Work-a-holic

Due to a series of poorly planned swaps and my over generous nature today is the first day off work I've had since the weekend we moved into our new house.  This is where holding down two jobs (even if one is only two shifts a month) is becoming a real strain on my quality of life.  Yet I cannot risk giving up my work in Epping all while I continue to lack any job security at the Alfred.  This may be about to change as another permanent position has recently been advertised and so once again I applied, the interview for which I had on Thursday.  Like last time however, I did not find out I even had an interview until the morning of the day it was to be held, only this time it turned out to be a couple of case studies rather than a full blown interview.  Plenty of other people have applied, and it is only one position, so I am not getting my hopes up, but this is the third interview I have had since I started working at the Alfred, so if I don't get it this time I need to seriously start to reconsider my future there.

Anyway, for now I am still at the Alfred and one of my biggest problems is to sort out my new longer commute.  Barnadi has taken it upon himself to drive me, originally to Northcote station but more recently all the way to work in the mornings, but I still have to make my own way back.  The options are:

1. Tram then Train (+/- Bus)
2. Tram then Tram
3. Bus then Tram

The first option worked quite well at first, with an express train to Watsonia that arrived just in time to connect with a bus to take me the last little bit of the Journey home.  After the first couple of days I found I missed the express train and so missed the connecting bus, rather than wait for the bus the only option is to walk the remaining distance.
Option two takes a lot longer as the tram is frequently held up by traffic and has more stops than the train.  The tram does come a lot closer to our house and stops just outside Narai Thai so I can pop in to see Barnadi on my way home, and for that reason I am preferring this option for now.
The third option is one I haven't tried yet, but the public transport Victoria journey planner website does indicate it is the quickest.  The downside is that buses are very infrequent and so although the journey itself may be the most direct it will actually take longer with the amount of time I will waste waiting for the bus.

Still work and getting to and from it were the last things on my mind today, today was all about enjoying the new home.  Barnadi has been very busy these past couple of weeks getting everything set up to his own unique tastes.  He is quite keen to get some new furniture to replace some of the IKEA items we purchased when we first arrived in Australia, so today we invested in a new dinning table and chairs as well as some new shelves for the 'Library'.  As well as inside the house we also have lots to get for the outside, with a big front and back garden to look after so a trip to Masters later and we now have a spade, a rake, a saw, shears, secateurs, a step ladder and a hose pipe.  What we still don't have but quite desperately need is a lawn mower.

Our most exciting purchase for the day was Lili and Lilo our two new goldfish.  We haven't dared get any fish for a while after the tragic short lives of Bronzefin and Coppertail, but it seemed right to get some new fish now we are settled in the new house, lets hope they have a longer and fuller life than their predecessors.

Animal Instincts

One thing that Gemma and Dan left us with before heading back to the UK was a pair of tickets to King Kong, a musical production of the classic tale of a giant ape running amok in New York city.  The show has been advertised by the Regent theatre since we arrived in Australia over a year ago, but the show did not open until a week before our settlement and it was the day before settlement that we got to go.  We arrived early as our tickets came with a free cocktail, which I have to confess I broke my abstinence for, it was only a couple of sips so it wouldn't have done any harm, but I do feel a little disappointed that I couldn't manage the whole 9 months completely alcohol free.  I didn't really know what to expect from the show before we went in, although I knew the story of King Kong, I had tried to avoid reading any reviews to reduce the risk of forming any preconceived expectations.  King Kong does not have the best story and the music was good in parts, but it was certainly not the most amazing musical score.  Despite all this I was still suitably impressed the King Kong "puppet", controlled by a massive team of puppeteers moved with a surprising amount of realism, and the animatronic face gave a real sense of emotion.  The thing which really brought the show to life was not the puppet, but the lighting.   The sets themselves were quite basic and very abstract, but by using a unique series of lighting affects the mood and atmosphere was made tangible.

Lucky

We have been in our new house now for 2 weeks and everything is pretty much set up, all our boxes have been unpacked, the majority of the pictures are on the walls and it already looks like we have been living here for years.  So now we can seriously start considering our options for pets, and to help us get used to the idea, we spent the last two nights looking after Sam and Tsaf's dog Lucky while they spent the time down the Mornington Peninsula.  Even though it was only two days it was so nice to have him waiting for me when I got home from work, taking him for  walks and curling up with him on the sofa.  I am now looking forward to getting our own pets even more than ever.

Moving Day

Once again the civil war that is raging inside of Australia's labour party has come to a head as Kevin Rudd makes another challenge for the leadership from Julia Gillard.  Although the leadership challenge is all they can talk about on the news, I have far more important news in my life to consider.  After 3 months of waiting, the settlement on our house has finally arrived and we are now home owners, living in Bundoora. 

Our House

I was unable to get any time off from work and so the move was a gradual process, Barnadi doing several runs during the day with me taking over at night.  With a little help from our friends we had almost everything moved by the end of Saturday so that on Sunday we hired a van (with two men) to shift all the larger pieces of furniture that we couldn't manage on our own.  It didn't take Barnadi long to make the house more homely with the living room quickly being decorated in his usual style.  It has been strange opening up boxes that had been in our garage since we first got to Australia, and seeing possessions we hadn't seen since we left Bath over a year and a half ago, a lot of pictures we couldn't hang while renting amongst many other things.  Still it seems we are nearly at an end to our unpacking with just a few boxes left to go currently stored out of sight in the spare bed rooms. 

There are so many differences with living in Bundoora over Northcote, but perhaps the most obvious change is how much colder it is in Bundoora, one of our first purchases being a portable heater for our bedroom.  As we no longer have a garage we have even had to de-ice our car in the mornings, a job I haven't had to do since leaving England.  Other differences include the length of time it takes me to get to work (much longer) and for Barnadi to get to work (much shorter), the noise (we are no longer on a busy main road), having a garden (not just a small balcony), no stairs (single storey house Vs 3 storey townhouse) and a truly suburban lifestyle (there are no trendy bars or cafes in Bundoora).

So the ballot is back and Kevin Rudd has won the leadership of the labour party and with it he has returned as Prime Minister of Australia.  Julia Gillard, if true to her word, will now resign from politics.  So with an election just around the corner, will this be enough to save the Labour party and prevent Tony Abbot getting into power, or will this continuing farce that has burdened the government have caused irreparable damage, that even Kevin Rudd can not fix.

The Light in Winter

In celebration of the winter solstice Federation square holds an annual series of events during the month of June.  The centrepiece this year is the Helix tree, a twister pillar of lights that respond directly to sound.  Every evening at around 5:30pm a local choir turn up and sing to the tree which starts to glow blue to the gentle sounds of their voices.  As the choir reaches a crescendo the lights change colour from blue to green through a pale pink to a vibrant yellow and red combination.  Once the choir has finished, the floor is opened up to the public to make as much noise as possible as to illicit a response from the tree.  Back in the northern hemisphere, midwinter is celebrated with Christmas and the streets come alive with lights and decorations, but here in the southern hemisphere we have nothing to break the monotony of the long dark nights.  The Light in Winter at least provides us with something to enjoy.

The Helix Tree

My Mother has started phoning me, regular as clockwork every Sunday night.  It started just after we got back from the UK in March and she hasn't missed a week.  I think it may be linked to the little dig we had at her about getting a computer so that we could skype.  Now my Mother is such a technophobe, there is no chance she will ever invest in a computer, so her regular phone calls act as an attempt to meet us halfway.  To be fair to her this is a big deal, as my Mother's technophobia is not limited to computers, she rarely calls anyone for fear of disturbing them and never answers the phone since she acquired an answering machine to screen all her calls.  I can understand the need for call screening, (we got a land line when we signed up to our Internet deal with Telstra and despite receiving a minimum of 3 calls a day on it, every single one of them is a salesman), but it makes it frustrating when trying to contact her.

It is really not long until we move now, and a letter from our lawyers confirming the settlement is booked and giving us our final invoice. In an attempt to explore the area more as well as work out the most practical commuter route, I did a timed walk from the house to Watsonia train station. It turns out google maps is correct and it took approximately 20 minutes. This means that the tram is still the better option, even though it is slower, it is much closer and cheaper (only need a zone 1 ticket, not a zone 1,2 ticket).  Watsonia itself is not a large suburb, but it has a certain charm, it's main shopping street, Watsonia road, runs opposite the train station with a library on the corner and views of the Yarra ranges in the distance. 

Tomorrow is the Queens official birthday and so once again we are getting a public holiday to celebrate that fact, no wonder no-one wanted to become a republic at the last referendum.  But rather than enjoying a nice relaxed three day weekend I have ended up working 2 extra weekend shifts (one in Epping and one at the Alfred) leaving me with a single day weekend instead.  Luckily work was not to busy, but still I had one frightening moment when answering the phone to another expat pharmacist whose response was...."wow, your really starting to sound Australian now..."

In the bleak mid-winter

I have been trying to remember the feelings of excitement and trepidation I had while preparing for our move to Australia over a year and a half ago.  Those days seem so far away now, and it is incredible how quickly the spirit of adventure is quashed by the day to day drudgery of everyday life.  Yet our adventures are far from over, with less than a month to go now until our next big shake up as we move to our new house in Bundoora.  The long 3 month wait until settlement, although useful in allowing us to save up enough money to cover our stamp duty and conveyancing fees, has caused fatigue to set in.  What should be filling me with even more joy is that once we have our own house we can seriously start looking for a pet (or two).  Barnadi has now decided exactly what type of dog he wants, specifically a brown and white collie, I however will be happy with just a cat, any cat.
Yet despite all this I have been having trouble shaking the melancholy that has been overshadowing my life since our last trip back to the UK.

Winter has officially begun in Australia, heralded in by a massive storm that brought a months worth of rain to the state of Victoria within the course of a single night.  Sitting at home with the lights off, listening to the power of the rain crashing down on the tin roof and the thunder rattling the windows, feeling invigorated by the awesome power of nature I realised it was a time for change.  A change of attitude to go with the change in seasons.  Unfortunately such changes are easier said than done.

Eurotrash

Melbourne's Metro are currently running an advertising campaign promoting safety on the railways known as 'Dumb Ways to Die', around all the train stations are images of Mr Men-like characters all meeting some terrible and tragic end.  Unfortunate deaths include everything from poking a bear with a stick to extracting toast from the toaster with a metal fork, from removing your helmet in outer space to eating an out of date pie.  What I didn't realise until recently is that if you go to the website they even have a cheesy little song.  Some of the 'Dumb Ways to Die' even involve trains.

From one cheesy song to a whole continents worth of cheesy songs, it was the Eurovision song contest this weekend.  I knew it was coming up, but did not realise until the first semi-final came on SBS on Friday night that it was so soon.  Back in the UK I had always watched the competition, and in later years shared the enjoyment with my friends David and Kirsty who had taken to holding Eurovision parties.  Even last year we joined them by pure coincidence as we had arrived back in Bath for Gemma and Dan's wedding on the night of the Eurovision live final.  This year however was our first year watching it in Australia, and although it seems strange that Australians would even be interested in such a kitsch European festival we were glad they did.  Anyway it was while watching the semi-finals that I noticed Athina pop online and I suddenly had the brain wave to host my own mini Eurovision party, it didn't take Athina or Sam much convincing and so although small I suddenly had a Eurovision party to plan.  Our house is hardly set up for a party at the moment with only a month left until settlement and everything in boxes, my first job however was to get the decorations in order.  Now a single string of bunting containing the flags of all the finalists might not seem like much effort, but then you are not taking into account the stress involved when dealing with a colourblind printer that insists on inverting the colours on your own national flag.  Decorations finally sorted I needed to consider food, and Barnadi was working so it was down to me to don an apron and oven gloves and whip up a feast in the kitchen.....well a quiche.  Food done all that was left to do was print the score cards and wait for the guests (all 2 of them) to arrive.

Eurovision Decorations

The only drawback of watching Eurovision in Australia is that it is not streamed live, and so the results are already out in the public sphere before it comes on.  Sam had unfortunately checked out the BBC news website earlier in the day and accidentally discovered the winner before the night.  I did my best to avoid finding out, switching the TV off when the news came on and avoiding all British media outlets, but all this counted for nothing when someone from work sent an instant message on facebook and ruined the night for me.  This just left Athina in the dark.  In order not to spoil her night I continued to play along as if I hadn't already found out the winner, but inside I was still seething.  The show was its usual mix of power ballads and cheesy dance tunes, including a Finish lesbian kiss, a levitating soprano Romanian vampire and Greeks in kilts.  My favorite tune however was the Netherlands entry, a slightly unusual ballad in a minor key.  The best song of all though wasn't even an entry in the competition, but sung by the presenter during the interval, a comedic look at all Sweden had to offer.  After what must have been the quickest ever counting of the votes I have ever seen, Denmark was officially announced as the winner.

Taken on A Merri Ride

We are sitting back at home with aching legs and feeling more than a little sore in the saddle.  For my Birthday last year Barnadi bought me a bicycle, but since then we haven't had much of a chance to use it.  My own personal love of cycling ended at the age of 12 when I flew over the handlebars and landed face first in the road, snapping my two front teeth in half.   Every time I tried to ride a bike after that day I felt very unsteady and so I stopped riding altogether.  The next time I rode a bike wasn't until just over a year ago in Cambodia, when we hired two bikes to cycle around Angkor Wat, and with the exception of the rear tire blowing out on our last day I coped surprisingly well.  I guess once you learn you never forget how, kind of like, well, ridding a bike.



Dights Falls

Barnadi didn't have to work today and the weather was cool but dry, so we decided it was time to get the bikes out and make the most of living in Northcote while we still can and take them down the Merri creek.  We have walked along the Merri creek several times, but we have never got that far, my goal was always to get down to the Yarra bend park.  As we started out along the cycle track Barnadi couldn't help but draw comparisons to cycling along the banks of the river Avon or the Kennet and Avon canal in Bath.  The path meandered with plenty of options for wrong turns as it criss-crossed back and forth over the creek, sometimes veering away before doubling back again.  As the valley got deeper it was possible at times to feel you were out in the bush and not getting closer and closer to the CBD, the only clues to the proximity of urban life being the massive bridges spanning the gorge.  We reached the Yarra bend park and stopped for a picnic comprising crispy noodles and assorted pieces of fruit that Barnadi brought with him.  Rather than heading straight back up the Merri creek however we decided to continue along the Yarra river which took us all the way out to Burnley before doubling back towards the city again.  It was two hours from when we set out that we finally pulled into Federation square which was currently exhibiting a selection of emergency shelters outside and a fair trade market inside.  Located in federation square are two museums ACMI and a branch of the NGV (the Ian Potter Gallery).  We decided to explore ACMI while we were there, and although there are paid exhibitions that come and go, the main museum is free to get in.  ACMI is the Australian Centre for the Moving Image, and although it is not that big it is chuck full of exhibits from the early days of film right up to the most modern 3D technologies and a lot of Australian movie memorabilia in between.  A lot of the exhibits are interactive, from a pong Vs Wii tennis match to a shadow wall that morphs your shadow into alien monsters.

Already feeling quit tired and wanting to ensure we were home before dark we cycled the shorter and less scenic route home through the city.  By the time we were home the complete round trip took us a grand total of 28.22km, an impressive effort even if I do say so myself.  More impressive is the fact we had a wonderfully full and adventurous day out without having to spend a single penny.