Dinner with the Girls

Tonight I had a very entertaining night with Suzie and Rosemary, who I used to work with at Melbourne Uni. I met them at Suzie's house, which is just around the block from my apartment. It was great to catch up with them and hear what is going on in the Economics Department. While Suzie cooked dinner Rosemary was telling me lots of eye-opening stories about all the scandalous things that have been going on in the department that I had no clue about. It would make the most insane soap opera. We had pasta with eggplant and other veggies, which was very yummy. For dessert it was tea and chocolate. I laughed and smiled so much that my face hurt by the end of the night. We are hoping to make these dinners a regular occurrence.

My Ceiling of Woe

I thought my leaking ceiling issues were over but last week I heard that dreaded sound of dripping again. I couldn't find where the water was coming from until I looked up at my kitchen light and saw that the fixture was full of water. This happened on a Friday night, so of course I had to wait until Monday to speak with anyone at Body Corporate. On Tuesday the plumber came out and checked Unit 23, but there were no obvious signs of leaks, so he figured it must be coming from Unit 24. Unfortunately, we didn't have access to the unit, so the plumber returned the following morning to check Unit 24. After running water from all the taps, it was determined that the leak wasn't coming from there, but from Unit 23 after all. We didn't have access to the unit that morning, so the plumber decided to cut a couple holes into my ceiling to see if he could find the leak. However, he couldn't figure out where the leak was coming from so I had to wait until Friday when everyone's schedules were finally coordinated to get things fixed. It turns out the water was coming from the kitchen sink area of Unit 23 and after putting 3 more holes into my ceiling, the leak was finally found near my ceiling beams! The cause was two segments of pipe that had completely separated from each other because someone forgot to blue-glue the two pipe segments together when the building was constructed. The plumber glued the pipe back together and also anchored it to a beam in the ceiling (they had forgotten to do that too). Now the problem is getting all these holes in my ceiling repaired. I'm waiting to hear from Body Corporate when the plasterers will be coming out (better be early next week) and then once that dries the ceiling will be painted. I am hoping to get this all fixed before my parents arrive on September 3rd.

Essendon vs. Hawthorn

Tonight's Essendon game was a tribute to James Hird, so Michelle and I headed to the Telstra Dome for this week's match against Hawthorn. I was hopeful that last week's win against Collingwood meant that Essendon were finally back on track and getting it together (it's been a bad season). However, the first half was a total nightmare, and Hawthorn dominated every aspect of the game. Their lead at halftime was 61 points!

Thankfully the second half was a bit better. Essendon finally found some defense and offence, although we had a lot of shots at goal that were behinds (1 point) instead of goals (6 points). It was a frustrating match, and if we had made more goals we could have won. However, even though we got close in the last quarter, we ended up losing by 18 points. It wasn't the best way to celebrate James Hird's career, but Hawthorn deserved the win.

Final Score:
Essendon- 15.16 (106)
Hawthorn- 19.10 (124)

Marvelous Melbourne

This is a funny 10 minute short film on the history of Melbourne by Shane and Chris Northey. Enjoy!

Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument

This week at work we had a professional learning forum in our branch around the Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument (HBDI), which measures the way you prefer to think, learn, communicate and make decisions. The Whole Brain Model was developed by Ned Herrmann, who discovered that there were four patterns that emerged in terms of how the brain perceives and processes information. A Quadrant is rational, B Quadrant practical, C Quadrant visceral, and D Quadrant cognitive. Our profiles were compiled from a series of questions we answered on an online survey, and it was really interesting to get my results. The HBDI profile shows you which of the four quadrants of the brain you have a preference for- looking not just at left/right brain but also cerebral (upper) and limbic (lower) modes.

Here is a scan of my results. As you can see, my preferences are for the B and C quadrants. Here is what they say my profile means: "The profile is characterized by very strong preferences in conservative thinking and controlled behavior with a desire for organisation and structure as well as detail and accuracy from the Lower Left B quadrant. Persons with this profile tend to worry about details. The primary in the Lower Right C quadrant would show itself equally strongly by interpersonal skills and sensitivity to feelings. It may indicate emotion, and perhaps interest in music and a sense of spirituality. It would also be likely to demonstrate sensory intuition or 'gut feelings.' The two limbic primaries could represent an important duality for the person to resolve within themselves. The opposing qualities of control and structure, constrasting with the emotional and interpersonal feelings can cause internal conflict." Interesting and fairly accurate, don't you think? The dotted line shows how I scored on an adjective pairs exercise, and this is supposed to demonstrate how you react when under pressure. Notice how I withdraw almost completely from D quadrant and have more preference in C quadrant.

In our branch, there are a lot of people who place in the C and D quadrants- and almost no one in A quadrant. Knowing how your co-workers think can help you to understand each other and work together better. The ultimate goal though is to become more whole-brained in your thinking, which means you are able to utilize the thinking preferences for each of the four quadrants. It enables you to take a comprehensive view of any situation and look at it from a variety of perspectives.

Why Is My Ceiling Leaking?

On Tuesday night I was starting to make my dinner when I heard the sound of water. I turned around to see a stream of water pouring down from my ceiling off the support beam and onto the carpet. I quickly grabbed a pot to catch the water and rang my real estate agent to ask what to do. Thankfully the water stopped after a few minutes, but I ventured upstairs to chat with my neighbors to see if they had any leaking water. There was nothing evident happening in either of their apartments, and thankfully they were nice and sympathetic to my situation. I woke up the next morning and everything was still dry. It was a good thing that I left the pot on the floor though because when I got home it was half full with water. After chatting with Body Corporate I ventured upstairs again to chat with my neighbors. We suspected that the problem could be with a shower leak that one unit had had repaired earlier in the week. They got the plumber to come back out, and there hasn't been any water since, so I'm hoping that the problem has been fixed for good.

If that wasn't enough apartment drama for me, I've also just gotten notice that my rent will be going up $44 a month when my lease is up in October. I'm not too thrilled about that, but there's not much I can do. Good thing I have a 3% raise going into effect that month as well.

Census Night

Tonight is Census Night in Australia. There was a whole advertising campaign here around the census, which is done every five years and considered a mandatory activity. I filled out my form online, and it was pretty quick and painless. There are the usual questions that you would expect: age, ethnicity, education, religion, etc. They do focus on country of origin and where your parents were born (probably because a large part of the population are migrants). A couple of the more interesting questions asked were about unpaid hours of work (as a care giver or just plain domestic work), and for females how many babies you have ever given birth to (they do have a baby bonus payment here). The last question asks if you agree to have the information on your census form kept by the National Archives of Australia and then made available to the public in 99 years. I figured why not- after all, I don't think I'll be around in 2105.

Bic Runga

Last night I got to see Bic Runga in concert at Manchester Lane. Peter was kind enough to let me tag along with him as her shows in Melbourne are sold out. We met up for dinner after I finished work and went to Italy 1 on George Parade off Collins Street. I had the best Ravioli di Zucca I have ever tasted- the sage butter, toasted walnuts, and pumpkin were delicious. After dinner we walked along Swanston Street and stopped at a cafe for dessert. We got the biggest piece of cheesecake (thankfully to share) and hot drinks.

Around 8pm we headed over to Manchester Lane. Since Peter does work for Bic we were on the guest list and got excellent treatment inside the venue. We were given a table in the middle section, which was cordoned off from the rest of the crowd. After about 10 minutes Bic came walking over to say hello to Peter. She sat down at the table next to us for a chat while she ate her dinner. It was kind of funny to have Bic sitting there eating while all the people standing above in the next level were able to look down and watch- they had come to see her perform, after all.

The show itself was great. Bic played material from all three of her albums in the set. I loved hearing all the new songs off her latest release "Birds." Bic has the most amazing voice, and this was definitely the most relaxed I've ever seen her on stage (perhaps because of her trip to the day spa?). She played mostly acoustic guitar, but did a few songs on electric. John Walsh, the guitar tech, came out and played keyboard on the song "Birds." I wish the show had gone on longer than an hour, but she did finish around 11 pm. Peter and I quickly went backstage to say goodbye, and then headed back to his car. Peter was nice enough to drive me home, which was great since it had started raining by the time we left the venue.

Impro Melbourne: The Cave

Tonight a group of us headed up to ...don't tell tom for some improv comedy. The improvisation troupe Impro Melbourne put on the show, and it was quite funny. In the first act they played the game "More or Less." One person was the director of the scene, and as the scene progressed he/she asked the audience if they would like it to continue (more) or stop (less). In the second act a different set of members performed a longer improv piece based off of ideas from the audience. The suggestions were a marriage based on immigration, romance, a road trip, documentary, and sci-fi. Members would "tap" in and out of scenes, which would shift the location of things and characters abruptly at some points. At the beginning it was a bit disjointed as they introduced everything, but they actually managed sew their stories together by the end of the piece. It was really well done.

Unfortunately while we were in the comfy warm environment of ...don't tell tom, the heavens finally opened up (the forecasters had been predicting rain all weekend) and we had to deal with pouring rain and wind on the walk back home. The bottom half of my jeans were soaked, but at least my umbrella didn't turn inside out.

I'll Be Home For Christmas

Forget having to celebrate Christmas in July here in Australia to get the wintry experience. I've just booked my flights to the States so that I can have a proper, cold weather Christmas and New Year's with my family and friends. I won't be missing out on the mulled cider this year. I'll be back in the Bay Area from December 21st - January 8th, so if you are in town, I hope to catch up with you. Who knows- I may even make a trip down to Southern California as well.

BB7: All-Stars

It's summertime in the USA, so that means only one thing- Big Brother is back on the air! I'm so disappointed I am not there to watch it because this summer is all about the BB All-Stars. The public voted for 6 people from seasons 1 - 6 to go back in the house, with producers picking the remaining 8 people.

Even though I can't watch the show on tv here, I am following along on the internet. Having YouTube around this year has completely transformed the viewing of this show because so many people are throwing up bits from the live feeds. And thankfully for me, people are also putting the broadcast episodes up online because even though CBS has the episodes available for free on their website, I can't watch them because I'm outside the US.

Many of my favorites have made it back into the house, including Kaysar, Janelle, and evil Dr. Will. The game play is going to be so full-on this summer it will be interesting to see who makes it to the end. Allison has already be voted out of the house, and everyone seems to be gunning for the BB6 cast. Thankfully Kaysar won Head of Household this week, so at least they are all safe (for the moment).

I wish the Australian Big Brother was more like the US version- I find the game play and strategy so much more interesting to watch. Here they can't even discuss nominations and "playing the game" seems to be frowned upon in the house. The US version also seems to have a much more diverse group of people- differing ethnicities, ages, sexual orientations and religious backgrounds have been represented throughout the seasons. Diversity in casting makes a more watchable show. I wonder, considering all the controversy from this year, if the Australian producers will make some big changes for their next season. I sure hope they do.

Farewell Adrian

Tonight Michelle and I headed over to North Melbourne to wish Adrian farewell as he moves to Los Angeles for his new job in the physics department at UCLA in a week. We started the evening with dinner at Rubicon. Donna and Brenton were there when we arrived, so it was nice to catch up with them. I had the roasted pumpkin pizza with fetta cheese, spinach and pine nuts. For dessert I ate the crepes filled with vanilla ice cream and topped with chocolate sauce and peanuts. Adrian's friend had a book for everyone to sign, so I wrote about 4 pages of tips for him when he arrives in LA. After dinner we moved down the street to Rrose Bar for drinks and conversation. There was quite the turnout to send Adrian off. We said our goodbyes and headed for home around 11:30 pm. If any of you LA people would like to show Adrian around or have some tips I can pass on to him, please get in touch with me.

Myer "History Making Clearance" Sale

The lure to Myer was hard to resist- ads for a "History Making Clearance" beyond anything they have ever done before. Myer has been bought by someone else, so they are clearing out lots of their stock. Michelle and I decided to meet at the city store in Bourke Street Mall after work and see what bargains could be had. It was an absolute zoo in the store as many other people had the same idea. We started in fragrances, then worked our way through the accessories, shoes, clothes, kitchen and bath departments. Michelle found some good stuff to buy, but I didn't see anything that screamed "buy me" so my wallet stayed in my bag. It was like a feeding frenzy in some of the departments, which was a bit overwhelming (this was the first day of the sale). After a while we decided to escape the madness and headed to Mekong on Swanston Street for Vietnamese pho and spring rolls. It was nice to sit down and enjoy a yummy dinner before heading home.

Happy Fourth!

Happy 4th of July to all my American friends and family. While you get to enjoy fireworks, yummy barbeques, and the warm glow of summer, I worked today in chilly Melbourne. It's interesting being in another country for the 4th, especially one that is populated with monarchists. Can't get overly excited or you might offend them. I also think that being overseas is when you really start to identify with your home country. I can't escape being "American" here. It's funny because in the States you identify with the ethnic background of your ancestors, but here being American is its own ethnicity. I get this odd sense of patriotism that I definitely don't have when I'm home. Who knew it would take being half way around the world to have some pride in where you're from?


A fogless Fourth in San Francisco (very rare!)

Dinner and Big Brother

Ben is back in town for a few days doing rehearsals with Rogue Traders before they head off to the UK and US for some shows, so we decided to meet up for dinner. I walked down to his hotel after work and as I got there he was getting his room upgraded to one of the penthouse suite apartments. The place was huge- probably three times the size of my apartment. It was kind of funny. We decided to have dinner at il Solito Posto, an Italian restaurant in an alley off Collins Street. The food was delicious. I had linguine with calamari and napoli sauce, and Ben had spaghetti bolognese.

After eating we rushed back to the hotel to catch Big Brother. As many of you know, I find Big Brother to be very addictive, and the Australian edition has been no exception. The rules are a lot different to the US version, and it's on tv here every night so I don't have to spend as much time online reading about what's going on in the house. This past weekend has been a very controversial one as John and Ashley were kicked out of the house by Big Brother for sexual misconduct (and rightly so). It's been all over the news here and overseas, with calls from politicians to yank the show off the air. However, I think the real issues are more societal and symptomatic of the laddish culture that exists in Australia. Of course, the politicians are choosing to ignore the bigger picture.

What is amusing though is that Ben was actually in the Big Brother house when John and Ashley got kicked out because Rogue Traders played a mini-concert for the housemates on Saturday night. This was before the housemates knew that the boys had been removed and would not be returning. John and Ashley are supposed to appear with Gretel Killeen (BB host) later tonight, so we'll see how apologetic they are about what happened. I'm not getting my hopes up.

My Apartment

I have been meaning to post pictures of the inside of my apartment. I still have a few more little things to buy (mainly poster frames for my posters- ignore the white walls) but otherwise it is pretty much decorated. Enjoy!

I Survived My First Week

I have made it through my first week at the new job. Actually, it was only 3 days as I started officially on Wednesday. Everyone has been very nice to me and they are easing me into everything slowly. It's going to take me a bit of time to learn who everyone is and what policy areas they are working on. This office has more meetings than I have ever seen in my life- it's amazing that people get any work done! I am still waiting for my email account to be created (which I need so I can deal with the calendar on Outlook), and I should finally get my security pass on Monday. You can't travel through the buildings without one.

My main job is as executive assistant to the learning policies branch manager. I will be maintaining her calendar, organizing various meetings and doing minutes and other things as needed. I get to sit in on the meetings of all the group leaders in the branch, so I will get a good sense of what is going on. I also hope to get involved with various projects that the branch is doing and not get locked into being seen as just an administrative person. There is going to be a bit of a restructure of the branch, so it will be interesting to see how that plays out (don't worry- my job is safe). The biggest concern seems to be people losing their expertise areas and there being more "breadth than depth." We'll see what happens.

I Have A Full-Time Job!

It's a miracle! On Monday I interviewed for a job at the Department of Education and Training for Victoria as a policy and project officer for the Office of Learning and Teaching. The interview went well, but I got nervous when they said I was overqualified for the job. After worrying and being a bit pessimistic about my chances, I got a call today and was offered the job. It's all very exciting and such a relief! I will be working as an assistant to the student learning policies manager and across the branch to help out with various projects, both policy and curriculum related.

I never thought I'd actually get to utilize both of my degrees. This job will also be a great entry point for me in the DE&T as it is a fixed term position (through to the end of December 2007) and will allow me to get to know a wide variety of people in the department. There will definitely be a career path and advancement options available to me. I did want to get into working on education policy eventually, so this is the perfect place. I just finished up my job at the University of Melbourne, so the timing couldn't have been better. I start work on Monday.

Why Is Everyone Leaving?

My exodus of friends out of Melbourne continues, which is sad. Will and Helen headed off to Cambridge in the UK a couple weeks ago as Will embarks on his new job working as an energy engineer for the British Antarctic Survey. He will even get to live in Antarctica two months out of the year! This week I have been helping Ben pack and clean his house as he is moving to Brisbane this weekend. And in a few weeks Adrian will be jetting off to the US to work at UCLA in the physics department. I guess I can't blame everyone for leaving as I am guilty of doing the same. Perhaps some of my Aussie overseas friends will return to Melbourne to stay.

Jump, Jive, and Wail

Tonight I went to my first swing dancing lesson put on by Swing Patrol Brunswick at Bridie O'Reilly's. I was there with Ruth, her friend Katie, and Michelle and her sister Emma. It was a lot of fun and the instructors taught us some Lindy Hop steps. You rotate partners throughout the hour class, so you also get to meet people. I would love to go regularly, but at $14 a class, I think I need a full time job first.