My computer is dead.. :(

Well, I think Microsoft finally killed my computer. I turned it on today and it completely refused to load up Windows. I will try to ask someone at work if he could help me, but honestly, I think it is a hopeless case.

If you don't see me on here much in the next few weeks, it's because my computer is still dead.

ARGH!! I think my next computer will be an Apple...

Hope everyone's doing better than I am!!

The birds up the block

I finally got a picture of some birds living in the trees up the block. While was walking home from the train station after work and heard this huge commotion going on in one of the trees. I remembered that I had my camera and was able to take a couple of snaps.

There are two in the above picture. One of upside down. Can you see it?

The next day we were at a fest going on at the beach and heard another huge commotion in a tree as we were walking home. We looked up and saw, no joke!, at least 20 rainbow lorikeets, which I wrote about earlier. Wow! I really wish I had my camera at that time!

The words!

I've been here now for a couple of months, and I just wanted to write down an observation I've made about the language that's allowed on regular (non-cable) TV and newspapers.

S**t, bullsh*t, and after a certain time in the evening (10, 11pm?), even f**k! Well, being from the US, I'm not used that kind of language being heard on TV or written in the newspaper.

The first time I saw it written was in the careers section of the newspaper. There was an interview with an Australian who was living in China working in the geology field. He was recounting something and said something like "and I have to put up with a bunch of bullsh*t (YES, it WAS written fully without the *!). I was shocked!

But you know what? No one even bothers about it. In fact, I've noticed that a lot of the guys won't swear at all in front of me, even saying that they have tamed down their language because of me. I laugh at that because you should hear me cussing like a sailor at times while driving! Just ask Wolf! LOL

So, that's just another random observation from Down Under!

See ya later! :)

Ballarat

When Wolf first came to Melbourne to interview with Bosch in 2000, he met a wonderful couple named Veronica and Rod. They live in a town about 150 km (2 hour's drive) northwest of Melbourne (and our home in Mentone). They own and run a small winery with fantastic wines. We know from first-hand experience.

Here's a pic of their winery:

Anyway, here are some other pictures of our time in Ballarat.

Veronica took us to a jazz concert on Sunday. We sat in the sun (it was chilly in the shade!), had a little bit of wine and listened to some jazz. The perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Of course, I had to ask if she ever saw any wild kangaroos in the neighborhood, so on the way back from the jazz concert, we went a' hunting.. And look what we found! In the above picture, there are 3 (2 on the right and one on the left). Can you see them? There were actually 4, and when they heard our car, they hopped away...towards another road that Veronica took us on to get a closer peek.
And there they are again! A bit closer, but also a bit blurry. They just didn't want to stand still and pose for a picture. I wonder why? :) But it wsa really cool seeing them wild. While it's nice to see and feed them in a preserve, like Wolf and I did back in 2005, it's great to see them roaming around, minding their own business.

Some of you might know that Australia is sometimes called "A Sunburnt Country". This statement has become more and more true over the past few years. Many parts of Australia are experiencing the affects of 7-11 years of drought. It's having a devastating effect on everyone.

We have severe water restrictions in place in Melbourne, with water reserves at only about 33%. This time last year it was about 58% so you can see how terrible this is.

The above pictures is one of Rod and Veronica's waterhole: it's nearly dried up. This year's grape harvest is miniscule at best because there just isn't water. We saw a picture of this waterhole from 2004 and, while is wasn't completely full, still had quite a bit left. Not today.

This picture shows "Lake Wendouree". Yep, it was a lake. Now, this lake has dried up, but not only due to the drought--thankfully. Some of the water supply was redirected a few years ago, but will be redirected back into the lake.

When the Summer Olympics took place in Melbourne in the 50's, the rowing/regatta competitions were held here. It's a part of Australian history, so they are doing their best to return this lake to part of it's former glory.

So, that's a short bit about our time in Ballarat. We hope to enjoy a few more weekends with the Stotts now that we're here.

Thanks Rod and Veronica!

The Apartment with a View!

Here's our apartment in Mentone.. Never thought I'd have a "Room with a View"!
















This is the walkup to our apartment. The building itself isn't exactly the most beautiful, but the inside is fantastic. The people who live here (and own their apartments--most places here are individually owned) are planning on putting balconies in front of the windows. We would then have a balcony all around our apartment. That would be fantastic! Believe me...

This was taken when we first saw the apartment (so someone else was living there). You can see the kitchen--believe me, doing dishes is a hell of a lot easier when you have a view like that to look at!

Once again, here's our view from the sofa in our living room. Well, this is before we got all of our things (they came the next day), so it's not very "busy". Just imagine the sunsets!

And finally, this is the view from our bedroom. We love having such a beautiful view to wake up to!

My cute little car...

Well, when I was in the US last summer and fall, I remember seeing the Toyota Yaris commercials. Honestly, I don't remember exactly why I liked them, but I do remember the car. I even checked online for more details on it and to see if it was sold in Australia.

Sure enough, it was the right price, and available in Australia!

Of course I chose my favorite color, officially it's called "Caribbean Blue". It's automatic (thankfully, automatics are pretty common here, not like in Europe) and a 5 door hatchback.

It's a great first car, let me tell you!

As you can see, even though it's a compact car, it's really got a LOT of space to load up things. This is when we moved from our temporary place to our current place on Beach Road.

The car's really made for a woman in that there are a TON of little storage places including 3 glove compartments (2 on passenger side and 1 on driver's side). Honestly, it's a great car!

Do I sound like Toyota commercial?? LOL

Sunsets

Living in a place with a view of the Ocean/Sea/big body of water has always been a dream of mine. Even though this is a temporary place, I completely do not regret living here. Most days are just spectacular in the evening. Here are a few views of what we have seen.

Hope you enjoyed them! They were all taken from our living/dining room or the beach across the road from us. Can you believe it?!