Phew! I Don’t know where to start! How about “I’m sorry for taking so long to write a post!” I have been sitting here for 10 minutes trying to come up with an excuse – unfortunately there isn’t one!
The past four weeks have been rather exciting, and boring at the same time! Although we haven’t seen any great sights or visited any exciting countries, it has been nice to unpack our suitcases and settle down for a while!
Well, following on from the previous post – we moved into “home” the following day. Somehow we have managed to score a three story, four bedroom semi-furnished terrace house right in the centre of town! At first we where a little worried about renting a place as all the real-estate agents didn’t want to know us (before they will rent out a place, they require proof that you have been a resident for two years); as luck would have it – the boss at Philippa’s job agency was looking for a tenant for their house and was happy for us to move in immediately without all the usual security checks! We had to share the place with a few girls who where studying at the local university for a few weeks (which was fine, except for the mess) – but now we have the place to ourselves! The only downside is the place is up for sale, and theoretically it could go at any time!
Philippa was offered the job she previously mentioned and has been working at the local hospital full time (about a 10 minute walk away) since. She seems to be enjoying it, although she is finding it hard to get back into work mode! That said, she is doing better than me – I have barely even looked for a job, let alone applied for any! I am a kept man!
Setting up the house has been fun! We have had to purchase sheets and doonas (duvets here), knifes, forks, pots and pans etc etc. We seem to purchase a new knick-knack every time we go down the shops (which is only 1 minute walk away). About two doors down is a huge auction house that holds a mixed auction every Saturday – we have been a regular attendee every week for the past four weeks and have managed to accumulate a TV (the big one previously mentioned was one of the girls), a broken portable phone (doh!), a push bike, an office gas lift chair, two really good portable phones and a box of 10 Kensington Locks (for laptops). I was really disappointed when the lot of 90 MP3 players and 37 packs of smokes went higher than I was prepared to pay! Next time, hey!
The rest of our spare time has been filled with watching Freeview Digital TV (so much better here, over 15 extra free channels – better than the Channel 7 test logo back home), eating out at the multitude of pubs within short walking distance, going to the movies etc. Philippa has also been attending some modern dance classes with Alie – she can really cut the rug now! Oh! I also got the internet/phone connected – ADSL 4MB Unlimited – W00T! Speaking of which, I have set up a VoIP phone which gives us a Melbourne (03) number here in England (therefore, if you are in Melbourne you can call us for the cost of a local call) – send us an email if you want the number (just don’t call when it’s the middle of the night here)!
I am woefully homesick and cannot wait to come home! I would love to be at the Star Wars premier with all my mates tomorrow – but I guess it won’t be long until we start traveling again! No ETA yet – but 12-18 months is what we have decided (well, Philippa decided :P).
Better run, Philippa just rang and is walking home from work – she wants to go to the market to get some veggies (today is pay day! Oh how we love the mighty £).
I love you all heaps and miss you a great deal! Make sure you e-mail or call or send a carrier pidgin or something soon!