Thursday, June 10, 2010
Exactly
I was explaining to the kids for the trazillionth time how not to fight, scream, yell or otherwise interrupt mommy when she's on the phone. (This is particularly true because I have to concentrate when trying to decrypt what these Aussies are saying.) Anyway, as I was talking Kessler went over to the power outlet and started flipping the switch (they have switches to make the outlet hot). I immediately told him to never, ever do that. It's dangerous, even more dangerous than back in California. Makena asked if it "could make you dead". I confirmed. She said, "Just like onions, if you eat a bunch of them, right?" Exactly.
And then there's the fall out..
Our relocation specialist, Fiona has been absolutely amazing. I'd ask her to marry me too if I didn't think it would scare her away! Besides the fact that she's done exactly what we hired her to do--find us a place to live, she has done it with so much compassion and sensitivity as well.
It turns out that her and her family moved to San Francisco for her husband's work, then to Switzerland and back to Melbourne. She said it was so tough; she knew when her youngest of three boys was in school she'd find a job where she could help people relocate. I can't say enough positive things about her, but I'll sum it up with one great example. She took me house hunting on Tuesday; we found a great place. We were one of three applicants again--but while I was viewing the property the property manager came up to me with a big smile on his face and a framed picture in hand. He handed me a photo of a husky as he gleefully said, "The owners have 2 huskies!!!" Fiona had called ahead of time to chat him up to make sure we weren't turned down because of the Merlie-dog.
But, that's not the reason she's great. I just thought that was a funny story. The reason she's great is because we were scheduled to view more homes today which was obviously unnecessary. Rather than cancel our time together she came and got me and the kids and took us for coffee/lunch at a place with a playground. She's just so pleasant to talk with. It's soooo nice...
That had to be said.. now, on to the fallout. So, YAY! We have a place to live but we have to come up with several thousands of dollars to get into the place. We have money in a few different places in the states; this shouldn't be a problem. Well, our primary bank won't let us do a wire transfer unless we are physically there to fill out the form--convenient. The new online bank that we have will--so I transferred the money from Wells Fargo to Ally. Cool. I called to do the wire--not possible, I'm told. They don't have our signature cards on file. For no less than 5 days I carried around the signature cards--ready to mail them as soon as I could remember to do it. When the time came where we had to go to the post office before we left, I couldn't find them. Strike 1.
Our account is relatively new with them so we haven't used it. Our ATM cards haven't been activated and we don't have the PIN numbers. I called to activate the cards--not possible. I must call from the home phone. No worries, I'll change the home phone number in my profile to be my Skype number. That's not allowed because I have the mail being sent to my mom in Virgina and the zip code doesn't match the area code of my Skype number. I got them to manually change it. I called to activate them--not possible. I spoke to another customer service rep who desperately wanted to help, but he regretted to inform me that the original number entered when opening the account is the only number you can ever call from to activate the card. NO WAY! yes way. Strike 2.
But, there is a solution; just go to an ATM and request a balance printout. And you'll recall, we don't have PIN numbers. I called today to make sure the PINs were sent when I asked for them last week and of course, they weren't. So, I requested that they please expedite them. So, the plan would be that once we are able to activate the cards and use the PINs, we'll withdrawal our daily maximum each day until we reach the amount we need. Only, I'm not sure how long we can put off the property manager.
In the end, all I can say is--thank goodness for parents-in-law!!!!
It turns out that her and her family moved to San Francisco for her husband's work, then to Switzerland and back to Melbourne. She said it was so tough; she knew when her youngest of three boys was in school she'd find a job where she could help people relocate. I can't say enough positive things about her, but I'll sum it up with one great example. She took me house hunting on Tuesday; we found a great place. We were one of three applicants again--but while I was viewing the property the property manager came up to me with a big smile on his face and a framed picture in hand. He handed me a photo of a husky as he gleefully said, "The owners have 2 huskies!!!" Fiona had called ahead of time to chat him up to make sure we weren't turned down because of the Merlie-dog.
But, that's not the reason she's great. I just thought that was a funny story. The reason she's great is because we were scheduled to view more homes today which was obviously unnecessary. Rather than cancel our time together she came and got me and the kids and took us for coffee/lunch at a place with a playground. She's just so pleasant to talk with. It's soooo nice...
That had to be said.. now, on to the fallout. So, YAY! We have a place to live but we have to come up with several thousands of dollars to get into the place. We have money in a few different places in the states; this shouldn't be a problem. Well, our primary bank won't let us do a wire transfer unless we are physically there to fill out the form--convenient. The new online bank that we have will--so I transferred the money from Wells Fargo to Ally. Cool. I called to do the wire--not possible, I'm told. They don't have our signature cards on file. For no less than 5 days I carried around the signature cards--ready to mail them as soon as I could remember to do it. When the time came where we had to go to the post office before we left, I couldn't find them. Strike 1.
Our account is relatively new with them so we haven't used it. Our ATM cards haven't been activated and we don't have the PIN numbers. I called to activate the cards--not possible. I must call from the home phone. No worries, I'll change the home phone number in my profile to be my Skype number. That's not allowed because I have the mail being sent to my mom in Virgina and the zip code doesn't match the area code of my Skype number. I got them to manually change it. I called to activate them--not possible. I spoke to another customer service rep who desperately wanted to help, but he regretted to inform me that the original number entered when opening the account is the only number you can ever call from to activate the card. NO WAY! yes way. Strike 2.
But, there is a solution; just go to an ATM and request a balance printout. And you'll recall, we don't have PIN numbers. I called today to make sure the PINs were sent when I asked for them last week and of course, they weren't. So, I requested that they please expedite them. So, the plan would be that once we are able to activate the cards and use the PINs, we'll withdrawal our daily maximum each day until we reach the amount we need. Only, I'm not sure how long we can put off the property manager.
In the end, all I can say is--thank goodness for parents-in-law!!!!
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Just in time..
This morning started off a little rough. I haven't been sleeping well to begin with, but Kessler woke up in the middle of the night. That's never good; it usually means it's going to be a sleepless night for all of us. I decided to just bite the bullet and sleep with him in his bed, his twin bed. It was as pleasant as you are imagining.
Anyway, both kids got up incredibly too early. I tried to convince them to let me sleep; that didn't work. I finally decided that my denial was not going to help matters and got up. They bickered much of the morning and Kessler decided to throw a shit fit when I asked him to take his pajamas off. After quite a bit of negotiating we were all dressed and out the door heading to a new park. The park was probably over a mile away. Both kids walked, without complaining! It was cold so we didn't stay long. We stopped at the supermarket about halfway home. We needed the essentials like milk and toilet paper. I also got some snacks, a clothes hamper and a 24 pack of AA batteries for the kids' Leapsters. I thought the clothes hamper was brilliant. Load it up with the stuff and we'd be golden for the walk home.
Well, you know how all the packaging in the states requires a blow torch or a chain saw to open, like the package for batteries? Imagine my surprise when the pack of batteries fell out of the hamper and all 24 batteries started to roll all over the supermarket floor. I stood there for several seconds in disbelief--this can't be!! First I was thinking, damn! This sucks! Then I was thinking, cool! No heavy equipment required to open the package when I get back to the apartment. The kids and I started scrambling to pick them up with the aide of an employee. We headed to the register to get the heck out of there. We left with an extremely full hamper!!
A few minutes into the final leg of our journey, the handle broke on the hamper. Sonofabitch. I gave the pack of toilet paper to Makena and the pack of paper towels to Kessler. I carried the milk in one hand and tried to hoist the hamper onto my hip for the rest of the walk. We had to have many breaks--specifically because the kids were trying to balance Juney and doggie on top of their respective paper products. That takes time, obviously. At our last break Kess tried to climb onto a chair outside a restaurant. He miscalculated and fell off onto the ground. It scared him far more than anything. I tried to console him, but at this point I desperately wanted to get home. The cold weather became quite hot and the jacket I was wearing was becoming a torture chamber. I couldn't hold his hand. Finally, I decided to take a few steps to see if he would come. He responded with a resounding HELL NO as he stood there screaming and stomping. I retreated, laying down my hamper full of sundries, toilet paper, paper towels (the kids had abandoned them) and the milk and attempted the consolation again.
It wasn't going well, at least not until an angel, dressed in an Nando's (some restaurant) uniform appeared offering the kids little gingerbread men. Kessler snatched up the treat but didn't skip a beat with the crying. The fellow said, "What's wrong, mate?" Kess said, "I felled down." "Oh no, mate. What did you hurt?" "My buuuuummmmm." "Aww, your bum, well why don't you give it a rub." Like a switch, Kessler started laughing. I nearly proposed to the Nando employee on the spot. What a catch after all, given how I obviously have my shit together--walking down Hampton Street with a broken hamper full of batteries and paper products trying to coax a crying 2 year old. He'd be a fool to decline!
Anyway, both kids got up incredibly too early. I tried to convince them to let me sleep; that didn't work. I finally decided that my denial was not going to help matters and got up. They bickered much of the morning and Kessler decided to throw a shit fit when I asked him to take his pajamas off. After quite a bit of negotiating we were all dressed and out the door heading to a new park. The park was probably over a mile away. Both kids walked, without complaining! It was cold so we didn't stay long. We stopped at the supermarket about halfway home. We needed the essentials like milk and toilet paper. I also got some snacks, a clothes hamper and a 24 pack of AA batteries for the kids' Leapsters. I thought the clothes hamper was brilliant. Load it up with the stuff and we'd be golden for the walk home.
Well, you know how all the packaging in the states requires a blow torch or a chain saw to open, like the package for batteries? Imagine my surprise when the pack of batteries fell out of the hamper and all 24 batteries started to roll all over the supermarket floor. I stood there for several seconds in disbelief--this can't be!! First I was thinking, damn! This sucks! Then I was thinking, cool! No heavy equipment required to open the package when I get back to the apartment. The kids and I started scrambling to pick them up with the aide of an employee. We headed to the register to get the heck out of there. We left with an extremely full hamper!!
A few minutes into the final leg of our journey, the handle broke on the hamper. Sonofabitch. I gave the pack of toilet paper to Makena and the pack of paper towels to Kessler. I carried the milk in one hand and tried to hoist the hamper onto my hip for the rest of the walk. We had to have many breaks--specifically because the kids were trying to balance Juney and doggie on top of their respective paper products. That takes time, obviously. At our last break Kess tried to climb onto a chair outside a restaurant. He miscalculated and fell off onto the ground. It scared him far more than anything. I tried to console him, but at this point I desperately wanted to get home. The cold weather became quite hot and the jacket I was wearing was becoming a torture chamber. I couldn't hold his hand. Finally, I decided to take a few steps to see if he would come. He responded with a resounding HELL NO as he stood there screaming and stomping. I retreated, laying down my hamper full of sundries, toilet paper, paper towels (the kids had abandoned them) and the milk and attempted the consolation again.
It wasn't going well, at least not until an angel, dressed in an Nando's (some restaurant) uniform appeared offering the kids little gingerbread men. Kessler snatched up the treat but didn't skip a beat with the crying. The fellow said, "What's wrong, mate?" Kess said, "I felled down." "Oh no, mate. What did you hurt?" "My buuuuummmmm." "Aww, your bum, well why don't you give it a rub." Like a switch, Kessler started laughing. I nearly proposed to the Nando employee on the spot. What a catch after all, given how I obviously have my shit together--walking down Hampton Street with a broken hamper full of batteries and paper products trying to coax a crying 2 year old. He'd be a fool to decline!
Monday, June 7, 2010
It's only been a week..
Mark had to be in Australia so soon; we barely got the minimum done in order to pull it off. We have to sell 2 houses, sell 2 cars, find homes for 2 cats, get Merlin squared away to join us, sell 80% of our stuff, arrange for movers to come with no notice, sort through what we were going to throw away, give away, sell, take with us to survive for 3 months and send with the movers to arrive in 3 months, visit family back in Virginia. My passport was 5 months, 26 days away from expiring--4 days too many to travel on. Makena's American passport was to expire in June. She could travel on her Australian passport but because she's a minor, her American passport could not be renewed in a foreign country. Kessler needed his Australian passport; he could travel on his American passport, but he would have to leave the country and reenter on his Australian passport in order to stay in Australia. It wasn't pretty, but we did it.
We finally had a second to breathe once we got on the plane--if only we it had been relaxing because as soon as we landed it all started again, only on the flip side. We had a place to stay for 6 nights and Mark had a job which he started in 1 1/2 days. And, that was it. The hotel was great, but it was a hotel. Makena threw up every hour the first night. She is an amazing little girl because Mark and I were so exhausted we couldn't take care of her like we should. At times she got up and took herself to the bathroom and threw up on her own. Then went back to bed, without saying a word. The next day she woke up from her nap with a fever and an ear infection. We hauled the kids up hill several blocks to the doctor. Then there was the normal hotel stuff like having to round the kids up to get out of the room in hopes that it would be cleaned when we were gone. Sometimes that worked. Breakfast was $75-that's with the kids eating for free. We mistakenly did that once--then it was cereal in coffee cups for the remainder of the time.
I attempted to house hunt online, but quickly got discouraged knowing that in 4 days we'd have no place to live. By discouraged I mean Mark got "The Call". Actually, it was more of the pre "The Call"--an extra courtesy I've given Mark so he doesn't have to suffer through my wrath without plenty of warning. It went something like this, "Mark.." continuing with an extremely shaky voice, "I can't do this. Heed the warning." We had already hired the relocation specialist who is beyond amazing, but the clock was ticking. Last Thursday was our last night in the hotel. They held our 18 bags while the relo specialist took Mark, the kids and me on a desperate hunt for a semi-permanent house and short term accommodation. We bombed on the first front, but found a furnished apartment in a great little town called Hampton. Of course, when you have 18 bags you don't realize when a couple are missing, at least not for a few days. So, we carried ourselves back to the city to retrieve them, not that it's far, but I'm feeling dramatic at the moment. Lucky enough we were able to catch up with Mark's uncle, aunt and some cousins who just happened to be in town.
The immediate pressure is off now. Though, we really would like to be settled where we are going to be. I really want to get Makena in school and Kessler in preschool. I'd like to find a gym as well so I can burn off the 2 months worth of anxiety that has been accumulating. And I need to sort through the differences of things I've taken for granted--like limited cell phone data plans and internet service! It seems like we have so much left to do, and we do.. but it's only been a week!
We finally had a second to breathe once we got on the plane--if only we it had been relaxing because as soon as we landed it all started again, only on the flip side. We had a place to stay for 6 nights and Mark had a job which he started in 1 1/2 days. And, that was it. The hotel was great, but it was a hotel. Makena threw up every hour the first night. She is an amazing little girl because Mark and I were so exhausted we couldn't take care of her like we should. At times she got up and took herself to the bathroom and threw up on her own. Then went back to bed, without saying a word. The next day she woke up from her nap with a fever and an ear infection. We hauled the kids up hill several blocks to the doctor. Then there was the normal hotel stuff like having to round the kids up to get out of the room in hopes that it would be cleaned when we were gone. Sometimes that worked. Breakfast was $75-that's with the kids eating for free. We mistakenly did that once--then it was cereal in coffee cups for the remainder of the time.
I attempted to house hunt online, but quickly got discouraged knowing that in 4 days we'd have no place to live. By discouraged I mean Mark got "The Call". Actually, it was more of the pre "The Call"--an extra courtesy I've given Mark so he doesn't have to suffer through my wrath without plenty of warning. It went something like this, "Mark.."
The immediate pressure is off now. Though, we really would like to be settled where we are going to be. I really want to get Makena in school and Kessler in preschool. I'd like to find a gym as well so I can burn off the 2 months worth of anxiety that has been accumulating. And I need to sort through the differences of things I've taken for granted--like limited cell phone data plans and internet service! It seems like we have so much left to do, and we do.. but it's only been a week!
Friday, June 4, 2010
There are Crows Everywhere.
We had an appointment to see an apartment in St. Kilda a few days ago. The unit was on the third floor of a building that resembled an American motel. One of the ways to get to the apartment was by way of an enclosed concrete stairwell.
We arrived ahead of the agent. We called the agents office to make sure we were in the right spot, so he knew we were waiting. A few minutes later we hear someone yell out, "Mauwwk, Mauwwk". Mark does nothing. Finally I responded. Mark looked at me and said.."Shit, he was calling my name. He sounded like a damn crow squawking. "
We were laying in bed laughing about it. Mark explained that there are 4 Marks at work, "there are crows everywhere." It cracks me up how accustomed he has become to the American R.
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Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Hotel
Here's the view from our hotel window. It overlooks a great 4 story indoor mall. I'd stay here forever if it were half the price and allowed dogs. Minor details, really.
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Droid
I'm obviously a cell phone whore as I've had 3 in 2 years. I went from my blackberry which I loved to the iPhone which I loved to the Droid which I'm trying to love. In my defense, the iPhone was a gift from Mark. Since our American phones won't work in Australia we had to get new ones anyway. I had planned on getting another iPhone, but CNET reviews, Mark, and the Telstra sales guy convinced me to get the Droid.
I like the physical feel of it better. It has a rubberish shell which creates more friction so it doesn't slip out of your hands so easily. It seems like it'll absorb a bit more shock if it's dropped, and unfortunately, it will be dropped.
It's open source so there will be oodles of apps, but some aren't out yet--like my favorite, Kindle. But it's apparently coming.
The screen has amazing resolution. I think I will love it as well once I get passed the learning curve.
And the reason I'm dedicating an entire blog post to my cell phone when I have a boatload of other stuff going on? Well I have been up since 3 am and I needed to find something to entertain myself that wouldn't wake the family. So, I found the Blogger app!
PS-They call them mobiles and message banks here, not cells and voicemail.
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