Happy Holidays!

Hi everyone - Happy Holiday season! Hope this finds everyone very well, and enjoying all that snow we hear has been covering massive portions of the US. Even the Oregon coast and Portland - hooray for snow in Portland! Just a few pictures to share from Thanksgiving, a recent camp trip here in Victoria, and our tropical-style (and free from the park across the street) Christmas tree.

Life in Melbourne is good. We continue to have spring showers and coolish temps, and you can just tell that everyone is ready for summer to hit full blast. People are tired of their BBQs being rained out. Andy and I leave this Saturday for our 7-day Christmas trip to Adelaide and Kangaroo Island. Kangaroo Island is reportedly one of the best locations in Australia for viewing wildlife in its natural habitat, so we're looking forward to celebrating Christmas with each other and some kangaroos, koalas, emus, echidnas, sea lions, seals, & fairy penguins. We return to Melbourne on Dec. 27th, just in time for my brother Steve, his wife Michelle, and my niece Cami to land in Melbourne on Dec. 28th! They will be here visiting until Jan. 11th, so we will certainly be busy and loving having family back in town. New Year's Eve will find us in Sydney, so if you're watching the fireworks on TV, be sure to keep a keen eye out for us - we'll be waving from one of the many boats floating around Sydney Harbour.

Now that it is mid-December, our time in Australia seems to be diminishing rather quickly. November was fairly quiet for us, and, for me, the month really seemed to drag along, which kept making our departure in May sure seem a long way off. And missing out on Thanksgiving was tough for me this year. It was an interesting difference - last year it was pretty fun just seeing if we could find all of the proper ingredients for eating a Thanksgiving feast; this year there was no challenge to it, so it didn't seem that fun at all. I was sure crabby on that Friday over here/Thanksgiving US time. Really crabby. My crabbiness was cured, however, when we enjoyed a family Thanksgiving feast with our friend, David, and his 2 children that Saturday. David has lived in Australia for around 10 years, but is originally from Onawa, IA, which is about 30 miles from Sioux City, where I grew up. He also graduated from South Dakota State University, which is where Andy and I both went to college. He and Andy tracked each other down on Facebook as SDSU alumnus. So, what fun we had sitting here in Melbourne, chatting about all of these familiar regions from our lives. I had thought it might be kinda awkward to spend the day at his home, not knowing him very well at all, but it ended up feeling very peaceful, and 'homey' and comforting. And it certainly didn't hurt that he had gone to the USA Foods Store over here and purchased cans of Libby's Pumpkin and baked multiple pumpkin pies - what a treat!!! Words simply cannot describe how awesome those pies tasted!
I also owe a thank you to my good friend Jon Daby. While in my crabby funk on Thanksgiving, I was complaining to him about not being home for the holiday, and said something along the lines of, "May just can't get here quick enough." He immediately told me some advice that he had gotten from his parents: simply, Don't Wish Time Away. And when he first said it, I was kinda defensive and thought, "I'm not wishing time away." But as those words sat with me for the next few hours, I finally came to the conclusion that I actually was kinda wishing time away, which was really quite a horrible conclusion for me to admit to myself. I find at times that I am so ready to return home that I neglect a lot of the amazing things and people right here in front of me. So, again, my thanks to my good friend, Jon, for his powerful advice. I really needed to hear it.

May we all revel in all that we are blessed with this Holiday season.

Love, Christy

President-elect Obama, Melbourne Cup, & Becoming Gypsies?

Hi everyone. Hope you are all well.
One week later, and I am now more able to put into words what it was like watching from Australia as Obama became the US President-elect. I believe Andy and I were like many other Obama supporters in that we were hesitant to talk too much about his chances of winning leading up to the election, feeling so strongly that any other option was going to be such a poor direction for the United States, but remaining unconvinced that he would actually capture the support he needed. I very much respected McCain's concession speech. And then to watch Obama's speech was just stunning - Andy and I were amazed as we watched this historic event unfold, and then it suddenly hit us that we were really missing out on possibly one of the biggest events that will take place in our lives, in our home country, and we were on the other side of the world, watching from afar. At the time, this realization made me quite sad. Throughout the past week, however, I've come to believe that I would never have felt such a strong connection with this event had I been living my 'regular' life in Portland. Like so many other things throughout our time here, I believe it took being away to lead me to appreciate this on a scale that didn't even exist in my heart or consciousness before leaving the US. I hope for wisdom, safety, patience, and peace for Barack Obama & his family, and for all citizens of the world, as we continue to move forward in all of our lives.

Well, I think that is enough of being super-serious for today! Glad to have that off my chest! So, I couldn't really write too much about Obama's victory last Wednesday because, as we all know, Wednesday follows Tuesday, and Tuesday here in Melbourne last week was dedicated to Melbourne Cup, also known as, "The Race That Stops A Nation!" To give you a hint of the scale of how grand this event is: Melbourne Cup Day is a State Holiday here in Victoria. Last year at this time, Andy and I were slightly intimidated by this event - the horses, the fashion, the champagne, the hats... But not this year - this year we rocked it! We were lucky to attend the festivities with our yankee friends Spencer & Hillary, and we made quite a few new friends throughout the day as the sun continued to shine, the horses continued to run, and the champagne and chardonnay continued to flow. I had so much fun that the running joke at our house this week goes something like this: "Christy had so much fun that she danced almost the whole way home!" We didn't win big, but we had a fantastic time ticking another classic Melbourne activity off of our list of 'Things to Do.'

Speaking of which, our list of Melbourne 'Things to Do' seems to be dwindling. It seems that now that our departure date of May 7, 2009, is set, we both continue to grow anxious to get going and feel slightly bored with living out our last couple of months here in Melbourne. Which leads me back to the title of this blog entry and the question of becoming gypsies. A surprisingly larger than anticipated Australian Tax return (let's hope I did it online correctly!), combined with the previously mentioned 'slightly bored' feelings, and new feelings of, "Hey, let's not pay rent our last 2 months here and spend it somewhere else," have all helped in resurrecting our ideas of spending our last couple of months abroad traveling full-time. Our current dreams include Thailand, Bhutan, and driving a huge chunk of the west coast of Australia. So, we'll keep you posted. This decision was agreed upon at about 2:30am last Friday night following our Obama Victory Party - probably not the best time to make dodgy life decisions, but there's already a stack of Lonely Planet books on the mantle, so we'll see where we end up in March & April. As always, the invitation for anyone to join us in our worldwide travel adventures is there.

Enjoy the pictures of Melbourne Cup day - Cheers!



Love, Christy

President-elect Barack Obama

Words cannot describe what it has been like for us today to watch the results of the US Presidential Election unfold from afar. I have never been more proud to be an American citizen. Cheers to our amazing country!

Christy

My (almost) 15 minutes of fame on RocKwiz!

Hi boys and girls,
Christy and I went with our friends Huw and Amber to a taping of the show RocKwiz last night, and it was about the funnest thing I've ever done (and I have a lot of fun). For those not familiar with the show, RocKwiz "is a music trivia quiz show that will rock your socks off. It's an entertaining mix of music, quiz, chat, musical guests and contestants drawn from the live audience, who play off for nothing more than the honour of winning!"

RocKwiz is easily my favorite Aussie tv show, and I've hoped to join the live audience ever since I learned it is taped here in our fair city. It's shot at a place called the Esplanade Hotel in St. Kilda, the nice beach suburb. The 'Esky' as its known is a historic venue, having opened in 1878. It was a small miracle we even got tickets; although they don't cost anything, they are definitely in high demand, so when I got the e-mail about getting tickets, I crossed my fingers and sent in my request. Much to my surprise, not only did I get tickets but I scored us seats at one of only 12 tables (all the other poor suckers are standing room only, and it was super packed and about 100 degrees, so we were ultra grateful to have been so lucky). And there's one other huge benefit to having a table seat: a shot to be one of the contestants.

Being rather scruffy these day, I was told that I looked like our table's best chance to pass the first preliminary round of questions. Suddenly, before I know it, I find myself on stage (unfortunately we didn't have our real camera, only our phones - I'm on the right, just to the left of camera base)!

Well, as you probably guess by the title of this post, I didn't make the cut, but man, it was still a riot - buzzing in, answer questions, the works! Ironically, the answer to the first question I nailed was Lionel Richie, and Christy was absolutely kicking herself that she wasn't wearing her new 'all night long' Lionel t-shirt! I think I got one or two more right and definitely a few wrong. I'm almost scared at thinking how much ribbing I would have gotten as a yankee on this show (after one of my answers the host made a comment about my 'interesting accent').

Anyways, it was a really great night - below are some more pics, a video shot by us from the crowd, a link to an episode of the actual show (the one taped last night won't be on for a few weeks). At the very least, make sure and watch the first 5 minutes or so - it rocks!

Cheers,
Sweany

Having a bite and some beers with our mates our front before the show

Christy is definitely ready to rock with her 'RocKwiz groupie' shades





Watch an episode of RocKwiz online - special guests this week are country music sensation Catherine Britt and soul music legend Max Merritt. : http://player.sbs.com.au/programs#/programs_08/fullepisodes/latestepisodes/playlist/Rockwiz-Ep-71-Max-Merritt-and-Catherine-Britt-Full-Ep/"

October 2008 New Zealand Pictures

Hi all. Here are some pictures from our recent New Zealand adventure - Enjoy!




We had the opportunity to do an amazing glow worm cave tour & river tubing trip while we were there as well - here's the link to look at some of those photos if you're interested: http://www.caverafting.com/showset.asp?folder=2008-10-20_UR_Afternoon

Cheers!

New Zealand and Moving Back to Portland (via Honolulu!)

Hi everybody~
Hoping this finds you all well and surviving the continued US Presidential Race & Wall Street drama. It continues to be interesting for us to watch these topics unfold from a somewhat outsider perspective. What an incredible impact the US economy has upon the world. I had honestly never really considered this idea before living here and watching the news, day by day, as they just wait to see what will happen dependent upon the US market. The Aussie dollar has dropped by about 20cents against the US dollar in the past 2 weeks, so we figure we may as well spend most of our earnings while we're here, which is always pretty easily accomplished for us. And we mailed our US Absentee Ballots off to the states early last week, so our votes are in.

So, we've got 3 big news events to report upon. First, as you can see from the picture, Andy received his Four-n-Twenty Magic Salad Plate! What a treasured Australian souvenir this will be for us to own.
Second, Andy also received a job offer from a company in Wellington, New Zealand. Which, after quite a bit of debate, detail examination, soul searching, and a few tears (me, of course) we decided to pass on.
Which leads to our third big news topic, barely even 60 minutes old - we have purchased a portion of our return flights for moving back to Portland! We will be leaving Melbourne for good on Thursday, May 7th, and making our way back via a stop-over in Honolulu. We plan to stay in Honolulu for possibly 4 or 5 days before flying direct from Honolulu to Portland, so we will be back in Portland by mid-May 2009! Crazy! If anyone would like to plan on spending a few days in Honolulu with us, just let us know!

Everything else here is good. Spring weather comes and goes by the day. Spring horse racing is a hot topic again, and we've been getting ourselves organized to attend the big Melbourne Cup day on November 4th this year. Well, I've been getting organized - Andy mostly just has to put on his suit and get on the train. I've had the pleasure of attempting to create an entire ensemble (dress, shoes, hat, purse, accessories) on a reasonable budget, which is a challenge in trendy Melbourne. We'll let you know how it turns out. We leave tomorrow morning for an 8-day holiday on the southern island of New Zealand, which we are really excited about. So the next blog will certainly be filled with tons of cool NZ pictures, no doubt.

Fun wishes to our Portland peeps as everyone celebrates Steve & Marnie's Portland Wedding Reception this weekend! You all know how much we wish we could be there to join in the festivities, but we will certainly be there in spirit and I'm sure "Cheers!ing" you from New Zealand. And we'll be seeing most of you via webcam for the annual T*%s-n-Stache party the following weekend I hear :)

Australian Quote for the day:
We're a nation of punters and party-goers.
-Paul Hogan

Cheers!

Love, Christy

Footy Quote for the Day

"Indeed, Melbourne football has taken on something of the character of a primitive religion." -Ian Turner

Today in Melbourne is similar to Super Bowl Sunday in the US, as the Footy Grand Final match is today. We're headed to a local pub to watch the game from their rooftop party, just down the street from where the game will take place at the MCG.

Cheers!

Christy

The Red Centre

Hi folks,
Well, I created the web album of pictures below, so I guess its time to create a new blog post to go with it. After a mere 4 days of recovery time in Melbourne after our whirlwind trip to the US it was off again, this time for a week in the 'Red Centre', aka central Australia. Our trip began with a 2.5 hour flight from Melbourne to Alice Springs on tickets that only cost $40 a piece roundtrip - a super deal that we snagged when Tiger Airlines first began offering flights in Australia. We were only in Alice Springs long enough to get our rental car, a bite to eat, and camping supplies for a week, then it was off into the desert....

The first night we headed out east of town to an area called Trephina Gorge, and the thing that was most immediately obvious was how quiet it was. We stopped about 15 miles out of town to see our first rock formation/canyon and it seemed like we were already 500 miles from civilization. Imagine one town of about 26,000 people in the geographical center of a country the size of the US that is over 900 miles from any other town and you'll have a sense of how isolated it is. Anyways, the camping at Trephina Gorge was nice and quiet with warm weather and clear starry skies.

Camping on night #2 of our trip was basically the complete opposite, at least the 'nice and quiet' part. The 'towns' in the Red Centre are nothing more than cattle stations with a few hotel rooms, a pub, a convience store, and a campground. In the campround of one such place, known as Curtin Springs, we were greeted by a large group of very rowdy workers from Ayers Rock and eventually one of them (who, by the way, had very few teeth) came over to introduce himself and invite us over to his campsite. Never being ones to pass up on meeting some locals, we spent some quality time around their campfire and thoroughly enjoyed the ensuing shenanigans, which included attempted emu riding, mud wrestling, and various forms of nakedness.

From there we headed to the more refined Ayers Rock Resort (which is actually a small township comprised of 5 hotels, a campground, store, etc.) to meet up with Christy's aunt and uncle, Linda and Dennis. It was really great to be with loved ones at such a truly Australian icon like Ayers Rock. The next day we hiked a lap around the entire base (about 5 miles) and unfortunately I forgot my camera, but pictures can't really do it justice anyways - it's simply incredible. The other highlight was our Sounds of Silence dinner, where we sipped champagne, listened to didgeridoo while watching the sunset, had a fantastic dinner of kangaroo, croc, etc. and learned how to spot the various constellations and landmarks of the Southern Hemisphere sky. Oh, that and seeing wild camels (yes, there are wild camels in Australia - I told you it was weird down here).

We then bid farewell to Dennis and Linda (we would see them again in Melbourne in a few days) and headed off to Kings Canyon and eventually the West MacDonnell Ranges. The highlight of the West Macs was definitely the Ormiston Gorge hike and probably the friendliest vibe in a campground I've ever experienced. All told we put just under 1200 miles on our rental car in one week, so we definitely got to fully experience the solitude of the outback.

Once back in Melbourne, we got to play tour guide as Dennis and Linda were in town for just over a week. Now things are somewhat back to normal (at least as normal as things get here) and we are back enjoying city life as we head into summer :)

Cheers,
Andy

Year #2 Begins

Hi all! Well, well, well...we survived our 2 week trip back to the US, although there were certainly a couple of mornings where I wasn't sure we would. Overall, it was fantastic, exhausting, tearful, & joyous all mixed together. We secured "Campers of the Season" at Panther Creek Campground our first weekend back, all 30+ of us! We celebrated various birthdays and an anniversary, highlighted by Dr. Daby's toast to his wife and their lives together, a new Chicago Bears jacket for Andy, and Riley discovering a chocolate cake all for him. We spent time with family & friends, both in the Portland area and in Minneapolis & Duluth. We were honored to witness and celebrate the marriage of our friends Steve & Marnie (ah, finally The Faust's). We relaxed on our favorite front porch in Portland, drove Andy's truck, filed our US taxes, checked up on our house, and loaded up on some necessary US food items to bring back with us (Twizzlers, Bisquick, Fruity Pebbles, Mac-n-Chz, Rice-a-Roni, etc). And then we bowled on our last night in town. My heart is still a little tender from leaving, but it does feel good to be back in Melbourne and in Australia in general. What a difference this arrival was to last year's arrival!

We are lucky to be headed off on another Aussie adventure this Thursday - we fly to Alice Springs for a week of exploring central Australia (aka: The Red Centre), and we are even luckier to be meeting up with my Uncle Dennis & Aunt Linda, who arrive tomorrow for a 2 1/2 week Australian vacation.

Thanks to everyone for the many efforts in spending time together while we were home. It was so great to see so many loved ones.

All our love,

Christy & Andy

Heading back to Melbourne today

Well, it is with many amazing memories, but a very sad heart that I (we) head back to Melbourne today. More soon.

Cheers to everyone that hosted us and made our visit back in the US fantastic!

Love, Christy

So Close, Yet So Far

I just had a tiny cry as a result of reading a few emails about coming home. Here were some of my favorite lines:

Are you here for a full 2 weeks, can you make it 3?

OH MY GOODNESS I'M SO EXCITED!!! We have to go get pedi's too, and yummy drinks at Mint.

I just bought 3 lbs of short-ribs, a couple pork tenderloins, and a flank steak so we can give the Sweany's a proper Gartner's welcome when they arrive on Thursday. That's right, we'll be having a BBQ to welcome them home (and to tie them up in my basement so they can't leave again).

YIPPPEEEE, so close now.

Have a super trip, and welcome home!

I couldn't be more thrilled to be headed home - it seems very unreal that we've been gone almost a full year already, and it seems equally unreal that our travels to come home for a visit are upon us. Words cannot express how excited I am to see and hug everyone. You are all forewarned that massive crying (possibly to the point of heaving/hyperventilation) will probably be happening.

Andy and I kept talking about writing a blog that included a reflection on our move so far, but for as much as we talked about it, nothing was ever written. In its place, I've decided to write out the story, Oh, the Places You'll Go! by Dr. Seuss:




Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You're off to Great Places!
You're off and away!

You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go.

You'll look up and down streets. Look 'em over with care.
About some you will say, "I don't choose to go there."
With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet,
you're too smart to go down any not-so-good street.

And you may not find any
you'll want to do down.
In that case, of course,
you'll head straight out of town.

It's opener there
in the wide open air.

Out there things can happen
and frequently do
to people as brainy and footsy as you.

And when things start to happen,
don't worry. Don't stew.
Just go right along
You'll start happening too.

OH!
THE PLACES YOU'LL GO!

You'll be on your way up!
You'll be seeing great sights!
You'll join the high fliers
who soar to high heights.

You won't lag behind, because you'll have the speed.
You'll pass the whole gang and you'll soon take the lead.
Whatever you fly, you'll be best of the best.
Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.

Except when you don't.
Because, sometimes, you won't.

I'm sorry to say so
but, sadly, it's true
that Bang-ups
and Hang-ups
can happen to you.
You can get all hung up
in a prickle-ly perch.
And your gang will fly on.
You'll be left in the Lurch.

You'll come down from the Lurch
with an unpleasant bump.
And the chances are, then,
that you'll be in a Slump.

And when you're in a Slump,
you're not in for much fun.
Un-slumping yourself
is not easily done.

You will come to a place where the streets are not marked.
Some windows are lighted. But mostly they're darked.
A place you could sprain both your elbow and chin!
Do you dare to stay out? Do you dare to go in?
How much can you lose? How much can you win?

And IF you go in, should you turn left or right...
or right-and-three-quarters? Or, maybe, not quite?
Or go around back and sneak in from behind?
Simple it's not, I'm afraid you will find,
for a mind-maker-upper to make up his mind.

You can get so confused
that you'll start in to race
down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace
and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space,
headed, I fear, toward a most useless place. The Waiting Place...

...for people just waiting.
Waiting for a train to go
or a bus to come, or a plane to go
or the mail to come, or the rain to go
or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow
or waiting around for a Yes or No
or waiting for their hair to grow.
Everyone is just waiting.

Waiting for the fish to bite
or waiting for wind to fly a kite
or waiting around for Friday night
or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake
or a pot to boil, or a Better Break
or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants
or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.
Everyone is just waiting.

NO!
That's not for you!

Somehow you'll excape
all that waiting and staying.
You'll find the bright places
where Boom Bands are playing.

With banner flip-flapping,
once more you'll ride high!
Ready for anything under the sky.
Ready because you're that kind of a guy!

Oh, the places you'll go! There is fun to be done!
There are points to be scored. There are games to be won.
And the magical things you can do with that ball
will make you the winning-est winner of all.
Fame! You'll be famous as famous can be,
with the whole wide world watching you win on TV.

Except when they don't.
Because, sometimes, they won't.

I'm afraid that some times
you'll play lonely games too.
Games you can't win
'cause you'll play against you.

All Alone!
Whether you like it or not,
Alone will be something
you'll be quite a lot.

And when you're alone, there's a very good chance
you'll meet things that scare you right out of your pants.
There are some, down the road between hither and yon,
that can scare you so much you won't want to go on.

But on you will go
though the weather be foul.
On you will go
though your enemies prowl.
On you will go
though the Hakken-Kraks howl.
Onward up many
a frightening creek,
though your arms may get sore
and your sneakers may leak.

On and on you will hike.
And I know you'll hike far
and face up to your problems
whatever they are.

You'll get mixed up, of course,
as you already know.
You'll get mixed up
with many strange birds as you go.
So be sure when you step.
Step with care and great tact
and remember that Life's
a Great Balancing Act.
Just never forget to be dexterous and deft.
And never mix up your right foot with your left.

And will you succeed?
Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.)

KID, YOU'LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!

So...
be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray
or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O'Shea,
you're off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So...get on your way!




See many of you very soon!

Love, Christy

very random blog on a rainy Sunday afternoon

hi everyone. As many of you know, Andy is not a vegetable lover. He's not even a vegetable liker. He is barely a vegetable eater, although I do have to give him credit for his recent efforts, which have seen him eating green beans, zucchini, and snow peas on a fairly regular basis when I make them to accompany our dinners. So imagine our intense laughter and pleasure in watching the following last night:



In other youtube video news, we joked that we hope our reunion with Buddy sometime next summer will go something like the reunion in this video:

A very Happy 5th Birthday to Buddy this Tuesday! Zach & Spike, thanks for taking such great care of him for us!

ok, that's it for the youtube links for today I promise. So, things here are good. Andy is out kayaking a portion of the Yarra River this afternoon with a group from Monash Uni. I'm lounging around the apartment taking it easy, reading Carter Beats The Devil, and writing this random blog entry. I bought a bottle of orange juice the other day, and when I looked at the Use By date, it was Aug. 14, which made me smile, as that is the date we fly from Melbourne to Portland.
Last weekend we enjoyed a mini-getaway to Mornington Peninsula, also known locally as Melbourne's Playground. We had a rental car for the weekend, so Friday night found us at our local Safeway, massively loading up on groceries. Who knew that a Safeway could be so quiet on a Friday night? :) Saturday we took in some sights along the drive, enjoyed some wine tasting and pizza at one of the wineries, and soaked ourselves at the hot springs. Sunday we again saw some sights and did a beach & bush horseback ride.

We've been chatting about how equally amazing & weird it seems that we've been here for almost a year already. We're even thinking it might be kinda weird in some ways to be back in the US after being gone for a significant amount of time. I think it will be interesting to see how it feels, see what we notice while we're back, etc. We've been keeping up with the presidential election 'stuff,' mostly via the local World News and Jon Stewart's The Daily Show online. We've also been keeping up with the US economic woes (and just slightly joking about whether or not we're likely to find jobs when we return next summer). We'll be filing our Aussie taxes here soon, and our US taxes next month while we're in Portland. Bring on the big returns!

Speaking of US taxes, our Yankee 4th of July Party went off pretty well. One guest even arrived wearing red, white, & blue and bearing Yankee-rific party favors of Coca-Cola, microwave popcorn, and Oreos! I caught Andy sneaking 2 hot dogs in 1 hot dog bun for himself, pictured above.

Hope all is well for everyone. Keep on enjoying summertime - we're looking forward to getting in on some of that next month!

Cheers!

Love, Christy

2 Very Cool Events Today

2 very cool events happened to me today:

1 - Andy and I received a surprise package in the mail from Marnie, which held 2 new Portland Underdog t-shirts for us, and a peacock bookmark for me. For those of you wondering, "What the heck is Portland Underdog?" - it is our Portland-based bowling team league. What an awesome surprise! Thanks, Marnie!!

2 - While I was at work at the shop, I ended up chatting with a gentleman whose son I went to elementary school with in Sioux City, Iowa! I overheard him talking on his mobile about how he had just gotten off a flight from the midwest of the US, so while I was ringing up his purchases I asked where in the midwest he had been. His first response was, "Oh, you wouldn't know it. A state called Iowa." And I replied, "I'm from Iowa. I'm from Sioux City." To which he totally started freaking out and said, "That's where I was! My son lives there." And then he introduced himself, and his last name was Galinsky (not the sort of last name easily forgotten). To which I said, "You don't happen to know someone named Chris Galinsky do you?" Now he totally freaked out and said, "That's my son!" And I told him I knew Chris from elementary school so long ago. Anyway, it went on from there, but what a random event, huh?

Hope you are all well -

Love, Christy

Nielsen, O'Connell's, Crocs, Buddy, oh my!

Happy July from Australia! I can't believe it is July - it doesn't feel like July for us. Maybe the Yankee 4th of July BBQ Party that we're hosting this Friday night at our place will help. We've encouraged our guests to bring their most creative 'Yankee-rific' food item, so we'll see what we end up with! We're supplying the hot dogs, potato salad, and apple pie.

Before I get started on a bunch of other topics I must "Hooray!" my Uncle Denny & Aunt Linda, for they are on their way to Australia this September! They've got a whirlwind of a trip planned, with visits to Sydney, Cairns, Ayers Rock, & Melbourne, all in 3 weeks time. We are thrilled to have more family coming to visit us and this country.

Well, we successfully visited & returned from official Australian "Croc Country" on our journey to see our good old friend Jason Nielsen and to meet his girlfriend Leslie. What a fantastic feeling to get off the plane in Cairns and receive a huge hug from such an old friend (and a huge hug from a new friend I might add as well) over here in this part of the world. Our week couldn't have been more perfect - we had warm, mostly sunny weather, we stayed at a crazy Jungle Village on our 4WD journey from Cairns to Cooktown, and we stayed at the resort where Jason & Leslie are chefs the rest of the week (at awesome friend prices I must add - $50/night rather than the non-friend price of $180/night - sweet). We ate a ton of great food (most of it prepared especially for us by our personal chef friends :), enjoyed a lot of good drinks & laughs, saw our first crocodiles in the wild, went on an Aboriginal rock art tour, soaked up some sunshine, and enjoyed late afternoon naps nearly every day.
Aside from visiting Jason, seeing crocodiles in the wild was definitely the highlight of the trip - I think it made all 4 of us feel like little kids again, sitting in the boat just staring at these impressive & intimidating creatures, passing the binoculars around and whispering phrases such as, "Wow!" and "Oh my gosh!" and "My mom would not approve of this." The largest croc we saw was about 12 feet long, we think. Thanks to Jason & Leslie for being such fantastic travel guides, travel partners, and hosts throughout our visit!

With that trip now in the past, we are really on countdown for our upcoming trip to the US next month -- that's right, it's next month!!! I've received a few requests for flight details for our arrival in Portland, so here they are: we arrive on Alaska Airlines flight #2586 on Thursday, Aug. 14th at 12:45pm.

In general life news, things are going very well. I'm working FT this and next week at the shop, as one of the owners is on holiday. I love working down there. I subbed at a special needs school for 1 day 2 weeks ago, which was interesting and went really well. Andy and I attended a rather bizarre social gathering sponsored by the teaching agency I work with the Friday before we went on vacation - nothing like getting a bunch of substitute teachers together to liven up an indoor lawn bowling arena. You may think I'm joking here, but trust me, I am not. By the end of the evening, Jag shots were being poured all around, of which I must admit... I had 2! Eeewww! I can't even recall the last time I did a straight shot of liquor. And I was one of the well behaved ones! Thankfully I didn't feel too horrible the next day, and our friends Marloes and Annelieke came over and we feasted on pancakes for hours.
It is mostly cool and kinda gray in Melbourne so far this winter - some rain, but nothing like Portland's locked-in grayness for days on end. There's usually some sunshine every day.
Enjoy the pictures - oh, and there's some awesome ones of Buddy at the end that we just got from Zach - if you have ever seen Buddy, you will be shocked!

Wishing everyone a safe and fireworks-filled 4th of July!

Cheers from the land down under-

Love, Christy
xoxoxoxo

August US visit details

Hi all - here are some of the main details of our August US visit so far:

*We arrive in Portland on Thursday, Aug. 14 at 12:45pm. So excited! Who's going to be there?

*We'll be out camping with (hopefully) everyone we know in the Portland area on Friday & Saturday, Aug. 15 & 16. (Who's getting the keg of Bridgeport? - seriously).
We're hoping someone will volunteer to take us to Won & Jordan's house on Sunday so that we can pick up Andy's truck (hint, hint).

*We depart Portland for Minneapolis on Wednesday, Aug. 20 - will spent Wednesday night in the Minneapolis area with Larry & Deb Sweany and Ray & Marcia Brown. We're going to hit the closest Outback Steakhouse to check-up on its authenticity.

*Friday, August 22 - attend Steve & Marnie's wedding in Duluth!!!

*Sunday, Aug. 24th - fly Minneapolis back to Portland.

*Depart Portland headed back to Melbourne on Thursday, Aug. 28th at 5pm.

We are really excited to be coming home for a visit and to attend this very special wedding.


In other news, we leave this Sunday for a week-long vacation in Cairns and Cooktown (far NE corner of the country) to see good-ol' Jason Nielsen, the Great Barrier Reef, and who knows what else.

We chatted with Zach & Buddy in Alaska via webcam this past weekend - so great to see both of them. Buddy couldn't look more content - we're beginning to doubt that he will see the need for returning to the city-life of Portland next year after his much loved Alaska wilderness. Andy dropped a "Maybe we should live in Alaska for 6 months when we go home," suggestion, to which I didn't really have a response.

Hoping summer has gotten off to a fantastic start for everyone. For many of you, see you in 2 months!!

Cheers!
Love, Christy

Snow capped mountains in Australia???

Well, I may be using the term 'mountain' loosely, but last weekend I went on a trip with the Monash Bushwalking and Outdoor Club to Mt. Feathertop. Feathertop is about a 5-6 hr drive from Melbourne (I told the folks that if I drove that far from Portland I would be in California :) and, at 6300ft, it is the 2nd tallest in Victoria (for comparison, the tallest in Oz is Mount Kosciuszko, at 7310 feet). It was a good trip with a good bunch of folks, and as usual in Melbourne, it was basically a mini UN summit, with a German, a Malaysian, a Norwegian, a Canadian, some Americans, and of course a few Aussies in attendance (one nicknamed Dingo, the 2nd of which I've met in under a month).

The skies were ultra clear, which meant good visibility, sunny and warm (mid 60s) during the day but bitterly cold (upper 20s) at night. Oddly enough, my first glimpse of Australian snow and sub-freezing temps coincides with the officical beginning of winter here. Thankfuly there was a warming hut complete with wood burning stove near our campsite, which, in combination with the Johnny Walker, was enough to temporarily keep off the chill. The only other group there was a bunch of old timers celebrating a woman's 70th b-day - if I'm still able to do a trip like that when I'm 70 I will be one happy camper (get it? man, that's really bad.....).

In other news, we just bought flights up to Cairns to see our buddy Nielsen in about a month. Cairns and beyond is what they refer to as the 'tropical north', and is basically known for jungle, crocs, and the Great Barrier Reef, and we have all of these on our 'things to do' list during our visit. So, in terms of travels, we are looking at Cairns in June, the US in August, Alice Springs (central Oz, with the big rock, aka Uluru) in Sept, then NZ in Oct. We are definitely headed to the poor house, but we're gonna have a blast getting there....:)

Cheers,
Sweany

Red, White & Blue

I was out doing a bit of shopping today, and one of the stores that I went to is playing up a US theme as they give away trips to New York, so there are United States flags hanging all around the store, manequins wearing red, white, & blue plastic hats and clothing, etc. I found myself smiling and thinking it was rather a nice theme, which quickly seemed weird to me, because I swear, prior to living in Australia for this long, had I seen this same theme anywhere else, I think I would have thought it silly, and possibly even felt slightly annoyed with it.
I don't feel that I've ever been un-patriotic about the US exactly, but prior to moving here, I certainly wasn't publicly announcing my love and pride of my country. So it is an interesting and unexpected emotional transformation regarding my home country that is taking place while we live down here. Oh, and my mom always puts US flag stickers on the envelopes she sends us, which did not go unmentioned here in our apartment earlier this month :) I think I might have even kissed the sticker!

On the topic of the US, we had dinner this week with 2 fellow yankees - a couple that Andy met playing frisbee. They have been living here in Melbourne for almost 2 years and will be moving back to the states this July. Even more by chance, it is likely that they will be moving to Portland. So we had a good time (aka: they couldn't shut us up!) telling them all about our Top 435 Things We Love About Portland. It was also so great to chat with them about our similar experiences with the trials of moving here - we covered everything from pre-move chest x-rays and doctor examinations to trying to figure out how the heck to rent an apartment in Melbourne. It felt really nice to laugh about so much of it with them.

Our house in Portland re-rented quickly, which was fantastic news. The new tenants have signed a 1-year lease that will go into May of 2009. We're thinking/hoping this will work out well in relation to our anticipated move back date of May or June 2009. Trusting the care of our home to complete strangers and a property management company that we don't feel 100% satisfied with has been somewhat difficult - it continues to be a lesson on not being in control. Quite frankly, I'm discovering that I'm not so good at that. I'm thinking some of you readers of this blog already knew that.

Well, I think that's about enough insight into the psyche of Christy Sweany for tonight. Hope you are all well. How about that Obama rally in Portland, eh?! The pictures we saw really made us miss Portland even more - we miss the bubble!

Cheers!

Christy

"Off the bus, mate."

Greetings from Australia. Not a whole lot to report, but some fun pictures to share. We've attended 2 Australian Rules Football ('Footy') games, taken some pictures of our neighborhood, and completed a 35km, 3 day/2 night backpack trip as volunteers with a high school outdoor education group at Wilson's Promontory National Park. We had heard nothing but amazing testimonials about Wilson's Prom since our arrival here in Melbourne, particularly when people learned about our love of the outdoors, and our first visit certainly left us impressed. It was interesting, in multiple forms, to complete this trip with 2 teaching staff and 7 Grade 9 & 10 students - what a trip back in time to the world of being a teenager! Did we really used to act like that?!

We saw our 1st poisonous snake since living here - a baby tiger snake, which our teacher guides were quick to point out that, although quite small, had venom poisonous enough to deliver a fatal bite. I stayed quite clear, and was thankful that I was wearing my protective hiking gators, even though they definitely are not the most stylish.

Hoping all is well for everyone. Be well-

xoxoxo
Love, Christy

April Happening I forgot to write about

Hi again.
I forgot one of the other most weird things that happened to me just last week.
As I was coming home from my book group dinner on Thursday night, I came across a young man passed out on the sidewalk of a fairly busy street. There was vomit all over the sidewalk and him. His wallet and mobile phone were falling out of his pockets. Drunkards passing by in cars were yelling out at him and taking his picture. There were 2 guys there trying to rouse him, and he was responding slightly, but mostly just in drunken moans. I debated calling an ambulance for him, and finally did, as I knew that later, as I lay in bed, I would probably regret it if I didn't make sure he was in safe hands. So I hung around and waited for the ambulance to arrive. One of the 2 guys that had been helping out waited with me, and we had a nice chat. He's here from Chile on a working holiday for a few months. The whole experience made me feel very adult.

Christy

Taxi-driver update and New Zealand here we come (anyone care to join us?)

Hi all.
I read in the paper today that the taxi-drivers had removed their shirts to symbolize their vulnerability. So that mystery is now solved.

In response to a deal that was just too good to pass up, Andy and I purchased flights from Melbourne to Christchurch, NZ for both of us round-trip for $467. So we will be back in New Zealand October 15 - 22. I already know for sure that we'll be making a trip to Queenstown for bungee-jumping (Andy will be doing the jumping, not me!). Anyone interested in joining us in NZ for a week, please don't hesitate!


Cheers!

Christy

April Happenings

Hi all! Greetings from Australia! It seems like I haven't written in a while - so much so that I finally started a short list of things I wanted to remember to mention, which definitely signals a need to update the blog. I spent about 3 hours on the phone today with friends Mark & Bhavna, and then Brendan, so I feel pretty good and caught up with what's been going on in Portland. Fantastic to chat with all of you today.

Overall, things here are going well. We've had a few pretty chill weeks with not a whole lot to report. I've been working both at the shop and subbing. Andy's been working. We've definitely entered autumn, as we finally started turning the heater on in our apartment on a fairly regular basis, and today I've had it on all day while I've been home. I've had 2 different strains of a cold and a solid, 4-day bout of the flu (affectionately referred to as "gastro" down here), so I guess that's a pretty good indication of a seasonal change as well. We saw the band Flogging Molly one night, attended a show that was part of the Melbourne International Comedy Fest, ate the best lasagna I've ever had at our neighbor's (it had bacon in it!), explored a new region on the outskirts of Melbourne called Williamstown, I attended the dawn service for ANZAC (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) Day at the Shrine of Remembrance, and we've rolled our first games of Aussie 10-pin bowling. When I put all of that down in writing, a pretty full month, but pretty chill. Now, on to my list-

At the top: Hooray to my brother, Steve, his wife, Michelle, and my 10-year old niece, Cami, for they are the next loved ones to have purchased flights to come visit us in Australia!!! They will be arriving in Melbourne on December 28 and will be here for about 2 weeks, before spending 4 days on their own in New Zealand and then heading back to the states. We will all be celebrating the arrival of 2009 in grand style in Sydney, a New Year's Eve celebration & fireworks display that I have always longed to see and be a part of. So, you know where we'll be if you want to join us.
My nephew, Alec, will not be coming with his family to Australia, but will be spending the time with my parents. I've heard rumors that they will be seeking out some sort of trip to find a pirate ship somewhere in the US to make up for his missing out on this big trip to Australia. Hmmm...

Last week I subbed for 2 days in a 3rd grade classroom. The school was celebrating their 30th birthday, so it was a pretty hectic couple of days. I am still trying very hard to believe that their regular teacher was actually sick and unhappy to miss out on the chaos that any primary school "All School Celebration" brings along with it. I did have the rare opportunity, however, of seeing the school's band, made up of 5th and 6th graders, sing a live version of Sweet Child of Mine, which was surprising, interesting, and actually quite good. Weird experiences just seem to keep happening down here.
Like another topic on my list - the fact that a Nicholas Cage movie was being filmed about 10 houses down from us on our street this past Monday! We're anxious to see the film Knowing sometime in the future and spot our neighborhood.
And today the taxi drivers of Melbourne protested the lack of security provided them by shutting down one of the main intersections of downtown, and then taking their shirts off! We are still trying to figure that one out, as was our regular morning talkshow host.

Possibly the quirkiest thing about Australia that I've witnessed recently, and an amusing indication of the time-warp into which we have immersed ourselves, was on the news last week - a special report called Supermarkets of the Future. The report went into detail about the new, do-it-yourself checkout lanes that were being introduced in select "Supermarkets of the Future" at various locations around Australia. I had a good laugh to myself about this. Here I was, somewhat anxiously waiting to see just how cool an Aussie Supermarket of the Future might be, and all I got was DIY checkout lanes. Oh, well. Looking back, those were pretty cool when introduced in the US (about 10 years ago). You just gotta love Australia.

I've included a few recent photos. Happy Spring!

Love, Christy




from Gould's Book of Fish by Richard Flanagan:
...the sense that all life, properly understood, is a savage dream in which one is shuffled about, taken by the tides & winds & the knowledge - constantly in danger of being lost - that one is only ever an awestruck witness to everyday wonder.

Trip to Ballina & Byron Bay for AusWeb

Hi boys and girls,
I've already e-mailed a few people differing versions of text below, but we were out late at the Flogging Molly show last night so I'm lazy (plus the sun is shining so I need to get away from this PC soon).

Well, I can now check off 'become an international speaker' on my list of things do to. We just got back from Ballina/Byron Bay, which is about a 2.5 hr flight north of Melbourne. I presented a paper at a mostly techno type conference (i'm kind of the 'normal' guy that represents real people at these type of things). All in all it was a good time - met some really fun people from Melbourne that I'm certain we will be hangin out with more in the future. However, the trip was very bizarre for several reasons:

1) It poured rained for 4 days straight so poor Christy didn't really get much beach time
2) The first night we were there I hung out with fellow conference attendees drinking. One of these folks, a crazy drunkard that was at the conference with his girlfriend, came pounding on our door at 1:15am. I tried to ignore the first 18 times he knocked, but when the knocking started again 5 min. later and I angrily got up to see what the hell he wanted, I opened the door and no one was there
3) A 16 year old boy died from a shark attack at the beach about a 1/4 mile from where we were staying. We heard the ambulance go by the resort the morning it happened
4) We went to the this place called an RSL - can't remember the acronym, but kind of similar to a VFW. The one we went to was much fancier than most - actually it was very similar to Vegas - a huge cavern of a place with cheap grub, cheap drinks and gambling. At one point some random dude pulled up a chair, made some smart ass comment about being Russian after I told him I was American, then he took of his shoes, propped his feet up on one of our buddy's chairs and passed out.
5) While at the conference we received a rather alarming e-mail from our neighbor in Portland stating that it appeared that our tenant had moved out. To make a long story short, this was indeed true, and our property management company is working on finding new renters.

Your Aussie lingo lesson for today - grunter: pig
ex: 'This kid is as fat as a grunter - git im orf the junk tucker'

My recommendation for your daily dose of rock - this guitar will melt your face if you're not careful....


Bye for now,
Sweany

Earth Hour 2008

Hi all. Melbourne is honoring Earth Hour tomorrow night. I'm curious what the information level in the US is on this movement, but also wanted to bring it to everyone's attention.



Love,
Christy


I just signed up to the new Earth Hour website for 2008 and I thought you might like to take a look and possibly sign up too. Earth Hour is on 29 March 2008 at 8pm, and it looks like it's going to be really big. So far, as well as Sydney, there'll also be Chicago, Tel Aviv, Manila, Copenhagen, Melbourne, Brisbane and Toronto all turning off their lights for an hour in the name of fighting global warming. And I'm sure there'll be more cities by March. Sign up for Earth Hour with me by visiting http://www.earthhour.org/sign-up and join the movement.

Have you ever had a Hot Cross Bun?

I wanted to mention that we had our first Hot Cross Buns experience down here this Easter season. I don't recall ever really seeing a hot cross bun in the US before, but they are big down here, in Melbourne at least. So I've recently had that little ditty stuck in my head for about a week, but all I knew of it was, "Hot cross buns, hot cross buns; one a penny, two a penny; hot cross buns." Here's the original and alternative versions according to Wikipedia:

(The "ha'" is pronounced "hay", and refers to a half penny coin no longer in currency.)

Hot cross buns,
Hot cross buns,
one ha' penny,
two ha' penny,
hot cross buns.
If you have no daughters,
give them to your sons,
one ha' penny,
two ha' penny,
Hot Cross Buns

Alternative lyrics are:

Hot cross buns,
One a penny buns,
One a penny,
Two a penny,
Hot cross buns.
Fresh, sweet buns,
Come and buy my buns,
One a penny,
Two a penny,
Fresh, sweet buns.
Nice, light buns,
Buy my currant buns,
Come and try them,
Then you'll buy them,
Nice, light buns.
Hot, sweet buns,
Good for everyone,
All your daughters,
All your sons,
All love buns.
Hot cross buns,
Hot cross buns,
Everybody loves hot cross buns.

I much prefer the alternative lyrics - way more catchy and interesting, and I dare say suggestive? he he
Since it was our first hot cross buns experience, we splurged and bought 2 high-end bakery buns, rather than the cheapie Safeway bag-o-8 buns. I thought they were delicious, but Andy wasn't a big fan since they were chock-full of raisins.

Aren't you glad you visited the blog today?

Cheers!
Love, Christy

recent Buddy pictures from Zach

A few recent photos of Buddy that we received from Zach. Don't you think Mirror Pond should consider hiring Buddy to promote their beverage? I certainly do.

Cheers!
Christy

March 2008 Happenings

Hello from Aussie-land. Hope this finds you all very well and happy.


A big Hip-Hip-Hooray to my sister and her family for FINALLY getting moved into their new home in Colorado. For those of you that don't know, she and her family have been living in various locations since last June as they waited on a new home being built. We saw our first glimpse of it today via a webcam tour. Cheers to that!

Things here are good. Highlights since our last thorough update:
*Jason Nielsen (a dear friend of ours) is back living in Australia! He is serving as the chef at The Sovereign Resort in Cooktown, Queensland (far NE corner of the country). It feels good to know that there is a friend so close, even though it would take us days to drive there or hours to fly there. There is just something in knowing that a good friend is on the same continent, I guess. We're already looking forward to making our way up to this croc-infested section of Australia sometime in the next few months, hopefully.
*I went to an Aussie dentist named Bruno.
*We attended our first Aussie long-weekend music/camp festival, Golden Plains, at Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre, which is about 2 hours outside of Melbourne. We saw some rock that made my head hurt, an amazing sunset, a music venue where couches and all of your own drinks (including full kegs!) are allowed anywhere, Ween (superb), Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings (excellent), and even a band on the second night that, when asking the crowd whether they should continue to play or go home, I shouted out "GO HOME!" and a gentleman walking past us stopped and emphatically agreed with me. We met some fun and interesting folks and heard a ton of good, new music.
*We bought a new BBQ on our way home that weekend, taking advantage of having a rental car to get one to our apartment.
*I've started receiving acupuncture treatments in an ongoing effort to breathe through my nose.
*I attended an outdoor performance of Romeo & Juliet at the Botanical Gardens with our friend, Rosemary, and her daughter, Amy.
*We spent Sunday the 16th at the Grand Prix races and attending the KISS concert that night! It was just over 100 degrees in Melbourne that day, and our cheapie tickets didn't allow for air-conditioned access to any of the exclusive grandstand seats (damn!), so we mostly wandered arounds the grounds as slowly as possible, stopping multiple times near the sprinklers and drinking plenty of VB and water. None the less, it was pretty cool to see the cars racing and simply moving that quickly in person, especially around a park loop that is about a 10 minute walk from our apartment. The KISS concert was part of the big finale for the races, and what a finale! I don't know how else to say it - it simply rocked! It was also one of those concerts in my mind that was so bad, it was good. Again, we met some fun and interesting folks. I wore my brother's KISS shirt, which he sent me all the way from Omaha, Nebraska - thanks, Steve! That rocked, too.
*We celebrated a rather lackluster and hot (again, 100 degrees) St. Patty's Day by grilling a mini meat-fest for ourselves, drinking a couple of beers, and listening to Dropkick Murphy's real loud. Sadly, there were no leprechaun sightings to be had in Melbourne this year. Maybe next year.
*We've enjoyed our long Easter weekend. We spent Friday night trying out a little Chinese Dumpling House and taking in some super-chill jazz at a tiny jazz club downtown. We hosted a BBQ with our downstairs neighbors on Saturday. We webcam'ed it up with a bunch of family and then went to the Melbourne Museum today. We've watched about 7 episodes of Sopranos. We've had some serious discussions about how long we may live here (more on that below). Currently, I'm writing this and Andy is off at an Ultimate Frisbee Tournament.
*We're headed to another new part of this country April 6-10. Andy will be presenting a paper at a conference in Ballina, so we will both be spending 4 days in the Ballina/Byron Bay area, which is along the east coast in northern New South Wales. We've heard great reports about the Byron Bay area, so are looking forward to visiting.
*I continue to work and love my job down the street 3 days a week. Andy continues to be satisfied with his position with Monash Uni.


On the topic of moving back to Portland: we are pretty seriously considering moving back around May of 2009, so if anyone is still considering coming here for a visit, you've got about a year. Our initial grandiose ideas about extensive travels prior to leaving this region of the world are beginning to be clouded by the realities of moving, finances, and (ok-let me stop kidding myself) my ongoing feelings of, "I kinda just want to go home sometimes." There, I wrote it. Yes, we're ok. No, I'm not depressed. Yes, I'm enjoying this experience and it will be worth it; it already is and has been worth it. But it feels weird to have our lives on a set timeline in a foreign country, after really being at home in Portland and our lives there. I can't help but feel that no matter how worth it this move was/is, I am missing out on many of the people and times that I truly love. I'm finding that I have to mentally encourage myself to stay focused on the positive aspects of being here, much more than I thought I would. Trust me, I could go on & on with this topic, but the main point is that if you think you might be coming this way while we are living here, best to make it within the next 12 months or so.


Enjoy the small slideshow and the video clips, and be well! Love and miss you all.

Cheers!
Christy



Grand Prix Action


You're Beautiful


This Song Unites The World

Barack Obama's 'A More Perfect Union' Speech

My objective for embedding this video to our blog is that you take the time to listen to this speech. It is just over 37 minutes long. I would love to hear back some personal impressions of this speech, and how it is being regarded in the US.

Best wishes-
Christy

What is Penitence?

February 28, 2008

Tasmania Vacation - Feb. 24-March 1

Christy's Tasmania Vacation Highlights:
*Never-ending spectacular scenery, often times allowing us total isolation. It is pretty amazing to travel to such fantastic locations that are still sparsely populated and undeveloped.
*When we went to bed on Sunday night, it was fairly cold and windy, and we were concerned about our Monday morning sea kayak trip being cancelled. We woke on Monday morning, however, to complete calm and sunshine. 2 ladies that we met on our trip had been waiting for the weather to clear since Saturday to go on their kayak trip.
*Our camera stayed dry & Andy found my prescription sunglasses in the water after we rolled our kayak as we surfed it in to shore.
*Feeling like we could create our own scenic postcards while camping at Wineglass Bay.
*Breakfast with the wallabies on Tuesday morning.
*Drinking wine and listening to tunes in the car as it poured outside on Tuesday night.
*Finding that the trust we had put in our tent staying dry as we sat in the car and drank wine and listened to tunes as it poured outside for about 3 hours was realised!
*Our little rental car, Echo, successfully making it up the very steep hill to reach Huon Bush Retreat. Seriously, the hill was so steep that at the base of the hill there was a STOP sign with instructions/recommendations about how to make it up the hill depending on what type of vehicle you were driving! "Go, Echo!" we chanted.
*Taking showers upon our arrival at Big Tree Cabin on Thursday (um, neither of us had showered since Sunday morning in Melbourne prior to our departure, unless you count the quick dip in salty/sandy Coles Bay on Monday morning when we tipped the kayak).
*Relaxing next to a warm woodburning stove in both the cabin and the tipee.
*Celebrating the early hours of February 29, champagne glass in hand, soaking in the outdoor tub on our Big Tree Cabin deck.
*Receiving multiple international phone calls on Friday!
*Spending Friday night in a luxury tipee!
*Seeing how happy it made Andy to be the master of the grill again on Friday night as he prepared our steaks for dinner.
*Eating fun-size Snickers every night as our dessert all week long.
*Crisping up cinnamon-sugar donuts on the top of our woodburning stove on Friday night in lieu of our camp tradition of roasting donut holes (we have been unsuccessful in finding donut holes anywhere in Australia yet).
*Spending the entire week on the type of vacation that Andy and I really love.
*The video that I took of Andy explaining how he had won our game of Snakes & Ladders (I'll get that up on the blog soon). giggle, giggle

Christy's Tasmania Vacation Bummer:
*Andy lost his prescription sunglasses in the water after we rolled our kayak as we surfed it in to shore.

Hope everyone is very well and happy.
Cheers!

Love, Christy

Randomness

Hi boys and girls,
It's been quite a while since I've written a post so here it goes. I'm not now, nor have I ever been, as organized as Christy so I don't have a thought provoking topic or funny title or anything like that. Just lots of random thoughts.

1. There were so many cool pics from our trips with Ray and Marcia and just from generally living here that I had to put some more online - watch the slideshow or check them out here to see the descriptions: http://www.flickr.com/photos/8437412@N03/sets/72157601794987955/

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

2. I've been keeping busy with CHISIG events here in Melbourne (Computer Human Interaction Special Interest Group - computer dork society stuff) and ultimate frisbee. I also joined the Monash Bushwalking (ie. hiking) club, and they do some kayaking and things, so I'm hoping to go out with them soon before our 'summer #2' is done down here in April or so.

3. I proved I'm still a stupid male by suggesting to Christy that we go do a pool session last Thursday to practice our kayaking (for you other stupid guys out there, that was Valentine's Day). Needless to say, we went out to dinner instead at a Indian/Nepalese place - yummy.

4. March will be a bit busy as we are heading to a 3 day music festival (Golden Plains if you want to check out the lineup), some Grand Prix car races where Kiss is playing and a few other concerts (Jack Johnson - he's playing in the park about 10 min. from our place and Wilco - sweet).

5. I continue to bike to take the train/bike to work everyday - there's no end to my feelings of self righteousness about not owning a car :) All joking aside, I do enjoy it, even when I have to ride home after 2 hours of running at ulimate frisbee

6. I'm continually and utterly amazed by the diversity of people that I meet. In the last week, I've met two post-doctoral students from Spain (one does some type of mechanical engineering, nanotechnology research) out camping that rock climb and happen to work at Monash Uni, doctors of protein crystallography (who create 3D models of things like malaria molecules) that I build software for as a part of my job, and, just last night at frisbee, I drank beer with a mathematician from Istabul that lived in Madison, Wisconsin but now lives here, a guy from Brunei, Malaysia that lived in Perth (West Australia) that now lives here, a guy from Jersey who now lives here, a couple from Colorado visiting Oz for about 4 months and of course, lots of good ol' Aussie blokes.

7. Australia slang term of the day: Shout: turn to buy - a round of drinks usually ("it's your shout")
8. Lastly, if this video doesn't put you in a good mood, then I don't know what will:



Bye for now,
Sweany

Cathedral Range State Park

Hi everyone! Here's some pictures of our camp trip to Cathedral Range State Park this past weekend. It is located about 110km NE of Melbourne. The weather was awesome, we did a great hike, we saw some wildlife, we met some good people, and overall, it felt really great to get out into nature again. I'm always amazed how easily going camping can seem to level my emotions back out. It helps that I usually get to go with the best camping partner ever (I'm typing, of course, about Andy, in case some of you missed that one). :) This Friday we are celebrating with our friend, Ash, who is soon to be moving to the Philippines as an Australian Youth Ambassador. Sunday we fly to Tasmania, where we will spend 6 days exploring this small island state of Australia. We have heard and read nothing but amazing things about Tasmania, so we are super excited to be headed there for some backpacking, sea kayaking, exploring, and actual February 29 birthday spoiling and celebrating. Anybody have anything special planned to honor the fact that there is actually a February 29 this year?? And on a Friday no less! Don't even think of telling me something along the lines of, "Oh, I didn't realize." I won't stand for it. Cheers! Love, Christy

"Sorry Day" in Australia

Hello everyone. Hoping this finds you all very well and happy.


An extremely historic event took place in Australia today, as Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, on behalf of the Australian government, gave a moving speech, apologizing to the Aboriginal peoples of Australia for all of the wrong-doings that have been done to them throughout history. In particular, the Stolen Generation was acknowledged, and forward-thinking goals were introduced. I feel that it was an honor to be in this country as this event took place.


Continuing on within the topic of politics - the news here is very thorough in keeping us up-to-date with US politics. We are keeping up with the presidential election and all of the news about the mortgage crisis, recession, etc. I must write that I am continually impressed by Australians' knowledge of US politics and government. On numerous occasions since our arrival (nearly 6 months ago already!) I have been involved in passionate discussions about the politics and policies of the United States. There honestly seems to be more interest in US politics held by Australians than by United States citizens themselves. This has been a very sobering fact to recognize and think seriously upon. Another interesting fact, and one which I believe should be imposed upon US voters: all eligible voters in Australia must vote; if they do not vote, they are fined.


Well, now that I've lightened my conscious of those topics, on to what Andy and I have been up to. Since my parents left on Feb. 1, things have been pretty quiet around our apartment and there is not a whole lot to report. We have had a couple of very chill weekends of mostly staying home. I've started working 2 days/week at a small, family-owned fruit & veggie shop at the end of our block. Having overcome my initial personal feelings of 'loser' for this being the only work that I can apparently secure in Melbourne, I am really loving the experience. The pros far outweigh the single 'loser' con. Pros: 1) it takes me about 3 minutes to walk to work, 2) there is very little, if any, stress in working there, 3) the owners of the shop are 2 young brothers, both with young families that I have already met, and they are all very sweet people to spend time amongst, 4) I get produce at 1/2 price, 5) the customers that frequent this sort of small, neighborhood shop are very friendly, and my days working there are filled with numerous pleasant interactions. A wise friend wrote me recently in response to my lament about the whole 'loser' feelings: "I think your job sounds great for where you are at in this phase of your life. Sometimes our jobs play a huge role in our lives and other times our jobs are simply jobs so we can enjoy the other sweet things in our lives." Very well stated, and very taken to heart. I love my new job. I am still officially employed with the substitute teacher agency as well, but as the new school year started just 3 weeks ago, I have had no substitute calls yet.
Andy's job continues to go well. I dislike writing on his behalf, so I guess if there's anything he wants to share, he'll have to do just that.


The weather has been on-and-off rainy and cool, which is a bit early for autumn here already. It is forecasted to be a spectacular weekend, so we are planning on renting a car to get out of town and go exploring and camping this weekend. That's really about it from us here in Melbourne.


Depending upon your own personal preference, either "Cheers!" or "Boo!" to Valentine's Day. Either way, don't forget to hug the ones you love and tell them so.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Love, Christy

Super Bowl Monday

TOM PETTY ROCKS!

Hi everyone - Happy February! By now, my parents should be about 4 hours into their long journey back to the US. I shed a few tears this morning as they pulled away, and then, as if I needed another reason for an emotional breakdown, that David Duchovny/Minnie Driver movie Return to Me was on TV this afternoon. You know that movie - the one where David's wife dies in a car accident and their dog keeps waiting at the door of their home for her to return, and then David meets and falls in love with Minnie, who just happens to be the woman who received his wife's heart in her heart transplant surgery...yes, that is the one. So, I write this blog with a few serious cries good and out of the way. On to the positive!
Isn't it Super Bowl weekend? For us it will be Super Bowl Monday, as it will be broadcast over here on Monday morning at 10am. "Super Bowl Monday" just doesn't seem to have quite the same ring to it as "Super Bowl Sunday" always does.
Huge congratulations to some of our dear friends on recent engagement announcements and some other dear friends on surviving their first holiday season with baby boys. You all know who you are. These engagements lead me to a brief run-down of travel plans that we have so far, just in case some of you are beginning to look at flights to come visit us here in Australia. We'd hate to miss you! Andy and I will be in Tasmania 2/24-3/1. It looks like Andy will be making a quick trip to the Minneapolis area sometime in June. We will both be making a trip to the Portland and Duluth areas toward mid to late August. Then we'll be visiting central Australia 9/4-9/11. By that time we'll have been living here for a year, and Andy and I have declared that "all bets are off" as to where we'll be living following the September central Australia trip. Andy is definitely pulling for some time in New Zealand.
Ahhh - New Zealand. New Zealand was incredible. We're definitely looking forward to spending more time in that country. But I am a bit ahead of myself in sharing about our trip with Ray & Marcia. Back up to January 5th- (I promise I'll try to keep it as concise as possible, but there really is just so much to share! Get yourself comfy is what I suggest):
Jan. 5 - we took the train from Melbourne to Geelong, and spent the afternoon strolling the harbour, eating fresh mussels, and eating* (again) at a local pub called The Bended Elbow British Ale House.
*I will refer to 'eating' multiple times throughout this trip description*
Jan. 6 - our 6am flight took us to Sydney. Ray & Marcia spent the day touring the ferries and Manly Beach with some friends they had met in Melbourne, while Andy and I ferried around the harbour and enjoyed late afternoon in The Rocks historic district.
Jan. 7 - we spent most of the day at Bondi Beach. It was gorgeous. We saw the Spanish Harlem Orchestra perform at Sydney Opera House - definitely one of the many highlights of this trip.
Jan. 8 - we were on an all-day Blue Mountains bus tour trip. I got to pet a koala and we saw our first crocodile. That night Ray, Andy, and I had dinner at the Lowenbrau Pub in The Rocks district and wandered around a bit while Marcia stayed in.
Jan. 9 - we visited Sydney Tower and then boarded the massive Princess Sapphire cruise ship around 3pm! This ship has a passenger capacity of 2670, and we believe this sailing was sold out. It literally took us (all of us) days to find our way around the ship. There were 6 pools and 8 hot tubs, a casino, a shopping area, multiple bars, restaurants, and nightclubs, an entire spa area, an internet cafe, a library, a movie theater....ok, you get the picture. This ship is like a massive luxury moving town! It was incredible to even be standing on board this ship, looking around Sydney Harbour, looking at the Sydney Opera House - it really felt like a dream. We pulled out of Sydney around 9pm that night.
Jan. 10 - day at sea. Andy was a good sport and dragged himself out of bed at 5:30am with me to watch our first at-sea sunrise. My mom and I spent hours lying beside the pool. Lots of eating.
Jan. 11 - day in Melbourne. As Melbourne is old news to us four, we stayed on the ship and lazed around. Played some shuffleboard, caught the afternoon movie, etc. Lots of eating.
Jan. 12 - day in Hobart, Tasmania. My parents excursioned (not sure if that is a proper use of that word) to Port Arthur, while Andy and I toured Hobart on our own. Lots of eating.
Jan. 14 - day at sea. Lots of eating.
Jan. 15 - day at sea. Lots of eating.
Jan. 16 - Fiordland National Park scenic cruising. Without a doubt, this was the most spectacular event of our entire trip! It was quite unbelieveable that this ship could be maneuvered up and down the sounds that we visited. And it was quite unbelieveable that we were doing it, and with my parents by our sides. We had a splendidly clear, warm day in an area that receives rainfall over 200 days/year. The pictures only hint at the magnitude of this region of our world, and I must recommend to everyone that you go to see this majestic location. The only downside to this day was that I was now fighting a pretty serious sore throat and nasty cold that was making me feel miserable, and the boat was rolling pretty good at times. Poor Marcia even threw up in a plastic bag as we lounged on the back deck. This event will stay with me forever! My poor mom and I, quite ill, while our two men sleep away in deck loungers at our sides :) Despite our illnesses, still lots of eating.
Jan. 17 - day in Dunedin. Andy and I were scheduled to do an afternoon sea kayaking trip, but the weather was rainy and a bit windy, so our tour was cancelled. Last minute we jumped aboard my parents' excursion that took us on an afternoon bus tour of the city of Dunedin and provided us a visit to Larnach Castle. Lots of eating.
Jan. 18 - day in Christchurch. My parents had an all-day bus & train tour of the region, while Andy and I did some Class 3, 4, & 5 white water rafting on the Rangitata River. Another huge event for us on this trip! 28 people from the cruise ship went on this excursion, and 6 of them found themselves out of their raft, floating down some pretty serious rapids at one point during the day. Andy and I definitely think some of these people had litle idea of what exactly Class 5 river rafting meant, and they certainly ended up experiencing much more than they had bargained for. Thankfully everyone survived and, although they were a little bit rattled, ended the day with smiles on their faces. One lady told me, "My kids are never going to believe that I did this!" This same lady was one of the 6 that had gotten tossed out of her raft, and she had slight wounds to her arms and face to prove it. During slow periods of the river, I would put my hand down in the blue-gray glacial water and think to myself, "I'm rafting in New Zealand," while trying to soak up our surrounds all the while. Really great.
Jan. 19 - day at sea - We're starting to get sad that our cruise is going to come to an end. Lots of eating. My dad and I played Bingo in both the morning and afternoon sessions, and even bet on some wooden horse racing, but came away in the hole every time.
Jan. 20 - day at Tauranga - all 4 of us did an all-day bus tour to the town of Rotorua, visiting a geothermal reserve, a Maori cultural lunch and musical/dance performance, and, wait for it......the Agrodome! And you know what? I have to type that the Agrodome was pretty cool. We saw 19 different breeds of sheep and a sheep-shearing demonstration to boot! Andy and I agree - we have never known so much about sheep as we do now.
Jan. 21 - our ship docks in Auckland. We disembarked at 10am, and by 10:45 we had picked up a rental car and were on our way to the beach town of Hahei, along the northeast coast of the Coromandel Peninsula, about a 2 1/2 hour drive from Auckland. At 2pm we checked into our beachhouse, strolled along the beach, shopped at the local grocery store, grilled burgers for dinner, and beach strolled some more. We were a little bit disappointed, as the weather was kinda overcast and misty, and campers that we chatted with told us that we had just missed a solid month of superb weather and calm, tranquil waters, but it was impressive none the less. Not quite as much eating, now that we don't have a 24-hour buffet (or trough, as Andy and I prefer to call it) or our usual 8 restaurants providing 5-course meals to choose from each night, but we got by.
Jan. 22 - all 4 of us hiked to Cathedral Cove. Beautiful - both the hike and the destination. Strolled around Hot Water Beach. Visited Purangi Winery - by far the most laid-back, chill winery I have ever visited. If I ever go missing (by choice, of course) you could probably find me there. Took an off-the-beaten-path route on our way back to Auckland, checked into our hotel near the airport, returned the rental car, and cheers'd ourselves for a vacation well done. We landed back in Melbourne on the 23rd around 9:45am.

Whew! Well, that is going to have to just about do it for my blogging today. Hope you enjoyed the pictures and vacation recap.

To my parents - you are terribly missed already. Thank you so much for everything, and for being here with us for the holidays especially. It's nearly like you had the chance to live in Australia with me, not just visit us, and that remains quite unbelieveable and will always be a blessing. I'll start work on our next folder of travels real soon :)

Hugs and kisses all around - Cheers!

Love, Christy

Mini-Post

Hello all! In an effort to appease the masses, here are a couple of pictures from our cruise and New Zealand. We are back in Melbourne and attempting a return to a somewhat structured life. My parents leave this Friday morning, and we'll definitely have more posted soon. Cheers!

Love, Christy