It's Official: we have our own place and we are ghetto!

The last 2 weeks have been quite eventful. First, we had the pleasure of having Veronica’s sister Amanda stay with us for 10 days. Veronica and Amanda had a great time gallivanting around Sydney, visiting beaches, museums, shops, the Opera House and various other neighborhoods and attractions. Veronica had a fabulous time, after all, getting to sleep in and delight in enjoyable touristy endeavors is certainly much more fun than working. It was sad seeing Amanda leave last weekend, but she had to get back to Arkansas to start her senior year of high school.

Later that week Veronica and I decided it was finally time to get our own place. I mean geez, what married couple has a roommate? Oh yeah, poor travelers. We began looking for places on the Internet, and voila, on Thursday (not even 2 days later) we had secured a nice, one bedroom apartment only 150 yards from our current place. The rent is relatively affordable, but more importantly we still live not even 5 minutes walking to the Wharf. Being close to the Wharf is key since Veronica catches the ferry every weekday for her hellish hour and a half commute.

That Saturday the surf picked up to 3 to 4 foot. My buddies and I headed up to Avoca, 2 hours North of Sydney. The waves were titillating, delicious, it was so good it almost hurt. Yes, it was that good. I surfed until I was physically unable to surf any longer. The swell stayed around amazingly and I got to surf again on Sunday and Tuesday. The weather was perfect, making it some of the best surfs I have had here in Australia.

Finally, this past week Veronica and I had the pleasure of getting to go on our first Manly “Ghetto Shopping Spree” adventure. Every six months the residents of Manly are allowed to put old furniture out in front of their houses so that the trash collectors can collect it. Manly has a fair amount of “richies” who love to get rid of furniture that is perfectly good, just because it might no longer be in style. Since Veronica and I are moving into a new place and have no furniture, we went to town on our shopping spree. Even though I don’t fancy myself much of a shopper, I am completely down with Ghetto Shopping! Perhaps this is because it is free, but who cares, we got some dynamite stuff. Side note: Veronica didn’t want me to mention our shopping spree to you guy’s as she is a tad embarrassed by the whole situation. My wife realizes that one and all know that I am a bit of scoundrel, but she doesn’t want the World to think I have comprised her sanity, or taste. With that being said, I forced her to go on the Ghetto Shopping Spree. But don’t laugh, because if you’re coming to visit us over here in Oz, you will most certainly be basking in the delightful comfort of our “FREE” furniture!

I will admit, it is a tad bizarre to think that living in a upscale area has helped to transform both of us into furniture scavengers, but I am not that worried, I am too busy embracing the fruit of our spoils!

Amanda, Barry Bonds, and The Shins

On Wednesday morning, Veronica and I woke at the butt crack of dawn to drive out to the airport to pick up her sister Amanda. Needless to say Veronica was ecstatic that Amanda had finally arrived in Sydney. Once we got back to Manly we went and had breakfast at a new little café near our place that serves some delicious, yet tiny waffles. I headed off for work while Amanda, Veronica and our friend Brenda went around the Northern Beaches checking out the sites. That night Veronica and I cooked one of the 4 meals that we enjoy, chicken pasta with mushrooms and green peppers. Delicious.

That night before going to bed I watched the news. To my disgust and horror even the Australian news was showing that pathetic juicer break the homerun record. Major League Baseball has now hit a new low having that jerk hold its most important record. I did find it funny that a New Yorker caught the ball. It turns out he was on a layover on his way to Australia for vacation.

Last night Veronica and I got to go see one of our favorite bands, The Shins play at the Enmore Theatre. My sister Jill has seen them in concert before, and in her words the show was “an experience”. They started off playing “Sleeping Lessons”, which completely crescendos in a rollicking melodic jam that was insanely awesome. Next they played “Australia” and then some other jams. We were surprised when they started playing “New Slang” for the 7th song of the set, somehow I had thought they would end the show with it. Regardless, it was beautiful. The amazing part of their show is the band members hardly take any breathers. 30 seconds between a song was their longest break. For the encore, they came back out onstage and played a Pink Floyd cover. They followed that with another one of their hits before ending the show on “So Says I”, which completely brought the house down. I wish just words could convey how good of a time Veronica and I had at the concert!

SUPERSTAR!

Another two weeks has passed since our last blog post, indicating that I did not try hard enough to keep the postings up to date.

In all fairness, not much has transpired in the last two weeks. I finished my two classes last week, taking both finals on the previous Monday and Tuesday. More than anything, I would love to tell you that I aced both of these exams, however, I can’t give you that guarantee. Just like my undergraduate days at Baylor, I feel like the exams could go either way. Such an utterly crap feeling, no wonder I don’t miss school.

Veronica has been working all the time these past two weeks. Most of the hard work,, including working on Saturday and Sunday, was in preparation of Veronica’s sister Amanda coming to visit. Amanda arrives tomorrow, and we are extremely excited to show her a new city.

The only other new news is that I am know quasi famous. I use quasi in the loosest possible terms. This past Thursday I was out surfing out Dee Why/Long Reef before work when a surf photographer for www.realsurf.com took a photo of me that was posted on their website. Needless to say after my run of disappointment on the job front, I was ecstatic for something cool like this to happen. Most likely I have probably already emailed this photo to you, so I am sorry for the redundancy, but what can I say, I actually look stylish in this photo!

Can you smell that? It's called REJECTION!

As I write this latest post rage runs through my veins. I’ve just received the 60th rejection email informing me that a company doesn’t want to interview me. Yes, I do have a job, but I felt that since I finally was employed that maybe this was the turning point. Perhaps because all I’ve been doing for the past month is looking at mostly crappy resumes, I assumed that I had a shot at getting a position with a bank or an investment firm. Apparently I was wrong. I realize no one likes a crybaby, and I recognize the fact that I am crying all over the keyboard, but man, this sucks.

Of course I understand the relative unimportance of what has happened in the grand scheme of things. I have Veronica, we are both healthy, we love one another, both have great families, and we are currently living in Sydney, which is basically a dream come true. Perhaps writing this post right after getting the proverbial crotch kick wasn’t the best idea, but I figured sometimes some of you might want to read a post that doesn’t make our life sound like a Lonely Planet book.

Veronica has been doing good, working hard like the brilliant environmental scientist she is. Her long commute is beginning to take a toll on her though, but there is not much we can do right now since she is the breadwinner and her company is the provider of our all so important visa.

This past weekend Veronica and I both felt human again, because the previous weekend we were both pretty sick with a nasty cold. Friday night we had movie night and watched “Stranger Than Fiction” and “A Good Year”. After sleeping in on Saturday morning we took a nice long walk to our favorite coffee shop in Freshwater. That night we went over to Brenda and Jase’s place to watch the Wallabies (Australia) play the All Blacks (New Zealand). Good times were had by all, and the subsequent rainy Sunday was taken extremely easy. We went to the video store and picked up some more movies to watch.

The other big news is that we bought our plane tickets home for Christmas. We get to Dallas on the 16th of December and then fly out to Hawaii on the 4th of January. Needless to say we are extremely excited to see family and friends in 5 months.

Again, I apologize for the inconsistent nature of the blog, there is no excuse, but I promise to try harder!

Cheers.

Live Earth

We’ve had an eventful week, full of work, a massive all day live music festival aimed at stopping climate change, and dinner at Sydney’s supposed best Thai restaurant.

Well, my first week back at work went swimmingly. Swimmingly, what a terrific adjective, eh? Back to my first week at work, it was pretty similar to what I remember work being like which is to say that it was most unmemorable, in a good way of course. J

Friday night Veronica and I went to a Thai restaurant for one of her co-worker’s going away party. First off, the food was quite good, but was it the best in Sydney, how can you really quantify that? Regardless, the restaurant had some tasty cuisine, and more interestingly, some graphic Kama Sutra paintings all over their walls. The paintings, as you can see from the photo where Veronica is oh so elegantly showcasing the beautiful artwork, are quite funny.

On Saturday, Veronica and I went to Live Earth here in Sydney. Out of 7 concerts on each continent, Australia’s was the kick off concert for the worldwide event. While nearly all of the acts were Australian, we were lucky enough to have Jack Johnson as one of the headlining acts. While Jack’s set was short, it was a good time. And I have great news; because of Live Earth the problem of Climate Change has been solved. Yeah, that’s right, because of some rock stars and Al Gore, the world is now safe. Good times indeed!

I almost forgot to mention that Veronica and I spent July 4th at work, the first time I can actually remember working on America’s birthday. To make matters worse, Veronica and I didn’t even have a hot dog or a beer on the 4th. Adding insult to injury, we went and saw a French film as well. Sorry America.

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.

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.