March
Wednesday 1st MarchThings we had to do today:
Also got a phone call from one of the agencies I put my CV into, and one of the banks wants me to come in and see them with regards to some jobs they have coming up, so that's good. Should get an interview in a couple of days he said. Sheryl went out a walk with Holly as it was overcast and a little cooler, but she still got a bit red from the sun, and her face and arms are a touch pink tonight! Had our tea, and then sat out on the balcony, watching the world go by, and making sure Holly never does get her big head through the small gaps in the railings! (although she never gives up trying!). Its really nice sitting out there, after your dinner, as it faces south, and the sun sets over North Sydney, and the yellow-orange glow comes across the bay. I know they say a picture tells a thousand words, but the picture above can't describe how nice this place is:
The ferry is just looks like a mini-ship, but somehow (and especially at night when its all lit up) it feels the same as when you see the Waverley out on the Clyde, there is a majestic feeling of old-fashioned from times gone past. http://www.sydneyferries.info/ Thursday 2ndPhone line still out. Due to be fixed by the end of today. Telstra engineer came out but it looks like a fault internal to the building. Estate agent came round to talk to us about the rental, and also houses for sale in the region. Very helpful. He used to work in Edinburgh for 3 months! He was wondering if we would be flexible with our exit date from here, i.e. nearer to the 6 months than the 8 months, so that it makes it easier for him to sell it to a buyer who is interested. They also offered to pay our moving costs when we leave here, and give us a case of fine red wine if we can help him out. To be honest, we wanted 6 months to begin with, so it suits us anyway, so bingo! Agent is going to help us out by taking us round some nice areas, and telling us the good, bad, and medium streets to live in locally. Gotta go - Holly is digging through the drawers looking for something to mangle!
butter just wouldn't melt! Friday 3rdI went into the city / CBD today, for an interview and to meet one of the agencies, while Sheryl and Holly went a walk along the beach front and played in the rockpool. I was absolutely boilin' in my suit, shirt and tie ! Its going to take a bit of getting used to, but at least the buildings were quite cool inside. Had a wee steak pie from Jesters (used to be called Shakespeares) for my lunch....Mmmm magic.... There's big business in pies pies pies....everywhere you go, they tempt you with cakes and pies. I wonder if this goes back from all the Scots emigrating over here....bringing our pie and bun fetish over with us? Saturday 4thWent a drive up to Umina Beach ( www.whereis.com ) to look at some houses. Saw some crackers... but the nice ones are a bit pricey, when you consider how far up north they are i.e. well over an hour on the train and nearly two hours by car at rush hour!
It was huge, plenty of bathrooms and bedrooms etc, but didn't quite grab us just yet... Sunday 5thWent for a drive down the coast a bit, and popped into some shops to get Holly measured up for wee proper shoes, Clarks no less! She was a bit wobbly on them the wee soul, as it takes the feeling away from her feet, so makes it harder to walk, so we need to just take our time, and let her get better on her bare feet and then try these things gradually on her. Tolls flippin' tolls everywhere.... You cross over the Sydney Harbour bridge, or the Harbour Tunnel, then go onto the "Eastern Distributor" and they get you every time, cash, cash, cash.....winge winge winge. Everything seems expensive because its in Aussie dollars, but have you have to keep halving everything, and then chip off a bit more i.e. 2.32 dollars to the pound. So you get stung for a 3.00 toll and you're like "how much?" and then you realise its about £1.30 and its not quite so bad - makes the Erskine Bridge seem like buttons to cross at 60p !! Monday 6thIts going to be a hot one today. Going in for a shower, the sun was coming through the window, and it was like having one of those electric bathroom heaters up on the wall, it was that warm, and it was only about 9am. Had the estate agent up, getting a "condition report" done, which gets the placed checked over with a fine tooth comb, before the rental begins, so that they can make sure its still like that at the end of the lease, and you can't be blamed for something that was already there at the beginning etc. Holly and Sheryl went out, but came in shortly after like burst balls, faces all flushed with the heat. We feel like "dugs" in the back of a car - can't complain though, just need to get used to it. Tuesday 7thAbsolutely boiling again today - although it was really windy at night - and its only 11am ! Holly having a snooze on mummy whilst I do this, and then pile through the job listings...Need to take the car out west to get a wee warning light looked at - can't be too careful when its still under the initial 3 month dealer warranty ! Had to change the car to Friday as I've got a 2nd interview - which has to come first. Wednesday 8thHad a second interview today, and then I've got another interview for a different job tomorrow. Its like buses! Suit on again - trying not to melt away in the heat! Sheryl and Holly came down to wave me away on the ferry and were there again when I came back, which was really nice. Its weird. Feel like I am on holiday, but I'm all trussed up in a suit! Met Derek Walker from my old work - had some lunch in Darling Harbour and a couple of beers - smashin ! Del had his camera so here's a pic. He has to go back home on Friday, but he's over here at least once a year, so the beers are on him the next time!
Thursday 9thDid the webcam with Jean and Bob (Sheryl's folks) this morning. Looking forward to them coming over on Sunday for a couple of weeks - got to get them at the airport at 7am so probably need to get up at 5am! Gotta go get ready for another interview - can't complain - its good experience. Here is wee cheeky face meantime, taken yesterday.
Friday 10th
Its Sheryl's Mum's birthday today, so its good that she's leaving the next day to come here on holiday (although its Thursday over there, so not really her birthday yet I suppose..).. need to wait until tonight to sing Happy Birthday ! Going out west to get the car looked at, and drop into a few shopping places on the way...need to get a rug to save wee Holly's heid from the hard tiles in here, coz she's bumbed it too many times when she goes belly up ! 8pm: Got the rug, got the car looked at and best of all got the job too !! Good things can also come in three's! Holly's had her bath and seems to like running up and down the new rug - its the same as the one we left at home, coz we spilt Irn Bru of all things on to it, so maybe it reminds her of home - here's hoping it stays Irn Bru-less for as long as possible (we have found a few places where you can buy it over here, so not making any promises!) Phoned Jean and sang Happy Birthday, just as we were driving over the Sydney Harbour Bridge. She will soon be leaving to go to Glasgow Airport to catch the flight. We'll see her in about 35 hours or so !!! Saturday 11thCan't remember what we did today. All the days blur into one another! Had some Pizza for tea - Pizza Hut do large pizzas (6 slices) for $5.95 collect !!! Thats about £2.50. Its gonna be hard to diet here ! In our defence, the fridge is jammed with salad, melons, water and juices (and just a little Irn Bru, chocolate and Ice-Cream of course!). Sunday 12thSheryl was up at about 4am! (I think she's excited her Mum's coming!). We went to the airport for 7am and met her Mum and Dad off the plane. They flew over Emirates and loved it. Said the plane had about 100 channels of radio and films - and you could pause your films individually to each person, and pick it up again later after your snooze or food! Drove them into and around town a bit before heading across to Manly. As if on queue, some wee birds came to the window to welcome them (they haver never turned up before or since!)
Drove up later to Dee Why and got out the folding chairs, while Holly dragged her Grandad down to the sea - she loves chasing the waves in and out and getting soaking wet. Sat in the evening sun, under the shade of the big beach conifers, having some fish suppers! No haddock over here, but they did offer Hake, Blue Eye, Whiting or Perch! Had some perch - very nice indeed - no skin for a change! Monday 13thLeft at 6:30am for Penrith to get the car to the garage for 8am then caught the train back into Sydney. Went up to the bank etc, and saw a lot of police etc, and remembered the Queen was coming to town. Shortly after, the PM John Howard comes in a car, then Prince Edward, then the Queen and Prince Philip in their big Rolls turn the corner into St Andrews Cathedral for a Commonwealth Day ceremony. They are over here to open the Games on Wednesday. I don't know, I last saw the Queen when I was 10 years old, going down Almada Street in Hamilton, and then you go half way round the world, and her car passes about 10 feet away from you in Sydney!! Sheryl et al, had came off the ferry a little earlier and were just walking up George St, when lizzie came past. After some lunch, Bob and I went a walk with Holly around the harbour and piers etc (no, not down the docks to see some sailors!) while Sheryl and Jean went to test if their credit cards were still working!. Had to keep walking - it was too hot to stand still for too long. Went down past where the port is where our container came in. Also went past a big boat that was berthed, that we had seen earlier - a huge tug kinda boat that was converted into a private boat-cum-yacht. Found a picture of it on the Internet, as there was something about it that made us wonder.
It looked really weird - posh but industrial. The back has a helipad and cranes to bring in the fancy boats that take you ashore. Yet it had kept the tug's water cannons front and rear, as if to keep paparazzi at bay.... Turns out it was Kerry Packer's boat, and was used a week or so ago by Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes when they came over for the funeral. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2006/02/17/1140151812469.html http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2006/02/18/1140151850173.html Down at the next pier, they were selling berths next to the penthouse apartments, and the berths alone were $400,000 (£175,000). How the other half live! Tuesday 14thWent into town to meet the recruitment agency http://www.vantagerecruitment.com.au/ to sign their contract etc and fill in all the tax blurb. This agency, and agent were amongst the few sample jobs I had printed out from back home, to get an idea on what the market was like - funny to think I end up getting a job through them first off. Ferries were off for a couple of hours (union meetings!) so had to get the replacement bus into town. Just as fast but not as nice as sailing. Also got the telephone fixed! It was driving me nuts, and it was taking ages to sort out through all the proper channels, so I got the wee man to let me into the wiring cupboard. So just in case Alex Marrs from Abbey / BT is watching - here is the wiring harness!
(The long blue and white wire is just me testing I got it working - I tidied it up in amongst the metal madness afterwards - honest!) I traced our cable down to the junction box and wired it up to the main line coming in from the street. Bingo! These guys from BT / Telstra must have their fingers shaved down - my fat stubbies can't get in. So basically if the last guy hadn't wired up the sockets wrong in the first place, AND the Telstra engineer could be bothered working out which wire was our Unit's then it could maybe have been sorted at the start, when he was here getting the line working in from the street. Wednesday 15thWent a drive up North to take Jean and Bob up to Gosford, and Umina Beach etc where there were some nice and reasonably priced houses, although we are beginning to realise its just that bit too far away, just for the sake of not having a mortgage - probably better to stay nearer the city and putting up with the higher prices for the better lifestyle all round. Had "a bit of a draaaama" (as they say over here!) - parked the car, with the wee heater warming Holly's food up and flattened the battery! So after a few tries at asking people who were very willing to help, but who didn't have jump leads, I was told about a wee shop that had some, and then all I had to do was find someone with a car (wasn't too hard!). Very nice villagey atmosphere to Umina. There was a man in a UTE (short for Utility Vehicle - like a wee pick up / car-based flatbed - lots more popular than Transits for workies). Turns out his name was Bob (52 I think he was), and his mother was from Peebles! His relatives still own some shops in Peebles. Came over 53 years ago, just before Bob was born. Very helpful man - even came after us to tell me I also had a stop light out at the back. Hello Bob! (told him I would give him a mention on here!) Good on ye! Then we went to East Gosford (about 20 mins drive) - parked the car, tested if it would start (nope!) so had to find another willing person - bunch of wee surf dudes in their Volkswagon Campervan were more than willing to help - especially since they had never seen a car 'jumped' before, so I gave them a wee lesson in "old Ford Cortina-style living!" - I probably seemed like a Granpappy to them! So all in all, things are going just great with the new car ! I think if I don't sell the Santa Fe back home I'll just bring the thing over here, and keep it mothballed until this Ford jalopy packs in! Thursday 16th - Big Bruvs Birthday today!
Woke up at 7am this morning, and so did Bob, so we went a walk down along the beach (although by that time there was swimmers, joggers, surfers, dog- and wean-walkers the lot!). People in coffee shops natterin' and people running for the ferry. People of all ages, right up to about 80-odds. Came back here and caught up on this blog - need to get back into a habit, putting in about a weeks worth takes for ever! As I speak Holly is walking about with her toothbrush in her mouth looking for things to pull off this table - time to go and get the day going. I think we're going out a drive somewhere (no doubt near some shops for Sheryl and Jean!). p.s. Can't remember when it was that Sheryl went into town and took this, but I found a picture she took of the QE2:
Friday 17thBob and I went a walk round the Manic Scenic Walkway - Manly's version of the West Highland Way but not as hilly and nowhere near as long!. Its a scraggy walk up and down hills and rocks, with some walkways and boardwalks, around all the wee coves from Manly to the Spit Bridge - its 9.6Km (5 miles) - took about 3.5 hours stopping at all the wee viewpoints and the occasional lizardy iguana type of beastie. Saw a couple of kids doing what boys too - digging out a Trap Door Spider and poking it with a stick! Its wee fangs looked a couple of mm - just as well they don't live around our house and prefer leafy undergrowth. You see that a lot around here - kids being kids and having innocent carry-ma-nonsense, albeit with life-threatening scary wee spiders! Went a wee run up to Dee Why at night, for some food by the sea. Kicked about the fitba and had a wee kid come and ask to play too! He was from Russia - and was probably better than we were! Saturday 18thWent down to the beach today. Our car is getting more like the obligatory Aussie weekend-mobile. Complete with 4 camping chairs, football, frisbee, mini sun-tent (for Holly), mini surfboard, and not forgetting the tartan rug!, is easy to just pack up and go whenever we feel like it. Lots of "bluebottles" on the beach - Aussie nickname for Portugese Man-o-War and they sting like billy-o !! We know this from personal experience, as Bob got stung a couple of times today! Ouch.
http://www.australianfauna.com/bluebottlejellyfish.php Like a big wimp I saw one floating in the water and decided it was time to go sit and sunbathe for a bit! They have tentacles about a metre long and when the wind brings them in from the sea, sometimes the beach is covered in them. Holly was a picture in her wee sun suit, (like a mini wet suit) - a regular wee surfer! She's still sleeping now from the exhaustion of all the excitement - she really loves the sea and sand. She pulls your hand down to the sea, and giggles and squeaks when the waves come in! Its a bit of a change though from a few months back, when we was out with her Grandad in the snow! Sunday 19thGot the papers this morning from a wee boy that pulls his cart of papers round the streets and blows his whistle! It was too warm today - Bob and I took Holly out a walk in the morning, and then we waited until the late afternoon before venturing out again. Went to a wee local park, where it was packed with families, and Holly had some fun on the chutes and swings. Its quite good how the councils supply bricked-in gas barbeques for all to use for free. You just go up, press the button, and it heats up ready for cooking - and when you're done it switches off automatically after 20 minutes. Quite windy at night - there was a cyclone up in north Queensland - I wonder if we were getting the heavier winds from that ! Monday 20thLast day of holiday till I have to go to work - start tomorrow. Quite looking forward to it. Nice to get a bit of routine going. Had to go to the beach again... bummer.... its really getting to be a repetitive chore! Yeah right.... Tuesday 21st - The new boy arrives at work!First day at work and of all the times for the ferries to call a wildcat strike! On the lucky side, I could see that something was up, as there was no ferries coming and going, and I had the Travel Info line in my phone, which confirmed I was on to plums! Went down early to see about the replacement buses, but the queue was about 150 metres long, and then by about 15 mins after I joined the queue, it had doubled in size, to way along the beachfront, just in time for some heavy rain to announce autumn was a coming! Oh what a morning... Plan C - Phoned Bob to come down in the car, and he kindly came in with me to town, so that he could take the car back. Took an hour and a half to go a journey which takes about 30 mins when its quiet! The ferries plus the onslaught of some rain ground the commute to a halt. Apart from getting in late, had a great first day - everyone was really helpful and friendly (although after a while I had no idea what everyone's name was - I lost the place after the first 30 or so introductions! Luckily they have an online phonebook with pictures. Its really weird being the new boy! So I'm sitting next to an Irish lass, with a Yorkshire-man leading one of the teams, and one of the big bosses of the IT Division is a Glaswegian - albeit a Celtic supporter (can't have it all I suppose!). Worked a bit later to read through all the induction documents, and preparatory information they gave me. Its been a good first day. They were all prepared ahead of the game - supplying a desk, a PC, and a Welcome Kite with your new phone number, cost centre, email address, login, and an org chart and location schematic with your name in place - so organised - very impressive. Sheryl and co drove up far north to see Mrs Soutar - a long time family friend. Holly was apparently running about the grass, giggling, chasing the dog - laughing and squealing her head off! Wednesday 22ndSet the alarm a bit earlier, but Holly woke us both up at 6:30am anyway with the sounds of her playing with the musical mobile and beep-bang-whizzy thing attached to her cot. If you hear an electronic voice in your dream saying "1..2...3 !"... singing Mary Had a Little Lamb.... Dog.. Woof Woof....Cat: Miaow" you know Holly's up and ready to go. Got to work nice and early for another fine day of learning and information overload. My brain hurts, but I'm not complaining. There is a lot to do, and a good team to support you. Thursday 23rdI'll not bore you with another day at work, but just coming back on the ferry tonight, and the sun is getting low in the sky, and you're coming in to Manly Wharf, with the yachts and wee boats at anchor, lit up by the sun, especially after a most relaxing 30 min journey through a cool sea air... I really had to stop myself from grinning like an eejit as to just how lucky I feel to be here doing this. Still pinching myself. Also, its Mufty? day tomorrow - might have the wrong spelling there.... a term for Dress Down Day. There's also a team lunch I've been invited to, to follow on from one of the guys receiving a 10 year service award from the Big Cheese. There's also some talk of a beer later in the afternoon (could be they mean evening!)... Sounds pretty social so far! Friday 24thHad a nice team lunch for a few hours today, and then it was the presentation for one of the team from the CEO who presented Steve with watch and $1000 to a charity of his choice! So that took care of most of the afternoon till the last hour of catch-up before we had to go to the pub after work for a few beers! Its been a terrible day. Sheryl and co were up at Dee Why, which is now our Helensburgh replacement, where we can take Holly along the sea front and stop and get some fish and chips by the sea! Saturday 25thBob and I down for a walk about town in the morning, and then down to the beach again in the afternoon - creatures of habit! Tried to remember how to crawl rather than breast stroke! I can't seem to make my legs move at the same time as my arms without forgetting to breath altogether! Little Miss Holly & co came down later to run about after the seagulls and skit about on the mini-surf board (albeit in a couple of inches of water). She's such a wee poser in her new sandals and wee dress!
Sunday 26thWent into Sydney a wee run in the car, to take Jean and Bob to Darling Harbour, and Paddy's Market etc. Loads and loads of people in the harbour, partly because of a big Greek festival, and partly because it was the weekend. It was the same as our first impression of Sydney a few years ago - lots of things for kids, swings, parks, water features, etc and all well maintained and very clean and safe - all right in the city centre. Later we went to a nice restaurant where you simply buy your steaks, chicken, lamb chops, whatever, and cook it yourself on their big barbeques, and help yourself to the sides that go with it. All the fun of the BBQ with a night out feel to it. Clocks not going back tonight, on account of the Commonwealth Games - Australian Eastern Summer Time is being extended for another week, so it'll be 10 hours ahead of back home, and then next week it will then be only 9 hours ahead, which will make it a little more difficult to synchronise sensible time slots for phoning people and keeping in touch. Monday 27thGot the bus into work for a change. Only took about 50 mins (had to leave 7:10 right enough) but it was a good opportunity to skirt about the local streets and see what the houses were like on the way to work. See if any were for sale, and get a feel for what the local areas look like. Boss insisted on buying me lunch today during a meeting at 12. This is on top of footing the bill for everybody's lunch on Friday. I'd hate to work here long term. Everyone is so selfish ;-). The work, as expected is ramping up a notch - last week was just a honeymoon, now the sweat and tears begin. Ferry home - slightly choppy seas , yet sunny outside...strange. Even though we were sitting up on the top deck, with the dipping down and twisting, a few of us got some wave spray over us, so gradually one-by-one people shuffled back inside, as others still tried to play it cool and not squeal when one of the bigger waves splashed up! Tuesday 28thIts an 8 hour day for contractors here...so roughly its 8:00 till 5:30 (as the day never finishes sharp), which isn't bad, but the travelling puts this to about 6:45am to 6:45pm door to door but as long as I'm home in time for some tea, a laugh around with Holly, bath and bedtime I ain't complaining. Also, its a good team of folk - they have organised a welcome lunch for myself and another contractor who is going permanent - so they do make a genuine effort, which is nice especially for someone turning up in a new country and all. Sheryl has been doing her Mary baker and tea is ready when I get home - and as there is a dearth of ready meals, we are forced to eat a lot healthier and the food is more wholesome. I'm not saying we don't eat high cal food ( we had chunky Steak Pie, potatoes and carrots tonight - mmmm) but back home we were a bit quilty of getting the Tesco microwave meals too often for convenience. You see never a dull moment in this blog. I'll be telling you what I use for toothpaste next! More boring things to do tomorrow....got to chase the telephone company - trying to sting me for a $100 bill which should be only $7.50 for international calls. Also got to get the rego (registration - sort of like car tax) renewed, and see a man about insurances, pensions etc tomorrow... you see you can go to a country full of sunshine and beaches, but you still get junk mail and sales calls to bring it down to earth! Gotta go catch up with the folks next door in the living room - I can hear The Bill on in the background! and I think the West Wing might be on soon - not sure. In the meantime have a look at this pic of a boat in the bay - its named after the Aussie slang for tight trunks:
Thursday 30thThe clan met me off the ferry after work and we drove up to our wee Helensburgh replacement, "Dee Why" for some Perch and Chips along the promenade. Creatures of habit we are. I think this is a picture of it - there are a lot of beaches, with trees along the edge, and I can't remember where I was when I took this picture!
There's also a nice walk along the sea front watching the lightning storms far out to sea, as the sun sets, and they've even got open air, full-sized swimming pools, free for all to use - no gates or anything, with other smaller ones, for kids etc, rock pools. Its not that different to good old' Helensburgh back home. Same sea breeze and fresh air. Helensburgh sunset! Friday 31stBusy day at work trying to get everything in order for the end of the week. Took some Tunnocks Tea Cakes in as a treat for the team at work. They were having a charity Bake Off Competition, so there was not much proper food eaten for lunch! After work, there was some drinks on the 6th floor, and went down for 30 mins or so before I had to leave and meet Sheryl and co off the ferry, as we were going back to that funky place up at The Rocks (beneath / next to the Harbour Bridge) that you can cook your own steak. You get big bits of meat the size of an A5 bit of paper, and just under an inch thick, for a tenner each, including your salad and potatoes etc!
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