'll just see what the outcome is. I'm trying to brace myself for the possibility that they may decide to give it someone else who has been working at the University for longer than me and has more of a career behind them. Whatever their decision, it's been good experience for me to have worked there at least for a short time. Even just the 3 or 4 months of work 2 days a week that I've done so far has added a lot to my CV. I'd just like it to be more than that. Fingers, toes, and shoelaces crossed!

new basketball season

I play basketball for UniSA's Women's Div 4 team on Wednesday nights. Last season we only won 2 games and ended up at the bottom of the ladder.

We had our first game of the new season a couple of weeks ago. Only 4 of us showed up to play. We ended up playing 4 on 5 against North Adelaide and winning by 1 point! Unfortunately, it counted as a forfeit though because we didn't have enough players. Bummer dude.

Last week, we played Forestville and we won by 12 and even had a sub!

And last night, we played Torrens Valley and won by 6. They are really big (both wide and tall) and pretty good so we did well to come out on top.

So we've already got 2 wins and the season's just started. We're supposed to get new uniforms soon too. The difference this season is we have trainings (practices) with the Div 3 team every Sunday, which I think has helped our fitness level and skills. It's a lot more fun to play when you're winning games!

clarification

Just to clarify...we both post entries on this blog so you have to look carefully at the bottom of each post to see which one of us wrote it.

Darren is the one who got the permanent position at UniSA. Yay!

My interview for the 12 month contract for 3 days a week at the University of Adelaide is next Wednesday 28 Sept. Stay tuned for the result...

I am now a permanent

I was offered a permanent position at the Uni on Tuesday this week and I accepted. This means that I have all the benefits of an ongoing position within the University. I can get study leave and study paid for by the University. I think I will look into starting post grad studies in 2006. We are both really glad to have the security of an ongoing position.

"I am job."

(a line from the movie Mrs Doubtfire)

The job I want at the university has finally been advertised! I'm applying this week and I'll know in about another month whether I've gotten it or not. If so, I will then put in my 4 weeks notice at the hospital. Wish me luck!

Bike really does worx

Since the weather is so nice today, I Rode the bike into work this morning instead of taking the bus. It took 30 min to get from home to my office. I took the Parade via Rundle St and then into work. The ride was smooth and fast and the bike ran well, no issues, no "Oh hell what was that weird noise coming from the chain" no flat tyres, and no major incidents along the way. It is great to live in a city that has a bike friendly policy and where we can live and ride into work with relative ease. I rode this morning and wondered about all the people in cars, filling the air with smog and pollution. I thought about Phil the cat and how he loves to lie on the green shopping bag and how he goes "prrrrr" and runs off. I thought about the petrol (gas) prices and how I was saving money and taking the load off the health system by riding. It's so simple, you just get on and pedal and that's that. I mean you have to avoid things, sometimes really big things buses etc but otherwise its a relatively simple process to ride.

Lost in Work Space

Lost at work, how so, how can this be? It's Monday, I know where I am. Yep sitting here at my desk surrounded by other work stations, yep I am at work. I know I am here, the phone rings, I answer "blah blah good morning this is Darren" there it rang again! Something about parking so I divert them to the right team. So as I was saying before I was interrupted by the phone, I know I am here, at work, it's Monday yet I feel a real dislocation from the reality that is Monday morning at work. I feel this dislocation more than just on Monday mornings. It's becoming something of a pattern, every single day. It's the work I do that makes it dislocated I think. I speak to and answer questions from people who I don't really know, dont really see (except on the odd photo). It's not only that kinda dislocation it's a real shift from what makes me tick, makes me feel like I am doing - not just doing to survive but really doing. You know when you are doing, it's a total shift, like seamless in its being. That's wordy but thats what it's like for me when I am doing work that is engaging, challenging, creative and even helpful to others. The moments all fit together, there is some kind of harmony that takes you forward, there is none of this dislocation that fills the morning's work.

da bikes

in all their glory! not bad eh?

Darren's on the left and mine on the right.

Mine in front and Darren's in back.

bike worx

Saturday ain't just about eating breakfast and reading the paper:

Starlog Saturday 27th August 2005 "fix the bikes Saturday"

All you need is a couple of bikes, a high pressure cleaner, some chain oil and there you have it - four hours of blissful bike fixing fun. The fun began with the cleaning phase: high pressure cleaning the frame, the wheels and the chain. Then the drying phase in the back of the car via the sun. Then onto oiling the chain, cogs and other moving parts. The spending phase consisted of purchasing new bullet proof tyres (oops I mean puncture proof), new hand grips, new handle bar extensions, and a new inner tube. The construction phase saw us wrestle the old tyres off the rims and replace them with the new ones. Codjole the grips off with Vasoline and replace them. The final product - a couple of refurbished bikes ready for the road. We tested them with a ride to K-Mart, there was a marked improvement in overall performance and rideability.

Duma

Darren and I watched a fantastic movie last night called Duma. It's about a boy and his pet cheetah in South Africa. The cinematography is brilliant and it's a great story with interesting characters and a good message. It's the best movie I've seen in a long time and I highly recommend it!

crazy weekend!

Our winter weekends are normally spent lounging around and video chatting with my family. Not much usually happens, but last weekend was definitely an exception! It went something like this:

Saturday - went to the Central Market, bought a new mattress on the way home (we needed a new one badly), went back out later in the afternoon to get a new processor for Darren's PC, got back in Darren's 1991 Nissan Pintara station wagon and it wouldn't start. We called the RAA who sent a guy to diagnose the problem. All he could tell us was that he couldn't get us back on the road and it was probably an electrical part. He asked if we wanted a tow truck, we said yes, he said he would arrange it, then he took off without telling us what was happening. Luckily the tow truck arrived shortly and we had it towed to Sam's Auto Electrical but they were closed for the weekend so we left it there to be worked on on Monday.

Sunday - video chatted with my mom and dad, had some new slats cut at the local hardware store to add some support under our bed, relaxed and eventually went to sleep on our crappy mattress. About 4am that night/Monday morning, Darren was in the bathroom and woke me up saying his nose was bleeding badly. He had knocked off a scab from his surgery and blood was going everywhere. All I knew to tell him was what they taught me in first aid training: lean forward and keep pressure on it. So he did that but it kept starting up again. It was pretty scary and I made it worse because soon after I jumped out of bed and started cleaning up the blood, I got really dizzy and almost passed out. I had to lay down while Darren dealt with his nosebleed. Not very much support am I? So it finally stopped but needless to say, neither of us got much sleep that night.

Monday - we both stayed home from work, but didn't get much rest that day either. We had to take the keys to the mechanic so they could figure out what was wrong with the car. Our new latex bed (no springs and 10 year guarantee, yay!) finally arrived late in the afternoon. Here's Phil exploring new territory while we waited for the delivery guys to show up...



We picked up the car in the early evening. Turns out it was the central computer. Not cheap to replace, but at least they gave us a 12 month guarantee on it. We also had them fix the cigarette lighter (for charging stuff) and the rear windshield wiper while they were at it so now we just need a new driver's seat and a towbar and it'll be good as new.

Hopefully this coming weekend will be a lot more peaceful!

at least 12 more months of renting

So it looks like we won't be able to get a home loan for another 12 months. I spoke to the bank today and found out that my income won't be considered in our application for a home loan until I am classified as a permanent resident by the Australian Immigration Department. I can't apply for permanent resident status until August '06, 2 years after my original application to stay in Australia. Big bummer because we were getting excited about buying instead of renting. But it's probably for the best because the longer we save, the more we will be able to invest in our purchase. We'll probably end up getting a better place because of it. So I guess our next upgrade (probably sometime between now and the end of our lease in March '06) will be to another rental, with at least 2 bedrooms. Then we'll have enough room for our stuff and be able to offer a guest bedroom to any guests who might happen to visit from the land up over. Won't that be nice...

darren's new nose

Darren's nose-o-plasty on july 29 went well and he is back at work today. There's still lots of gunk (I won't get specific) in his left nostril, but once that comes out he'll finally be able to breathe like a normal person. hooray! he's got a follow-up appointment with the surgeon this Friday.

visit to the vet

2005.08.06, originally uploaded by natmeister.

We took Phil to the vet last Friday to get his booster shot. Turns out all is well except his gums were really irritated around his teeth. We've got him on a new diet: special kitten dry food from the vet since he can't tolerate any of the dry food from the grocery store. We're hoping the new food will help his teeth since he has to chew on it more than soft canned food. He's still losing his baby teeth so hopefully all will be good once he's done teething. We're supposed to see how he's doing in a month.

Phil Weekly

I've started a set of weekly pictures of Phil in the window. It's supposed to show how fast he's growing from week to week. To watch Phil go from kitten to cat, visit the Phil Weekly set!

July '05

This has been a big month of milestones for us. We adopted Phil the cat July 2nd, Darren had a birthday July 5th, we had our first anniversary on July 10th, and July 14th marked one year that I have been living in Australia! The year has flown by and it's amazing how things have changed in 12 months.

A year ago we were just moving into our tiny flat, which was empty then and is now chock-a-block full of furniture and stuff. I was saying to Darren this morning how I remember when we were moving our stuff into the kitchen and saying "wow, we have so much extra space!" Not anymore!

Our lease is up in March 2006 and instead of moving into another rental, we're now thinking we would like to get a loan and buy a place. May as well invest all that money that we would be paying for rent right? But we've gotta get a bit more settled and secure in our jobs before committing to a considerable fortnightly mortgage payment. But that's definitely the goal. Hopefully house prices will drop by the time we're ready to go for it too. Right now you can't get anything decent for below $200,000 AU.

Anyway, 12 months ago I was still turning on the windshield wipers every time I wanted to signal for a turn and was still having to remind myself to stay on the left every time I got behind the wheel! I think I'll easily be able to switch back and forth between driving on the left and driving on the right now. It's good to have that mastered. Still am really bad at driving stick though! Ah woll...maybe one day I'll learn.

So this time next year, we'll be celebrating our second anniversary, hopefully in our own home!

work & nose

Darren's contract as Student Services Adviser for UniSA has been extended until the end of February, 2006! Yay!

I'm hoping to get a job share Communications Co-ordinator position at the University of Adelaide in the Development & Alumni office. It would be for 3 days per week starting in August or September, likely on a 12 month contract. I'm currently working as Fundraising Officer at Burnside Hospital Foundation for 3 days a week and at the uni the other 2 days a week (filling in until the job share contract is filled). One of my first projects was to serve as editor for the most recent edition of the alumni e-newsletter AdelaidE-Link. If I get the job share position, I'll resign at the hospital and hopefully work my way up to a full-time job that I enjoy!

Darren is having surgery on Friday, July 29 to correct the deviated septum in his nose. It's something that has been put on hold for far too long. As you can imagine, it's not easy to sleep, eat, exercise, or live when you can't breathe through your nose. How annoying!

Phil the cat!

2005.07.10, originally uploaded by natmeister.

Introducing the newest member of the family...Phil the cat! He's 5 months old, cute, playful, and friendly. To see a whole set of pictures dedicated to Phil click here!

welcome to our blog

Welcome to the new Aussie Blog! We hope this will serve as a way to help us keep in touch with friends and family, wherever you may be. We'll be posting updates, thoughts, and pictures. We hope you'll comment, email, and/or send us a link to your blog if you have one. Don't forget to bookmark our site and come back soon to see what we've been up to!