This has been the coldest week of my life in melbourne and I'm not too happy about it.
I've reviewed my previous post where I described my feelings about a week in queensland as 'mixed'....well I'm over it. I'm thrilled to be going to the warm sunshine for 7 days. Anything to get me out of the cold....brrrr
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Well, it's finally happening! I'm going to do my student teaching at the end of the month in Queensland, since I couldn't find a place in Melbourne to do it. I have mixed feelings about this, it'll be nice to get it done and I do have some girlfriends I'll get to see, which is sweet. But, I don't like having to go away and spend $$ I don't have on a non-vacation. On the other hand, autumn/winter is descending upon Melbourne and its always sunny in qld!!
Proper autumn (its not fall here!) takes so long and the 'nasty' seasons are so short I'd forgotten what its like to wake up to the sound of the wicked witch of the west landing on your house.....this morning I was reminded. This wind is fierce! ick...and its going to be like this until august....gross.
The thing that really sucks about melbourne winter is that it isn't especially cold, just cold enough to be really uncomfortable, not cold enough to freeze. And all it does is rain, rain, rain. Does anyone remember the Winnie-the-Pooh story of the blustery day where piglet gets stuck in a honey pot and the hundred acre woods floods? (I work with kids, remember?) That is what melbourne winter is like, except, they don't collect the water and as its pouring rain for months they tell us we're in a drought....grrr.....
Proper autumn (its not fall here!) takes so long and the 'nasty' seasons are so short I'd forgotten what its like to wake up to the sound of the wicked witch of the west landing on your house.....this morning I was reminded. This wind is fierce! ick...and its going to be like this until august....gross.
The thing that really sucks about melbourne winter is that it isn't especially cold, just cold enough to be really uncomfortable, not cold enough to freeze. And all it does is rain, rain, rain. Does anyone remember the Winnie-the-Pooh story of the blustery day where piglet gets stuck in a honey pot and the hundred acre woods floods? (I work with kids, remember?) That is what melbourne winter is like, except, they don't collect the water and as its pouring rain for months they tell us we're in a drought....grrr.....
Saturday, March 14, 2009
drunk in the clouds
So, I was a little drunk last night.....out to dinner bottle of wine...gm at disgestif, you know how it goes.
Anyways we get home and it's super overcast...I mean the fog had descended upon the city....and we were in the middle of it. I guess one of the cool things about living so high is that occasionally you get stuck in a cloud. It was like magic. At first I thought I had been transported to Gotham city, but after a few seconds I was overwhelmed by the beauty of the cloud and it felt more like a magical candyland.
The downside of being stuck in a cloud at night means a very cloudy day. Not sure if I'll be leaving the couch today!
Anyways we get home and it's super overcast...I mean the fog had descended upon the city....and we were in the middle of it. I guess one of the cool things about living so high is that occasionally you get stuck in a cloud. It was like magic. At first I thought I had been transported to Gotham city, but after a few seconds I was overwhelmed by the beauty of the cloud and it felt more like a magical candyland.
The downside of being stuck in a cloud at night means a very cloudy day. Not sure if I'll be leaving the couch today!
Friday, March 13, 2009
work etc....
So I've started toying with the idea of becoming an actual kindergarden teacher....not a kinder room in childcare, which is where I currently work, but an actualy kinder teacher. Whats the difference? you may ask, well, the difference is that in childcare you work with all these retards who don't know how to do their jobs . When the center is short staffed I often have to deal with much younger children who wear diapers and the pay is crap. In a kinder you're with kids 5-6 hours a day, instead of 9 and its 4 days a week and you get 6-7 hours a week to plan lessons! whoo whoo AND you get all school holidays off paid! sweeeeeeeet.....I'm kinda liking this idea. what do we think friends?
xx
xx
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
SLACKER!!
Yes Me!! I know I've been absolutely terrible, no good emails or updates or anything. As I'm sure many of you can imagine that means I'm in a bit of rut, but that's no excuse, you all are my near and dear and you deserve better!
So, as for me, I'm still working in the Kindergarten, I've basically been working on and off at the same child care center for almost a year, which is a little ridiculous! I was there for 3 months before I came home for the summer and then I've been there pretty much full time since October. I'm unbelievably over it! I love my kids to death and a lot of days are really fun. I am, however, tired of spending all day every day with people who scream whenever they don't get their way and occasionally shit themselves. Add to that the director of my center is 24 and completely inexperienced, she wants everyone to like her so she doesn't put her foot down or manage at all...grrrrrr.
I've finished my qualification to teach English and I will be highly qualified, but I can't find a place to student teach...I need 10 hours in the classroom and I'll be all set ready to find a teaching job and no one will let me student teach! I can't tell you how discouraging it is. I've called every language school and community center in the Melbourne Area and so far no luck, if any of you have ideas please let me know! I want to start my career!!
Personally, life couldn't be better =) Mike and I are starting the ground work to apply for permenant residency (pr), which means we can stay in Australia for the next 10 years if we want to and have all the rights (not a lot of the responsibility: oz has mandatory voting!) of citizens. That may not sound like a super big deal, but let me enlighten you! Australia has health cover called medicare and they way it works is the government takes 1% of your paycheck and you get covered for all emergency, contraception, doctors, etc...all the big stuff. Almost everyone is eligible for medicare b/c Australia has recipricol health agreements with almost every country in the world....except the United States. So, while everyone else gets this awesome coverage, I'm still paying for everything out of pocket AND to add insult to injury, b/c there is this awesome gov sponsered health care system, the private cover I do have doesn't cover the basics, no private cover does (don't worry mom, I've covered for emergencies etc!). When I have pr, I'll be able to get this totally awesome health care! YAY!
We've also done a bit more traveling around oz, we went to adelaide a few weeks ago, which is the capital of South Australia and is offically the farthest west I've been on this continent! It's a charming little city full of lovely sweet people and delicious food!! South Australia is a very famous wine growing region so we were able to take advantage of the local speciality! haha I'd like to think I'm becoming a bit of a consiuerr of Australian wines, so if you have any questions, let me know! I'm definitely becoming a total wino =)
As many of you may have heard there were terrible fires in Australia recently, the worst fires in Australian recorded history, almost 200 people died and thousands lost their homes. The most severe fires were within about an hours drive of Melbourne and although we could see and smell smoke in the city, it never got more serrious than that. To put it in perspective, everyone I know who is from Victoria (Melbourne is the capital of Victoria) knows at least one person/family that lost their house. It's just incridibely tragic.
As for me, I continue to enjoy some of the happiest moments in my life, despite missing you all dreadfully! I've started Bikram Yoga, which is a 90 minute yoga class in a 102-107 degree room (38-42 celcius)! I know it sounds ridiculous, but its one of the best life decisions I've ever made, I adore my classes and feel fantastic =)
I'm sure most of you have figured out that I won't be home this summer and believe me, I'm pretty gutted, but I figure its time to get real about my finances and I can't afford it. You all, however, can probably afford to fly here =)
Qantas airways is offering flights for about $600 round trip from the west coast and about $800 round trip from the east coast....when I came home last summer my flights cost $3000!! Even better, for those of you under 26, STA travel is offering roundtrip flights for under $500! I mean, come on people, I had better be seeing you this year, I don't think flights will ever again be this cheap!
I hope you all are well and excited for spring =) Contrary to my actions, you are always on my mind. I will do better and make more of an effort with this blog, so we don't have entries as long as this one!
Congrats if you made it to the end! I love you tons!
xxxxxxx
me =)
So, as for me, I'm still working in the Kindergarten, I've basically been working on and off at the same child care center for almost a year, which is a little ridiculous! I was there for 3 months before I came home for the summer and then I've been there pretty much full time since October. I'm unbelievably over it! I love my kids to death and a lot of days are really fun. I am, however, tired of spending all day every day with people who scream whenever they don't get their way and occasionally shit themselves. Add to that the director of my center is 24 and completely inexperienced, she wants everyone to like her so she doesn't put her foot down or manage at all...grrrrrr.
I've finished my qualification to teach English and I will be highly qualified, but I can't find a place to student teach...I need 10 hours in the classroom and I'll be all set ready to find a teaching job and no one will let me student teach! I can't tell you how discouraging it is. I've called every language school and community center in the Melbourne Area and so far no luck, if any of you have ideas please let me know! I want to start my career!!
Personally, life couldn't be better =) Mike and I are starting the ground work to apply for permenant residency (pr), which means we can stay in Australia for the next 10 years if we want to and have all the rights (not a lot of the responsibility: oz has mandatory voting!) of citizens. That may not sound like a super big deal, but let me enlighten you! Australia has health cover called medicare and they way it works is the government takes 1% of your paycheck and you get covered for all emergency, contraception, doctors, etc...all the big stuff. Almost everyone is eligible for medicare b/c Australia has recipricol health agreements with almost every country in the world....except the United States. So, while everyone else gets this awesome coverage, I'm still paying for everything out of pocket AND to add insult to injury, b/c there is this awesome gov sponsered health care system, the private cover I do have doesn't cover the basics, no private cover does (don't worry mom, I've covered for emergencies etc!). When I have pr, I'll be able to get this totally awesome health care! YAY!
We've also done a bit more traveling around oz, we went to adelaide a few weeks ago, which is the capital of South Australia and is offically the farthest west I've been on this continent! It's a charming little city full of lovely sweet people and delicious food!! South Australia is a very famous wine growing region so we were able to take advantage of the local speciality! haha I'd like to think I'm becoming a bit of a consiuerr of Australian wines, so if you have any questions, let me know! I'm definitely becoming a total wino =)
As many of you may have heard there were terrible fires in Australia recently, the worst fires in Australian recorded history, almost 200 people died and thousands lost their homes. The most severe fires were within about an hours drive of Melbourne and although we could see and smell smoke in the city, it never got more serrious than that. To put it in perspective, everyone I know who is from Victoria (Melbourne is the capital of Victoria) knows at least one person/family that lost their house. It's just incridibely tragic.
As for me, I continue to enjoy some of the happiest moments in my life, despite missing you all dreadfully! I've started Bikram Yoga, which is a 90 minute yoga class in a 102-107 degree room (38-42 celcius)! I know it sounds ridiculous, but its one of the best life decisions I've ever made, I adore my classes and feel fantastic =)
I'm sure most of you have figured out that I won't be home this summer and believe me, I'm pretty gutted, but I figure its time to get real about my finances and I can't afford it. You all, however, can probably afford to fly here =)
Qantas airways is offering flights for about $600 round trip from the west coast and about $800 round trip from the east coast....when I came home last summer my flights cost $3000!! Even better, for those of you under 26, STA travel is offering roundtrip flights for under $500! I mean, come on people, I had better be seeing you this year, I don't think flights will ever again be this cheap!
I hope you all are well and excited for spring =) Contrary to my actions, you are always on my mind. I will do better and make more of an effort with this blog, so we don't have entries as long as this one!
Congrats if you made it to the end! I love you tons!
xxxxxxx
me =)
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
G'Obama!
Although it is tuesday the 4th here in the melbs, the election is TOMORROW!! I'm so freaking excited and scared. I kinda just want it to all be over, the anticipation is killing me!
So today is a public holiday here, for a horse race....yeah I said it. But tomorrow is a public holiday for me as I spend the day with my country people in a pub watching election returns!! it should be super fab and I have a gift certificate to the pub for doing so well in political trivia a few weeks ago!
I hope you all have voted will vote etc...I know I have although hopefully the election won't be close enough to count my absentee vote. How exciting is it that VA isn't even one of the most contested states (according to washington post today!) Go Big Blue!
and here folks....is my happy face!
So today is a public holiday here, for a horse race....yeah I said it. But tomorrow is a public holiday for me as I spend the day with my country people in a pub watching election returns!! it should be super fab and I have a gift certificate to the pub for doing so well in political trivia a few weeks ago!
I hope you all have voted will vote etc...I know I have although hopefully the election won't be close enough to count my absentee vote. How exciting is it that VA isn't even one of the most contested states (according to washington post today!) Go Big Blue!
and here folks....is my happy face!
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Election 08
Three days left, well maybe four, it gets very confusing from this end of things!! But I am so freaking excited, very nervous, but extremely excited!!
I was a bit perturbed to read this earlier. It basically argues that Obama will win the election because he has recieved a lot more positive coverage in the media than McCain/Palin have. So this article says if it wasn't for the overwhelming discrepency in the coverage they've recieved the race would be closer. To that I say poo-poo!
Maybe, just maybe, McCain/Palin have recieved a lot more negative coverage because they've earned it!! The media isn't meant to be equally positive/negative about the campaigns! It's there to report on them. Now, I do agree that media should be unbiased and balanced, and ideally there wouldn't be any mention and positive and negative coverage, it would just be coverage, however, if the past eight years have taught us anything, it is that unbiased media coverage is impossible!
Back to the issue at hand, I think it is ridiculous to hold the campaigns accountable for the media's slant. I'm convinced that Obama has done more to encourage positive coverage than McCain has. He has not once landed a bellow the belt punch to either McCain or Palin, although we all know they deserved it and most of us wish he had! He really has run a good clean campaign, at least from my end, and the positive coverage only reinforces that.
As glad as I am that it's almost over, I have no idea what I'm going to do when it is! haha
read the article, what do you think?
I was a bit perturbed to read this earlier. It basically argues that Obama will win the election because he has recieved a lot more positive coverage in the media than McCain/Palin have. So this article says if it wasn't for the overwhelming discrepency in the coverage they've recieved the race would be closer. To that I say poo-poo!
Maybe, just maybe, McCain/Palin have recieved a lot more negative coverage because they've earned it!! The media isn't meant to be equally positive/negative about the campaigns! It's there to report on them. Now, I do agree that media should be unbiased and balanced, and ideally there wouldn't be any mention and positive and negative coverage, it would just be coverage, however, if the past eight years have taught us anything, it is that unbiased media coverage is impossible!
Back to the issue at hand, I think it is ridiculous to hold the campaigns accountable for the media's slant. I'm convinced that Obama has done more to encourage positive coverage than McCain has. He has not once landed a bellow the belt punch to either McCain or Palin, although we all know they deserved it and most of us wish he had! He really has run a good clean campaign, at least from my end, and the positive coverage only reinforces that.
As glad as I am that it's almost over, I have no idea what I'm going to do when it is! haha
read the article, what do you think?
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