Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Three long weeks



Hello everyone! Please accept our sincerest apologies for this last 3 weeks of no blog posts. Don't worry though; everything is still fine for Veronica and I here in the Land Down Under. However, I will place the blame for the lack of posts on the copious amount of homework that I have plowed through over the past 3 weeks. Thankfully my last assignment was due yesterday, so now that I have turned it in I am feeling like a free man again, or at least until I start my new job this next Monday. Good times, I can’t wait to start working again. Living in Sydney on one income for the past month has placed Veronica and I into a constant state of trying to be ultra-frugal. I think we will both be excited when I finally get a paycheck and we can stop obsessing about spending a little money. J

Veronica continues to be working quite hard. Since our last post she has been out in the field at least 50% of the time. Sometimes the fieldwork is here in Sydney, but the other times she has been going on overnight trips to little country towns to collect samples. Veronica has already been placed onto the top account in her company, which is quite an accomplishment as you are supposed to be at the company for two years before you can work on that particular account. Long story short, Veronica continues to be a superstar.

The weather has turned cold here in Sydney, and along with the cold there have been some massive rain storms. Winter is officially here and Veronica and I have been feeling pretty frigid. Since our flat does not have central air or heat, we were forced to buy a space heater. Yeah, we have posted a picture of our blessed space heater here on the blog because it has really been a lifesaver. It’s warmth has provided us a much more comfortable night of sleep, and getting up in the morning is now bearable since our bedroom no longer feels like a cell block in Siberia. Speaking of cold, surfing has now become a frigid endeavor. During the past two weeks when I go for a surf in the morning my feet have actually become numb before I make it into the water. Luckily the water is still relatively warm, so it actually feels better in the water than out of it, but on the days when the wind is whipping around it can get quite nippy out there. Inevitably I often begin daydreaming about the warm water in Hawaii while I am out surfing here. I know what you are all thinking; Matt is a big girly man. You are indeed correct, I won’t deny that I am a big girly man.

In other big news, my good buddy Mike Schmidtke just moved out to Sydney with his wife Christina and their son Aidan. They arrived about 3 weeks ago and have been living in downtown, close to Mike’s new job. They have been house hunting for places in Manly this past week. The great news is that they just got a place here and will be moving in on Friday. Mike will now be able to get a surf or two in each weekend. More important will be that Christina and Aidan can take nice walks along the beach here in Manly, away from all the traffic in the city.

Well, that about sums up the last 3 weeks. But one last little thing before I let everyone go, Veronica and I have discovered a Chili’s restaurant here in Sydney. No, I am not joking, and yes, it is greatness! Everything pretty much tastes the same, and Veronica and I have already gorged ourselves on the chips and salsa on two separate occasions. The only problem, Chili’s is about an hour and 15-minute drive from Manly. The closest Chili’s is located out in West Sydney, about 30 minutes away from Veronica’s work, so it is definitely going to be on special occasions when we treat ourselves to some delicious Tex-Mex.

Don’t worry, we will back by the end of the weekend with a new posting. No more homework equals no more slacking on the blog. Hope all is well. Cheers.

Wednesday, June 6, 2007

Palm Beach Lighthouse






This past weekend Veronica and I took it easy. On Friday night we caught a French movie called "My Best Friend". Saturday morning, after waking up late, I went surfing and Veronica went for a run on the beach. That night we went and had dinner at the Bavarian Cafe. We got our usual, the vegetable linguine, which is just so freaking good!

Sunday, after having a late morning cup of coffee, we decided to drive back up to Palm Beach. Since the previous weekend we had not walked up to the top of the headland to see the lighthouse, that was our plan for the day. The weather was again perfect, and Veronica and I had a good time exploring the area. All of the pictures posted today of our Lighthouse Walk, btw.

This week has been pretty mellow for myself. Since I have the month of June off from working (I start a new job in July) I have been surfing as much as is possible, and also going to the library to study. Yep, I said study. Since I haven't been able to get a job in the real estate/finance industry, I am now back in school taking some classes with the hope that these new found skills will help me get a job. We shall see.

The big news of the week came yesterday when Veronica was informed at 9:30 am that she had to drive 4 hours away to replace someone out in the field until Friday. Veronica didn't even have a chance to come home to get anything, she just drove out to the jobsite. Her company is paying for her to buy everything she needs while she is away from home, but I still think it's pretty lame that they only gave her an hour heads up before she headed away from home for a few days. Hopefully this is not a sign of things to come.

Today the sky is grey and the rain has been drizzling down steadily. The waves are blown out and it is cold, so I am taking this to be a sign that I need to get a lot of schoolwork done today.