Progress

We're getting things done:

• We close on the sale of our house in Albuquerque tomorrow. It actually sold on the first that it was advertised but it took a while for the buyer's mortgage company to get the paperwork done.
  
• No takers yet for our home in Socorro though we've had quite a few people look at it. The roof is yet to be fixed but we're in line for that to happen.
  
• I submitted my visa application a couple of days ago, after the application by CSIRO was accepted. A possible holdup is that my US passport expires in early May. I've applied for a new one and may have to resubmit the visa application once that comes. I'm also renewing my UK passport since it may make travel to some countries easier.
  
• It looks like we'll be moving on Tuesday, March 29. We have a moving company lined up and will sign the contract on that once the visa is finalized.
• Judi's car is in the shop for hail repairs. We'll sell one of the cars soon after we get it back.

So, things are coming along.

A yard (sale) closer to Australia

Yesterday we held our second yard sale, the first since we decided to move to Australia. The second garage was full of stuff we can manage to live without. Furniture, clothes, tools that require 110v, books that we'll probably not read again.

Drinking our coffee in bed in the morning, we decided to give the yard sale proceeds to Tsunami relief, starting with our big cache of spare change collected over seven years we've lived together in this house. People got into this and were generous. We raised about $530 from selling stuff and $138 from the spare change (via the Coinstar at Smiths). The money will go to the International Red Cross via the Socorro branch of the Bank of America on Monday morning.

Yard sales are wonderful ways to socialize - we got to meet some old friends and make some new ones. The universal reaction to our moving to Australia seems to be "Oh, I really want to go there - you are so lucky", which is pretty much how we feel about it.

Thanks to everyone who came and spent or just donated. If you are reading this and want to donate, here's the International Red Cross Site - go ahead, be impulsive :)

Tim

A manmade horror

The tsunami is a true cataclysm, reminding us of the physical world that we cannot control. How sad to see us (humans) bringing a catastrophe into existence from our own heads. Please see the Washington Post Faces of the Fallen.

Tim

Soccer and Jon Stewart

I should have checked this before accepting the job but anyway I just discovered that there is English Premier League Soccer on Australian TV. Also Jon Stewart! Now all I need is a TiVo.

UPDATE: Vicki says there is no TiVo yet (see the comments). I'm thinking a new Mac Mini (we're big Apple fans) + MythTV.

Tim

Ear Rocks!

Do you, like me, have occasional dizziness and vertigo? It could be due to BPPV -- BENIGN PAROXYSMAL POSITIONAL VERTIGO. It's due to "ear rocks" (really!) and has a simple treatment.

I've suffered from this for about 15 years off and on. So far the only remedy is
to use an anti-motion sickness medication like Meclizine. I'll try out the Epley maneuver and see how it works.

Update: It works pretty well. The Epley maneuver requires lying down and rolling the head in a particular motion. It's easy to do (especially with the help of someone) and seems to fix my dizziness more or less immediately. Amazing!

Tim

GOOD NEWS/BAD NEWS

I have been negligent in my blogging recently as I am still trying to recover from the “sister onslaught.”

We have [guarded] good news. Last week, our rental house (circa 1951) in Albuquerque went on the market. Despite dire predictions from our realtor who wanted us to list the house at a lower price, on the first day, we received three offers! The offer we accepted, was actually over the list price. Unfortunately, the fat lady has not sung yet, and we still must endure inspections and negotiations over repairs. The bottom line is, “it ain’t a done deal until the fat lady sings.” (And if I don’t go on a diet soon, that fat lady is going to be me!)

Last night, after watching the news and the horrific results of the killer tsunami, I wrote a simple poem to express how I feel. One journalist reported that the death toll could actually rise to 400,000.

One is too many…

400,000 people dead
only in my mind
Too many the world could not exist
if so many died.

What is 400,000? Numbers only; surely not
drowning souls in an ocean too greedy.
How does a mind expand to comprehend
a tragedy so broad?

400,000 people walking on water
only to survive
and not to mimic
One who was not there.
--- Posted by Judi