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
Friday, March 21, 2008
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Tuesday, March 4, 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
Thursday, February 21, 2008
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
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
Monday, February 18, 2008
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
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
"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
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
Monday, February 4, 2008
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