We're here!

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First of all, it's cold. Not crappy Vancouver 2-degrees-and-freezing-rain cold, but deceptively-sunny-during-the-day-yet-still-chilly cold. Somehow sunny and 18 degrees feels cold here but at home Kits beach would be full.

Next, Sydney is a tough city without a car. The ferries and trains are easy but the buses are slightly brutal. We're staying in the equivalent of the Metrotown area. Giant mall in the suburbs, commuter train station and it just feels like the burbs. We *so* need to buy a car. Maybe this weekend.

But we're getting ourselves fixed up pretty quickly:
Day 1: Arrive at 7am. Later, go to the bank to open accounts.
Day 2: See a tragic apartment with mint green carpet. Ugh. Get mobile phones.
Day 3: Just miss out on what sounded like a great apt. See another tragic apartment - this time it's a wierd little hovel made entirely out of cinder blocks.
Day 4: Bank cards come in the mail. See a great apartment followed by yet another tragic apt. Called back to take great apartment. Go to Freedom and buy a bed that will be delivered next week.

It's a start.

Like my ride?

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OK it may be the ugliest truck ever but I have to thank Rick in a big way for letting me drive it for the past week since both our cars are now sold. We've carted so much stuff around with it. Very handy.

But the best is all the zipping around downtown I've done in it. I can parallel park it like a rock star and I get people giving me peace signs and stuff. The bestest is the guy who looked at me then looked at the truck and then yelled through the rolled down passenger window "I love you!" as I was stopped at an intersection. I get just as much attention in the truck as I do when I would have the roof down on the Cabrio. But it's a different type of guy checking me out...

First day of unemployment

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Sushi, sun and a new pedicure. Yay! OK - I had a lot of stuff to do yesterday but I had to at least enjoy my first Monday of no work.

Sold!

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It's all gone. Every last piece of furniture is sold. All the rest of the sellable stuff is sold. I am no longer a slave to Craigslist. I'm done work and I've sold my car. I had 2 going away nights out - one for work and one for friends. Now for the cleanup. We've been taking loads and loads of crap out of the house. Old magazines, empty picture frames, food that we have to chuck and so many odds and ends to get rid of. I have to itemize everything we're shipping for Australian quarantine & insurance. OMG I think we're really going.

Curtis Stone creeps me out

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He was the host on My Restaurant Rules (in Australia) for season 1 and someone must have thought he sucks cause he wasn't on season 2. He was fairly painful to watch with no personality and he was stiff as a bored. (Yes I spelled that right)

Then he had a show called Surfing the Menu where he was somewhat less stiff. It didn't hurt that he co-hosted with his buddy Bender who is better looking and has miles more camera persona.

Now he's moved from super boring to wierdly creepy. Now he has a show called Take Home Chef is where he grabs someone in Whole Foods (Whole Paycheque) and offers to help with buying groceries and goes back to thier place to cook a meal with them. OK - the premise is passable but it gets kind of weird. I don't know if he's not 100% comfortable but he does this creepy chuckle the whole way through. Then he hangs around while they eat. And, he makes the stupidest jokes. One guy (who was the husband of the woman shoping) is eating the meal and says to him how it must be tough to come into someone else kitchen to cook a meal. Perfect opportunity to say how comfy Curtis is in different kitchens, or he could compliment them on their kitchen. Instead, Curtis says something about how he's heard Americans have lots of guns and he'd worry that someone will chase him out of their house. Nice one, dumbass.

I'll give this one 3 thumb down on my Tivo so it doesn't record this for me.

shopping second hand

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In preparation of moving overseas, we've sold practically everything and will have to start fresh in Australia. I'll be checking Craigslist, Cash Converters and Cracker. This list is from MSN Money Central (thanks to Get Rich Slowly)...top 10 things to buy secondhand. We'll need to buy everything on this list other than toys and timeshares. Oh, and gems - not really on my list.

1. Books — Most books are read only once. Books are also easy to find cheap, or at your public library.
2. DVDs, CDs, and videos — These are easy to find used at yard sales. And, again, try the library.
3. Toys for young children — Kids are fickle; it’s tough to predict what they’ll like. And they don’t care if a toy is used or new.
4. Jewelry — Gems have huge markups. Buy from a reputable pawn shop.
5. Sports equipment — Sporting goods are easy to find at yard sales, thrift stores, and from friends who no longer use them.
6. Timeshares — To get the best deal on a timeshare, buy from a disgruntled owner.
7. Cars — Automobiles are notoriously poor “investments”. Let somebody else take the initial depreciation hit. Buy used.
8. Software and console games — If you’re willing to wait a few months, you can get fantastic deals on used software. (Don't think Craig can usually wait.)
9. Furniture — High-quality used furniture is easy to find. Check the newspaper classifieds, craigslist, or look for a used furniture stores.
10. Hand tools — “Well-made tools with few or no moving parts — like hammers, wrenches, shovels, hoes, etc. — can last decades with proper maintenance and are relatively easy to find at yard sales.”

'last stand' mentality

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Since our trip to LA and SFO, I've been in a sort of 'last stand' mood. Meaning, as a slave to shopping, I'm feeling like I have a severe hoarding intstinct developing. What if we get to Australia and I can't find the stuff I'm looking for? I won't know where to go. (I'm so used to knowing exactly where to get what I'm looking for.) What if it's double the price? These are the issues that trouble a girl who's a shopoholic.

When we were on Fillmore in San Francisco, we spent about 600 bucks in the Marc Jacobs store...why? Surely I won't be in a Marc Jacobs shop for ages! When we were in Union Square, I felt that I *had* to buy something at Sephora, even though I wasn't really in the mood. (What if they don't have Murad in Australia? What if they don't have Urban Decay?) I've already thought about what I'll be getting friends and family to send over when necessary. (What if I run out of my favorite Shu blush? Or need more Warners bras?) What about Domino and Blueprint magazine? I'm addicted! No BR or Old Navy? Waah!

But...

I'm psyching myself into thinking about the 'thrill of the hunt' in Sydney. Working out where everything is. Finding new brands. Setting up the new house. I'm researching webpages all the time. I'm so used to being the expert on where to get anything in Vancouver, that I'll be doing my best to figure it all out in our new city. These will be fun times. But first I have to go out and pick up a few tubes of MAC Lipglass.

It's good to have goals

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Around Christmastime at work, we were herded into a room to write our 101 life goals based on the theory that if you actually document what you want to accomplish, you're more likely to get it done. I got to about 60 and they're pretty good. I've been able to cross one off - see a Madonna concert - and I'm about to cross off another: live in a different country.

So here's the Australian list: (in no particular order)

Surf well. Not just flail and settle for just being able to stand up.

Ski in NZ or AUS.

Buy a hot little convertible.

Visit Nonna.

Trip to Adelaide & Barossa Valley.

Christmas on the beach.

Find new favorite shops, beauty products, cool neighborhoods. This will be the funnest!

Live in an apartment with a view and hopefully a pool.

Feel like I'm really 'at home' aformentioned apartment.

Live near a park or seawall so I can find a good walking route.

Find a new fave cheap Chinese noodle house.

Figure out how to get Tivo working in Sydney.

Go to the movies at a La Premiere theatre. (Just to see if it's worth it.)

Find a way to turn Craig into a food and wine lover. There's so much food and wine to explore.

Work somewhere fun with people I really like. (Like I do now)

Trip to Asia.

Trip to the Whitsundays.

Watch a game of cricket, Aussie rules, rugby. (I have no idea how any of these games work.)

Make a plan for networking to maintain contacts here and build new ones there.

Be in Sydney harbour for New Years Eve fireworks.

Join some kind of group or class.

Take tons of pictures to put on flickr.

Get a sweet new mobile phone.

Be a member of the Powerhouse Museum.

Go to some Sydney Design Festival events.

Go to the Australian Open.

There's a lot on here and it's a pretty healthy start...