I'm still here....

Tim has been doing all of the blog writing, so you might think that my life has been dull. Well, you would be absolutely right - my life HAS been dull. My car is still in Albuquerque getting hail damage repaired, so Tim and I are sharing the Rodeo, which means I'm at home a lot. The body shop told me that four roofs have been shipped to them and each one was damaged. Hmmmm, do I buy that? They also told me the repairs would take 2-3 weeks.... and yesterday was week five!

I do actually have some activities planned before the big move. On March 1, I'm traveling to Santa Fe to meet a friend. She is the ex-wife of my crazy, abusive and sociopath ex-husband. I got to know her because I went to Durango ten years ago to testify at a trial so that she could keep sole custody of her son. Unfortunately, my testimony was not allowed because the judge was the lawyer who had handled my divorce from "crazy man." A small conflict of interest. Anyway, Sarah and I have remained friends by phone calls and emails. She was even sworn in as a CASA volunteer in Cody, Wyoming a few days ago. Way to go Sarah! I'm looking forward to spending a day or two with her in person.

Another planned trip when I get my car returned (or at least a loaner) is to Clovis, NM. Robyn and I are going to visit an "ex-CASA kid" who lives in a group home there. She and I have been keeping in touch by phone or email since she was our CASA kid five years ago. Now that she is 17 (how they grow!), I am concerned what she will do when she turns 18 and is emancipated. Her mother is her legal guardian, but I don't believe that she has done much to move this child forward. "CASA kid" even graduates from high school in May, even though she needs summer school classes to make up lost credits. I haven't told her that I'm leaving yet, because I thought it would be best to tell her in person and with Robyn there. She likes Robyn a lot. I will miss her. Despite the many problems that she needs to continue to work on (caused by incredible child abuse), she's quite a lovable character!

Most of my time is spent vacuuming, etc. so that our house will be in good order for potential buyers. I am becoming concerned that we might not sell the house prior to our move. In that case, we will have to rent in Australia and perhaps rent out the Socorro house. Tim's attitude which I think is a good one can be summed up by what he sang out this morning: Que sera, sera!!!

Judi

Weekend in Colorado Springs

I spent the weekend visiting Zoe. We had a lot of fun. Ate out at P.F. Changs (the Orange Peel Shrimp is really good) and at the India Gardens (Masala Dosa is amazing). Went to see "Sideways". And shopped at The Book Broker.

On Saturday morning, Zoe and I drove up to Pike's Peak and enjoyed the snow:



Tim

The power of music

I got this from Zoe. She got it from a friend on LiveJournal. Anyone know what the music is? Enjoy!

Tim

Update: My buddy Anton (formerly from Socorro but now in Bonn) says in his comment:

"very funny! that's what we expect from american when they get exposed to the rhythms of the "new europe". the song is called 'dragostea din tei' by a band called "O Zone" (from poland I hear). why do I know this, you ask? just showed the flic to our au pair from latvia, sarmite. she is an expert on this genre. and to boot: she has been teaching our sons the moves. the kids, needless to say, think that the music their parents listen to is boring..."

Update 2: Here are the Romanian and English lyrics.

Update 3: His name is Gary Brolsma and he's from New Jersey!

Want to buy a house?

We decided to use a realtor. Here's our house.

Tim

Heizer

I'd like to see this when it's done.

Tim

CASA

As planned, I resigned as President of the board of RGVCASA this week. It's been three years since we started the program here in Socorro. During those three years I was the president (ah, the sheer power!). I enjoyed being able to help the program go from an idea to an actuality but it's good to pass it on to someone else. One of our volunteers and recently a board member, Madelyn Klatt, is taking on the job. I'm really pleased that she decided to agree to be elected. She's a real volunteer - someone who steps up when there is something to be done.

Unfortunately RGVCASA is also losing our great Executive Director, Lynnette Carter. Her husband, who is a store manager for ALCO, has been asked to move to manage the ALCO store in Springerville. He's there already and she (and the family) will have to move there very soon. I hope we can find someone even close to Lynnette in dedication, ability, and sheer good heart. (See I'm still saying "we" - it'll take a while).

Tim

Mileura : See a Long Way

I really like this picture of Mileura:



Mileura has been chosen to site a number of new radio telescopes designed to see far out into the universe. How appropriate then that "Mileura" means "See a Long way".

Tim

Self-delusion

I'm amazed by the difference between world as seen by the US and by the rest of the world. Just read this blog and compare it to what we've heard from CNN, MSNBC, New York Times, etc. over the last week.

Truly amazing. And scary.

Tim

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

Thursday, December 16 - AHHHHHHHH!

I was hanging around in my house the other day, painting a bit here and there, de-cluttering - getting the house ready to sell. I was also preparing for a meeting later in the afternoon which was fated not to occur. My sister, Sandy, was coming to Socorro to have lunch and celebrate her UNM graduation - 55 years in coming was certainly deserving of celebration. Tim saw a vehicle drive in and told me that Sandy had people with her. People? Here? With Sandy? What the......? Sandy arrived first at the door and before I could offer a hug, one more person came around the corner, then another, and then another. Who were these attractive strangers? Stranger no. 1 was my sister, Nancy, 2nd was my sister, Karen, and 3rd was my sister, Wendy. A breeze could have knocked me against the wall. Surprise? That is the understatement of the century - it's been TEN years at least since I've seen these three characters. Unlike Sandy who lives in nearby Albuquerque, Nancy, Karen and Wendy were visiting from New England, USA!



Apparently, the scheming threesome had been planning their surprise since last summer: to attend Sandy's graduation and then to visit Tim and I prior to our expatriation to Oz. Long story short, five of us women talking and complaining about our weight, new wrinkles, etc. became too much for Tim and Gavin. Both quietly escaped after our EXTENSIVE photo taking session. Please view this slideshow to catch some of the excitement (and five beautiful women!).

A house we like

More R.E.M.

No, it's not the sixties in London, it's 2004 in Albuquerque

Our toilet is now so clean that....

The Explorers

Books can really bring a place alive. Following a six month self-indugence in Patrick O'Brien's wonderful Aubrey-Maturin books, some of which are set in the South Pacific, I read Caroline Alexander's account of the mutiny on "The Bounty". That brought especial interest to our visit to Fiji. On his magnificent voyage back from the mutiny, Bligh sailed through the "Cannibal Islands", as Fiji was then known, but did not dare to stop. There was also a certain Conradian aspect to sitting on the veranda of our hotel just north of Nadi. See what you think:

Just now, I'm reading a collection of excerpts from the diaries of early explorers of Australia: The Explorers by Tim Flannery. It starts with Jansz in 1606 and Carstensz in 1623 exploring the northern most tip of Australia, continues with Cook and Banks in 1770, Flinders circumnavigation in 1802, and ends (I'm not there yet...) in 1977 with Peasley (I have no idea!).

Someone mentions black swans with the same sense of wonder that we had when we saw them:

The droppings of "Whom-batts" form a topic of some discussion. Here's a picture of Judi finding wombat droppings in the woods:

I guess the point is that you can still find the unexpected.

Tim

R.E.M.

Another good thing about leaving the country is that you get to (have to) do things you might otherwise put off indefinitely, such as seeing R.E.M. live from the front row last night in Albuquerque. This was the last performance of their US tour. I've loved R.E.M. from the first time I saw the video for "Fall on me" back in the early eighties. If you ask me and my kids what the best song ever recorded is, we would probably choose "Nightswimming".

The concert was about everything I'd expected - loud, good feelings, great songs and great showmanship. At the end, I took some pics with my phone. Here's the best one:



Tim