Hello Goodbye!

I have moved ...

This blog is now a bit on the dead side and I felt like a fresh start.

Because of a certain wanker who's intellectual prowess matches the length of a very small penis, then I'm keeping my blog private. If you want the URL, please drop me an IM.

08:37 - Mon 16 October 2006

Beautiful day

It's a gorgeous beautiful day in the Blue Mountains... (Actually it's not mountains at all, it's a dissected plateau, but we like to big them up a bit)
It's hot and sunny and t-shirt walking weather.

This morning, I raked the grass. This isn't the highlight of my day, I might add. However, under all the chaff coming up from the ground, there were green shoots!!!
I have African grass apparently, which dies during the winter. Green shoots means Spring is on the way. It's meant to be next month but I think it's early.
Now, I am going outside to sit in the beautiful sun (hat on of course) and drink a cup of fabulous coffee.

Sod the housework and sod the computer.

Suggest you do the same. ;) (if you're not at work)

04:44 - Tue 8 August 2006

Bored

... with BE. Haven't got anything to contribute and am too busy setting up business at the mo. Drop in to see if there's anything worth helping with but there doesn't seem to be anything worth reading.
Some guy from the UK bringing people down with cutting remarks, yet he's no longer an expat and no longer in Australia and when he was here, he didn't leave WA for 10 years, yet believes he can make pronouncements on everyone elses lives which he doesn't have a clue about. What a tosser.

Going to Melbourne next weekend for the trade fair. Flying with Qantas and Virgin Blue. Eating out on Sat night.... not decided where yet.

I'm watching TV for the first time in months. Australian adverts are so much more entertaining than UK ones, although Cilit Bang (that environmentally considerate product) is out here uder the name of 'Bam'. Good to see the marketing people worked as hard on the Antipodean version as they did on the UK one. :rolleyes:

It's mid winter and it's a beautiful day once again, sunny and warm.

12:02 - Mon 7 August 2006

Challenges

I've come to the astounding conclusion that there is a great mental gear shift to living in Australia. In the UK we're used to not having to worry about being bitten by spiders or other creatures. The worst we face is really wasp stings in the summer.
Here, it's different, with spiders, ants, leeches, snakes and ticks to be 'aware' of, the dawning realisation of how unchallenging the UK lifestyle is takes hold after a while.
There has to be a mental gear shift from the unchallenging to the challenging and I think for some people, this is easier said than done.
I think there's possibly a point where people begin to either integrate with where they are, or they pine for the UK more, because damnit, when you're used to a 'safe' life, getting to feel comfortable with a supposedly 'unsafe' life is damn difficult.
I'm meant to be an old hand at this, having been here before many times, but there's a whole different reality when you're on holiday to when you're actually living alongside these things.
If there's one thing I really hate, it's cockroaches, even though really we shouldn't get them here because it's too cold. I've only seen one inside, which came in on the newspaper, so I know they're out there. Come warmer weather I'll lay baits to kill off the nest and spray around the outside of the window/door frames. The outside tends to like coming in around here.

I do have the occasional moment of thinking how much easier it was in the UK, but I really believe that's just down to familiarity at the end of the day.
After all, we've had our whole lives to become familiar with one country and all it's nuances. Why would we think feeling comfortable within another country would take any less time?

10:31 - Fri 30 June 2006

Going to the Doctor

I am hypothyroid and needed a new prescription so thought you'd like to see my morning's experience.

Rang around a number of docs to find one that was taking patients and who did bulk billing.

Bulk billing means that the doc claims the money from the gvt and you don't have to pay anything other than your prescription charge. Just like going to the doc in the UK.
However, some docs don't do bulk billing because they like the money and so they charge you more to be seen by them. You pay for your appointment and your prescription charge. Average around here for an appointment was $48 dollars, well above the $30-ish of bulk billing that the doc claims for your treatment. The doc pockets the extra as his. Nice!
You can imagine how going to the doc with three sick children would be if you had to pay for appointments. Bulk billing is therefore a very good idea.

Anyway, waited, and saw an indian doc, who was ever so pleasant. He gave me a new prescription of thyroxine, with a promise to do a thyroid function test in a month or so to compensate for changing weather (good doc!)
I only took my empty thyroxine boxes with my name and UK address on them as proof of my situation. He was absolutely fine with it.

Signed my paperwork, took my script to the pharmacy and had it filled.

Received a large heavy box and I asked how many there were in there. There are six bottles of 100 mcg - 40 tablets in each, for which I paid $26!

I commented on how in the UK we had to fill prescriptions month by month, which the pharmacist said she thought was ridiculous and time consuming. I was told to just take out one bottle, and keep the rest in the fridge.

I have over half a year's supply for $26!

I have discovered that my fridge comes with a handy 'locked' medicine compartment so the rest are in there.

I know I was worrying about this before we arrived but there's really nothing to be concerned with.

06:03 - Fri 12 May 2006

Three Weeks In

Three weeks in...

We arrived on Easter Saturday morning in Sydney after an excellent flight with Singapore airlines. First off, I’m in the fortunate position of having an Australian husband and therefore plenty of ‘back-up’ family here, with a mother in law 20 minutes away, a father in law in Sydney (they’re divorced), plus a few brothers in law although they’re busy living their own lives so I wouldn’t be calling on them for anything but a beer and the odd BBQ. :-)

Here are my first impressions anyway of the first couple of weeks here and I hope it will be useful to someone out there. I’m just going to list things which have hit me. Apols if things aren’t chronological - It’s a train of thought post. ;-)
We came out here because we were tired of the lack of interested family in the UK for my children, the poor weather which essentially had us trapped inside for months every year, and the struggle to pay a mortgage on a smallish house on a busy road in a UK village...ie - It was all about Quality Of Life.

I have been to Australia before, first in ‘90, on a working holiday for a year. The next was when I was newly married and then later on for holidays. For a start, living here is different to being on holiday. I’m sure you’ll think that is stating the bleedin’ obvious, but it’s not different in the sense you may think. When you’re on hols, you don’t pay attention to a lot of stuff, such as brand names, or places to get your driver’s license sorted, or what bank to use etc. These are the real issues which essentially you avoid when you’re on holiday... So you may think you might ‘know’ Australia if you’ve been here before, but it’s not necessarily true - expect to be taken by surprise.

Shopping - My first ‘real’ grocery shopping trip took twice as long as it should have done, purely because I had to read everything … labels. There are no E numbers out here because they are EU classification codes to make it easy for us all in the UK...In Aus, they’re called by their proper chemical names. Then there’s trying to work out what the best brand is - even with things as simple as canned tuna or chopped tomatoes. It’s been quite an experiment so far, but if in doubt, ask because Australians are lovely people and are always willing to help you out if you just explain what you need...
I’m an ethical shopper (or pain in the butt, whichever way you want to look at it) but Aus is waaaaay behind on Fair Trade stuff. I’m going to ask my local deli if they can start getting some Fair Trade brands in, otherwise you’re stuck with Kraft and bloody Nestle which is HUGE here, sadly... but fear not, I shall spread the word
(www.babymilkaction.org)
One thing I needed was 100 points to open and verify my bank account. I ran around like a blue arsed fly getting my drivers license sorted so I could provide said 100 points. In the driving licence place, she asked me for my Australian bank card or a bank statement... which of course, I couldn’t provide because I needed the licence to verify the bank account... I felt a horrible catch 22 situation approaching until we worked out my UK credit card would be enough for her. I then made it to the bank armed with said licence who told me that my passport was worth 100 points if I’d been in the country less than 6 weeks anyway ...ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! (Basil Fawlty moment) I do remember reading about this on the BE board, but it obviously didn’t sink in until after I’d sorted it out anyway.

People - The people I’ve met so far have been fabulous. The guy we bought our car off gave us a loan car for two weeks until our bank and transfers were all sorted, completely gratis. The bank employee who opened our accounts told us to come in if we needed to ask anything at all, even if the issue we had was nothing to do with banking... The local pharmacist bent over backwards to make us feel welcome... the local couple who run the electrical store gave us a huge discount because we bought so many things and because we had emigrated.… The pharmacist at another store in Wentworth falls treated me like I was something she’d scraped off her shoe, but I think that was down to her lack of self esteem and she probably does it to everyone... Aussies are mainly great but like all places, there are good and bad, but people are generally what you personally make of them... you go in expecting bad and that’s what you’ll get imo. People generally are surprising in the most challenging of situations and you should always give them that chance I think.
My neighbours on one side are from Birmingham and have been here 20 yrs and are retired. On the other side, we’ve managed to get the local minister and his family, but it’s ok...We know it won’t be too noisy! ;-) The first night we moved in, the minister and his wife invited us for dinner and lent us tools, two heaters and a desk so we wouldn’t have to go shopping for these items immediately. Incredibly kind people.

Anxiety - there’s a really odd one that I didn’t think would bother me but it has done. I wouldn’t say I’m anxious at all, and generally not about the creatures which live here, but when we were finally over the jetlag and had found a rental house, I spent the first few nights in it waking up at ridiculous times of the night fretting about the children … Were they ok? Was there a spider in their room? Was there a spider in my room? What about cockroaches? Was there something biting me? Were there creatures in my room? What was that noise? Blah blah blah! The last few weeks in the UK were very stressful indeed, with constant stomach churning, late nights and worry. I think that got ‘stored up’ until we were here and then it all came tumbling out in the early hours. Just my brain’s way of getting rid of the stress by transferring it to something I could define maybe... After about a week, I stopped waking up and now I’m fine.

Critters - Apart from the small Huntsman I shoo’d out the other night, the worst I’ve had to deal with are possums banging on the roof and the mosquitos. The mozzies are really the biggest pain in the butt and let me assure you, I am living in a high bush area which is backing onto national park, so there is plenty of opportunity to see things. It’s cooler up here, so for a start, the roaches aren’t active and it’s not really hot enough for them anyway, even when it’s summer. The snakes are currently dozing under rocks so none around due to the ‘cold’ and I’ve only seen a couple of tiny spiders, mainly house spiders... but the rule is, you leave them alone and they’ll leave you alone. Most are timid anyway and run from you, apart from the Sydney funnel web and that’s so bloody ugly you’d run a mile as soon as you saw it anyway. Seen no redbacks (ever, in all my time in Aus so far!), nor whitetails or any other poisonous creature. There are loads of birds and the dawn chorus of whip birds, parrots, cookaburras, and a bowerbird make the humble robin and blackbird seem so ordinary (I’m sure this will change - Blackbird song is so quintessentially British!) The Dropbears are active here, so if you’re headed into the bush, beware!

The environment here is fantastic. I’m living at Wentworth Falls on the ‘King’s Tableland’ so I can literally step out of my back gate into wild bush, beautiful rock formations, a 20 min walk to the Falls, or Rocket Point, or some of the Aboriginal rock decorations which are around if you know where to go. There are wombats and roos down the back... It’s beautiful.

The children - They have settled in amazingly well and I am so proud of them. They haven’t watched TV for over a month now (who would want to anyway as Aus tv is crappy and if you want to watch it, why bother moving countries? Sitting on yer arse staring at a flickering box in the corner is the same in any language but if that’s all you do with the Australian bush outside, then you’d need your head looking at ;-)). The older two have gone to an independent school which is sort of Montessori based, no uniforms, teachers called their first names, heavy emphasis on developing personality through freedom and respect … It might sound a bit hippy-like, but you should see the older kids coming out of the school.… it works, the results are astounding and my children, having come from a stifling ‘British’ education are loving every second. They’ve only just finished their first week but the difference in approach is amazing. It’s a learning experience for us too.
I was worried my eldest would be in the wrong class and that she’d be bored. We were called in to meet with her teacher after two days of them being there, who told us my eldest was ‘exceptionally gifted’ and needed to be moved up a year to year 4. We thought this would happen, given that she was ahead of her peers in her school in the UK, but we didn’t know how it would be handled in Aus.… At this school it’s been handled brilliantly and we’re pleased they’ve recognized what was going on with her even after a week. The UK school didn’t really take any notice of her gifted nature, although they gave her extra work occasionally. Here it’s been looked on as a valuable gift... what a difference! She is in her element and we have done exactly the right thing.
We are able to get them into the school because we can afford it here. We could never have afforded this sort of thing in the UK. The fees aren’t huge … fairly small actually because it’s none profit school. I wish I’d gone to school there.

School here is a 5 min drive from where we live, so after school (which finishes at 2.45pm) we drive to the lake and play at the park there or go to another park down the road, or go for a bush walk.… It’s so different to the UK, where we’d go to the park if the weather was ok... and then only for half an hour because it was getting dark and the weather wasn’t so good … OK. so we’re only in Autumn here, and it has rained, but it’s generally dry and sunny with a cool breeze so perfect out doors weather. The kids are flourishing and have made friends immediately both at school and at the park...my near 7 yr old couldn’t manage monkey bars a few weeks ago - now she’s zooming across them at school.… Amazing what a difference a few weeks makes.
One thing that threw me the first day was that schools here have ‘morning tea’ which is a snack in the morning break... usually a piece of fruit and a sandwich or a cereal bar or something. Makes sense, because they play more...so they need to eat more.

Renting a house - We saw loads of houses, from the ancient Victorian to the modern ‘executive’ house which everyone wanted. Renting here isn’t first come first served like it is in the UK. Here you apply for a house (only one at a time - if you put an application in on another house at the same time and you end up getting both of them, they’re going to make you pay!) and you may be one of 4 other couples who’ve applied. The agent and owner then vet you to see if you can pay, whether you’re the ‘right’ sort of person etc. What makes the ‘right’ person I haven’t quite worked out yet. In the end, we came back to the first house we’d viewed - a simple but spacious fibroboard house, which no-one else wanted, so we got it immediately. It’s only 18 months old but the landlord and his mates build it specifically as a rental, so there’s lots of other ‘recycled’ parts in this house from other houses. It’s quite funny actually. Anyway, it’s a rental and it’s fine, so after we settle in, we’ll start looking for land to build on or a house to buy.

Thoughts... I have had huge swings of emotions in the past few weeks... odd moments of wondering why we left our comfy life in the UK with the central heating and unchallenging lifestyle... moments of wondering what the hell I’m doing here...gut lurching moments of horror and ‘oh my god what have we done’... and then swings the other way too... enjoying the weather, seeing the children just grown by the second in confidence... and then there’s my life which hasn’t even started yet because I’ve been looking after children for the past 10 years. Sure that was my choice but then at the same time, it also wasn’t.… because the options were so limited... So now I’m looking at the local TAFE and thinking about my career now... my choices, my time, my life … It’s all open before me... the possibilities are endless here and they are good.
I think that the emotional swings would be the same for anyone - I’ve had them and I’ve got family here but each time I’ve felt it, I’ve got off my arse and done something positive, like gone for a walk, or had a coffee in one of the numerous places around the mountains and sat watching the view and the wildlife, thinking ‘I live here. I am no longer a tourist. I actually live in this fantastic part of the world. Lucky me!’

And it’s true.

06:02 - Fri 12 May 2006

Hurrah! A House!

Just sitting outside with the laptop at the table. Kids are playing in the garden and the parrots and other birds are up above, doing what they do. Not much sun today - a little overcast and cool.

The good news is that we have a house finally. We've been looking at all sorts of houses from the very cheap to the very expensive 'executive' homes... but the expensive ones are the type we would probably buy, not rent, otherwise it's money down the drain, imo. No doubt you will be pleased to hear this Tygwyn! :D

Anyway, it's a simple fibro board house, very plain, with 4 bedrooms and a study, a simple back yard with a few gum trees in it and good space we can use. In some of the other houses, there was a lot of space but hardly any way for us to use it... after all, who really needs a formal and informal dining area for goodness' sake! Bloody ridiculous if you ask me.
Anyway, we'll be taking possession in a couple of days and when that happens, it'll be a trip to IKEA ... :-/ to get beds for the children and for us, plus pots, pans and cutlery. It's sort of nice to start again, but I am not looking forward to the hell that is IKEA! We also need a fridge and a washing machine.

The house is in Wentworth Falls on Tablelands Road and has a ton of beautiful untouched bushland just a short stroll from the house, so it's perfect for the next few months and we can go biking, and walking around the area whilst we look for permanent accomodation. As winter is coming, the house needs to be made cosy really quickly so it will need rugs and good curtains.
It also needs some plants around the place in pots to make it look a little loved.

Today is Anzac day, something that all Aussies take seriously. Seems to be very well attended by the young folk, although an Aussie friend was telling me how unpopular it used to be. Times change and maybe it's the growth of a youth who are proud of their country.

It's cold here today, with overcast sky. Looks like rain but probably won't as this is Australia after all.

06:05 - Tue 25 April 2006

Jetlag and houses

The first day is the worst, or perhaps it's the second... or maybe the third when you're 3 yr old wakes up at 4am and you have to get up too?
I'm not sure, but all I know is jetlag sucks.

Today we have been driving around the mountains looking at rentals. The two we got to see inside were distinctly 'grungy' although if the worst came to the worst I am sure we could live in one of them... It was empty and hadn't been lived in for a good few months, so it wasn't so pleasant smelling. These places are empty too, so many would be greatly improved by some nice furniture.

The problem with rentals is that there's very little to describe them. If you're going for something in the $200+ mark, then it could be described as 'A REAL CUTIE' only for you to get there and find it's a poky little house with no room. To another agent 'A REAL CUTIE' could mean that it's got a lot of kerbside appeal in a cottagey sort of way. Because there's no real standardisation of agent language, you're never really sure whether you're turning up at a complete dive or not!!!
I have asked hubby to consider some houses which are around the $300 mark and which therefore raise the game considerably. We're looking at $275 and they're not so good, yet $320 is 'executive' ... and therefore much nicer.
It's a bit fatiguing but we have more to see tomorrow. I know we'll find the right one.

Onwards and upwards is what I say!!!

If I could just find the energy ....

01:48 - Tue 18 April 2006

We're here!

Today is Easter Sunday and we landed yesterday morning 6am to clear blue skies, not a cloud around. The flight with Singapore Airlines was superb. Faultless even. My only tip is that if your child is over 7 and a good eater, don't order the children's meal... My 9 yr old quite happily ate the adult meal and enjoyed the spicy noodles and fish for breakfast, Singapore style!
My 3 yr old was asleep by take off and all three kids slept really well on the Singapore stretch. Two hours in Singapore then through to Sydney in 7 hours. What a great flight!

We got through until lunchtime yesterday and then I had to lie down. My two eldest carried on for longer, until the eldest fell asleep sitting down and fell off her chair!
We slept through until 5am today, when all children were up and we opened the window to hear the dawn chorus of Whip birds, cookaburras, cockatoos etc. Fabulous!

Out for breakfast to McDonalds so we didn't wake everyone else up in the house, then down to a park for a good play. Aussie parks are so much more well equipped than UK ones.

After lunch today we all crashed out and now we're all up at 9pm! Jetlag is horrible and makes you feel so weird and spaced out, but in a few days we'll all be through with it.

We will probably go to the Conservation Hut tomorrow for breakfast... I had forgotten it existed but someone on a thread here just reminded me ....

Thank you!

The weather is fabulous and I am enjoying sitting in the sun warming up my poor vitamin D deprived body!
The children are enjoying the bush - we've seen two beautiful golden orb spiders, a praying mantis and a leaf like grasshopper in just one day. Today I saw a humming bird type thing called a Honeyeater in the garden, sipping nectar from a plant. Wow!

After Easter we need a house, and have our eye on two that we've found on the web. It's only a rental so it doesn't have to be fabulous, just functional.
The thought of finding a house doesn't stress me out any way as near as much as what we've been through the past weeks. Nothing is as stressful as getting rid of stuff when you're up against it. But it's gone and in the past. Time to move on.

12:22 - Sun 16 April 2006

Nearly there

Wednesday is tidy up day in the house and then on Thursday, we complete and then fly at 10pm with Singapore Airlines.

I am actually nervous about flying - I wasn't before having children, but since I've had them I don't like flying. I suppose if anything dreadful was to happen, seeing them scared is just the worst thing. I know this is an irrational feeling, and that flying is safer than being in a car, but it's just one of those dodgy things that stresses you out when you have small children! You never want them to feel any sort of terror or pain and that their lives will be long and happy, but that's the whole risk with life isn't it! No-one can guarantee those things. It's just not possible. You do what you can to the best of your ability .... A friend of mine was in the Manchester Air crash years back in the '80's and that sort of rings in my mind every time I get on a plane. She escaped but her family died.

Saying goodbye to family today was ok ... weird though, like we were going to see them next week or something. I wasn't emotional about it at all, although my sister was crying. I wonder if the emotion of this will catch up with me further down the road?

All i know is that come Saturday, we'll be in Australia.

11:16 - Tue 11 April 2006

WAH!

The packers come tomorrow. We still haven't exchanged because the buyers won't unless they see proof that the heating has been serviced!
What a pain in the backside that is. Because I live in a small village between two larger towns, people don't like to come out to us because we're not 'in their area'. It's probably been the most annoying part about living here actually! I called 8 plumbers and none would come. This morning I got hold of the Estate Agents and demanded THEY find me a plumber and TA DA! Tomorrow morning when packers are here, there is also a guy blocking up the bathroom, which is ok as there's nothing to pack in there!

I have spent the whole day on the phone today, plus running around doing jobs for the car sale. I thought I'd be at home sorting through stuff, but no, the day was a total pain in the ass.
Now we are going to have a very late night indeed as there is still so much to do.

We now complete on the 13th, not the 9th as originally thought, mainly due to the buyers arsing around. Their sister in law has handled the whole sale so far, and now I know why - She's the only organised one!!!

Sore throat, painful tonsils... bloody marvellous timing on my part, but hey, it will all work out ok in the end.

Will report after packers have been.

05:22 - Wed 5 April 2006

WTF?

My husband, not known for his 'togetherness' is off to London today .. which is Tuesday.

On Thursday, the packers come! Today all the kid's stuff has to be packed and their toys sorted and I have a throat infection and he's off to London to 'do something sociable'.

Someone tell me what f**king planet he is on?

The house is a mess, huge amounts of stuff need sorting and he's 'off to London to do something sociable'.

Un-fucking-believable.

I'm doing well today. I've given away a mirror (gorgeous huge one), a sofa bed, and my Nordic Track ski machine!
It's all on Freecycle, so people have been picking up stuff today. I can't be bothered with eBay... you get to a point where you just need to get rid of stuff and there's no point in selling - just give it to the nearest person you can find.

:D

09:30 - Tue 4 April 2006

It's just one big cry fest!

Fabulous party last night, until 3am when everyone staggered home. Not too bad a hangover today which was lucky as my aunt was coming for sunday lunch along with my two cousins. Her ex husband also came which was weird.. .he's my uncle by marriage, but I haven't seen him for a long time since their divorce. My aunt's new husband came too.
Weird times.

Last night, friends cried when we said goodbye, my aunt cried today, my sister cried on the phone and generally, it's one big crying fest.

I don't generally feel it's real yet, although I know this week is IT, but I'm not upset, probably because I know Australia well and I know what I'm getting myself into. Our car is on eBay, stuff is being shipped around to people and generally, the house is being emptied very quickly.

All I need is to get through this week, get the family bash sorted on Sunday and fly a few days later.

12:50 - Mon 3 April 2006

Last Day At School

Today was the children's last day at school. I bought a bouquet for the girl's teachers and a card for the office ladies who are always so nice.

I went to pick the girls up after school in the rain.

My youngest's teacher came up to me, grabbed my hand and said how wonderful it had been to have both of them at the school and that it was a real privilege to teach them and how talented they both were.
Then I started crying.
I'm not usually the emotional type, but this is actually just so hard, leaving and saying 'goodbye'.
Now I'm wondering, given that was just my daughter's school teacher, just how the hell I'm going to manage to leave my friends?

We have a leaving party on saturday night, then the packers come on Thursday. We fly on 12th April.
It's now down to the wire.... sorting out through the last bit of crap, the stuff left behind, giving away stuff and getting rid, just so we can start all over again.

Leaving is weird.

03:00 - Fri 31 March 2006

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