Can you find Joe-Joe?
Pam,Ioan,and Stuart This was a very social weekend. I visited Pam, Stuart, Megan, and Ioan (Pam is Dale’s sister, Stuart is her partner (husband-to-be now that they're engaged) and Megan and Ioan are their kids (3 and 1 respectively). We had a very nice time, first at Manly Beach (which was lovely aside from a horrible noisy race involving zodiacs and life guards), and then at their place in Seaforth. Quite a bit of wine and beer were consumed over the evening (resulting in a bit of fuzziness the next day), culminating in the 4-1 triumph of Manchester United over West Ham. I’ve put some pictures up for your viewing pleasure, featuring Joe-Joe of course. One sad thing is that Megan became very attached to Joe-Joe and was most reluctant to relinquish him when I left the next day (next time I must bring a friend of Joe-Joe’s for Megan– Joe-Joe is certainly a popular bear). Megan and I had fun reading “Swim, Wombat, Swim”, which is a very cute book about a wombat and a platypus.
Then today (Sunday) I had a very nice visit with my boss Stuart (Gemini Scientist) and his wife Marilena. They have a lovely apartment in Lane Cove, and they had a very nice bbq meal. It was a gorgeous day, and we had a great time. I’m hoping to go on some walks with them. I am now an experienced bus traveller, mastering the intricacies of “Travel Tens”, navigating on-line schedules, and figuring out where to put the card on the bus machine. Sydney certainly has a great bus/train system, which is good as I won’t have a car. I know there are certainly times when having a car would be nice (e.g. shopping, going to the beaches), but I can’t afford to have a car here (especially with petrol being so expensive– $1.50 a litre! And you Canadians thought it was bad there), and I really don’t need to. It will be good for me, and good for the environment (though Dale rightly gives me a hard time about my carbon footprint with all these plane trips. I really have to compare my footprint with hers (she drives to work every day), to see who is the most virtuous).
I am still homesick, missing family and friends, but I know it will get easier with time. I’ve had some excellent and insightful advice from friends, such as from Ramneek:
“When you go to a completely new place, there is so much excitement and wonder that this takes over for a while before the gut starts churning for home. When you go to a place you already know, especially if you’ve visited with loved ones, then the newness is not there and the churning happens sooner.”
and from Marty:
“Be like a Buddist and focus on every moment.”
Excellent advice, so thanks everyone. Once I get a place to live and get some other things sorted out, life will get easier. I just didn’t think it would be so hard at first … anyway, I think this is enough for tonight. Best wishes to everyone.
Terry
