Rockabye Baby

One of my co-workers discovered and shared with us my new favorite thing: Rockabye Baby , lullaby rock and pop covers. If you have kids or work with ones young enough to have a nap time, you know how much listening to the same song over and over again slowly drives you mad and you never want to hear it again. Some of my personal favorites are Metallica's "Nothing Else Matters" (most depressing lullaby ever), Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" (sounds kind of sinister), Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" (not as long as the original), and David Bowie's "Space Oddity" (one of so many good covers of this song). Nap time is more interesting now. 

Gong

The ultimate frisbee tournament in Wollongong was a lot of fun. Our team got second place. One thing that's different about tournaments in Australia compared to the US is the food they give you is a lot better. You get a legitimate amount of time to eat and each team gets a laundry basket full of rolls, sandwich meat, cheese, veggies, chips, dips, candy, etc. It was walking distance from the beach, so I took this picture of a passing rainstorm.

Still Alive

Just a quick post to say I probably won't post much in the next few days. It's been a typical work week including trivia and ultimate. This weekend we are going to Wollongong for an ultimate tournament, which will hopefully be fun.

Sunday Funday at Kamay Botany Bay National Park

Today we took a GoGet car down to Kamay Botany Bay National Park with our friends, Kyle and Mallette. I drove on the left side of the street for the first time, and we are all still alive. We did the Cape Baily coastal walk and had a picnic lunch overlooking the crashing waves. Unfortunately, even though it's the right season, we did not see any migrating humpback whales. Here are a few of the highlight photos...

Afterwards, Michael and I went to Micky's for a hearty dinner by the crackling fire, complete with some Qwirkle and Mankala. 

An Oldie, but a Goodie

I usually check PostSecret every week, but traveling back and forth to the states I forgot about my little ritual. It is have been my favorite ongoing project over the past several years. Some secrets people share are shocking, some are funny, some are heartwarming. I just thought I would give a little plug for it in case I have any readers that haven't heard of it. 

Junk Food Thursday

Sometimes when Michael isn't home for dinner, instead of cooking I can't help but treat myself to Chargrill Charlies.  Michael is usually the voice of reason that suggests we eat healthy. When he's not here, my voice of hedonism tells me I want to eat what is delicious because I will burn off the calories either way. I do bike or walk a half hour both ways commuting to work and then I'm on my feet all day, so I really do. And even if I had a little extra fat on me to burn off in times when food isn't available, maybe I wouldn't get so hangry. Anyway, Chargrill Charlies is a 10 minute walk away and they have the best chips (fries) I've had in all of Australia (I am partial to thin cut fries). I usually also get something healthy like a salad to offset all the unhealthiness, but I'm sure it isn't a 1:1 tradeoff. Also, if the salad is a Caesar salad, which they put bacon on here, it's not really healthy at all.

I started playing in a new Wednesday night frisbee league this week, in addition to the team we play with on weekends. Our team name is Game of Thrones themed, so you can't go wrong with that. Michael would have joined too, but there was already a waitlist for men when I joined. One of the perks of playing a co-ed sport as a woman is that you are often needed. If you're a man, you're a dime a dozen. I already know a few people that play in the league, so it's nice to feel like a sophomore in the local scene rather than a freshman.

The World Cup came and went. In previous years I had been able to watch all the major games because I babysat for families that recorded and watched a lot of them. This time the only game I actually got to watch live happened when I was on my trip back to the states. Because of the time difference all the games here aired super early, usually on weekdays. The final aired at 5AM on Monday morning. The pubs opened early for all the major games, but my sleep is worth more to me than that. 

One of the joys of re-watching an old TV series like The Wonder Years is that you see lots of cameos by people who are now famous for 20 years worth of other projects. So far my favorite is realizing the gym teacher is Hornberger from 30 Rock, when he was younger and had hair.

There will probably be some upcoming changes at my work, hopefully for the better, since the director will be coming back in about two weeks. She's been away on maternity leave the entire time I've worked there. 

And that's all I've got for now. Ciao.

Quickest Update

We went ice skating on Bondi Beach!

Michael passed the test and has his scooter license!

Our frisbee team won the fun local tournament on Sunday!

We just got 2nd place in trivia tonight and won a $40 tab for next week!

Say "Ahh"

I went to the dentist for the first time in another country today and it exceeded my expectations. I had my teeth cleaned and looked at the whole time by one dentist - not any assistants or students (that may be a first, or at least it hasn't happened in years). He gave me a few specific tips and didn't suggest any expensive follow up work. After insurance the whole visit cost me a little less than $10. 

I also found out today that all this time I could have been getting certified copies of documents for free. I was about to pay to have some done at a nearby Australia Post because I need to send in documentation for an application. The guy there told me there is a justice of the peace at the Paddo RSL Club that will just do it. On the one hand, I feel like I now have privileged insider information and now no longer dread needing to get any future documents certified (which you apparently need to do a lot when you're trying to teach in a foreign country). On the other, this could have saved be SO MUCH MONEY in the last few months it's frustrating to realize. 

'Murica

It was a whirlwind trip back to Virginia. I appreciated being back in the land of convenience, driving on the right side of the road, and finally watching a World Cup game at a reasonable hour, even if the U.S. unfortunately lost. I enjoyed simple pleasures like a potluck with a few friends, taking my younger cousins to the pool on a hot summer afternoon, and visiting a family friend's newborn baby.  On my bike rides on the W&OD trail I saw several deer, red cardinals, and baby bunnies. 

The highlights of the wedding I attended in Richmond include distracting a horse from eating the bride's bouquet by poking it with a parasol, learning the Virginia Reel, and eating too many Dixie Donuts, Pantheon Pops, and BBQ. The rehearsal dinner was on the 4th of July and everyone wore red, white, and blue; I couldn't have come back to attend a more American wedding.

It's good to see that everyone at home is doing well, but not overly well, in our absence. There have been small changes here and there for some friends and family, and a few big life-changing events for others. I suppose that's about right for five months' time. 

Just when I was starting to get used to the time change, I had to confuse my body all over again and come back to Australia. As nice as it was to have a summer break, I'm perfectly content back in Sydney winter weather. This afternoon as I walked to the store in my neighborhood with the weather sunny and in the 60's, I had to scoff when I overheard an elderly woman talking to her neighbor saying that the "cold" winter weather was "dreadful". 

On a completely unrelated note having to deal with punctuation, I've noticed that people in Australia do not use the Oxford comma, and I do. I refuse to stop using because of this reason:

Come on, Aussies, get with the program. 

Anyway, it's good to be back in my home away from home. 

Sweet, Sweet Virginia (and DC)

Being back and seeing so many familiar faces has been wonderful, but I wish Michael could be here to enjoy it too. I'd say it's not fair that I'm getting to spend time with everyone when Michael can't, except I will be in his place when he comes back later in the year. In any case,  It's nice to see that everyone is generally doing well and having their usual fun. I'm soaking up being here and also running errands and buying stuff that I can't in Sydney. 

My sleeping and eating habits are all out of whack, which is surprisingly not causing me to feel too bad (yet).