At The Zoo

   Today was a day just for the family. Anxious to see real live roos and koalas, we visited the Melbourne Zoo. We even met up with the other family on our plane who moved to Melbourne from the States. It was fun to compare notes and complain about the shocking prices. Apparently you can get Dr. Pepper here, if you go to Costco, and it's about $30 for a 24-pack. I thought that was almost reasonable compared to the kids sunglasses I saw at Toys R Us for $23!! In case you're wondering, the US dollar is almost at parity with the Aussie dollar. While at the Gladstone Mall yesterday, we checked out a Target store, but it was just as expensive as everything else here, and a very limited selection. No Cliff Z-bars either, much to the kids dismay. They also charge $0.10 for a bag, so I'm glad a brought a bunch of my Trader Joes bags with me.
   And now, some pics if you're interested. We're really loving the zoom lens on the camera, if you couldn't tell.

Not an Opto EMU, but an emu nonetheless

Fun fact of the day: Their tongues are dark, not pink, so they
don't get sunburned while spending 9-10 hours a day eating

      On the way home, we stopped to find some bike helmets for the girls. We also picked up a sun hat for Aliya. At the same shopping center, we found another interesting difference. They have escalators that are moving walkways, or maybe I should call them moving walkways that are escalators. They came in handy for people using shopping carts and then need to take the cart trolley down to the parking garage in the next level. To the girls, they were a source of great entertainment as they liked walking up the down walkway, treadmill style.
   Okay, I just found out the girls' school can't access YouTube, so I'm going to post a video or two here.

Baby You Can Drive My Car

 Yep, Andy let me drive his (company) car. Fortunately, I had him in the passenger side to help me navigate. Because, as my guidebook says, it takes two people to drive the first few times in Australia. One to actually drive, and one to yell "Hey, you're on the wrong side of the road."  But he mostly just kept telling me I was way too far to the left.  I felt quite proud that I was successfully able to drive him to the train and make it back alone without any damage to the car. Of course, when I went to pick him up later that day, the girls got a good laugh when I climbed into the left (wrong) side of the car, and had to switch.

   And now, if you don't mind, I'll backtrack a bit to cover the past few days. First, I thought you might be interested in seeing the container where most of our worldly goods now reside. 

Loading up the container

    Our last day in California was spent doing last-minute packing, and mostly trying to get out of the way of our renters, who were determined to get in as soon as possible! They were moving in as Andy (actually Roger) was cleaning out the fridge! We managed to get it all boxed up though, and enjoyed an impromptu farewell party on our driveway. Thankfully our good friends were there. See that red truck in the background? Roger and his truck saved the day (again!) by taking us to the airport when our scheduled shuttle service (say that ten times fast!) showed up and proved to be severely inadequate. The poor driver actually loaded a box or two in the back of his normal-sized shuttle, but he wasn't fooling anyone. We sent him away and loaded up Roger's truck instead. Then it was time for lots of hugs and lots of tears. The girls and I cried quite a bit up the 405, but the A-team was on its way.

Friends together

Do you think I brought too many shoes?

   Traffic was light, and we made it to LAX. The 14.5 hour flight was actually over 16 hours, because the Homeland Security computer system went down, and they had to process passports by hand. So the plane waited almost two hours for about 30 people.  Fun fun. Thanks to the in-seat entertainment and the girls iPod Touches, we survived the flight. And that ordeal was nothing compared to getting the aforementioned bags and boxes (which came to 18 actually, when you counted our carry-ons) through customs! Unlike LAX, they didn't have large carts, so we had 5 of the baggage trolleys. Customs was kind enough to X-ray our bags instead of opening each one. We actually packed extra rolls of tape though, just in case they did. They even helped us wheel the carts out to the curb. The Customs Agent refused Andy's tip, and instead gave us one: "Get out of the habit of tipping while in Australia." It is a hard habit to break though. We actually asked a waitress about it, because it feels so wrong not to tip.

Hanging out in the baggage claim area on one of our 5 carts

   Andy drafted his co-worker Mike to pick us up, and thankfully the rain wasn't too bad so our bags piled into the back of the pickup truck didn't get too wet. We headed out to our temporary townhouse accomodations. They're a bit of a dump, but have a full kitchen and two bedrooms, and will work just fine. 

  The first few days have been productive. A bit boring for the girls, as we drive around from place to place getting situated and taking care of errands. The first day we drove to one of the neighborhoods we were most interested in, and on the way back, we saw a rainbow. A good omen I think! We are managing to fit in some fun things for the girls. Twice we went swimming at Mike's apartment building, and today I took the girls to a huge swimming complex complete with a wave pool. Earlier in the week, while Andy worked, I took the girls to the Melbourne Aquarium, where the highlights were penguins and hammerhead sharks.

Melbourne Aquarium

   So, all in all, we're hanging in there. We're getting used to the strange foods, the language--the girls even corrected us when we said there was a line (it's a queue, of course.) Today the girls Skyped their classroom, which was a huge treat! They had a whole presentation prepared, showing off props such as the box of Rice Bubbles (think Rice Krispies), coins and bills, and a list of different Aussie words. Then there was a Q&A session, where mostly the kids wanted to know how many kangaroos and koalas we've seen. Answer: none yet! They were also quite jealous because it was Saturday here and only Friday there. All in all, it was really fun for the kids to see their classmates, and I'm so thankful to their teachers for coordinating it. 
   One more thing. The big news here is, of course, the flooding. It's mostly in Queensland, far north from us, but the state of Victoria, where Melbourne is, has seen some mild flooding. It's a huge disaster, and country will be feeling the effects for quite some time. Although it's rained every day since we arrived, thankfully we haven't seen flooding. Our thoughts and prayers go out to those affected by the devastating floods.
   

All Our Bags Are Packed, We're Ready to Go

   All packed up. Won't even tell you how many boxes and suitcases we're taking, since the container might not arrive for 2 months.
  Good news is we have rented our house. They've already repainted it and want to move in today! In the weird coincidences department, her name is Alexa, she went to the same college as I did, her daughter is named Alanna, and her mom lived near my mom. Weird.
  We also were accepted for a rental house in Melbourne, in our second choice school district. Of course, Andy found one last night that looks suitable in our first choice district, but we'll wait till we get there to do anything more.
  The shuttle comes in a few hours, then off to LAX and a 15 hour flight to Melbourne. Another family I met online is also relocating and will be on the same flight with their two daughters! Another weird coincidence.
  Anyway, the kids finished up swimming, off to last lunch at Haus of Pizza. So much more I wanted to share about the last week, but I'll have to do that down under. It's been a stressful week or two, but so thankful for all the friends and family that helped us. Love you all!

Here Comes the Sun

   After many days of non-stop rain (not quite the famous 40 days and nights, but a lot of rain in a row for Southern California), we finally got some sunshine. So we were able to participate in one of our favorite traditions: Christmas Eve day brunch at the beach!

The friends

The family

The free dolphin show!

   In addition to seeing a pod of dolphins playing offshore, we also saw a Santa parade: an endless stream of guys dressed up as Santa riding driving down PCH on Harleys.

   After playing at the beach for a few hours, we headed home for showers, church, and some presents! A lovely evening, made extra special with the presence of three grandparents. Didn't want to leave Nana out, so we had a virtual visit thanks to Skype. Since our next Christmas will most likely be in Australia, we are cherishing these holidays together with family.
   Merry Christmas everyone. We're looking forward to an incredible adventure in 2011. We leave two weeks from today!

Hello, Goodbye

  Too many goodbyes on my last day at work, after 15 years. It was really hard to be leaving such great people, such a great company. Those of you that work there, know what I mean.   It was a busy, difficult day, packing up and saying farewells. We had a nice lunch in Temecula Old Town--had to get my Mexican food fix (Rosas!) while I can. Melbourne is known for great food, unless it's Mexican you want. My coworkers gave me cards, flowers, gifts, all very thoughtful. I did pack up my Opto hardware to take with me. I plan (hope?) to do some consulting for Opto while I'm gone, and if I'm lucky, I might be able to come back someday.

   Another thing I had to do was take a picture with Ben. In the small world category of life, he's a true blue Aussie. He worked with Opto products for 18 years about an hour outside of Melbourne. He came to Opto 2.5 years ago, and we became great friends as we worked together on training and other marketing projects. It's quite ironic that now I'm moving to Australia. (The joke is that Australia called and wanted Ben back. Opto's sending me instead. Sort of a hostage exchange program!) Anyway, some of you have told me how much you enjoy reading his comments on this blog, especially the parts while we were in Australia. So, thought I'd share this pic of the two of us.

My Aussie mate Ben

  On the flip side, there have been some nice "Hellos." Andy arrived back home from Australia on Saturday, after a weeklong trip. In addition to endless work that week, including a trip to Adelaide, he set aside one day to view houses with a relocation consultant. It was rather discouraging to see what $800/week (or more!) gets you in the areas we are looking at. Out of the 10 he saw, only one was an option. In a great school district, but had a few flaws, the biggest being the owners would be returning in 2 years, so we'd have to move. We found a great house walking distance to another top school, but he wasn't able to view it. It just went on the market, so the tenants aren't yet allowing inspections, and you're not allowed to apply unless you view it. We're going to see if Andy's coworker can inspect it for us, and maybe even apply for us as well. If not, we'll be busy househunting when we land.

  Another nice "Hello": My parents arrived Monday. Despite the crappy weather (nonstop rain, for the 6th day in a row--whatever happened to "It never rains in Southern California?"), they are glad to be here, and the feeling is mutual.

  Well, it's 5:30 am Tuesday morning. If it were a "normal" Tuesday morning, I'd be driving to Temecula right about now. I feel quite at a loss not having a job for the first time since, well, since college I guess. But, enough blogging, gotta get packing!

She came in through the bathroom window

  She didn't really, since only one of our three bathrooms even has a window. But the good news is our bathroom remodel is complete. New tile in all three, complete overhauls in the other two. Too bad we didn't do it sooner, so we could have enjoyed it more. We'll be coming back though, despite what some might say/think.
  The house is officially up for lease. The sign in the front yard says so, and it's been listed in the MLS. Despite frantic cleaning before going to Adventure City though, no one has come by to see it, other than the two families we found through word of mouth. Still have three weeks though.
  Andy's in Australia now. As we speak, he's finishing up a day of touring properties with our relocation agent. A few possibilities, but it's a daunting task finding a nice house with a reasonable rent in a specific and tiny geographical area (near one of three good schools that we liked.)
  Busy week ahead--is there any other kind? Nutcracker Ballet, choir performance, SSJ recital. Oh, and my last day of work will be Thursday. Going to be a very sad day, leaving behind a job I love, people I really care about and enjoy working with. I'm hopeful that I can still do some work for Opto from home, and I'm also hopeful I can return once we come back. Only time will tell, but I have to think positive.
  When Andy and I discussed this move, my three biggest concerns were, in order:
1. Being far from family and friends
2. Having to give up my job,
3. The financial implications (loss of my income, cost of living in Australia, etc.)
  The first concern is obvious, and we'll do the best we can to alleviate the pain of separation. Things like Skype, and buying airplane tickets for the grandparents, and coming back every year will help with the first issue. The second was a huge deal to me for so many reasons, most of which are very personal to me and most likely of no interest to you, so I'll spare you that. If I am able to do some consulting at least, or gain other Opto experience, that will help take care the second issue. We'll let you know how #3 works out once we get our feet on the ground.
 

Eight Days a Week

  Seems like we've been trying to fit eight days into every week. I think that will be the norm for quite a while. We should be preparing for this move, but who has time? We're trying to savor every moment with friends, every holiday activity, every fun event possible. So we've been busy to say the least.
  First up was the annual Gingerbread House decorating event, thanks to the wonderful McCormicks for inviting us. The kids get access to a well-built, ready to decorate house and unlimited candy, and the grownups get access to unlimited wine, what could be better?


Christmas card family photo?

Masterpiece in progress

  Next up, a party with my Bunco group.  Another bittersweet moment. We've been playing together for 7 (?) years now, and been through so much together: births of children, deaths of parents, illnesses, but through it all, we've had a lot of laughs..and yes, a lot of wine. Thanks Cathy for hosting the lovely party, and Allison is really sorry she caught your table on fire while doing sambuca shots. Thankfully Allison will never read this, but those who were there know it's true!

Let the good times roll

  This was a weekend of the SunShine Generation, a singing group the girls participate in, along with some of their friends. They did performances at a senior center, a tree-lighting ceremony, and at a historical society event. Afterwards, they met with Santa. What did they ask for? What every 6 and 8 year old wants: a laptop so they can Skype their friends from Australia, of course!

The girls and Santa

  On Monday, since I had nothing else going on, I flew to Vegas then Albuquerque. On Tuesday I wore my "OptoChick" hat and presented to some longtime customers. Note to self, no jokes about men driving when you're outnumbered 50 to 1. Thankfully, I knew a lot of the guys from training, and they had a good sense of humor. And although I wasn't thrilled about the trip when I was pulling an all-nighter to prepare the presentation, I really enjoyed showing off the latest Opto stuff, and from what the sales guy said, it was successful in staving off the dreaded AB competition.
 gotta go, more to post, but another day..things are moving along though.