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