Resolutions Update

So far the cooking at home is going GREAT! Sean and I are making our own breakfasts, lunches and dinners. It really is so nice being allowed this luxury. Back home we were both so busy (since we were both working) that we barely were able to grab something from the freezer and put it in a frying pan. It is such a treat to be able to pick fresh foods and know that they won't go to waste.

Yesterday we went to Queen Victoria's Market, a HUGE open air market and picked out steaks for dinner. Sean did a great job with them on the grill. We also got some incredible cheese, deli meats and fresh bread from a baker. The market was really hectic but it was a good experience and everyone had been telling us to check it out.

In terms of being active and going to the gym I'd deem this week a success!! It's Sunday morning and I'm going to go to the gym because Sean is going to a bar to watch the Celtics game (It's Saturday night in the US). I had a 16k+ step day on Friday when I went to a shopping center that was far from our apartment, the pedometer is great motivation.

After talking with a friend who also uses a pedometer it seems impossible that the average person who goes to work can log anywhere close to 10K steps per day. It's insane. It's a struggle for me some days and my only job is to walk, I don't have a car and I have the time. I can't wait until Brady is out so we can walk together. 45 more days.

Sean's First Guest Post

Sean was so jealous of my blogging that he wanted to post himself.

Here is the first of many (I hope):

If there is one person on the planet that I would trade jobs with, it would be Bill Simmons (The Sports Guy from ESPN.com). Hell, I’d just be happy to enter his little friend circle and get an occasional mention in a column. Besides the obvious of having a job writing a sport column, being from Boston, etc, there is something strangely appealing about knowing that your writings are often read over the few moments of people’s work day that they have to themselves – breaks, lunch, slack time, etc. However, this does mean that often the columns would be read during bathroom breaks. Topic change.

One of the coolest things I think Bill’s done is to have his wife write guest columns about whatever she wants (no editing allowed). These are usually hilarious and also show the back and forth between the two as a couple. It makes them seem real.

So, in my mission to copy everything Sports Guy, I’ve lobbied for and been approved to guest write an occasional blog post. We’ll see about full editorial approval after a few posts.

For this first post I’ll follow Shannon’s lead and list my first impressions (positive and negative)

Positive Australia First Impressions

• Australia overall feels like a less annoying version of California. Melbourne = San Francisco, Sydney = LA. However, you get to take away the LA focus on wealth and looks, and there are less hipsters than San Fran. There are a good amount of fixed gear bikes, and skinny jeans on guys are still popular over here. Sigh.

• Australians sense of humor is the perfect mix of self deprecating and biting. Also, it feels like once you have proven to an Australian that you don’t take yourself too seriously and can handle some good natured give and take, you have a “mate”. There is none of the wall that you need to break down with people in the US when first introduced or working together.

• Today at the breakfast place down the street we had the same waitress that we had last Saturday. When she came out to give us menus she asked “So how are you settling in at the apartment? Are you enjoying Melbourne?”. Shannon and I looked at each other in disbelief. The waitress remembered us, and not only that, remembered details about our conversation last week and asked how we were doing. We’ve eaten at the same 5-6 places in Waltham for 5 years and I don’t think we’ve ever had anyone even pretend to recognize us. Just another example of the next point:

• Australians are focused on community. At the little downtown near our apartment there is a butcher, baker, deli, fish market, and grocer. All mom and pop stores. Australians WANT this. They want the sense of community that we pretend is dead and never coming back in the US. Even the supermarket and big liquor mart staff have that personal touch.

• The focus on healthy living, through fitness and food, is a model that we need to bring back to the US. It’s just not acceptable to have overly processed, hormone injected, caged, or engineered food. In terms of fitness, almost everyone has some outdoor hobby that just so happens to be a great work out. Gym’s are far and few between. Treadmills are basically laughed at, because why would you run on one of those when there is so much beautiful scenery outside? When I drive into work at 6:30am the streets are packed with people on road bikes, people walking dogs, and people running.

• Driving on the other side of the road is terrifying for the first 10 right and left turns, but then it becomes natural. They have this crazy move in Melbourne called a hook turn that I am particularly fond of. When you want to make a right turn in downtown, you pull into the far left lane on the road, basically in the cross walk of the perpendicular road, and you wait there to turn right. This is so you don’t block the trolleys in the middle lanes. Wiki article about it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hook_turn

• Australians are car freaks, and there is basically a religion around Holden, the Australian arm of GM. Right now I’m driving a Holden Cruze, and I have to say it’s a sweet car. The Pontiac GTO, and the new Camaro, were designed in Australia before being sold in the US.

• Australian bacon: This is like no bacon you have ever tasted. It’s a combination of the best attributes of Canadian bacon (big pieces, not too much gristle) with the best of American bacon (saltier than Canadian bacon, crispy, apple or other hardwood smoked). They have this sandwich most places called a BLAT - Bacon Lettuce Avocado and Tomato – and they serve it on toasted Turkish bread with tomato relish and sometimes with a fried egg. If I could eat only one thing for the rest of my life it would be a BLAT (add egg for breakfast, remove for lunch and dinner)

• We have a backyard and I can grill. I drive back from work dreaming of the smell.

Negative Australia First Impressions:

Here we go:

• Australian consumer culture is amazingly familiar, but occasionally you will be thrown for a loop and it just doesn’t compute. For one, everything is quoted and paid weekly. Yes. Your rent is paid weekly. You would think given the distance of this place from everything else you could trust someone to bill monthly, but then again we’re not dealing with a country of free settlers are we.

• Australian internet and mobile companies are a total and complete joke. The internet at our temp apartment is ~20 USD per day and has a download limit of 200MB. That is not a typo. If you buy more days in a bundle, you get even less. A 30 day pass for ~150 USD allows you 1.5GB of download for the 30 days. If I watch the highlights or a Sox game per day I’d be over the limit. I got a Telstra blackberry from work and it refuses to connect to our work blackberry server and won’t allow any of the apps that my ancient blackberry could run to run. I’ve been on the phone with Telstra 5 times and no one can help me. All I get is “No worries mate!” – speaking of which:

• I am convinced that “No Worries Mate” does not actually mean: “Do not worry about this topic/problem my friend, I will take care of it/it is not an issue”. I think it actually means: “I honestly don’t care about your problem or request. I am also calling you mate like a mechanic or carpenter calls you chief or boss”. The next time I hear “No Worries Mate” when someone doesn’t help me or says that as a reaction to my wanting to know why a schedule has slipped I am going to say: “Actually, the only reason we are having this conversation is because I have worries, and you are not my friend”. I should make lots of Australian friends that way.

• Australian rules football baffles me, but I will understand it and grow to enjoy it

• Beer is maddeningly expensive. Every time I see beer prices I want to scream. When I tell Australians about the beer prices in the US they are baffled. For example: A 24 pack of Corona at a liquor distributor is 45 dollars. A 24 pack of local bud equivalent is 36 dollars. A six pack of anything decent is at least 20 dollars. I can’t even write these prices without saying them out loud like this “20 DOLLARS!?!?!?!” . We went to the Queen Victory Market today and there was a microbrew stand that had some great looking mircobrews. Yeah, until you realize that they are asking for 35 DOLLARS A SIX PACK!! I had to just turn around and walk away

• There are traffic cameras everywhere. They have no mercy either. If you are in the intersection at all as the light turns red, even if you couldn’t have stopped safely, too bad. If you are going 4km per hour over the limit, you get a ticket mailed to you. If you are going 20km per hour over the speed limit THEY TAKE YOUR LICENSE AWAY! Big Brother is Watching

• Finally, not having Brady in the house, and seeing him in Quarantine, is heartbreaking. I know he’s a dog and will be fine but it’s really hard. Luckily Shannon and I have each other to get us through our low points about it, and the quarantine is close to work so I can visit. Stay strong Brady. Cell block 3, Cell 120 I’m pouring some ridiculously expensive beer out for you.

Things we miss and don't miss & things we enjoy

While we are So excited for this adventure Sean and I have been missing a few things and not missing some others.

Here are a few things we miss:

• Iced Coffee.. They have no idea what it is. Sean ordered an iced coffee and got a lukewarm coffee with a scoop of ice cream on top.
• Trash TV!! I'm sooo missing trash TV and our internet connection is so crappy that I can't even watch iTunes/etc.
• Regular TV: We have about fifteen channels, five are news from around the world, five are dedicated to the various footballs they play here and the other five show random shows at random times, but I did get to see Oprah the other day.
• Brady :(
• Our cats Fiona and Liam - especially since we are living with a rat.
• Friends and Family (Our social calendar is WIDE open)
• Our neighbors (also included in the friend/family category)
• Trash magazines (they are expensive here)
• Unlimited Internet (You pay by usage here)
• Our bed and pillows/etc. - So much more comfy
• Our couches.. You haven't seen pics of this place for a reason!
• TJ Maxx

Things we don't miss/don't enjoy:

• Converting everything from kilos, kilometers, Celsius, etc. - We ended up with 2lb of cheese this week b/c we forgot the conversion rate.
• Living with a RAT
• Watching TOO much TV back home
• Playing online TOO much back home
• Not reading enough (I love my kindle and have been reading a ton since we arrived)
• Jet Lag
• Paying $15 for a six pack of beer
• Paying $3.50 for nail polish remover.. You can buy a HUGE bottle back home for $1

Things we do enjoy:

• Having tons of sparkling wines to pick from that are well under $10
• Walking around
• Watching "Top Gear".. It's sort of like John Stewart meets Car Talk and it's hysterical
• The weather (even though it's fall/winter here it's sunny and around 60 F)
• Only buying enough food for a day or two at a time. It makes things so much more fun!
• Cooking!!!
• Getting into shape
• Not driving everywhere
• Only having "enough" clothes/shoes/etc. - It's nice to not be overwhelmed with stuff
• Every day is an adventure
• Being able to plan fun trips (we won't have to pay for a pet sitter since Brady is in quarantine)
• Visiting Brady
• Taking this opportunity of lack of TV to watch old stuff we never saw before. I started Deadwood and Life on Mars this week - LOVE them both!
• The accents, everything sounds like a question!
• Being a foreigner.. People love when we talk!
• Being in a sort of "out of body experience" - When you move so far away and step so far out of your life you can really look at it and dissect it.. I think that is a good thing.

Updates from last weekend

I have been meaning to do a post on our trip th the Yarra Valley and a Wildlife Sanctuary all week but I just haven't gotten to it.

Here are the updates:

• We saw kangaroos!!! Finally & they are SO cute!
• Koala bears are adorable..
• I LOVE Dingos! I know they get a bad wrap but they are such interesting animals (and they look like dogs)
• Tasmanian Devils are over rated.. They look like fat skunks
• The Birds of Prey show we saw was amazing - but MORE amazing was that every parent there thought it was a GREAT time to feed their small children lunch. The birds flew so low that they could have snatched the sandwiches out of the crying kid's hands.
• Wallabies are cute too, they sort of look like mini kangaroos.
• We took a bus with a group of people from Sean's job and the bus had to stop on the way there because it overheated. At the end of the night we needed a jump start - so it was quite an adventure.
• I like port! We went to a wine tasting and I tried port that was amazing!
• Our Aussie bus driver sat with us at dinner and told Sean he should take me to the Queen Victoria Market (huge open air market that sells everything from food to souvenir items) because I'd be like a "Pig in Shit" - normally this kind of saying would offend me but coming from this guy I thought it was hysterical.

Rat Town

We live in Rat Town.. The "Creature" is a RAT & the exterminator left bait for him to hopefully eat. If we smell something we know he died inside our apartment so we have to call the exterminator again to come and pick up the corpse - if not that means that Mr. Ratenstein ate his bait and then went outside to die - hopefully far far away from my front door.

The Creature Part 2

I think the creature living in our bedroom wall is a possum. There is also a chance that it's a miniature Freddy Krueger who was sealed into the building as punishment for invading people's dreams. Regardless it's definitely something bigger than a mouse. It scurries around and then claws at the walls like it's trying to get out. I have tried sleeping with ear plugs but they fall out during the night so no matter what I am waking up to the sound of something attempting to claw its way into my bed.

I called the management office to let them know and the receptionist laughed. "Haha, I'm not sure what to do with that complaint.. hahah, I'll pass it on".

150+30 Days = 50+ days in quarantine

So anyone reading this blog is well aware of the amount of paperwork that needed to be done in order to get Brady into Australia. There were forms to be filled out, there were specific labs to be used and specific types of approved veterinarians to meet. It was a long, arduous task that I did without help, and it turns out, I did it imperfectly.

Earlier this week when I went to visit Brady at quarantine I was told that I couldn't take him out to play because one of the labs had done the paperwork incorrectly. They also informed me that he should have never been allowed in the yard last week (because of the lab error), their mistake. It was really disappointing because it was a beautiful day and Sean had met me at Spotswood (quarantine facility) during his lunch break to throw the ball around. I ended up sitting with Brady for a bit in his kennel before leaving, it was a sad goodbye for both of us. I could tell the poor thing needed to get outside and run around (it had been almost a week) and I could hear him barking halfway down the road back to the train. IT SUCKED.

I followed up with the lab and was happy to get the news this morning that all was clear and I could come and take Brady out to play today (Thursday). When I went into the kennel to get Brady he was very happy to see me and I could tell he couldn't wait to get outside. It was another gorgeous day and Sean surprised us by meeting us in the play yard. Brady was soo excited he was jumping all around and wiggling his butt (the happy dance). It was a great afternoon and when I put Brady into his kennel I said "Go to your house" (like we do at home) and he was fine (after a few treats of course).

On my way out I saw one of the workers (Kate) and mentioned to her that Brady was eating a ton of grass outside. I wasn't alarmed because he did that at home but I figured I'd let her know. She reassured me that it was normal since they were in the concrete kennel all day (thank god he only had 23 days left of this) and we began walking to the office together so I could sign out. I asked her about discharges, specifically if there was a time that they were done. What I really wanted to know was if I could pick up Brady as early as possible on June 13th, his last day in quarantine. She told me that I could pick him up as early as 8am on the day of and let's double check his discharge date (I couldn't remember if it was the 12th or 13th).

We walked through the doors and asked one of the administrative workers (Jenna) to look up Brady's discharge date, she typed into her computer, looked up and said "Brady, ah, here it is, July 7th".

What? That wasn't right, I knew it was 30 days from his start date and that was June 12th or 13th - definitely not July. There was a mistake, he was eligible for discharge 150 days from the date his blood was drawn for his RNATT (Rabies test). They looked at me sadly.

"No, you are confused, it happens all the time. He is eligible to stay in quarantine for ONLY 30 days after the 150 days from his blood draw date has elapsed."

Basically this means if I had waited 150 days from the date his blood was drawn to bring him to Australia (mid June) he would be able to leave after 30 days. We arrived in Australia before the 150 days had elapsed so he has to spend the time up to the 150 days PLUS the mandatory 30 in quarantine.

I couldn't hold in the tears (not that I really tried), right there at the quarantine facility I started crying (the one day I wore mascara). They tried to reassure me "We have dogs here for six months", "Maybe we can get you an extra visit per week" but they were firm "There is NOTHING that can be done".

So Brady is stuck in quarantine until July 7th, we'll have him home for two weeks and then Sean and I head back to the US on July 21st for at least ten days - leaving him alone again.

10,000 steps and more resolutions

When Sean and I came to Australia in March we arrived on the beaches of Sydney feeling like pale and out of shape versions of ourselves. We both vowed that when we moved here we'd be much more active, eat better and really focus on being healthy. When I had my physical and I learned I had high blood pressure and low "good cholesterol" it was a kick to get things moving (I have heart disease on both sides of my family). So my first order of business when Sean went to work on Monday morning was to check out the local gyms in our area.

I had done a ton of research online and narrowed my focus to two pilates studios, a YMCA like gym (far away) and a place called Contours (for women only). I took the bus to the wrong stop but embraced the quarter of a mile back track I needed to make it to my destination (think of all the calories I was burning). The first Pilates place was really nice, clean and professional and REALLY expensive ($75/session) so I took a pamphlet and set off to place number two. The second pilates place was kind of dirty and still really expensive ($65/session) so I took another pamphlet and kept moving.

I had a hard time finding Contours because it was down an alley and up a set of stairs but when I did I was surprised by how small it was. It's a really small studio with different stations set up in a circle. The thing that intrigued me was their "29 minute workout". Basically you go through each station for 45 seconds so you're always moving. You switch from using real weights to cardio, to stretching, on and on until you've gone through the rotation twice in 29 minutes. I watched the women doing it and was getting really excited. I could do 45 seconds of anything - how tough could this really be? When the woman came over to talk with me I quickly signed up for the three day trial and scheduled my first appointment for the following morning at 9:30am, I was giddy!

After leaving the studio I went to the grocery store. Sean and I decided only to buy enough food for the day (aside from a few things here and there) so that we wouldn't end up with a ton of food that goes to waste. It was also good because we didn't have snacks lying around tempting us. We already had our dinner menu planned out for the night but I needed to get some vegetables (we are committing to real foods) so I picked out some peppers and started on my way home.

I was so excited to start my workout but I wanted to do something right away - I didn't want to wait a day so I decided to go for a long walk. I really enjoy walking and had been meaning to buy a pedometer for a while so I stopped at the pharmacy and picked one up for $20. I latched it on as I walked down the street and started walking. I had read somewhere that an active adult should log 10,000 steps per day so that was my goal (I later read that number is actually quite high but it's a goal). I walked about an eighth of a mile to the bus stop and then took the bus the rest of the way home. When I got home I did some picking up around the apartment before checking my email. Before I sat down I checked the pedometer and it had logged around 1,000 steps (probably a little less than that).

I thought about all the days that I didn't need to walk to the bus stop and was ashamed at the reality of my sedentary status for the past few years. To shake off the laziness remorse I decided to take a walk around the park that is about a half a mile away, that way I could log more steps in and get some fresh air. I walked around for over an hour. There is a boat house where you can rent canoes, row boats and kayaks, a dog section and different trails that you can take all the way into downtown Melbourne. It's a really gorgeous place and we are very lucky to live so close. Seeing all of the dogs made me miss Brady but it also made me excited for when he gets home, I'm sure we'll spend a lot of time at the park together.

When I got home I had logged about 8K steps - I realized that hitting 10K steps per day was going to mean a lot of walking but it'll be worth it. I just don't understand how the typical person who drives to work, sits at a desk all day then drives home is remotely capable of hitting even close to 5K, much less the 10K step mark. Yesterday I walked to the gym, all around the town, walked home from the bus station, to the train station, to visit Brady at quarantine and just hit 10K by the end of the evening. How many steps do you take per day? Have you ever kept track? I'd love to here what other people think.

Pretty Nice Little Saturday

Our corporate apartment has pretty much all that we need but there were still a few odds and ends we had to pick up. There are no dressers so both Sean and I needed coat hangers so we decided that Saturday we'd do some shopping. The grocery store sells coat hangers so the plan was to just go to the plaza down the street.. but then.. it hit me - TARGET. Australia has TARGET, granted it's not the same as the Target back home, prices are higher and the quality of goods is lower (in my opinion) but it's still the same general idea.

The problem is that Sean hates TARGET and not in just a little way. He literally would rather be duck taped to a chair stuck talking with Carey Prejean's pageant coach than walk through Target on a Saturday. I had to take a very scientific approach before I brought up the T word so I decided to focus on: spending less money, getting to know a new neighborhood and saving money (different than spending less money). I am pretty sure he was jet lagged and defeated from his morning of searching for some electronic device that didn't turn up so it worked!! Within minutes we were on our way to the mother ship!

As we got closer to our destination we realized it wasn't just a stand alone Target we were going to. There was a HUGE shopping center and across the street there was a strip mall that had a store totally dedicated to BBQs! Sean was very excited. Our apartment in Boston did not allow grilles so we've been really looking forward to the opportunity to cook out. It turned into such a typical, American, afternoon. We picked up what we needed at Target (and got out of there quick), visited my new favorite store called The Reject Shop (sort of like a Family Dollar/Job Lot) and made it across the street to the BBQ store.

We bought a really cute little charcoal BBQ & it has been a major highlight - we have used it to cook every single night since we got here! Sean is a great cook and we're branching out to try new things. The rest of Saturday was spent settling in and getting to bed early because we had a big day on Sunday planned in the Yarra Valley (Kangaroos & a Vineyard).

First Friday Night

After visiting Brady at quarantine on Friday Sean and I drove home and talked about what we should do for dinner that night. Sean mentioned going to an amazing restaurant that we went to when we were in Melbourne in March called St. Judes: http://www.stjudescellars.com.au/ - on a typical Friday night I would have jumped at the chance but I was still so jet lagged I thought it would be better if we stayed closer to home.

We stopped at a local store to pick up some stuff (beer) and I asked the clerk where the BEST restaurant in our area was. We learned that right down the street is Melbourne's only five star Thai restaurant - PERFECT. We stopped by and I begged for a reservation (.. we JUST got off a plane, new to the area, puhleeze!!) and the very nice man penciled us in for 8:15pm, we were both really excited.

I had decided a few weeks earlier to give up on diet and exercise until I moved to Australia (I wanted to enjoy all of our good bye for now parties!) so this was going to be one of the last nights that I indulged. Prior to the move it was so stressful and busy we pretty much gave up the gym altogether and ate whatever was fast, easy and available. When we were in LA it was either In N Out Burger or airport food so it wasn't looking good for the waistline. I had a physical before we got on the plane and my weight was the highest it has ever been but with Sean working full time while I wait for my visa I figured my top priority would be to shape up so why not enjoy being slovenly for a little while?

The restaurant called Paladarr: http://www.paladarr.com.au/ was very chic and the food was fantastic. We had Kangaroo (I felt really bad when I saw one on Sunday) that was delicious (not gamey at all) and a great (running out of adjectives) lamb curry with sticky rice. All of a sudden while we were enjoying our meal it hit me like a ton of bricks - JET LAG. As anyone who knows me can attest when I get tired, hungry, migraines, they hit hard and fast and there is little that can be done. My eyes started closing at the table and there was no chance we were sticking around for dessert. Luckily it's our neighborhood Thai place and the take out menu is 30% cheaper than eating in so we'll be able to enjoy the food again.

Sean and I hobbled home and passed out cold around 10pm - it was a good night.

We are NOT alone..

The other day when I was taking a nap I thought I heard Fiona coming into the bedroom. I was half asleep but I realized that was impossible, Fiona is back in the US and I was in Australia. I kept hearing her though. With two cats and a dog I am totally used to hearing the pitter patter of little feet, so I wasn't that alarmed. I mentioned to Sean that I thought we had a little friend living with us. He laughed and told me I was imagining it, I was too tired to push the subject and after living in NYC I wasn't that worried about it.

Side-story: In NYC we had a mice problem so we put out glue traps. We caught two mice in one trap and when we found them they were eating each other's feet.

Sean came home early from work today and took a nap.

About an hour or so later he came down and told me: "There is a creature living in our walls, we should sleep in the second bedroom tonight."

I know that I shouldn't have but I had to say it. "I told you so."