Wild 'roo sighting: check

On the exciting list:

• Ruthie and I saw our first 'roo a couple days ago.  Technically, it was a wallaroo [or at least I think it was, since it was black], and there were three of them.  Hoppity hop.
• Through Ruthie's charm, and courtesy of a slow day at the Victory dealership, I think I might have a free day-long test drive on a Victory one day soon.
• We've mostly learned the rules to driving on the left, including possibly figuring out Melbourne's stupid go-left-to-turn-right-in-the-middle-of-an-intersection rule [no, not like Jersey, where it actually wraps you around to a light].
• For as much as we lack the sports fanatic gene, we both can admit to actually kinda liking rugby and footy.
• I get to start a new job soon.

On the not-so-exciting list:

• The rental real estate market is f'n competitive.  First off, they only have open houses for 15 minutes at a time, which is weird to me [although I can understand it from the agent's point of view, I guess].  So today, with that 15-minute window, two of the houses we checked out had about a dozen couples crammed in and wandering through.
• The house Ruthie thought she really wanted turned out to be a bit disappointing on the inside.  Still put in an application, but we [or she] will try again Monday.
• It's rather shocking how much of a difference in price there is between the city and the suburbs.  If I wasn't so opposed to commuting, we could have a sweet pad in the 'burbs.
• Apparently, unless you're rich, car shopping is depressing.  Fingers crossed we have some returns on inquiries tomorrow for a private sale.
• I have to go back to work soon.

-EP

Let's look a gift horse in the mouth

So, once upon a time, it was easy to travel outside the borders of the United States because the dollar was strong [at least in most places].  Suddenly, however, Ruthie and I find ourselves worrying just exactly how much we're going to get screwed by the dollar dropping in value.  In the time it took for us to fly across the ocean, the exchange rate dropped the US dollar by about a tenth.  Sure, that's not much, until you apply it to our living quarters allowance, and suddenly you're talking about $300 in difference in allowance per month.

Am I really complaining about this?  Yes, I guess I really am [read: I am totally aware that I could have way worse things to complain about - but I don't, so I'm grateful].  Never before have I been really concerned with what's going on in DC.  Sure, there was talk about a shutdown months ago, and I was a little annoyed.  But now, I'm overseas, in a country that I can't really afford on my own, and there's talk of what the impacts of a default might be and how the Government will pay its non-essential employees [me]. C'mon guys - get it together.  Meanwhile, the Aussies need to stop their inflation. 

In other news, Ruthie and I have now spent two days house hunting and car shopping.  You might think that shopping for these two things in a foreign country might be less tiresome.  You'd be wrong.  I'm exhausted.  And we haven't even bought anything.  We saw two apartments and five neighbourhoods yesterday, and a huge used car lot today, and we haven't even begun to make a final decision.  Well, Ruthie's pretty convinced about the neighbourhood in which we're living, but we'll see if the houses/apartments are available and not total crap.

For the LOST nerds out there, we flew across the ocean on flight 108 [if it had been 815, I might not have gotten on the plane], and we drove into Melbourne on Hume Highway. 

Also, on the way into Melbourne, we got asked if we were Canadian.  We giggled and tried to explain that the difference between Americans and Canadians is the "eh".  I don't think the girl at McDonald's got it. 

Yes, we stopped at a McD's.  It was at a highway service station, and we needed fuel [both food and petrol].  There are also 7-11s on just about every corner in the CBD [I'm actually drinking a Coke Slurpee now], and Subways about every other block in the CBD.  Oh, and Domino's, too.  We've only tried the McD's so far - we'll see how the rest compare to back home eventually.  And for the record, my nuggos were a little over done, but it's not like I never had that problem in the States.

House hunting resumes tomorrow - maybe car and phone shopping, too.

-EP

PS. Ruthie made noises about possibly writing a blog post earlier today.  I'll believe it when I see it ... [fingers crossed]

I can't turn off the AFL game

About 32 hours ago, we left my parents' house for Philadelphia International Airport.  About an hour ago, we checked into our hotel in Sydney. 

For whatever reason, I feel like the shorter of the two flights - Philly to LAX - was the lesser of the two evils.  Don't know if it was the extra commodities of Quantas on the international leg, or if there was more room in the seats [the personalised TV screen was definitely a plus, though], but despite the total length, it wasn't nearly as bad as I was expecting it to be.  Of course, in addition to getting some naps in, I watched "Paul", "The Adjustment Bureau", "Limitless", and "Unknown."  Not a bad stretch of movies to kill some time.

The weirdest part of the whole journey would probably have to be the part where we actually left security at LAX to re-check-in for Quantas. 

The scariest part of the whole journey I would have to break into two categories.  The prize for financially scary [thank goodness for the allowance provided by the Gov't] goes to the $1000 charge to check the additional 5 bags [first 4 were free].  Yup $1000 - but, honestly, I expected more.  Like I said, there goes our $1000 travel allowance.  The prize for actual physical scary goes to driving on the other side of the road.  And I'm not even driving - Ruthie, with her 1 week of driving in England has at least some experience on the left side of the road, so she took the wheel to get us from the airport to the hotel.  Ruthie doesn't think the lanes are narrower, but I beg to differ.  It's definitely going to take some getting used to for turning at intersections. 

I honestly expected to have a "KEVIN!" moment [movie reference, anyone?], where we realized we'd forgotten something huge.  Fortunately, it was only a minor thing, as Ruthie forgot her Kindle.  Sure, she's bummed, but she made up for it by buying a few things at the airport Borders.

I have long been expecting the reality to set in when I was on the plane.  Be it a self-fulfilling prophecy, or not, when the coast of Australia was just barely visible from the plane window [I selfishly took the window seat on both legs of the trip], the moment finally came.  A bubble of excitement just kinda erupted in my chest as I realised how crazy and awesome this all is. 

We've checked into the hotel, and while Ruthie enjoys a relaxing bath, I've found myself a sudden addict to Australian-rules Football [AFL].  I have no bloody clue what's going on, but it's pretty fascinating. 

Oh, and the view from the hotel is of the opera house.  Sweet!

-EP

I feel like I'm missing something

T-20 hours


You know when you're about to go on a trip, and you've got a list of things you need to take, and you've double checked that list, but you still feel like there's something missing?  Something you're forgetting? 

Take that list of things you need to take and multiply it by a year - or by 9700 miles, if you'd prefer - and that's about what I feel like right now.

Guess it's time to adopt the "no worries" attitude, right?

Did I mention T-20 hours?

My turn to be giddy

So yesterday was Ruthie's last day in the office.  Her supervisor told her she was "giddy".  Today, it's my turn.  Never has cleaning been this much fun.  I've archived and deleted all the files on my computer.  I've transferred the two laptops and desktop off my property to someone else's.  My cubicle is empty save two boxes.  And I'm smiling.  I don't think I've ever smiled this much while trapped within these walls. 

Speaking of boxes, Ruthie and I have three that we're taking to the airport.  I've seen the occasional box come down the luggage conveyor belt before - never before did I think I would be one of the people sending a box on an airplane with me.  Also never before did I think I would be one of the people who needed a cart because I've got eight bags' worth of stuff with which I'm travelling.  I wonder how many people at the airport will look at us and judge, thinking that we have five suitcases and three boxes and expect that we're only staying for like two weeks in Sydney.

Back to the subject of my last day, T-30 minutes until the "party" begins.  Technically it begins at 3p, but it doesn't look like anyone is leaving yet.  By party, I mean I'm totally riding the coat tails of my boss's goodbye party.  What's been kind of surreal is to hear people discuss the party, gift, and plaque they're giving me as if I wasn't here.  Sure it's super difficult to actually say anything around my cube without being overheard, which is why I'm pretty sure after a while some people just gave up, but that doesn't make it any less odd for me.  Wait, I lied ... looks like people are getting ready to go.

Aaaannnnd ...... I'm out!

-EP

Butch up

Because Ruthie wears her emotions on her sleeve much more than me [at least around me, she does], she's been preemptive-ly pining over the people and pets we're leaving behind.  To each time she whines about missing Ponyo, or worries about getting terribly homesick, I respond with something along the lines of "Butch up". 

Perhaps it's because I'm finally able to see the results of us moving and/or we are finally down to the wire [complete with all the last-minute insanity that implies], but it is finally time for me to take a dose of my own medicine.

Much to the pleasure of my mother, I'm actually going to miss my parents.  And in all honesty, they're probably at the top of my list.  I will also miss the cats, but not nearly as much as Ruthie will.  And I will definitely miss my friends, but there are three events in particular I'm bummed I will not be able to be around for: one wedding and two births.  Not that I'd actually be there witnessing the kids being born, but it would be nice to visit the newborns. 

To that end, I gave my mom a lesson on Skype last night, and I know at least one father-to-be is all about Skype [they probably both are].  So thank goodness for technology.  But still ...  Skype can only do so much.

Oh, and if you happen to be reading this and want to connect on Skype, make sure to let me know.

One thing I absolutely will not miss: the job I'm leaving behind.

T-3 days until lift off.

-EP

Not "goodbye", just "see you later" ...

Yes, I realize the irony of pining over my motorcycle, when I will see it sooner than I'll see any of my friends.  However, this is Two Fools and a Bike, and it feels like so much went into getting this motorcycle shipped over the past several days.  All the research about requirements and regulations and Ruthie's phone call and today with draining the fluids [much more difficult/involved than I imagined] and then getting it loaded into the crate [my dad took several pictures of that process that I'll share later, too] ... *whew*  I've been told I'll see my motorcycle again in 45 to 60 days.  We'll see if it actually takes that long to make it across the ocean, or if it ends up taking much longer ...

But here we are: Ruthie and I with half of a house.  No bed [air mattress tonight, despite original plans of living with my parents starting tonight], down one dresser and three pieces of living room furniture, and now one completely empty front room.  I don't think I took a picture of the room with everything laid out, but half [maybe more like a third?] of our all the stuff we own was packed neatly into 2.5 crates.  I've never seen professional packers/movers work, and let me tell you, I am totally impressed.  The dude with 20+ years of experience was like a whirlwind of brown paper and tape - Taz without the destruction [hopefully, right?].  One room full of stuff totally packed in 2 hours, and the entire truck loaded with stuff, furniture, and the motorcycle in just over 3 - maybe 3.5 hours tops.  [As an aside, the dude told me his largest job was 35,000 pounds: a 5-bedroom house that took a full week to pack and 35 crates when all was said and done.  And for reference, I estimated 3,000 pounds for our shipment - and was allowed to ship up to 18,000.]

So we'll see how chaotic the next couple days will be.  If it's anything like today felt to me - I will be so exhausted by the time we get on the plane that Ruthie's drug-induced coma will have nothing on me.

-EP

"and a Bike" almost wasn't

As of yesterday afternoon, all but one of my countdowns are at the less-than-one-week mark.

T-14 hours until the movers are supposed to be here.
T-3 days until Ruthie gets to officially claim she's unemployed.
T-4 days until I'm done with work in the US.
T-5.5 days until we're boarding a plane.
T-14 days until I start my new job with the Aussies.

Tonight finds me fretting.  Fretting is not my style.  But tonight, for some reason, here I am, fretting away.  I think I have built up tomorrow as a huge milestone for some reason, so I'm making a bigger deal out of the movers coming than it might actually be.  Tonight Ruthie asked me if I'm fretting about the movers specifically, or the move in general.  I think the answer is both?  However, I also feel like once the movers come and go tomorrow, it'll be mostly smooth sailing until we're outta here.  Sure, there will still be lots to do in order to finish packing our stuff and getting the house ready to rent, but I am less worked up about that for whatever reason.

I think I must have asked Ruthie if we are ready for tomorrow about a dozen times today.  We've made an inventory, I've photographed everything we're having them move [except for the furniture and the motorcycle], and I have my task list of things to do last-minute style before the movers get here [empty one of the dressers, clear off the TV table, drain and clean the motorcycle], but I still feel like something's missing...

In other news, Ruthie has once again worked her magic.  As we were getting closer and closer to the 18th, I was starting to get more and more nervous about not being able to find out exactly what to do with the motorcycle once we got there.  I never changed my pipes; I couldn't find anyone [contacted people who are in-country and theoretically in the know b/c they have done it recently - no response] or anything [nothing clear on website after website] to tell me if I had to register my motorcycle or get it inspected; and Ruthie's research was starting to indicate we might have to pay thousands of dollars if we did have to get in inspected and registered.  At that point, I started to think it might not be worth it just for a "nice-to-have".  Then, late one night last week, she called the Victoria motor vehicles department and worked her voodoo on some Aussie named Greg.  This guy not only managed to help Ruthie in finding out answers by asking his supervisors and the policy department, he apologized for putting Ruthie on hold, and then created a loophole in the system.  Said loophole allows me to get a piece of paper enabling me to drive an unregistered motorcycle for the year I'm there sans inspection and at a fraction of the cost of if we would have had do all the normal vehicular stuff that the Australians do.  *whew*  What a relief.

-EP

Not quite a reality ... yet

Over the weekend, I spent some time thinking about how it doesn't quite feel like we're on the verge of something huge.  It was just a normal weekend as far as I was concerned.  Even when I came home and packed up three more boxes of stuff off the shelves of the living room on Sunday, it still didn't feel like much.  [Ruthie, on the other hand, pointed out that she feels like we're doing more than we should for being gone only one year.] 

But I think that might have changed since Sunday.  Yesterday afternoon, right around 4p, the travel agent emailed me the reservations for the flight and rental car.  I think that might've nicked the bell on the proverbial high striker carnival game when that email came in. 

I am getting closer and closer to officially saying "I am excites!" about this whole thing.


T-6 days until the movers.
T-9 days until I stop working at my current desk/in this country.
T-11 days until lift off.

-EP

Nervous?

I routinely get asked if I'm nervous and/or excited.

Excited - more and more every day, and while some days, it's only a fraction of a percent more excited than the previous day, today is the first day in a long time that my excitement level has jumped significantly.  Nervous - not really. 

I'm still generally frustrated at the whole process and anxious about my new job.  Fortunately, I was able to vent to one of the powers-that-be about my frustration.  And while he couldn't really do anything other than listen, I'm glad I was able to tell someone to whom I have to report during the next year what was on my mind.  To that end, actually, my goal is to prepare a binder of helpful suggestions and lessons learned based off my binder of paperwork that I have and my experience of the whole thing.  My hope is that the next person who's stuc-- I mean honoured with this position won't have to fight the process nearly as much as me.  And the one question that still remains in my mind - if I feel like I'm having so much trouble getting out the door, what about the other seven people who were selected in my group? 

Anyways, the nerves are fine.  All in all, the move will be just fine.  Even if it takes until October to get our stuff for some reason, "it will be a lesson in minimalism", as Ruthie put it the other night.  We'll find a place, we'll find a car, I'll have a job, and best of all it will all be in some place new.  But I was asked recently the very serious question of "What's your biggest fear about this opportunity?"  My response: That I will hate my new job so much it will ruin this experience for me.  True, it's only a year, so if I am suffering, it will only be for just one year.  However, I know what I am like when I detest my job.  So, fingers crossed, it's not going to be that bad.  I kinda sorta know what I'm going to be doing, but no where near enough to anticipate what I will actually be doing.  Sure, I like the challenge of a new task - but I think I fear most the expectations that I might be walking into, and not being able to meet them. 

And while I might mock it at times, I am "representing the United States", so that's kinda like a big "don't screw up, buddy".  Especially if I want this assignment to open doors for me.

Countdowns:
Eight actual days of work [including today].
Eleven days until the movers arrive.
Two weeks from today is my official last day of work at this desk/office.
T-16 days until liftoff.

-EP

What the whaaaat?

Tonight Ruthie pointed out that we do not have a 5-day work week before we leave, and that we have only 9 days of work until we're out of here.

Of course, she's more excited because she phrases it along the lines of "my last nine days of work EVAR".  *eyeroll*

-EP

Nicole Kidman is from Hawaii

An update is long over due.  I meant to write a week or so ago, but perhaps this is better, as this post will [hopefully] be considerably less whiny.

Currently, I think Ruthie and I are T-19 days until we leave the country.  I say "I think" only because I'm waiting for something else to go wrong.  Originally, we were supposed to be T-5 days until we left the country, but I had to ask for an extension.  I had to ask for an extension because [as I think I see it] the request for the piece of information that enabled the various powers that be to pay me while overseas sat on one person's desk for two and a half weeks.  That one line of accounting information filled one box on one piece of paper that held up my entire progress of moving forward.  That paper, my orders, was necessary to hire the movers, pick up our passports, inform Australia I'm preparing to bring a motorcycle into their country, inform Australia that I have the correct security clearances, and allow Ruthie to do various things she needed with her current job and apply for jobs down under [or so she tells me].  Suddenly we were two weeks away from July 9 and I requested my departure date be moved because none of those things had been done.  So I finally got my orders on 6/24 [and then had to get them redone on 6/27 because yet another piece of financial information was missing], and so then I was able to move forward. 

As it stands now, the contract has been put out on the streets to hire movers, so hopefully that will happen soon.  In the mean time, Ruthie found us a tenant: a freshly minted PhD from California who will be working at Edgewood.  All things look good with this tenant, including move-in time frame, so even if the movers don't pick up our stuff until the week after Ruthie and I leave, we won't have to pack everything up and move it all to my parents' just so we have to unpack it for the movers to repack [although that would be perfectly fitting the way things have been going so far]. 

In the mean time, the derby team threw us a good-bye pool party, which was awesome.  And while I thought Ruthie had successfully broken her party curse because there was no Stormageddon '11 when we had the friends and family good-bye party, MWR tried to screw us over by claiming a bunch of bent tent poles.  Without going through the entire story, the short of it is the guy who we dealt with is a total jerk, tears were involved, and Ruthie now has a new credit card, preventing him from charging an unknown amount to her card for alleged damages.  So, maybe she's not over her party-throwing curse just yet ... but closer?

In the vein of random things for preparation, Ruthie has continued to read various things on Australia, and we have watched "Crocodile Dundee 2", "Australia", and "Discovery Atlas: Australia Revealed".  "Crocodile Dundee" is next on the Netflix queue [no clue why Netflix sent them out of order].  We also got our fix for shootin' since there are no guns in Australia.  This weekend we fired quite a few rifles in the Maloney arsenal and who knows how many rounds [what better way to celebrate July 4th?].  Good times.

Happy Independence Day - we won't be here for the next one.

-EP