2012 in Oz - A calendar year down under

Wow, it’s been far too long.  As always, I’ve been meaning to update this several times since I last did, but I had been writing entries up during down times at work [it sounds lame, but I prefer composing at a proper keyboard as opposed to my laptop] and I’ve actually been fairly busy. 

Now I’m at work in the quiet period between New Year’s and when people actually get back from their holidays.  So let’s see if I can’t crank out a few things worth posting.

I suppose the easiest thing to do at this point is try to some sort of 2012 recollection post.  The problem with this is I have a crappy memory.  And I’d look through my photos on FB, except, oh wait, I’m six months behind on them, too.

Instead, let’s start with something more acute: Christmas.  I know this is our second Christmas down under, and I can’t entirely recollect my thoughts on how Christmas felt last year … but I really had a hard time getting my head around the fact that it was Christmas this year.  Sure, Ruthie put up a decorative tinsel tree, and we exchanged a few presents [pressies], but I still struggled. 

Contrary to last year, though, I did run next to the beach on Christmas morning.  This year we spent the 24^th-27^th at Apollo Bay with some friend at a quartet of villas [we only stayed in one villa, of course] called Chocolate Gannets.  If nothing else, it was pretty breath taking.  The main room overlooked the beach and the ocean, a mere 100m away.  Even though it was a bit chilly most of the time we were there, it was still worth it to have the windows open, listening to the water. 

Christmas also brought a new board game, Ticket to Ride, into our lives courtesy of Ruthie.  It got played a handful of times while we were there, and is a big success. 

Also, thanks to the restrictions being lifted on lithium ion batteries being shipped in the mail, Ruthie got me a Kindle.  I’ve already read one short story on it, Mile 81, but then received some Halo books in the mail, so I’ve moved back to proper paper for the time being.

Anyways, continuing with the warm holiday weather, Ruthie and I went for a day-long ride out to Hepburn Springs on the motorcycle.  We broke it up well, so it wasn’t an all-at-once ride, starting with a stop off in Hoppers Crossing for some brunch and stretch of the legs.  But it was really quite an enjoyable ride [despite some really crappy road conditions – you notice that there are some roads in serious states of disrepair when you’re in the car … but it’s rather amplified when you’re on two wheels], and so I hope we can get a few more good rides in this summer.

NYE displayed yet another fantastic showing of fireworks across the city skyline.  These Aussies really do love their fireworks.  They show footage of the Sydney fireworks, and the do them over the harbour, including some launched from/on the bridge.  Melbourne uses the skyline, launching synchronised fireworks from rooftops.  It’s pretty cool.  I think I read somewhere that it was close to $2M for the fireworks this NYE.

And just like last year, we’re in the middle of a heatwave and its 40 degrees today.  Yay, heat!  Truly, it’s almost a year to the date that we hit 40 – I think it was the 2^nd last year instead of the 4^th. 

Ruthie and I have decided we’ve gone to the other end of the spectrum as far as understanding accents is concerned.  I feel like I’ve been there for a while, but Ruthie only recently has reached this conclusion: instead of having difficulty understanding the accent [although at times, it’s still a bit rough], it’s actually more difficult noticing the differences between American and Aussie accents.  It seems a bit silly when I put it in text, but I reckon our brains have just blended them all together, and so it actually takes a moment to process that we’re hearing a fellow American.  Meanwhile, while I’ve still got no hope in identifying a Queenslander vs a Victorian, I feel like I’ve made progress distinguishing a Kiwi from an Aussie based on their intonations.  Perhaps this is because I’ve now grown accustomed to the Aussie patterns so much that other accents actually sound foreign. 

Because derby continues to be a major part of our lives, it’s worth noting that I’ve continued my role as Head Coach of WestSide Derby Dollz.  And, we had our deb’ut [get it, debut bout] the day after my birthday.  And we won!  I don't have much more to offer other than it's been a great, yet sometimes stressful experience.  When we went back in October, I actually had a minute or two where I actually missed them.  

And on that note I'm out of things to say.  Generally, I think it's pretty awesome that we can say we spent a full calendar year in a different country [if you don't count October, that is].

-EP