Intermezzo

We're back at home for a total of two short days. Just long enough to unpack our bags, do laundry, repack our bags, and wake up at 3:30 AM to get on our 6:00 AM flight tomorrow morning. Oh, and feed our neighbors' cat while they are away. You remember, the one Darcy's in love with. In fact, in my attempts to tire her out so she won't be a psycho dog when we try to board her on the plane tomorrow (oh, I forgot to mention that Darcy's going with us to Perth. Yes, it probably is cruel and unusual punishment to put her back into the crate that she's already spent 25 hours in during her cross-continental voyage, but it's either that or fork out $500 in kennel fees... so cruel and unusual punishment it is), I left her with Mordi for the morning. It went a little bit like this:


When we leave another friend will be taking over caring for the cat, a fact that I'm sure will please Mordi immensely.

Wish I had Time . . .

I wish I had time to tell you about everything that's going on. Time to tell you about our Thanksgiving holiday (or lack thereof). Time to tell you about the American food store we found (after renting a car just to get there-- what one wouldn't do for canned pumpkin and yams on Thanksgiving!). Time to announce our Christmas holiday plans with the proper pomp and circumstance that information like that deserves (because it's actually really cool, and I'm really excited).

But there is no time. Why? Because I am in the midst of Summer School, playing mommy to 120 kids from 10 countries around the world, living on a college campus, and basically pulling my hair out and losing my voice as I run from one emergency to the next before tumbling exhausted into bed after 14-hour days.

Maybe two weeks from now, when it is all over, I will have time again. And then I will tell you about Thanksgiving. And the American food store. And the Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Dr. Pepper that I found. And the Thanksgiving dinner I cooked for 9 people in our 600 sq foot apartment. And our two-week holiday in Perth that's coming up (dang it, cat's out of the bag, WITHOUT the pomp and circumstance!).

Until then, think of me as I babysit my kids, and pray that no one dies or gets pregnant on my watch so I can please keep my job!

New York, New York

So here are some pictures I promised you . . .

First off, the beautiful Mr. and Mrs. Smith as they exit their marriage ceremony (and the beautiful umbrella that kept them almost-if-not-completely dry). The ceremony took place in Central Park in a truly gorgeous garden (and thanks to my slowski-ness they've already been married a month before I could get around to posting pictures!)

The happy couple imitating Romeo and Juliet... uhh, actually on second thought let's hope not. Oh, and for the record I borrowed these professional pictures from Carissa's blog... I didn't just happen to take a picture of them kissing on a balcony. That would be weird.

After Carissa and Taylor left for their honeymoon the Hearon family swept into New York. Here's us in Central Park!

And here are the Hearon girls in Times Square, though you can't tell. I swear, if you zoomed out we would be standing in a square. With lots of lights. And people. And billboards. And time.

My fabulous parents on the Brooklyn Bridge

My sister and I on the Brooklyn Bridge... can't you see the family resemblance?

My sister and I in Central Park. If you look really closely you'll be able to see a phone by my ear. That's Will.

And last but certainly not least, a new summer haircut for Darcy. Poor thing -- it actually doesn't look that bad here, but the groomer (if that is in fact what he was; in retrospect, I saw no beauty certificate on his wall) gave her a poofy tail like a poodle, ginormous ears, and a really short-haired body. Ah well, this too shall pass.

Back Down Under

Hi, remember me? I'm the owner of this blog... and by owner I mean person who posts whenever she feels like it, then abandons her charge for weeks on end, then--when almost everyone has given up hope of a return--swoops back in to feed the blog-reading addiction with one more post, therefore renewing the hope that someday, SOMEDAY this blog might be maintained with regular updates. Sadly, regular updates are probably not in this particular blog's future, but hopefully we will all be appeased with not-so-regular, though invariably narcissistic and even occasionally semi-entertaining updates.

Mediocrity at its finest.

But in my defense I have been quite busy since returning Down Under from the City that Never Sleeps. And for those of you who were taking bets, NO I did not inadvertently get lost in Bloomingdales and miss my flight. YES I am now back in Australia and have been since last Saturday (after skipping over October 30 entirely... I still don't understand how that happens). So going directly from October 29 to October 31 had me landing in Australia on Halloween day, which was also a great excuse for not having a costume.

WILL: Honey, where's your costume?
ME: Sorry, I was planning on buying it on October 30, but that's right-- IT DIDN'T EXIST FOR ME.
WILL: Well how do you suggest we be Macaroni and Cheese without the cheese? Hmmmm???
ME: I'm sure you'll think of something, dear.

Although not having a costume wasn't as big a deal as I'm making it out to be, because a) upon landing, I slept through most of Halloween after my twenty-five hours of traveling, and b) Australians don't even celebrate the infamous holiday. (No Halloween, no Thanksgiving... makes the Holidays more like a holiday)

Upon landing in Australia I was also met with another semi-welcome event: summer! I swear that in my brief absence, summer has hit in full-force. When I left we were still fighting to stay in the 20s (that's high 60s, low 70s Fahrenheit), and I had to take a jacket with me everywhere. But over the last week and a half we have had pretty consistent 30-degree weather (that's in the upper 80s, low 90s Fahrenheit). I must say, the first few days of warm weather were quite welcome, but I'm beginning to regret my constant supplications for summer to arrive. Considering we have no air conditioning, no car, and not even an air conditioned office, this could be a really long summer season.

My travels (and by that I mean the trips themselves) were mostly uneventful. Except for the flight from Newark to San Francisco, where I practically had to fight to the death to keep my carry on from being checked through to my final destination. Unfortunately the flight was completely full and, being as I was one of the last ones to board, I hadn't laid claim to overhead bin space. Of course, after emphasizing again and again that my final destination was Melbourne, Australia, and how there was no way on earth that I would check my carry on through the whole way because it was filled with many valuable and breakable items (really, Fritos and Oreos... both very breakable and, in Australia, valuable as well!), I managed to snag a spot in the plane's coat closet. But not before one of the flight attendants told me that my only other option besides checking the carry on was catching the next flight out on my own dime. Whatever happened to customer service??? (not-so-subliminal message: never fly United!)

The trip itself was lovely. I had so much fun at Carissa and Taylor's wedding. They were both beautiful, New York was beautiful, and they threw a rocking good party! Unfortunately the weather was a little off on the day of the wedding, but the reception, meeting up with old friends, and the overall glamor of the wedding more than made up for it. It was SO GOOD to see old friends again, and I REALLY hope to see more of them in Australia soon!

After the wedding my family came to NYC to visit. My sister even flew in from San Diego, where she had moved less than a week and a half before, just to see me... well, me and the MET. But we all had a really great time walking around the city (and walking, and walking...) and keeping Carissa's apartment safe from burglaries :-). I'll try to post some pictures later.

Alright, I am sad to say that this post has taken me the entire day to write, and I am now officially tired. Jet lag still sneaks up on me at the oddest of times. Farewell, and goodnight.

USA or Bust!

Just because I find the international dateline a thing of hilarity and/or absurdity (and, oh alright, usefulness as well), I thought I would share my flight itinerary with you:

Melbourne to Sydney
Departure: Oct 21, 12:20 PM EST (afternoon)
Arrival: Oct 21, 1:45 PM EST (afternoon)

Sydney to San Francisco
Departure: Oct 21, 3:45 PM EST (afternoon)
Arrival: Oct 21, 11:11 AM PDT (morning)

Yes, that's right. I'm arriving in San Francisco 4 hours BEFORE I left Sydney. HOW CAN IT BE?????

San Francisco to Newark
Departure: Oct 21, 1:32 PM (afternoon)
Arrival: Oct 21, 9:59 PM (evening)

It's seriously like Groundhog Day. Should be interesting. At least I have two books, my iPod, and sleeping pills to keep me company.

By the way, Darcy has been inordinately lazy with her blog post about house sitting, but I told her she could have free reign of the blog while I'm gone, so maybe she can put something together for us. You should hassle Will about that!

Alright, friends-- I'm off!

Off to the Races!

With spring in Victoria comes inconsistent weather, floral dresses in shop windows that no one can wear without leggings and jumpers, and a plethora of horse races. That's right, it's racing season in Australia!

Being the Australian adventurers that we are, Will and I made our way to the Caulfield Racecourse on Saturday for a day of horse racing. The races in Victoria are huge events and are the height of fashion, gambling and champagne consumption. The Caulfield Cup is one of the biggest racing days of the season, perhaps second only to Melbourne Cup Day, which falls on the first Tuesday in November and is a public holiday in Victoria. That's right, the entire state gets the day off on behalf of a congregation of really fast four-legged animals.


As I mentioned, racing is all about the fashion. So before you ask what that giant thing in my hair is, let me introduce you to the concept of "the Fascinator." What the Terminator is to termination, the Fascinator is to fascination. Actually it's simply a hair accessory, like a scaled back version of a hat. Everyone wears them. I swear.

Up close and personal with the Fascinator

Requisite animal cruelty picture

Proof of the Fascinator's vast influence - even the Cup Girl wears them!

The races themselves were a good time as well, although they may have taken a back seat to the people watching. Our friends got there early and staked out a really good spot right next to the course. We had an amazing view of the final stretch, the better to see our horses lose.

Absolute Joy - I picked her because she shares my middle name, but she was unable to return my $5 investment.

Lining up for the start of the big race

And down the stretch they come!

The worst part of the day was possibly the weather. It started off cold and rainy, then warmed up for a few minutes, then got cold and rainy again, then warmed up and ... well, you get the picture. Even though we were chilly half the time, Will still managed to acquire quite the rosy shade of burned. Only in Melbourne can you freeze and fry at the same time.

Our first racing experience proved to be a success, despite our $10 gambling loss. Although we get the day off for the Melbourne Cup, we may forgo the races in favor of a more subdued viewing experience. I'm not sure the Fascinator is ready for another go just yet.

Speaking of Interruptions...

In my last post I discussed the interruption that house-sitting provided to our "Australian dream." Well, looming on the near horizon is yet another, more momentous interruption: my return to the Homeland.

This Wednesday I embark on my 25-hour-long journey to New York City for Carissa's wedding. I can't believe the time for my trip is already here. When I bought the ticket it seemed like such a distant, quasi-imaginary dream that I would ever actually be making my way back to the States, yet here I am, packing my bags, preparing for my one-and-a-half weeks in North America.

I'm not exactly sure what I want to say about this... there's such a mixture of thoughts and emotions that come with returning home. Will I survive the twenty-five hours on multiple planes without Will to keep me entertained? More importantly, will I be able to get back on a plane just 1.5 weeks later? Will my friends think I look the same? Will they remark on my charming new Australian accent? Will I max out my credit cards buying things I haven't seen in nine months? Will I be able to say goodbye to friends and family, not knowing when I'll see them again? Will I be able to be as happy with life in Australia upon my return after having been "awakened" from the dream before we're even halfway through?

Who knows? I'm not trying to sound over-dramatic here, but Lord knows that as great as Australia is, the US--even New York City--will always be home. And home is not something that's ever easy to leave behind.